Watches Kyrgyz vote in landmark poll amid fears of violence

Kyrgyz vote in landmark poll amid fears of violence


Poll organisers are hoping the vote goes without a hitch
People in Kyrgyzstan are voting in a landmark parliamentary election, the first since 400 people died in inter-ethnic violence.

Twenty-nine parties fielding over 3,000 candidates are competing for 120 seats.

Six or seven parties are expected to dominate, although none is expected to easily win a majority of seats.

Authorities have vowed that the elections will take place without a renewal of the violence that hit the south of the country in June.

Continue reading the main story
Kyrgyzstan Turmoil

Desperate flight of ethnic Uzbeks
Kyrgyzstan's anger boils over
Kyrgyzstan vote: 'We need change'
Q&A: Kyrgyzstan's ethnic violence
Polling stations across the country opened at 0800 local time (0200 GMT) and will close at 2000 (1400 GMT).

The BBC's Rayhan Demetrie, in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, says the level of participation and the unpredictability of the outcome make the election significantly different from every other election that has ever taken place in Central Asia.

The vote is the first to be held under a new constitution adopted in a June referendum that changed the form of government from a presidential system to a parliamentary democracy.

The country's former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted following a popular uprising in April.
Coppied by http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11508349

conference IMF meets amid threat of currency war

IMF meets amid threat of currency war


WASHINGTON (AFP) – The specter of a damaging global currency war is set to dominate a meeting of economic powers in Washington Friday, amid bleak hopes for a deal between China, the United States and other powers.
Finance ministers and central bankers from 187 countries will convene for an annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund amid warnings that beggar-thy-neighbor policies could wreck the global recovery.
With the recovery still painfully slow, recent weeks have seen a range of countries from Japan to Colombia intervene to stop their currencies from rising to levels that would make exports prohibitively expensive.
But the summit is set to be dominated by a long running and increasingly antagonistic dispute between the United States and Beijing -- whose weak yuan policies are accused of slowing the global recovery and hurting American jobs.
While the US Congress moves toward slapping retaliatory sanctions on Chinese goods, Washington has ratcheted up the pressure by hinting that China may not be allowed a bigger say at the IMF unless the currency issue is resolved.
US officials are adamant that the IMF meetings should address the need for "market oriented exchange rates" and a fundamental "rebalancing" of the global economy.
On the eve of the meeting IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said there was no "formal" link between the two issues, but the United States was "right" to call for reform.
"I think it is right to insist on the fact that the more an emerging country will have a voice and representation in the fund, the more they have a responsibility in the stability of the system."
"You can be at the center of the system, or you can be at the border of the system. But if you want to be at the center of the system... it goes with having more responsibility."
China has rebuffed pressure to lift the value of the yuan, fearing it would put Chinese businesses at risk.
Meanwhile European officials said a rapidly rising euro, victimized by an undervalued US dollar and Chinese yuan, could threaten eurozone recovery and vowed to press both Washington and Beijing to take action.
India warned that imbalances in the global economy have become "unsustainable" but called on major economies to avoid confrontation to avert a feared currency war.
On Thursday Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, speaking ahead of a meeting of top economic policymakers in Washington, said that building an international consensus was the best way forward.
But reaching that consensus appears to be an uphill struggle.
Youssef Boutros-Ghali, who heads the International Monetary Fund's steering committee, said a quick agreement on currency exchange rates was unlikely.
When asked if action before next month's G20 summit in Seoul was feasible, Boutros-Ghali said "this late in the game, no. But in the coming three to six months, yes absolutely."
Some are pressing for quicker action. The IMF has warned that rich and emerging economies must dramatically change the way they trade with each other or risk throttling the recovery.
In its latest economic outlook, the IMF said growth would slow more than previously expected in 2011, as the United States, Europe and Japan continue to struggle and China remains overly dependent on exports.
Wading into sensitive political waters, the IMF said China must allow its currency to strengthen to boost domestic demand and reduce its reliance on exports.
"To the extent that a stronger Chinese currency eases this process, other surplus countries in the region could follow suit, which would facilitate the needed shift towards domestic sources of growth."
As part of that rebalancing IMF members are also expected to discuss how to reform decision-making at the fund, giving more say to emerging and developing economies.
Europe, seen as a major loser from the reshuffle, has been reluctant to reduce its voting share or representation on the IMF's decision-making board.
European finance ministers last week agreed to review representation at the Washington-based international lender, but attached significant conditions.
Coppied by http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101008/bs_afp/imfeconomyforex

Watch this Aston Martin sells assets and trading rights amid 30% sales drop

Aston Martin sells assets and trading rights amid 30% sales drop


Aston Martin's owners, Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund, Investment Dar, has raised £18.4m from sale of some assets. Photograph Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images

The Kuwaiti owners of the luxury British carmaker Aston Martin have embarked on a sale of the carmaker's assets and rights after reporting a 30% slump in sales last year.

Kuwaiti sovereign wealth fund Investment Dar has sold off some of the Warwickshire-based car maker's land and buildings, the distribution rights to sell cars in the Middle East and North Africa and the right to use the name in merchandise such as clothing.

Investment Dar bought a majority stake in company from Ford for about £500m in 2007, using a £200m loan from WestLB bank which is repayable in 2015.

Aston Martin's accounts, seen by the Guardian, reported a pre-tax profit of £6.9m for 2009, a fall of 20% from the previous year. The company said it had slightly increased its market share – by 0.2% – because sales by all luxury car makers fell 32% last year when the global economic downturn was at its most severe.

The accounts also show that the cost of servicing its debt is rising and that £4.5m was spent on advisers fees when it refinanced last year.

The company slashed its spending on research and development by more than half last year, to less than £13m. Analysts said it typically costs hundreds of millions of pounds to launch a new model.

Tim Urquhart, from IHS Global Insight, said: "Admittedly 2009 was a terrible year for most car manufacturers. But it's a question of what damage has been done to the balance sheet while riding out the storm. Unless Aston Martin finds another substantial partner they will struggle to launch a brand new range. They are still using a lot of the technology developed by Ford. Perhaps Investment Dar, which acquired Aston Martin at the peak of the boom in the ultra-premium car market, is starting to find this out."

Investment Dar, which had to restructure its investments in March because of the credit crunch, had been rumoured to be looking to sell its 51% stake in Aston Martin last year.

More recently, David Richards, Aston Martin chairman, said the company could bring on board a partner to access new technology and investment to help launch new models.
Coppied by http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/oct/06/aston-martin-asset-sale

last impose Fresh curfews amid Jamaica unrest

The last curfew was imposed during a manhunt for Christopher Coke earlier this year [File: EPA]
Watches this Fresh curfews amid Jamaica unrest
Jamaican authorities have imposed new curfews in the west of the capital, Kingston, after 10 people were killed in gang violence and a shootout with police.

Residents in four neighbourhoods, including the city of Spanish Town, have been ordered to stay in their homes until late on Sunday.

The order applies to Tredegar Park, where police say gang members killed eight people, including an 11-year-old girl, in attacks on two homes early on Friday.

Police then shot dead two suspected gunmen, who they said were known members of the Clansman gang, which is involved in an ongoing bitter turf war with the One Order gang over drugs and arms.

Last year, dozens of Tredegar Park residents fled their homes during gang clashes before soldiers arrived and arrested about 100 people.

A state of public emergency imposed during the manhunt for drug lord Christopher "Dudus" Coke in May was only recently lifted.

IN DEPTH


Profile: Christopher Coke
Music and murder
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Extraditing Coke
Video: Praising a drug lord
The alleged drug kingpin sparked a mini-war, which left at least 76 people dead, as he tried to elude capture.

Coke, 42, is currently being held in the United States to face charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine and conspiracy to illegally traffic in firearms.

US prosecutors describe him as the leader of the "Shower Posse" that murdered hundreds of people during the cocaine wars of the 1980s.

Jamaica is the largest producer of marijuana in the Caribbean region. Gangs tied to the trade have become powerful organised-crime networks involved in international gun smuggling.

The drug trade has also fuelled one of the world's highest murder rates, with Jamaica experiencing about 1,660 homicides last year among a population of just 2.8 million people.
Coppied by http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/08/2010814221723417708.html