like a merger believe out in front of thank you. argentina the international monetary fund has reached an agreement for a three year fifty billion dollars standby credit arrangement the government says it sold financing to provide a safety net and avoid the frequent crises of argentina s past the i.m.f. board still has to approve the bailout loan. the deal marks a turning point for argentina for years argentina shunned the i.m.f. after the economic crisis of two thousand and one two thousand too many arjun times blamed that crisis on austerity measures which the i.m.f. had demanded and they took to the streets again in protest against president recently goshi ations with the fund tina requested i.m.f. assistance early last month after its peso currency weaken sharply in an investor exodus the chairman of the central bank and the finance minister announced the deal
for an end to the security crackdown. waiting for water levels to fall, for thousands of people forced out of their homes by the mississippi floods, life becomes a waiting game. and the disaster that rocked an economy to its foundations, japan sinks back into its third recession in a decade. dominique strauss-kahn has resigned as head of the international monetary fund to focus on clearing his name. his decision follows charges he tried to rape a hotel maid in new york. strauss-kahn denies the allegations but since he was arrested on saturday, he s come under increasing pressure to step down. one european minister said he should reflect on whether he was damaging the imf. just a few hours ago, strauss-kahn said this in a letter to the imf board, quote, i deny with the greatest possible firmness all the allegations against me. i want to protect the institution i have served with honor and devotion. and i want to devote all my
lisa stark, abc news, washington. the international monetary fund is looking for a new leader this morning now that dominique strauss-kahn has quit. in a letter to the imf board, strauss-kahn said he wanted to devote all of his energy to battle those sexual assault charge he faces in new york. defense lawyers will make another appeal for bail later today, proposing that strauss-kahn be confined to his daughter s apartment in manhattan for 24-hour monitoring. big day to see what happens in that situation. a new recording of osama bin laden made before his death surfaced. in this 12 minute tape, the al qaeda leader praised the revolt that was taking place in the arab world. analysts have found alarming new information as they sort through mounds of information found at the bin laden compound. karen travers joins us now from washington with more. hi, karen. reporter: good morning, rob, good morning, peggy. a senior official tells abc news this period is similar to the
as he fights sex assault charges here in new york. in a letter to the imf board, strauss-kahn denied allegations against him but did want to protect the organization. strauss-kahn will be back in court today making an appeal for bail. the voice of osama bin laden has been heard once again. a new tape by the al qaeda leader recorded days before his death has just been released. and new alarming information has been recovered from files found at his compound. here now is pierre thomas. reporter: a new bin laden tape from the grave as he tries to align himself with recent uprisings in tunisia and egypt. my muslim people, we watch closely what is going on in world today. we rejoice with your rejoicing and your pride. u.s. officials believe this is the same audio navy s.e.a.l.s recovered at bin laden s compound when he was killed. it is more evidence that bin laden was able to quickly get messages to operatives in the field. this comes as abc news learned that u.s. officials have
innocence. meanwhile, law enforcement officials took dna samples from the hotel suite. the accuser testified for the second day in a row to the grand your and remains in seclusion under police protection. there are suggestions that the defense team is preparing a defense that any sex would have been consensual. citing forensic evidence was not consistent with forcible encounter. i don t have the slightest doubt is that we can fulfill all our responsibilities, all our challenges in a completely adequate not just adequate. spear your way. reporter: the i.m.f. board will begin formal process to name a successor. many european leaders say the new chief should be chosen quickly and should be from europe. possible candidates include former british prime minister gordon brown and vince finance