Author: ALJAZEERA

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has lowered its global economic growth forecast as tensions between the United States and Iran have driven up energy and food costs globally.The IMF said on Tuesday that it expected the global economy to grow by 3.1 percent this year, a slowdown from its earlier forecast of 3.3 percent, which it had released before the US and Israel began their war on Iran on February 28.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listSince then Iran has retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for oil and gas supplies, and has attacked energy…

Relief for global markets comes after Trump says Iranian officials are keen on a deal.Published On 14 Apr 202614 Apr 2026Asia’s main stock markets have surged, and oil prices have declined amid renewed hopes for ceasefire talks between the United States and Iran.The relief for global markets on Tuesday came after US President Donald Trump said overnight that Iranian officials had reached out to his administration and expressed their openness to a deal.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“We’ve been called by the other side, and they would like to make a deal very badly,” Trump said in remarks at…

In interview with Al Jazeera, chief of the International Maritime Organization says world should reject tolls in waterway.Iran’s bid to charge ships tolls to transit the Strait of Hormuz is illegal and should be rejected by the international community, the head of the global shipping watchdog has said, as uncertainty hangs over the country’s fragile truce with the United States.Iranian authorities have demanded the right to impose tolls on vessels transiting the strait, including after the end of the war.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listUS President Donald Trump has also floated the possibility of a “joint venture” for…

The case is to overturn the temporary tariffs that Trump imposed after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier ones.Published On 10 Apr 202610 Apr 2026The centrepiece of United States President Donald Trump’s economic policy — sweeping taxes on global imports — is under legal assault again.A three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade, a specialised court in New York, is hearing oral arguments on Friday in an attempt to overturn the temporary tariffs Trump turned to after the Supreme Court in February struck down his preferred choice — even bigger, even more sweeping tariffs.Recommended Stories list of…

The tit-for-tat tariff increase comes amid cross-border tensions over illicit drugs and the fate of Ecuadorian politician Jorge Glas.Published On 10 Apr 202610 Apr 2026Colombia’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has announced it will raise tariffs on neighbouring Ecuador to 100 percent from 30 percent.The sum, confirmed on Friday, will match the rate Ecuador set a day earlier, amid an escalating trade and diplomatic spat between the two South American nations.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listEcuador has in recent months hiked tariffs against its eastern neighbour, citing a trade deficit and accusing Colombia of not doing enough…

Washington, DC – Preliminary data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has found that international development aid from its members dropped by about 23 percent from 2024 to 2025.Much of that decline was attributed to a major shortfall in funding from the United States.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe forum, which includes many of the the largest economies across Europe and the Americas, said on Thursday that the US saw a nearly 57 percent drop in foreign aid in 2025.The OECD’s four other top contributors — Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and France — also…

It’s not clear under what legal authority Trump can tack on this tariff, and analysts called it an ’empty threat’.Published On 8 Apr 20268 Apr 2026United States President Donald Trump has said imports from countries supplying Iran with military weapons will face immediate 50 percent tariffs with no exemptions, announcing the threatened duty in a social media post just hours after agreeing to a two-week ceasefire with Tehran.Trump’s Truth Social post on Wednesday did not specify which legal authority he would invoke to impose such tariffs, as the Supreme Court in February struck down his use of the International Emergency Economic…

US households paid $1,000 more for the same goods over the past year, with lower-income families hit the hardest.One year ago today, during a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House in Washington, US President Donald Trump announced a new 10 percent global tariff as part of a sweeping executive order he dubbed “Liberation Day”.The immediate fallout from his announcement was severe, with the stock market suffering its worst drop since the pandemic. In the following days, countries scrambled to make deals with Washington or retaliate with their own levies.On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled that most of Trump’s…

Qabr Chamoun, Lebanon – Tucked in the hills of Mount Lebanon, about an hour from Beirut, a school has been turned into a shelter for families displaced from southern Lebanon due to Israeli attacks.Once filled with students, the schoolyard is now a place for aid deliveries. Slides and swings sit empty. Clothes hang between windows. Inside the classrooms, desks have been pushed aside to make room for mattresses.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list“It’s very difficult,” said Aymane Malli, holding the hand of his five-year-old son, Jad. “But for me, it’s OK because I have to survive. I have…

Published On 24 Mar 202624 Mar 2026Gaza City – Palestinians in Gaza say the cost of electricity provided by private generators has surged, even as residents increasingly rely on them after Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave destroyed its public power network.With fuel supplies severely limited and prices at record highs compared with pre-war levels, the cost of electricity has risen sharply. The price per kilowatt-hour has increased from about 2.5 shekels ($0.80) to between 20 and 30 shekels ($7 and $10) – nearly 10 times higher – placing it beyond the reach of many households.Recommended Stories list of 3…