Venezuela has agreed to a key contract to swap its heavy oil for Iranian condensate that it can use to improve the quality of its tar-like crude, with the first cargoes due this week, five people close to the deal said.

A storm of controversy threatens to undermine Kristalina Georgieva’s leadership of the IMF as experts, US lawmakers and the Treasury scrutinize her actions in a former senior role at the World Bank.

Uber Technologies said it would start rolling out its pension plan to all eligible drivers in the United Kingdom, months after the ride-hailing service granted workers’ rights to its drivers in the country.

Cuba is allowing a staggered opening from Friday of restaurants, shopping centres and beaches in provinces that have lowered coronavirus cases even as it battles some of the highest nationwide rates of infection per capita worldwide.

Britain is looking at temporary measures to alleviate an acute shortage of truckers, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said on Friday, to smooth disruption to food and petrol supplies which retailers have warned could impact Christmas.

The United States on Friday praised Taiwan’s record as a candidate to join a trans-Pacific trade deal and criticized Beijing for stepping up jet incursions near the island.

Britain, which faces soaring natural gas prices, has been forced to run coal-fired power stations in order to secure energy supplies, electricity generation company Drax said on Thursday.

Zimbabwe has adopted a more ambitious target for emissions reduction ahead of a United Nations climate conference in November, the country’s new climate change plan showed.

India’s central bank is likely to retain a surplus of liquidity in the banking system and announce another round of bond purchases, but will avoid adding incremental cash in the near future, two sources said on Friday. 

Major UK-based companies on Friday urged the government to accelerate the nation’s shift away from fossil fuels for electricity generation, amid turmoil over surging gas prices.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it is poised to validate  “short-term temporary measures” to tackle the effects of a global energy crisis -- while keeping an eye on long-term climate goals.

Nigeria said Wednesday it aims to produce 1.88 million barrels per day of crude oil next year and the budget will be based on the benchmark price of $57 per barrel, calling it a  “very conservative” output goal as the country’s economy struggles.

The Bank of England is expected to stay the course on interest rates and stimulus on Thursday, despite soaring inflation and fears of runaway domestic energy costs.

The chairman of the US Federal Reserve called on lawmakers to raise the nation’s borrowing limit urgently on Wednesday, warning that failure to pay government debts would do  “severe damage” to the economy.

Ratings agency Fitch on Thursday cut its growth forecast for China’s economy this year citing a slowdown in the country’s colossal property sector, which is also facing headwinds over faltering real estate giant Evergrande.

Economic growth in the eurozone stumbled in September, a closely watched survey said Thursday, as supply chain bottlenecks, high prices and the spread of the coronavirus Delta variant hurt output.

The Asian Development Bank warned of  “lasting scars” from the coronavirus pandemic as it cut its 2021 growth forecast for developing Asia on slow vaccination rates, surging infections and crippling lockdowns.

The Bank of Japan was expected to keep monetary policy steady on Wednesday as weak growth and deflation risks remain primary concerns, in contrast to major counterparts eyeing a withdrawal of crisis-mode support for their economies.

At a factory in China’s north, workers are busy testing an automated vehicle designed to move bulky items around industrial spaces, one of a new generation of robots Beijing wants to shift the country’s manufacturing up the value chain.

The International Monetary Fund’s board of directors met Tuesday over charges that its director, Kristalina Georgieva, pressured staff in 2017 when she was the World Bank CEO to change data in a key ranking report to paint China in a more positive light.