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Cyprus's economy is adjusting following the 2013 recession, which was "not as severe as anticipated", the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said.

"Signs of stabilisation are emerging in the banking sector," said the IMF in a report.

Cyprus agreed to a 10bn-euro ($13.8bn; £8.3bn) bailout with the European Union and the IMF last year.

Cyprus's second-largest lender - Laiki Bank - was closed down.

Although the recession was not as severe as expected, there may be more pain to come, warned the IMF.

WASHINGTON — The World Bank announced Tuesday that it is doubling its potential lending to so-called middle-income countries like China, India and Brazil, adding about $100 billion in new financing capacity over the next decade.

The move will bolster the resources available to the fast-growing developing countries where most of the world’s poorest people live, and comes while the bank is undergoing a sweeping reorganization.

LONDON — After three weeks of urgent negotiations with the interim government of Ukraine and in an atmosphere of great power competition, the International Monetary Fund announced on Thursday an agreement to provide up to $18 billion in loans over two years to prevent the country’s default.

The IMF has just released to the general public its new toolkit for assessing public debt sustainability in countries that have access to international capital markets.

The tool improves upon the IMF’s previous method of evaluating how much public debt emerging market and advanced economies can safely carry. The new approach takes a more holistic view, assessing the level and trajectory of debt, government financing needs, and vulnerabilities in the debt structure.

Senate Democrats will remove provisions from a proposed aid package for Ukraine that would change how the United States provides money for the International Monetary Fund in order to ensure quicker passage of the measure, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats, bowing to united House Republican opposition, dropped reforms of International Monetary Fund governance from a Ukraine aid package on Tuesday, handing President Obama an embarrassing defeat as he huddled in Europe with allies who have already ratified the changes.

The monetary fund language would have enlarged the Ukraine loan package while finally ratifying changes dating to 2010 that only the United States has opposed. Mr. Obama himself negotiated those changes, and European allies conferring with him on Ukraine have been pressing for American action.

The Crimean referendum will increase the urgency for the US Congress to approve America’s aid package for Ukraine, which is being held up by a political clash over quota reform at the International Monetary Fund.

A Senate bill to provide $1bn in loan guarantees to Ukraine was approved by the foreign relations committee last week but still needs to be voted on by the full upper chamber, before moving on to the House of Representatives.

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The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved an aid package for Ukraine that will face opposition from Republicans over changes in U.S. funding for the International Monetary Fund.

The Democratic-led panel voted 14-3 today for a bill that would give Ukraine $1 billion in loan guarantees it’s seeking as Russian forces occupy the Crimean peninsula. It also would authorize sanctions against Ukrainians and Russians deemed responsible for corruption and violence.