WASHINGTON - The IMF says Egypt's financial situation is deteriorating and the organization is awaiting updated economic information and reform plans from the government in Cairo before it can move ahead with a deal on a $4.8 billion loan. Egypt's negotiations with the IMF for the loan have dragged on for more than a year. The deal for the loan is expected to usher in widely unpopular austerity measures.

Greece is "making progress" in overcoming "deep-seated problems", the International Monetary Fund said on Monday, before adding that Athens must still find a way to get the economy growing again after years of recession. "Progress on fiscal adjustment has been exceptional by any international comparison," the IMF said in a regular report capping the visit of an audit team as part of the country's bailout programme. "Greece has also made a significant dent in its competitiveness gap," the report said.

The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved a $932 million loan program Monday for Jamaica aimed at helping the government begin cutting its borrowings and spark economic growth. The loan is part of a $2 billion package from the IMF, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank that aims to support a sweeping restructuring program for the impoverished Caribbean island nation. For its part, the IMF was immediately releasing an initial disbursement of $207 million from the four-year loan.

China committed more than $75 billion to Africa in the past decade, coming close to the level of US money although the nature of Beijing's support was far different, a study said Monday. The database released by the Center for Global Development aims to be the most comprehensive account yet of foreign assistance by China, which has faced criticism in Western countries suspicious of Beijing's motives.