Zimbabwe floods killed 246, made thousands homeless

Zimbabwe's government has said that floods have killed 246 people and left nearly 2,000 homeless since December.

Fiji cyclone disaster 'almost unprecedented'

New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully left for Fiji Monday to discuss further aid to the cyclone-battered Pacific island nation.

Jordan says unable to support Syrian refugees alone

Jordan said Sunday it is incapable of servicing Syrian refugees without support from the international community, reported the state-run Petra news agency.

EU reaffirms commitments to scaling up mobilization of climate finance

The European Union (EU) environment ministers reaffirmed on Friday that the EU and its member states have and remain committed to scaling up the mobilization of climate finance in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency of implementation, before December's United Nations climate conference in Paris.

My Big Fat Greek Pipeline: US to Present Counter Offer to Russia's Stream

A US envoy will present Greek officials with an alternative to Russia's pipeline on Friday after Putin promised funding for the project.

Bulgaria ready to place gas hub for European consumers

Bulgaria is ready to place on its territory a gas distribution European-scale station, instead of the South Stream project, according to a verbatim account of a meeting of the Bulgarian government on Wednesday.

Financial sector to help mobilize $200 billion to fight climate change in developing countries

UN,  23 September 2014 – Governments, investors and financial institutions today pledged to mobilize $200 billion by the end of next year for low-carbon programmes in developing countries, giving a significant boost to the United Nations goal of reaching $100 billion annually by 2020.

“This will serve as a catalyst in finalizing a universal and meaningful agreement at Paris on climate change in 2015,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he hosted the largest ever summit of world leaders on climate change at UN Headquarters in New York to prepare the ground for a global accord at a summit in the French capital in December next year.

UN summit test for new climate fund. (Donors yet to stump up to pay for assistance to developing countries)

A global fund created to spearhead climate change financing faces a key test at a UN summit this week when it looks to the leaders of the industrialized world to stump up billions of dollars to fill its underflowing coffers.

For the South Korea-based Green Climate Fund, the climate summit in New York on Tuesday is an opportunity for the developed world to demonstrate its financial commitment to securing a new, legally binding global climate deal with poorer countries in 2015.

Moldova, Romania to Expand Iasi-Ungheni Pipeline to Chisinau with Aid from EU

CHISINAU, September 10 (RIA Novosti) - The European Union will allocate 10 million euros ($12.9 million) to expand the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline to Chisinau, the official website of the Moldovan Economy Ministry reported.

"The European Union will provide 10 million euros for the expansion of the Iasi-Ungheni pipeline. The pipeline will be extended to Chisinau," the ministry's website stated. Previously, the Economy Ministry directly reported that the project aims to reduce dependence on Russian gas.

Ukraine to hike gas rates by 50% for IMF loan. -The IMF programme's approval would set in motion the release of further assistance from both Washington and the European Union.

Ukraine agreed on Wednesday to quickly hike domestic gas prices by as much as 50 percent to meet a key loan condition set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the crisis-hit ex-Soviet state. The new Western-backed government in Kiev is seeking $15-20 billion (11-14.5 billion euros) in IMF assistance in order to balance its books and meet a series of foreign loan repayments. An IMF team met with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in Kiev on Wednesday for what Ukrainian officials hoped would be a final round of talks before the package is approved in Washington next month.
The Fund has made an immediate end to Ukraine's costly gas subsidies one of its prime conditions for the programme's approval.

EU-Georgia: Financial support to strengthen democratic institutions. -European Commission, Press release

EU-Georgia: Financial support to strengthen democratic institutions

Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Štefan Füle signed two financing agreements in Tbilisi on Tuesday to support public finances reform in Georgia and to strengthen the role and capacities of the Parliament.

The financing agreement to support Georgia’s reform of public finance policy is worth €21m and will contribute to good governance and further strengthen government services' delivery and the accountability of the public sector. It will promote transparency, while increasing efficiency and effectiveness of planning and governmental spending.