WASHINGTON, 26 APRIL: Emerging economies, including China and India, were given a greater voice at the World Bank, as member nations approved a slight shift of voting shares in favour of developing countries, while agreeing to raise more money for global aid.

Pallavi Aiyar / Brussels April 20, 2010, 1:26 IST

Vital talks between Greek officials, the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank were put off due to the havoc wreaked by Eyjafjallajokul

Could it be time to exhale?

The International Monetary Fund is working on proposals for amultibillion dollar "green fund" to help countries tap funds to deal with the effects of climate change, the head of the institution said on Saturday.

IMF plans kitty to help poor countries mitigate climate impact
Agencies DAVOS

Forty-eight hours after an earthquake devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, the first emergency assessment teams were yesterday still trying to establish just how many people had died.

The sketchy picture from the area underlined the mammoth task facing an international rescue mission that swung into action yesterday.

The knives are out in Copenhagen. Forget a global legal agreement on climate care, even getting an encouraging public posture by the world

The focus must be on consumption and not production patterns, and reducing per capita emissions of developed countries must be the first step.

George Soros, the billionaire financier, unveiled a plan yesterday to lend poor countries $100bn to deal with the threat of climate change.

The money would come from the International Monetary Fund, from financial instruments known as special drawing rights.