2025-11-18 12:34
ROME/GENEVA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The world is facing a deepening hunger crisis with resources falling far short of needs, the United Nations World Food Programme warned on Tuesday, citing sharp declines in humanitarian funding. In its 2026 Global Outlook, the Rome-based WFP said 318 million people were expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse next year, more than double the number in 2019. Sign up here. But shrinking humanitarian funding means the WFP only plans to assist about 110 million of the most vulnerable people in 2026, at a cost of $13 billion, the agency said. Current forecasts suggest it may receive only about half that amount. "The world is grappling with simultaneous famines, in Gaza and parts of Sudan. This is completely unacceptable in the 21st century," WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in a statement. "Hunger is becoming more entrenched. We know early, effective solutions save lives, but we desperately need more support." FOREIGN AID CUTS The WFP's biggest donor, the United States, has slashed its foreign aid under President Donald Trump, and other major nations have also made or announced cuts in assistance. The WFP said last month that it expected to receive 40% less funding year-on-year for 2025, resulting in a projected budget of $6.4 billion, down from $10 billion in 2024. Conflict, extreme weather and economic instability are expected to drive severe food insecurity, WFP said. In 2025, its famine prevention efforts pulled communities back from the brink of starvation, but the overall crisis shows no sign of easing. In Afghanistan, where food programmes have been scaled back substantially this year, around nine out of 10 people including women and children arriving on foot at nutrition centres are being turned away, WFP Director Jean-Martin Bauer told a Geneva press briefing when asked about the impact of less funding. He said that leaving so many without access to support might contribute to conflict or migration. "There could be impacts at the regional level for countries that have nothing to do with this problem, but who are exposed to the consequences of out-of-control hunger in a country nearby." The agency said it would deliver emergency food and nutrition aid, help communities build resilience to food shocks, and provide technical support to strengthen national systems, while leveraging technology to improve efficiency. WFP urged governments and donors to invest in proven solutions to curb hunger and move closer to the goal of zero hunger. https://www.reuters.com/world/un-food-agency-warns-deepening-hunger-crisis-funding-falls-short-2025-11-18/
2025-11-18 12:15
Nov 18 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's X was down for thousands of users in the U.S. on Tuesday, according to Downdetector.com. There were more than 5,600 reports of issues with the social media platform, as of 06:51 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector, which tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources. Sign up here. Cloudflare (NET.N) , opens new tab, a web infrastructure company, was also having issues that impacted other services. It was not immediately clear whether the outages were related. Around 6:40 a.m. ET, Cloudflare said on its status page it was investigating the issue. The company's shares fell 4.1% in premarket trading. "We are working to understand the full impact and mitigate this problem. More updates to follow shortly," it said. X and Cloudflare did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. https://www.reuters.com/business/elon-musks-x-down-thousands-us-users-downdetector-shows-2025-11-18/
2025-11-18 12:00
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) (ARIJ.J) , opens new tab is evaluating a substantial copper venture in Papua New Guinea in partnership with U.S. mining giant Newmont Corporation (NEM.N) , opens new tab, Chairman Patrice Motsepe said on Tuesday. "There's a huge investment that we are currently looking at in Papua New Guinea," Motsepe said at an event hosted by Bloomberg. "We've got a partnership there with Newmont that might require as much as four or five billion dollars to be invested down the line." Sign up here. Motsepe said his company's financial position is sufficiently robust for such a project. The company has 13 billion rand ($756.2 million) in cash plus facilities for a further 7 billion rand, he said. A lot of that money is going to be used in Australia and Papua New Guinea, which are primarily copper regions, he said, adding that shareholders would expect the company to look at those. The Papua New Guinea investment is viewed as a long-term strategy aligned with global decarbonisation trends and rising demand for critical minerals, Motsepe said. ARM will also continue investments in gold, platinum group metals, iron ore and manganese in South Africa, alongside a copper stake in Canada, the chairman added. ($1 = 17.1921 rand) https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/african-rainbow-minerals-considers-papua-new-guinea-copper-venture-with-newmont-2025-11-18/
2025-11-18 11:48
BRUSSELS, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The European Union set import quotas on Tuesday on alloys of steel containing manganese or silicon to protect domestic producers against a surge of cheap imports. The measures will last for three years and consist of country-specific quotas per type of ferro-alloy, limiting the volume of imports that can enter the EU duty-free. Sign up here. Imports beyond the quotas may enter without duties if prices exceed established thresholds. If not, a tariff will apply to bring the final price up to the threshold level. "The EU cannot afford to let a strategic industry collapse under the weight of rising import pressures," European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said in a statement, adding that the measures were necessary to defend EU industrial resilience. The European Commission, which carried out an investigation, said that imports increased by 17% between 2019 and 2024 and the market share of EU producers fell to 24% from 38%. Sector body Euroalliages said EU companies were struggling to compete with exporters from China, India and Kazakhstan, who sold at significantly lower prices. The EU has designated manganese and silicon metal as critical raw materials. They are used to make steel stronger and more resistant to corrosion for the construction, automotive, aerospace sectors and in military applications, on which many EU countries are boosting spending. The safeguard measures also apply to Norway and Iceland, the source of about half of imports. The Commission said it would hold consultations with both countries every three months and would review the measures. Manganese and silicon-based alloy elements are also used in aluminium production and a small share goes to the chemical sector, often for use in solar panels. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/eu-imposes-quotas-curb-imports-ferro-alloys-2025-11-18/
2025-11-18 11:42
Glencore sold 9 million shares on November 10 Glencore converts preferred stock to ordinary shares Century's shares up 80% since June LONDON, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Glencore (GLEN.L) , opens new tab has cut its stake in Century Aluminum (CENX.O) , opens new tab by 10% to 33%, raking in millions following a share price rally triggered by U.S. tariffs on aluminium imports and a profit bonanza for local aluminium smelters. U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on aluminium imports to 50% on June 4 with the aim of incentivising investment in production of the metal in the United States. Sign up here. London-listed Glencore is Century's largest shareholder. It supplies Century with alumina, a feedstock for aluminium, while buying nearly all of its North American aluminium production for U.S. customers. It sold nine million shares of its 40 million holding on November 10 for $272.25 million and converted all of its Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into 4.95 million ordinary shares, according to a regulatory filing in the United States. CONFIDENCE IN CENTURY'S MANAGEMENT Century's stock was trading around $28 on Monday and is up 80% since June due to soaring U.S. aluminium prices as the market priced in the tariff and the incentive needed for producers to keep shipping to the United States. Glencore's transactions leave it holding around 36 million shares, equating to about 33% of Century's equity, down from 43% previously. The commodity trader and miner has had a stake in Century for around 30 years. In another regulatory filing, Glencore said it remained confident in Century's management team and that it had taken "action to monetise" a portion of its investment. Century is the largest primary aluminium producer in the United States where last year it produced 690,000 metric tons of the metal used in the construction as well as power and packaging industries. The United States relies on aluminium imports, which last year amounted to 3.94 million tons, according to information provider Trade Data Monitor. For producers to keep shipping aluminium to the United States, the prices they charge need to cover the tariff. Consumers in the United States buying aluminium on the physical market pay the benchmark price on the London Metal Exchange plus the Midwest premium that covers costs such as freight and taxes. LME aluminium touched $2,920 on November 3, the highest since May, partly due to tight markets while the U.S. premium hit a record 88.21 U.S. cents per pound or $1,944 a ton last week. https://www.reuters.com/business/glencore-cuts-century-aluminum-stake-33-after-tariff-driven-rally-2025-11-18/
2025-11-18 11:41
Could breach EU rules on central bank independence, critics say Italy has world's third largest national bullion reserves Central banks hold gold to hedge against adverse scenarios ROME, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Italian lawmakers have revived attempts to establish that the central bank's $300 billion in gold reserves belong to the state by presenting a proposal to parliament. All five lawmakers who signed the proposal, which was tabled as an amendment to next year's budget, are senators from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. Sign up here. The Bank of Italy sits on the world's third-largest national gold stockpile, behind only the United States and Germany. Its 2,452 metric tons of gold are equivalent to around 13% of national output. Unlike Britain or Spain, Italy has refused to sell off gold during financial downturns, retaining its reserves even through the 2008 debt crisis. Central banks generally accumulate gold to hedge against adverse scenarios and preserve confidence in the financial system. Around 1,100 tons of the Bank of Italy's gold are stored in a vault beneath its headquarters at Palazzo Koch in Rome. A similar portion is held in the United States, while smaller amounts are kept in Britain and Switzerland. Politicians of all parties have called in the past 20 years to clarify ownership of the gold and then sell it to cut Italy's public debt, which totals more than 3 trillion euros ($3.48 trillion) and is predicted by the Italian Treasury to peak at 137.4% of GDP next year. Critics say such initiatives would undermine the central bank's independence established under European Union treaties. "The gold reserves managed and held by the Bank of Italy belong to the state, on behalf of the Italian people," said the proposal presented to parliament. Lucio Malan, one of the sponsor lawmakers, did not reply when asked about the rationale of the initiative. However, amendments to the budget that do not affect tax revenue or spending are usually declared inadmissible under parliamentary rules. The Bank of Italy says on its website that gold could be used as collateral to obtain loans or, as a last resort, sold on the market to buy the national currency to support its value. Gold accounted for nearly 75% of Italy's official reserves at the end of last year, a significantly higher ratio than the 66.5% of the euro zone, World Gold Council data shows. Another amendment to the budget proposes a one-off levy for households to declare gold held off the books, in a move that could potentially yield the state more than 2 billion euros. ($1 = 0.8628 euros) https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/lawmakers-revive-italys-claim-central-banks-300-billion-gold-pile-2025-11-18/
