News stories by Aprille Muscara*

The shutdown was surprisingly swift and almost total. In the midst of a popular revolution — one that was blogged, YouTubed, and Twittered in minute-by-minute cyber blasts — the Egyptian regime tightened its Internet spigot in late January, choking the free flow of information down to a trickle.

Finance ministers of the G24 group of developing and emerging countries met on the sidelines the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings here on Thursday, warning against continued risks to their economies, despite largely 'strong' growth as the world climbs out of the global financial crisis.

As the World Bank and International Monetary Fund convene for their annual Spring Meetings here, soaring food prices are high on the agenda, prompting some analysts to fast-forward to 2050 and the question of how to nourish the mid-century's estimated world population of 8.9 billion people — the majority of whom will live in developing countries.

On the eve of a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos here on Thursday, the White House announced that a deal has been reached on key labour issues upholding the countries' stalled bilateral trade pact.

As Cote d'Ivoire enters its fourth month of post-election violence with intensified fighting and bloodshed, the White House is defending its efforts thus far to shepherd a solution to the stalemate between incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, the internationally-recognised winner of last fall's elections.

As the Arab world continues to pitch and heave with flashes of popular uprisings here and sparks of brutal crackdowns there, analysts are painting a grim picture of the regional unrest's economic consequences, predicting the persistence of high oil prices in the coming years.

As popular protests escalated in some restive Arab countries Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama criticised the regime- sanctioned blood- letting of innocent demonstrators mobilising against government corruption and repression.