US Congress cuts aid

THE US Congress approval of less than the requested funding for the world's poorest countries has put the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank in trouble.

Though the Clinton administration had requested an annual contribution of $1.25 billion to meet its three-year commitment of $3.75 billion, the Congress approved only $1.02 billion, and that, too, for only two years. And, though World Bank officials tried to play down the significance of this development, they acknowledged that a problem would be created if the US did not live up to its commitment.