The International Monetary Fund approved Friday the next installment of its massive loan to Ukraine despite uncertainty about the sustainability of the country's debt and its conflict with separatist forces.

The IMF executive board, which represents 188 member nations, gave a green light to the immediate disbursement of $1.7 billion, part of a support program awarded in March that has caused internal strains in the Washington-based institution.

The head of the failed Japan-based bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox was arrested in Tokyo on Saturday on suspicion of inflating his cash account by $1 million, authorities said.

Mark Karpeles, 30, is suspected of accessing the exchange's computer system in February 2013 and inflating his account, Japanese police said. If found guilty, the France-born Karpeles could face up to five years in prison, or a fine of up to 500,000 yen ($4,000).

Senior EU-IMF auditors on Friday held their first meetings with Greek ministers to finalize a new three-year bailout as the Athens stock market prepares to reopen after being shut down for over a month by the debt crisis.

Greece's main stock exchange in Athens will resume operations, which were halted on June 26 as the crisis-hit government imposed capital controls, on Monday, a finance ministry source told Agence France Presse.

Tens of thousands of working mothers have been sacked in Iran since the start of 2014 because employers found cheaper staff, an official said Friday, warning that a new maternity pay policy remains unfunded.

The comments highlight the financial pressures on families and on the Iranian government, despite this month's nuclear deal with world powers that could pave the way for an economic rebound.

Cash-trapped Ukraine moved a step closer Friday to avoiding a devastating default thanks to a new offer that would see its creditors accept a small debt write-off.

The proposal that sources said was submitted by Franklin Templeton and three other U.S. financial titans to Kiev this week is still far short of the bond value reduction sought by the war-torn former Soviet state.

Super tall, super skinny and super expensive: a new generation of New York skyscrapers, some taller than the Empire State building, are altering the world's most famous skyline.

And it's not just the masonry that's soaring to new heights. The prices have also gone stratospheric: three apartments sold recently for more than $100 million a piece.

Switzerland's central bank said Friday it lost a record 50 billion francs ($51 billion, 47 billion euros) in the first half of 2015, due mainly to the hefty depreciation of its foreign currency holdings.

The Swiss National Bank had been holding down the value of the franc for more than three years, but suddenly announced on January 15 that it was abandoning the minimum rate of 1.20 francs to a euro.

Controversial app-based taxi-hailing firm Uber plans to invest $1 billion in India over the next nine months, the company's local head said in a statement emailed to Agence France Presse on Friday.

Uber has endured a bumpy ride since it started operating in India two years ago, with a rape allegation against one of its drivers leading the New Delhi government to ban it.

Britain's state-rescued Lloyds Banking Group said on Friday that net profits rose by 31 percent in the first half, despite setting aside further funds for compensation for insurance mis-selling.

Earnings after tax rose to £874 million (1.245 million euros, $1.364 million) in the six months to June, and the company announced a dividend of 0.75 percent per share, amounting to £535 million.

Ukraine's finance ministry warned Thursday it could declare a technical default in two months should its lenders fail to accept less stringent repayment terms and a possible partial debt write-off.

The war-shattered state's words of caution came on the eve of a crucial Washington meeting at which the International Monetary Fund is expected to back the release of a new payment that would keep Ukraine's $40-billion (37-billion-euro) global rescue package live.