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WORLD: IMF Has Long Way to Go – Even After "Istanbul Decisions"
By Marina Penderis
JOHANNESBURG - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) may be performing better during the current economic crisis than during the Asian crisis of the late 1990s, but it still has "a long way to go".
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ECONOMY-AFRICA: Pros and Cons to Huge Chinese Investment in DRC
By Stephanie Nieuwoudt
CAPE TOWN - Concerns abound about a nine billion dollar Chinese investment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, especially around environmental consequences and transparency. And, on the Chinese side, investors complain not only about the lack of security in the DRC but about their own government not providing enough support.
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AFRICA: Broken Promises Litter the Aftermath of Global Crisis
By Francis Kokutse
STOCKHOLM - It seems that, once again, Africa and the rest of the developing world have been short-changed, given the broken promises in the wake of the global economic implosion.
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ENERGY: World Bank Looks for the Cleaner Way
By Niclas Rolander
STOCKHOLM - With new energy and environment strategies in the pipeline, the World Bank and its critics are going head to head on issues of fossil fuel funding and clean energy. The Bank will now call in outside experts to ensure that its coal power financing is justifiable, but critics would prefer it to go for truly clean energy.
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DEVELOPMENT: Land Grabs for Food Production Under Fire
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - A move by governments and rich investors to raise food crops on farmland purchased in some of the world's poorer countries is coming under fire.
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CULTURE: First Woman Head Seeks New Direction for UNESCO
By Alecia D. McKenzie
PARIS - The rapturous applause that greeted Irina Bokova Thursday as she was confirmed UNESCO's new director-general was a sign that the organisation is keen to move on from recent controversies.
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AGRICULTURE-ZIMBABWE: "The Rule of Law Just Isn’t There"
By Stanley Kwenda
HARARE - Agriculture used to be Zimbabwe’s economic mainstay but it has been on the decline since 2000 when the ZANU-PF government embarked on a so-called land reform programme that resulted in about 4,000 productive white farmers losing their farms, many to members of the politically connected elite.
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FINANCE: IMF Rebuts Critical Report on Lending
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund is on the defensive over a recent study which charged that a majority of countries with IMF agreements have been subjected to pro-cyclical fiscal or monetary policies during the global economic downturn, exacerbating the effects of the recession and harming some of the world's poorest economies.
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ECONOMY: Recovery Will Be Jobless
Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas
ISTANBUL - The annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ended Wednesday in Istanbul in a climate of cautious hope for the economy and with a mixed bag of opportunities and challenges for the two institutions.
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FINANCE: Not Reforms, But Reformed
Analysis by Sanjay Suri
LONDON - The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have run into a predictable roadblock in setting out brave new directions: a roadblock called memory. What could have been an immensely sensible idea of turning the IMF into a new central bank for the world is up against years of mistrust the IMF has built for itself.
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FINANCE: IMF Loan Policies Worsening Crisis, NGOs Say
By Adrianne Appel
BOSTON, U.S. - While world leaders banter about International Monetary Fund and World Bank business in Istanbul, NGOs critical of the way the Bretton Woods institutions operate are not letting up pressure.
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ROMANIA: Government Collapse Deepens Economic Woes
By Claudia Ciobanu
BUCHAREST - Romania is heading for a week of massive protests by state employees. With the governing coalition collapsing last Friday, the new minority government will have a hard time navigating between the demands of the protesters and the austerity measures demanded by its international creditors.
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ECONOMY: 'Too Early To Declare Success'
Analysis by Jacques N. Couvas
ISTANBUL - The official opening of the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled for Oct. 6, but political activities and tension have already taken control of the daily life of Istanbul.
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FINANCE: World Bank Head Acknowledges Shifting Global Order
By Eli Clifton
WASHINGTON - The world economic crisis has called attention to shifting international power structures as emerging economies gain more influence and the failure of globalisation to assist the poorest countries becomes clear, said World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick in anticipation of the bank's annual meeting in Istanbul, Turkey next week.
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G20: Europeans Resist More Clout for South in IMF
By Eli Clifton
PITTSBURGH - An initiative to reform the International Monetary Fund (IMF) voting structure is causing tension at the G20 here as European delegations resist a U.S.-spearheaded effort to give greater clout to emerging economies, primarily because it would decrease European voting power.
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G20: IMF Finds a New Unpopularity
By Pavol Stracansky
BRATISLAVA - When some Eastern European states faced economic collapse as the financial crisis took hold, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stepped in and offered governments huge loans.
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They underpin the world's financial architecture, with the power to revamp whole economies and channel billions of development dollars each year. But the so-called International Financial Institutions -- the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund and regional investment banks -- face a new era of public scrutiny and challenges to their relevancy.

How are the IFIs responding to growing demands from the South and civil society groups for greater democracy and accountability? And are they living up to their stated mission of promoting economic prosperity for all? IPS reports.