MIDEAST: Embargo Squeezes Palestinian Workers

The U.S.-Israeli embargo on Palestinians imposed in the aftermath of the electoral victory of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, in the occupied territories has lead to severe poverty and nonpayment of Palestinian workers, a new study by a U.S. pro-labour group says.

POLITICS: Donors Warned Against “Cheap” Development

International donors and especially powerful multilateral financial institutions like the World Bank have failed to reduce the number of so-called "fragile states", leaving more countries vulnerable to chaos, conflict, disease epidemics and even to becoming breeding grounds for terrorism, the World Bank's own auditing body said Thursday.

ECONOMY: IMF, World Bank Face Growing Pressure for Reforms

The state of the global economy and efforts to fine-tune the decision-making process at the World Bank and its sister institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to include a greater voice for developing nations will dominate the lenders' high-profile annual meetings in Singapore next week.

RIGHTS: Space for Dissent Narrows on Eve of Bank/IMF Meet

Singapore and Indonesia are moving to restrict planned activities and a conference by civil society groups that oppose the economic policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the two financial powerhouses that will be holding their high-profile annual meetings in Singapore later this month.

ECONOMY: World Bank “Reforms” Leave Labour Group Cold

The World Bank's flagship publication, which rates countries according to their adherence to its own economic prescriptions, has drawn fire from a major international labour group for promoting policies that it says primarily benefit rich nations and large corporations.

LEBANON: Critics Decry “Destroy and Lend” Policy

Lebanon is firmly en route to becoming the third nation in the Middle East after Iraq and the Palestinian territories to experience a devastating Washington-backed war and a massive influx of new illegitimate debt to cover reconstruction expenses, anti-debt activists say.

LEBANON: Critics Decry “Destroy and Lend” Policy

Lebanon is firmly en route to becoming the third nation in the Middle East after Iraq and the Palestinian territories to experience a devastating Washington-backed war and a massive influx of new illegitimate debt to cover reconstruction expenses, anti-debt activists say.

FINANCE-US: Executives Cash In on War and Oil Bonanza

Top oil and defence industry executives in the United States are raking in record personal profits on the backs of the U.S. wars following the terror attacks of Sep. 11, 2001 and sky-high oil prices, two think-tanks said Wednesday.

ENVIRONMENT: Triage for an Ailing Planet

The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the world's largest environmental funding body, received a shot in the arm Tuesday after 32 countries agreed to contribute a whopping 3.13 billion dollars for environmental projects over the next four years amid rising concerns about the impact human activities are having on the Earth.

ENVIRONMENT: Triage for an Ailing Planet

The Global Environment Facility (GEF), the world's largest environmental funding body, received a shot in the arm Tuesday after 32 countries agreed to contribute a whopping 3.13 billion dollars for environmental projects over the next four years amid rising concerns about the impact human activities are having on the Earth.

TRADE: GE Rice Scare Shows Vulnerability of Food Supply

The revelation that commercial rice in the United States was found to be contaminated with an unlicensed genetically engineered strain shows how easily the food supply in the United States and in countries importing U.S. food can be tainted, watchdog groups say.

ENERGY: World Bank Plan Still Favours “Clean” Fossil Fuels

A global energy plan to be released by the World Bank next month risks squandering scarce resources on so-called clean coal technologies and misses bigger investments in renewable energy, but does address gaps in the energy needs of the poor, according to a new analysis by an environmental group.

FINANCE: World Bank Revamp Needs Close Scrutiny, Groups Say

A World Bank plan to merge its environmental and social development units with the department that oversees large infrastructure investment could end up leaving the "wolf guarding the henhouse", a watchdog group says.

ECONOMY-US: Oil Field Closure Revives Energy Policy Debate

Despite rhetoric from Washington that the United States must wean itself from dependence on oil, the shutdown of a BP oil field in the state of Alaska has shown how far the country remains from that goal and the lack of a consensus on how beat to achieve it.

ECONOMY-US: Oil Field Closure Revives Energy Policy Debate

Despite rhetoric from Washington that the United States must wean itself from dependence on oil, the shutdown of a BP oil field in the state of Alaska has shown how far the country remains from that goal and the lack of a consensus on how beat to achieve it.

IRAQ: Corruption and Violence Slow Reconstruction – Audit

The much-touted U.S. reconstruction effort in Iraq is floundering under threats from rampant corruption and deteriorating security, a U.S. government watchdog says.

FINANCE: IMF Chief Previews New Focus on Poor Nations

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is moving to give poor nations greater say and representation on its board of directors and to refocus its work to help prevent financial crises in those nations.

PERU: Bank Signals More Funds for Problematic Pipeline

Critics of a controversial pipeline in the Amazon rainforest that has ruptured five times since its inception in 2004 are dismayed that the main public funder of the project is on the verge of giving more money for its second phase despite earlier promises to await the results of audits probing the pipeline's persistent leaks.

TRADE: Big Business Resists Defeat on WTO Talks

Despite the acrimonious collapse of an agreement on new global trade rules earlier this week, major European and U.S. business lobbies are joining forces to try and revive the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, whose complete failure could spell the loss of major market profits in developing nations.

TRADE: Cheers and Fears Follow Doha Collapse

With the breakdown Monday of the World Trade Organisation's multilateral talks in Geneva known as the Doha Round, anti-poverty and fair trade campaigners appear divided over the implications for developing nations.

MIDEAST: U.S. Turns to Arab Dictators to Contain Hezbollah

The United States is using authoritarian Arab leaders, who fear that Iran could export its revolutionary political model to their disgruntled populations and are concerned about Washington's reprisal against them a la Saddam Hussein in Iraq, as a buffer between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, Washington's protégé in the Middle East, analysts here say.