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Monday, August 17, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
Eye on the IFIs
G20: China May Not Play Saviour
Against a backdrop of rising expectations that it holds the key to global economic recovery, China has sent a subtle signal that its economic health is frail and that external pressure to revalue its currency will cause more damage than good.
Fouls and Goals for Climate Change at World Cup
South Africa, where the FIFA Football World Cup is to kick off Jun. 11, has introduced cleaner transportation, while Brazil is planning ecological stadiums for the championship it will host in 2014. But these and other initiatives clash with the countries' overall environmental performance.
How to Spend Environmental Funds
The world's multilateral credit institutions have often faced the criticism that they cause more problems than they prevent. As the challenges increase, such as those posed by climate change, the debate is shifting to environmental financing.ROMANIA: Trade Unions Warn Against Unjustified Pay Cuts
Romania’s trade unions have warned that a series of protests against drastic cuts in pensions and salaries would turn into full-fledged general strikes by month-end unless the government heeded to the needs of ordinary people.FINANCE: Ecuador Wants Off the Money-Laundering List
"It sounds incredible, but it's just a matter of a letter that wasn't turned in on time," Ecuador's attorney general said in regards to the Financial Action Task Force decision to qualify the country as "posing a risk to the international financial system."
ECONOMY: Africa Has Less Say After Changes in World Bank Voting
The World Bank has described its recent increase of 3.13 percent in the voting power of emerging economies as a reform "to enhance voice and participation of developing and transition countries". But the shift has actually decreased a third of African countries’ share of votes.World Bank Boosts Commitment to Lower Maternal Mortality
The World Bank intends to ramp up spending on family-planning and related initiatives to reduce maternal mortality, improve reproductive health, and reduce fertility rates in nearly 60 developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new five-year plan released by the Bank here this week.
ICELAND: Int’l Arrest Warrant Against Top Bank Official
Vigorously pursuing those allegedly responsible for Iceland’s 2008 financial crisis, investigators have got issued an international arrest warrant against Sigurdur Einarsson, chairman of the board of governors of the failed Kaupthing Bank.Native Delegates Challenge Development Orthodoxy
While aboriginal peoples represent approximately five percent of the world's population, they are 10 percent of the world's poor, according to a new World Bank report on "Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Development".Civil Society Calls on World Bank to Reform its Energy Lending
Against the backdrop of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's spring meetings this weekend, numerous groups have chimed in on the need for and direction of a new World Bank energy strategy.Developing Nations Gain Clout at World Bank – Depending on Your Math
Developing countries will have a slightly larger say at the World Bank under an agreement reached at the institution's spring meetings this weekend. But some groups are challenging whether the shift in voting shares is as large as it should be - or as large as the bank says it is.“Radical Reform” Urged for Private-Sector Development Support
Policies and initiatives by multilateral development banks (MDBs) to support the private sector in developing countries need to be carefully reviewed and reformed to ensure they are reducing poverty and protecting human rights and the environment, according to a new report by a coalition of six major non-governmental organisations (NGOs).Crisis Trapping Millions More in Poverty
The global economic crisis is projected to hamper progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and will directly impact MDGs related to hunger, child and maternal health, gender equality, access to clean water and disease control, according to a report released Friday by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).Developing Countries Leading Economic Rebound
Led by growth in developing countries, the global economy is rebounding more quickly than expected, according to the latest 'World Economic Outlook' (WEO) released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) here Wednesday.IMF Backs Flat Tax to Defray Bailouts
Political momentum for a levy against the world's largest banks to repay governments for the cost of bank rescue packages during the global financial crisis has gained momentum with the leak of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report which calls for a set of taxes against the financial industry.EUROPE: IMF Tightening Control
One topic regularly addressed by the public relations industry is how to turn a crisis into an opportunity. Dominique Straus--Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, might offer a case study on rising to this challenge.Zoellick Sees End of “Third World”
The 2009 global financial crisis marked the definitive end of longstanding paradigms of the global economy and development, such as the "Third World" and "North-South", according to World Bank President Robert Zoellick.SOUTH AFRICA: Coal Plant Won’t Promote Development, Say Groups
As the World Bank approved a controversial three-billion-dollar loan for a coal-fired power plant in South Africa Thursday, both the details and the broader impacts of the loan continue to be criticised by community and environmental groups.ENERGY: Bank-Funded Coal Plant Tests Green Agenda
Decision-makers around the world are in a period of transition when it comes to the future of supplying energy. Even if everyone agrees that a low carbon future is the inevitable solution, there is nothing close to consensus regarding which path to take.
Q&A: Exposing the “Clandestine Passengers of Globalisation”
Between 30 and 40 percent of taxes that should be collected by developing countries end up in countries operating as tax havens. Overall, these "clandestine passengers of globalisation" contribute to capital flight from developing countries to the tune of 1,000 billion dollars a year.FINANCE: IMF Proposes 100-Billion-Dollar Climate Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published the first details of a proposed financing framework, dubbed the 'Green Fund', intended to mobilise 100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to help developing countries cope with the consequences of climate change and mitigate further emissions.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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.
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Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
Tracking global progress towards a sustainable world
