Europe, International Monetary Fund | featured news

Italy and Spain have not asked to be rescued by the International Monetary Fund, the head of the lender said on Monday as she urged European leaders to quickly solve the region's festering debt crisis.

THE warning was clear: Greece was spiraling out of control. But the alarm, sounded in mid-2009, in a draft report from the International Monetary Fund, never reached the outside world. Greek officials saw the draft and complained to the I.M.F. So the final report, while critical, played down the risks that Athens might one day default, with disastrous consequences for all of Europe.

European officials have rejected key recommendations from the United States and the International Monetary Fund, casting doubt on whether an emerging plan to address the region’s financial crisis will be as broad or fast acting as hoped.

After investigating a complaint filed against former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, in which a journalist accused him of attempting to rape her in 2003, French prosecutors said there was a lack of sufficient evidence to file charges.

The International Monetary Fund is sharply downgrading its outlook for the U.S. economy through 2012 because of weak growth and concern that Europe won't be able to solve its debt crisis.

Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn was believed to be heading to his native France.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn apologized to the institution's staff in his first return visit since charges of sexual assault against him were dropped last week.

Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexually assaulted a housekeeper in a "violent and sadistic attack" in his hotel suite in Manhattan in May, a civil lawsuit filed on Monday alleges.

If the New York sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn ever goes to trial, much will doubtless be made of his accuser’s background. But what about his? Since his New York arrest, a French writer has brought a criminal complaint in Paris about an attempted rape she says she suffered at Strauss-Kahn’s hands in 2003. The New York prosecutors made an apparent allusion to her claim at Strauss-Kahn’s first court appearance in May.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board on Friday said it approved a disbursement of about 3.2 billion euros to help Greece pay debts due this month.