Author: Anadolu Agency

Rising demand for clean energy technologies to fight climate change is shaping the future with investments in critical minerals, whose demand is set to triple by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook report. Increasing geopolitical competition led critical minerals to become not only an economic but also strategic priority to those seeking to strengthen their position in green energy. Among the 4,000 minerals found across the globe, some are vital for the clean energy sector, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, copper and rare earths. These all play key roles in green transformation and are…

Cyclone Tam disrupted the daily life in New Zealand’s Northland region on Thursday. The weather brought heavy rain and strong winds to many parts of the North Island and upper South Island, reported local Radio New Zealand (RNZ). Nearly 5,000 properties in the region remain without power, with possible repairs taking up to three days. Cellphone towers are also reportedly without power. Domestic flights have also been canceled, along with ferry services. Over 60 calls were made by Kiwis in the region for damage and cleaning requests for fallen trees and debris overnight. The strong winds are expected to continue…

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived in Russia on Thursday for an official visit for talks with President Vladimir Putin. Al Thani’s plane touched down at Moscow’s Vnukovo-2 government airport, where he was welcomed by an official delegation. Following his arrival, the Qatari delegation headed to the Kremlin, where the two leaders are expected to discuss a broad range of issues related to bilateral cooperation, with a focus on trade, economic relations, and humanitarian collaboration. The agenda will also include several pressing international topics. Given Qatar’s involvement in facilitating humanitarian initiatives between Russia and Ukraine — such…

Germany on Wednesday warned Israel against a permanent occupation of Gaza after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said his troops will indefinitely remain in so-called security zones in the enclave. “The German government clearly rejects a permanent occupation of Gaza and a permanent expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza. Gaza belongs to the Palestinians,” Christian Wagner, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry said at a press briefing in Berlin. “It remains a clear goal of German foreign policy to contribute to a negotiated two-state solution in the Middle East because that is the only way that Palestinians and Israelis can live…

The Kremlin on Wednesday said it will announce when a US-brokered moratorium between Russia and Ukraine on strikes against each other’s energy infrastructure will end. On March 18, the US brokered two agreements between Russia and Ukraine-one to “ensure safe navigation” in the Black Sea and another for a 30-day halt on attacks targeting energy infrastructure-following talks in Saudi Arabia. Despite the agreements, both sides have frequently accused each other of violating the pause. “We will inform you. I am not yet ready to inform you about the decision made,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow, also accusing…

China on Wednesday called on the United States to stop its “maximum pressure” tactics and “blackmail” in trade negotiations, pushing back on US President Donald Trump’s recent comments that “the ball is in China’s court.” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press conference Wednesday that the tariff war was started by the US, not China, urging Washington to abandon its strategy of “maximum pressure.” He added that Beijing does not want to fight a trade war because there will be no winner. His remarks came after Trump claimed Tuesday that it was now up to Beijing to make a…

If Türkiye maintains its current monetary policies and boosts foreign investor confidence, it is expected to return to sustainable growth levels by 2026, an economist at the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) told Anadolu. Sebastien Turban, one of the authors of the OECD’s Türkiye economic survey, which was released April 10, said the country’s current account deficit has narrowed, and inflation along with expectations has declined since the shift in macroeconomic policy in mid-2023. Turban said inflation remains high but is moving downward, and both fiscal and monetary tightening must continue until inflation is under control. “If…

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Wednesday that the global goods trade volume is projected to fall by 0.2% this year as the global trade outlook deteriorated sharply due to the increased trade policy uncertainty. While the WTO expected global trade volume to rise in 2025 and 2026, large-scale tariffs announced since January this year have prompted economists at the Geneva-based international trade regulator and facilitator body to reassess the current state of trade, according to the WTO’s Global Trade Outlook report. The US suspension of reciprocal tariffs for 90 days is easing the contraction in trade, but downside…

At least one person was killed and 10 others were missing after a vessel capsized in the waters off Rizal in the Philippines’ Occidental Mindoro region, officials said. According to a statement from the Philippine Coast Guard, the vessel with 25 crew members, including 13 Filipinos and 12 Chinese, capsized on Tuesday afternoon in moderate sea conditions off Rizal. “A total of 14 crew members have survived—six Filipinos and eight Chinese—while one Chinese has been recovered lifeless. Ten individuals remain missing, consisting of seven Filipinos and three Chinese,” the coast guard in Southern Tagalog said in a statement posted on…

The Bank of Canada kept its benchmark overnight lending rate unchanged at 2.75% on Wednesday, pausing after seven consecutive rate cuts, as escalating US tariffs and growing trade uncertainty cloud the economic outlook. The bank rate remains at 3%, and the deposit rate at 2.70%, the central bank said in a statement. “The major shift in direction of US trade policy and the unpredictability of tariffs have increased uncertainty, diminished prospects for economic growth, and raised inflation expectations,” the bank said in a statement. The bank said the current environment makes it “unusually challenging” to project both GDP growth and…