World Bank
FILE - This April 5, 2021 file photo shows the World Bank building in Washington. The World Bank is upgrading the outlook for global growth this year, predicting that COVID-19 vaccinations and massive government stimulus in rich countries will power the fastest worldwide expansion in nearly five decades. In its latest Global Economic Prospects report, out Tuesday, June 8, the 189-country anti-poverty agency forecasts that the world economy will grow 5.6% this year, up from the 4.1% it forecast in January. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
World Bank sees 5.6% global growth in 2021, best since 1973

By Paul Wiseman Jun. 08, 2021 09:33 AM EDT

Bahrain offers Pfizer booster for some who got Chinese shots

By Jon Gambrell Jun. 03, 2021 08:00 AM EDT
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Bahrain has begun offering a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for some people, six months after they...

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2020 file photo, anti-government protesters smash a bank widow during protests against the Lebanese central bank's governor and against the deepening financial crisis, at Hamra trade street, in Beirut, Lebanon. The World Bank said in a report released on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, that Lebanon's severe economic and financial crisis is likely to rank as one of the worst the world has seen in more than 150 years. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)
World Bank: Lebanon's crisis among world's worst since 1850s

By Bassem Mroue Jun. 01, 2021 05:46 AM EDT

An anti-government protester holds lit flares while shouting slogans during a protest against the rising prices and worsening economic and financial conditions, in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 12, 2021. Lebanon’s parliament on Friday approved a $246 million loan from the World Bank that would provide cash assistance for more than 160,000 families in the small country hit by an unprecedented economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic. The Arabic on the wall reads "All means all." (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Lebanese parliament approves World Bank loan to help poor

By Bassem Mroue Mar. 12, 2021 11:56 AM EST

A man carries his empty oxygen tank to be filled after arriving at the head of the line, in the Villa El Salvador neighborhood of Lima, early Thursday morning, Feb. 18, 2021. A crisis over the supply of medical oxygen for coronavirus patients has struck in Africa and Latin America, where warnings went unheeded at the start of the pandemic and doctors say the shortage has led to unnecessary deaths. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Medical oxygen scarce in Africa, Latin America amid virus

By Carley Petesch And Lori Hinnant Feb. 25, 2021 02:23 AM EST

A man waits his turn to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during a nationwide vaccination campaign, at the Saint George Hospital, in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. Lebanon launched its inoculation campaign after receiving the first batch of the vaccine — 28,500 doses from Brussels with more expected to arrive in the coming weeks. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
World Bank threatens to suspend vaccine funding to Lebanon

By Bassem Mroue Feb. 23, 2021 07:38 AM EST

A medical staffer holds a vial of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during a nationwide vaccination program at the American University Medical Center in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2021. (AP Photo / Bilal Hussein)
Lebanon administers 1st vaccines to health workers, elderly

By Sarah El Deeb Feb. 14, 2021 05:46 AM EST

Workers stand next to boxes of the first shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 after it arrived at the Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021. (AP Photo / Bilal Hussein)
First batch of Pfizer vaccines arrive in Lebanon

Feb. 13, 2021 12:35 PM EST

A medical staffer checks the data of a COVID-19 patient on a screen at the intensive care unit of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, Jan. 22, 2021. Hospitals in Lebanon are reaching full capacity amid a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases across the crisis-hit Mediterranean nation even amid strict lockdown. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Top Lebanese hospitals fight exhausting battle against virus

By Fay Abuelgasim Jan. 22, 2021 12:26 PM EST

Editorial Roundup: West Virginia

By The Associated Press Jan. 13, 2021 10:47 AM EST
Recent editorials from West Virginia newspapers: ___ Jan. 12 News and Sentinel on reforming West...

FILE - In this, July 19, 2020 file photo, a homeless woman sleeps on a bench on the Mediterranean Sea corniche in Beirut, Lebanon. The World Bank has approved a $246 million loan to Lebanon to provide emergency cash assistance to nearly 800,000 Lebanese reeling under the country’s compounded economic and health crises. The World Bank said in a statement late Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021, that the loan would also support the development of a national social safety net in Lebanon. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
World Bank approves cash assistance to crisis-struck Lebanon

By Sarah El Deeb Jan. 13, 2021 05:42 AM EST

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 2019 file photo, World Bank President David Malpass speaks during a news conference at the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Washington. The World Bank on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2021 forecast that the global economy will see a subdued recovery this year from a devastating pandemic but warned that the near-term outlook is highly uncertain and growth could be harmed if infections keep rising and the rollout of vaccines is delayed.(AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
World Bank sees subdued recovery in 2021 and plenty of risk

By Martin Crutsinger Jan. 05, 2021 12:42 PM EST

French President Emmanuel Macron makes introductory remarks during a visio-conference meeting about support and aid for Lebanon, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020. France is hosting an international video conference on humanitarian aid for Lebanon amid political deadlock in Beirut that has blocked billions of dollars in assistance for the cash-strapped country. (Ian Langsdon, Pool via AP)
France and UN rally aid for Lebanon, urge political reforms

By Zeina Karam And Sylvie Corbet Dec. 02, 2020 05:21 AM EST

A cat sits next to a homeless woman sleeping on the Mediterranean Sea corniche in Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, July 19, 2020. Lebanon should quickly form a reform-minded government to carry out badly needed reforms to help get the tiny country out of its severe economic crisis where the Real GDP growth is projected to contract nearly 20% in 2020 and a crash in local currency led to triple-digit inflation rates, the World Bank said Tuesday. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
World Bank warns of 'prolonged depression' in Lebanon

By Bassem Mroue Dec. 01, 2020 05:17 AM EST

Palestinians walk past closed stores near the Church of the Nativity, traditionally believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the West Bank City of Bethlehem, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. The Palestinian economy is expected to contract by about 8% in 2020 as it copes with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, an already struggling economy and political standoff with Israel, the World Bank said in a report Tuesday, Nov 24, 2020. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
World Bank: Palestinian economy to contract 8% in 2020

Nov. 24, 2020 12:44 PM EST

An election official wearing a biohazard suit, for protection against the COVID-19 infection, holds a mobile ballot box as an elderly lady casts her vote in the presidential elections in Hrusova, Moldova, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020. Moldovans returned to the polls Sunday for the second round of voting in the country's presidential election, facing a choice between the staunchly pro-Russian incumbent and his popular pro-Western challenger after former prime minister, Maia Sandu, who beat the odds to win the first round on November 1 with over 36 percent of to vote, leaving the incumbent, President Igor Dodon, trailing her by over 3.5 points. (AP Photo/Roveliu Buga)
Pro-Western candidate wins Moldovan presidential election

Nov. 16, 2020 05:02 AM EST

World Bank: 5.2% decrease in MENA economies expected in 2020

Oct. 19, 2020 12:23 PM EDT
CAIRO (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic and a collapse in oil prices have affected all aspects of the Middle East and North Africa, with the region’s economies...

FILE - In this Friday, July 10, 2020 file photo, health workers wearing protective clothing arrive to screen people for COVID-19 symptoms at a slum in Mumbai, India. Up to 150 million people could slip into extreme poverty, living on less than $1.90 a day, by late next year depending on how badly economies shrink during the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Bank said Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020 in an outlook grimmer than before. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)
Up to 150 million could join extreme poor, World Bank says

By Cara Anna Oct. 07, 2020 12:41 PM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event on manufacturing and buying American-made products at UAW Region 1 headquarters in Warren, Mich. On Friday, Sept. 11, 2020, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting Biden wants to introduce a 3% annual federal tax on your home. But nothing in Biden’s tax plan indicates homeowners would be subject to an additional 3% federal property tax. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

The Associated Press Sep. 11, 2020 04:07 PM EDT

Mother of two Amsale Hailemariam, a domestic worker who lost work because of the coronavirus, stands in her small tent in the capital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, June 26, 2020. Decades of progress in one of modern history's greatest achievements, the fight against extreme poverty, are now in danger of slipping away due to the coronavirus and the world could see the first global increase in extreme poverty in 22 years, further sharpening inequality. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)
Extreme poverty rises; a generation sees a future slip away

By Elias Meseret And Cara Anna Aug. 10, 2020 01:33 AM EDT