FINANCE: IMF Taps Economic Gurus for Budget Rescue

Snubbed by a growing number of its former client countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) turned Thursday to some of the world's top economic luminaries to solve a budget crunch that threatens its role as a key architect of the global economy.

DEVELOPMENT: Groups Seek Audit of World’s Biggest Dam

The mammoth Three Gorges dam in China is attracting renewed calls for an independent financial and environmental audit, as concerns mount over the hefty costs of the world's largest dam and its social and environmental impacts.

ENVIRONMENT: Dutch Bank Urged to Pass on Russian Oil Project

The giant Dutch bank ABN Amro, one of the world's largest financial institutions, is facing charges of "environmental hypocrisy" from green groups concerned over the bank's possible financing for a controversial Russian oil extraction project.

ENVIRONMENT: Dutch Bank Urged to Pass on Russian Oil Project

The giant Dutch bank ABN Amro, one of the world's largest financial institutions, is facing charges of "environmental hypocrisy" from green groups concerned over the bank's possible financing for a controversial Russian oil extraction project.

FINANCE: U.N. Pact Rewards Good Corporate Citizens

The United Nations is signing up international businesses and investors to a set of voluntary codes that seek to raise the bar for corporate social responsibility and environmental awareness.

BOLIVIA: Nationalised Power to the People?

Bolivian President Evo Morales' decision to nationalise his country's natural gas fields earlier this month will not being immediate economic benefits to the poor, but may dent the country's poverty rates in the mid-term and check the sweeping power of foreign companies, analysts here say.

POLITICS: Chad Gets World Bank Over a Barrel

Four months ago, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was fuming at the African nation of Chad for diverting oil revenues from the Chad-Cameron pipeline slated for poverty alleviation and social spending to a budget allocation for arms purchases.

POLITICS: Chad Gets World Bank Over a Barrel

Four months ago, World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz was fuming at the African nation of Chad for diverting oil revenues from the Chad-Cameron pipeline slated for poverty alleviation and social spending to a budget allocation for arms purchases.

LABOUR: U.S., Israel, Jordan Pact Created Havens for “Servitude”

Major U.S. companies, including Wal-Mart, Gloria Vanderbilt, Target, Kohl's, Victoria's Secret and L.L. Bean, are buying apparel from sweatshops in Jordan under a three-way trade deal that binds the Arab nation to Israel and the United States, according to a new report.

FINANCE-NIGERIA: New Pipeline a “Recipe for Disaster”, Locals Say

Local communities in Nigeria are taking the World Bank before an internal auditor over claims that the lender neglected its duties and anti-poverty mission when it funded a controversial gas pipeline in the region, whose construction they say will harm the environment and area residents.

FINANCE: New Pipeline a “Recipe for Disaster”, Locals Say

Local communities in Nigeria are taking the World Bank before an internal auditor over claims that the lender neglected its duties and anti-poverty mission when it funded a controversial gas pipeline in the region, whose construction they say will harm the environment and area residents.

FINANCE: Rich Nations Use IMF-World Bank Meet to Advance Own Agenda

Developing nations left the weekend's joint meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) with few gains, while the rich countries that dominate the boards of the two lenders managed to shape the agenda almost entirely to serve their own interests, say analysts here.

FINANCE: IMF Prescriptions Bad for Health, Say Activists

The Western-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF), whose credibility with some of its largest clients is eroding because of what they consider counter-productive economic policy advice, is facing renewed accusations that its prescriptions have compounded major health crises.

FINANCE: IMF Reform Divides Players

Rich nations, poor nations, multinational corporations, International Monetary Fund officials, and civil society groups critical of the multilateral finance institution - all often at odds with each other - finally agree on one issue: the Washington-based IMF needs urgent changes if it is to stay alive.

FINANCE: IMF, World Bank and Critics Gear Up for Meetings

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hold their joint twice-a-year meetings over the weekend, with stability of the global economy, IMF reforms and energy investments among the top issues on the agenda.

ECONOMY: IMF Warns Protectionism Risks Global Growth

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), a leading patron of the current global economic system, forecast Wednesday that there will be world growth of 4.9 percent this year, while launching a spirited defence of corporate-led globalisation and an attack on rising protectionist sentiments.

CORRUPTION: Wolfowitz’s Latest War

When Paul Wolfowitz's name was first floated for the World Bank presidency in early 2005, his nomination was met with scepticism from wary Bank staff and incredulity from development campaigners, a start that threatened to put him on a rocky path during his tenure.

DEVELOPMENT: World Bank Climate Plan Looks to South

Large-scale projects such as dams and nuclear power plants, more funding for renewable energy and greater market liberalisation by poor nations are all solutions to climate change, poverty and fossil fuel dependence, according to an internal World Bank document leaked by a non-governmental organisation.

FINANCE: U.S. Public Backs More Humanitarian Aid

Despite a U.S. decision to halt assistance to the Palestinian Authority and likely congressional cuts in the White House's foreign aid requests, a majority of U.S. citizens still believe that foreign assistance can be successful in improving their country's image abroad and enhancing national security.

FINANCE: Congress Balks at Steep Foreign Aid Increase

The U.S. Congress is poised to refuse a hefty funding boost for an international aid programme that the George W. Bush administration argues is key to its agenda to "transform" nations around the world.

TRADE-US: Doubts Grow About Future of Global Talks

An influential U.S. lawmaker has declared the multilateral trade talks under the umbrella of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) a failure and urged the George W. Bush administration to fast-track country-to-country trade pacts.