Emad Mekay

EDUCATION: World Bank Promises Again to Reach All Children

World finance officials announced an education initiative late Sunday that would help ensure access to primary schooling for all children by 2015.

ECONOMY: World Bank, Critics See Troubling Poverty Trends

By Emad Mekay

The World Bank and its civil society critics appeared to reach agreement on one point over the weekend: the world is far from banishing poverty.

ECONOMY: World Bank Chief, NGOs Wrangle Over Access

By Emad Mekay

The World Bank's president denied Friday his institution was failing to adequately consult civil society groups and blamed governments for any shortfall in the Bank's efforts to meet grassroots demand for participation in decision-making.

ECONOMY: IMF Sees Patchy Recovery Ahead

By Emad Mekay

Economic recovery in the United States will drive a global economic upturn later this year but the outlook will remain mixed for poor countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Thursday.

ECONOMY: Activists Gear Up for World Bank, IMF Talks

By Emad Mekay

Activist groups have scheduled dozens of events, including demonstrations, here through the coming weekend to express displeasure with world issues ranging from the global war on terror to user fees on water consumed in African villages.

DEVELOPMENT: World Bank Warns of African Aid, Trade Drought

By Emad Mekay

Foreign aid to Africa has fallen sharply and Western markets have remained closed to African exports, casting a pall over the economic prospects of million of people across the continent, the World Bank said Wednesday.

TRADE: U.S. Says Many Countries Blocking Free Trade

By Emad Mekay

The United States is complaining that several of its trading partners have imposed new trade barriers or are taking other measures that hamper free trade.

ECONOMY: Closures Devastate Palestine Territories-World Bank

By Emad Mekay

Israel's closure of Palestinian territories and its crackdown on the "Intifida" (uprising) have left the Palestinian economy near total collapse, says a World Bank report.

POLITICS-UNITED STATES: Muslims Blame Pro-Israel Lobby For Raids

By Emad Mekay

Leaders of Arab and Muslim communities in the United States have blamed what they call the "pro-Israel industry" for last week's raids on Muslim homes and businesses.

DEVELOPMENT: Bank’s Thailand Project Breaks Standards – Panel

By Emad Mekay

A team inspecting a controversial wastewater plant in Thailand has found that project backer the Asian Development Bank (ADB) breached several environmental and social standards.

DEVELOPMENT: Delight and Puzzlement Greet U.S. Aid Hike

By Emad Mekay

Anti-poverty campaigners said they were delighted by a White House announcement that U.S. aid would be increased by twice as much as President George W. Bush had indicated just last week.

FINANCE: Sierra Leone Debt Package Comes with Strings Attached

By Emad Mekay

Strife-torn Sierra Leone, one of the world's poorest countries, has become the latest to qualify for debt reliefso long as it enacts more pro-market measures.

DEVELOPMENT: U.S. Touts Aid Increase to Mixed Reviews

By Emad Mekay

U.S. President George W. Bush unveiled Thursday a his administration's plan to contribute five billion dollars over the next three budget years to developing countries, a move touted as the largest single aid increase in U.S. history.

ECONOMY-NIGERIA: IMF Sure To Wear Down Resistance – Analysts

By Emad Mekay

Nigeria's decision to withdraw from programmes agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a brave move that will not last against pressure from the economic powerhouse, analysts here say.

DEVELOPMENT: U.S. Official Says No Aid Promises For U.N. Meeting

By Emad Mekay

The United States will not commit itself to an increase in development aid at next week's international conference on financing for development, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

POLITICS: Mideast Anti-Globalisation Movement Looks for Partners

By Emad Mekay

When the streets of Genoa, Seattle and Washington teemed with anti-globalisation protestors, the streets of Cairo, Amman, Riyadh, and other Middle Eastern cities were silent. Here, it seems, the movement is as shy as governments are repressive.

FINANCE: Ghana Wins Debt Service Relief

By Emad Mekay

Ghana's creditors have agreed to write off 3.7 billion dollars of the country's external debt servicing on condition the government in Accra follow World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) prescriptions for economic restructuring.

ECONOMY: Mideast Extremism Attributed to Deprivation

By Emad Mekay

Economic failure and poverty nurture extremism in the Middle East, according to a new study by a leading U.S. think tank.

DEVELOPMENT: Bluster on Financing Set to Subside – Analysts

By Emad Mekay

The United States and European countries could arrive at common ground on development assistance despite having staked out very different territory in the run up to a global conference on financing for development, say analysts here.

DEVELOPMENT: Bluster on Financing Set to Subside – Analysts

By Emad Mekay

The United States and European countries could arrive at common ground on development assistance despite having staked out very different territory in the run up to a global conference on financing for development, say analysts here.