The OECD called today for financial sector reforms to combat inequality and lift economic growth in developed nations.
	The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a policy body comprising 34 advanced economies, cited data stretching back 50 years in a key report unveiled in the British capital.
	"Reforms to make the financial sector more stable can be expected to boost long-term economic growth and improve income equality," read the OECD study entitled "Finance and Inclusive Growth".
	The Paris-based OECD said the sector would make a "healthy contribution" to "strong and equitable growth" if it could "prevent credit overexpansion" and ensure "supervision of banks to maintain sufficient capital buffers".
	Credit has a more negative impact on economic growth when it is given to households rather than businesses, according to the analysis.
	The OECD also criticised excessive financial deregulation, the use of bank lending rather than bond financing, and the deterioration .

OECD urges global finance reforms to fight inequality

PTI Automatic

Microsoft announced a management shakeup today, including the departure of Stephen Elop, the former Nokia chief who came on board with the US giant's acquisition of the Finnish firm's handset unit.
	Elop, 51, came to Microsoft as part of the deal unveiled in 2013 to buy the mobile phone unit of the Finland-based tech group.
	It was the second stint at Microsoft for the Canadian national, hired as chief executive by Nokia in 2010 in a bid to revitalize the group's smartphone efforts.
	At one point, Elop had been rumored as a potential candidate for CEO at Microsoft.
	In the shakeup announced by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Elop will be replaced as head of the firm's "Windows and Devices Group" by Terry Myerson.
	Myerson will lead a newly formed team "focused on enabling more personal computing experiences powered by the Windows ecosystem."
	"We are aligning our engineering efforts and capabilities to deliver on our strategy and, in particular, our three core ambitions," said ...

Former Nokia chief Elop out in Microsoft shakeup

Asian Football Conference general secretary Alex Soosay has resigned, the regional body announced today, amid allegations he was involved in a cover-up during the reign of scandal-tainted former boss Mohamed bin Hammam.
     "Alex Soosay has tendered his resignation as AFC General Secretary with immediate effect," the Kuala Lumpur-based AFC said in a statement.
     Soosay, a former coach and Malaysian international midfielder, was suspended last month pending a probe into allegations he tried to obstruct a 2012 audit of AFC accounts.
     The investigation was triggered by the emergence in April of a videotaped interview in which an AFC official said Soosay asked him to "tamper (with) or hide" documents during the audit.
     PriceWaterhouseCoopers had been brought in to carry out the audit following claims that Bin Hammam, now banned for life from football worldwide, was guilty of financial wrongdoing during his 2002-2011 AFC presidency.
     The documents Soosay was accused of ...

AFC general secretary quits after 'cover up' claims

Britain is to provide staff and other support for an Italian intelligence unit working on moves to resolve Europe's migration crisis, Prime Minister David Cameron said today.
	Speaking after a working lunch with Italian premier Matteo Renzi at the World Expo in Milan, Cameron said the two countries agreed on the need for a "comprehensive" approach to a crisis which has caused a deepening rift between Italy and its EU partners.
	Britain is one of the countries refusing to have anything to do with proposals to ease the strains caused by unprecedented numbers of migrants arriving by sea in Italy and Greece by distributing 40,000 refugees around Europe over the next two years.
	But Cameron insisted Britain was doing its bit through the operation of Royal Navy ships rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean and by increasing aid to countries in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, where many of the 220,000 migrants who have landed in Italy in the last 18 months originate.
	"We need a ...

Britain to support Italy intelligence effort on migrants

France's Ecology Minister Segolene Royal apologised today for telling people not to eat Nutella because it contributed to deforestation and climate change.
	"A thousand apologies for the row over Nutella," she wrote on her official Twitter account.
	The mea culpa related to comments she made on French television on Monday, when she said "we should stop eating Nutella... Because it's made with palm oil" -- an ingredient that ensures the soft but not liquid consistency of the popular chocolate-hazelnut spread.
	In the interview, she argued that oil palm plantations were supplanting forests, leading to deforestation and causing "considerable damage to the environment".
	Those assertions drew fire from Italy, where Ferrero, the company that makes Nutella, is based.
	Ferrero stressed all its palm oil -- which comes mainly from Malaysia -- is sourced in a responsible way.
	Italian politicians and media broadened the attack on what they saw as an unimpeachable national product.
	"Segolene ...

French minister apologises after sparking Nutella row

In rare comments on Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya Muslims, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged caution on granting citizenship to minorities, saying the sensitive issue must be addressed "very, very carefully."
	The Myanmar government is reviewing citizenship status and "should go about it very quickly and very transparently and then decide what the next steps in the process should be," she told The Washington Post.
	But in an interview published online late yesterday, Suu Kyi dodged a direct question on whether the Rohingya -- who have triggered international outcry as they flee the country on rickety boats in their thousands -- should be given citizenship.
	"The protection of rights of minorities is an issue which should be addressed very, very carefully and as quickly and effectively as possible, and I'm not sure the government is doing enough about it," she said.
	"It is such a sensitive issue, and there are so many racial and religious groups, that whatever we do to one ...

Suu Kyi says Rohingya issue needs careful handling

Brazilian businessman Jose Margulies, wanted by the FBI over the FIFA corruption scandal, is in Brazil and preparing his defense to avoid extradition, his lawyer said today.
	Margulies, a broadcasting executive, is of Argentine origin but obtained Brazilian citizenship more than 40 years ago.
	He is one of 14 people indicted by the US Justice Department over what it calls a culture of systemic corruption at world football's governing body dating back 20 years and responsible for some USD 150 million in bribes and kickbacks, including vote-selling in awarding World Cup venues.
	Specifically, the Justice Department says Margulies is suspected of having served as an intermediary to facilitate illicit payments between sports marketing executives and FIFA officials.
	He is among the last of the 14 indicted people who remain free. Others have been arrested or turned themselves in.
	Margulies is seeking protection under a Brazilian law that bars the government from extraditing naturalized ...

Businessman wanted in FIFA scandal hunkers down in Brazil

The suspected mastermind of an attack on a Paris Jewish restaurant in 1982 that left six people dead and 22 injured has been arrested in Jordan, a source close to the case said today.
	Zuhair Mohamad Hassan Khalid al-Abassi, alias "Amjad Atta", was one of three men for whom France issued an international arrest warrant earlier this year.
	Overall, between three and five men are thought to have taken part in the attack, which was blamed on the Abu Nidal Organisation, a Palestinian militant group.
	The other two main suspects in the 1982 attack have been named as Mahmoud Khader Abed Adra, alias "Hicham Harb", who lives in Ramallah in the West Bank, and Walid Abdulrahman Abu Zayed, alias "Souhail Othman", a resident of Norway.
	The Abu Nidal Organisation, officially known as the Fatah-Revolutionary Council, was considered one of the most ruthless of the Palestinian militant groups.
	"Amjad Atta" is thought to have been the number three in the group's "special operations committee".
	The .

Suspected mastermind of Jewish restaurant attack held

Britain's Prince Charles and his wife Camilla today unveiled a memorial to the allied soldiers who defeated French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's forces at the Battle of Waterloo two hundred years ago.
	The royal couple visited the renovated Hougoumont farmhouse where allied forces fought off a bloody French advance on June 18, 1815, in one of the most decisive moments in the battle.
	Charles, who is heir to the throne, unveiled a statue of two life-size soldiers closing the farm's north gates to commemorate the British, Prussian, Dutch and Belgian soldiers who died.
	The event is the opening salvo in a series of commemorations of the Battle of Waterloo, including a ceremony on tomorrow and two days of battle re-enactments on Friday and Saturday.
	Historians said up to 2,500 men died in the fighting at Hougoumont, where 7,000 troops led by the emperor's brother General Jerome Bonaparte launched wave after wave of attack.
	But the British and Prussian forces led by the Duke of Wellington 

Prince Charles unveils Waterloo memorial in Belgium

The Palestinian unity government resigned today in a deepening rift with Gaza as the blockaded territory's de facto rulers Hamas held separate, indirect talks with Israel.
	An aide to president Mahmud Abbas said prime minister Rami Hamdallah "handed his resignation to Abbas", but confusion reigned over when the government was likely to dissolve.
	It was also unclear what the next cabinet might look like, reflecting the chaotic period for Palestinian politics.
	Discussions on forming a new government would include consultations with the various Palestinian factions, including the Islamist Hamas, aide Nimr Hammad said.
	The government of technocrats was formed last year to replace rival administrations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
	"The government will continue to function until we have a new one," a Palestine Liberation Organisation official said before the official resignation.
	"I think what's coming now is the formation of a government with politicians, not a government of ..

Palestinian split widens as unity government quits

Syrian refugees in Turkey began returning to their homes in Tal Abyad today after Kurdish forces seized the border town in a major blow to the Islamic State group.
	Some 400 men, women and children carrying their meagre possessions crossed back into Syria through the Turkish border post of Akcakale, a day after Kurdish fighters backed by Syrian rebels took Tal Abyad.
	The fight for the town prompted some 23,000 people to flee into Turkey, and the first returnees said Wednesday they were eager to get back home.
	"I'm returning. I left my husband there. But I'm still very afraid of the bombs, how would someone not be afraid of bombs?" said Fahriye, a 40-year-old housewife.
	"I'm also afraid of IS coming back," she said.
	"I'll go and decide with my family whether we'll stay or not."
	Mahmud, a farmer, said he too was eager to return home ahead of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins Thursday.
	"It's not so good here... It's not like home," he told AFP.
	"We want to spend ...

Syria refugees return to border town after IS defeat

Washington and Madrid signed a deal today setting up a permanent force of 2,200 US Marines based in southern Spain who can be swiftly deployed to crises in Africa.
	The US already has a rapid reaction force of about 800 troops at Moron de la Frontera, near Seville, who were deployed temporarily in the wake of the 2012 attack on a US mission in Benghazi, eastern Libya.
	Four Americans, including the ambassador Chris Stevens, were killed when dozens of armed militants stormed the compound and a nearby CIA facility in an hours-long gunbattle, which triggered protests that no US troops could be deployed fast enough to help them.
	"The deployment at the Moron base will be made permanent with a force of 2,200 military personnel and 500 civilian staff plus 26 aircraft," Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said late last month.
	Top US diplomat John Kerry had been due to sign the deal on his first trip to the country as secretary of state in May.
	But he fell while ...

US, Spain sign deal on permanent base for Africa force

Online encyclopedia Wikipedia was today awarded Spain's Princess of Asturias award for international cooperation.
	The award foundation hailed the website as an "important example of international, democratic, open and participatory cooperation -- to which thousands of people of all nationalities contribute selflessly -- that has managed to make universal knowledge available to everyone".
	Founded by US entrepreneur Jimmy Wales in 2001, Wikipedia has 35 million articles in 288 languages. It is written by volunteers around the world and its articles are edited by registered users.
	It has been run since 2003 by a non-profit organisation, the Wikipedia Foundation, which is headquartered in San Francisco in the United States.
	Wikipedia receives about 500 million single visits a month making it one of the 10 most visited websites in the world, according to the award foundation.
	The 50,000-euro (USD 54,000) award is one of eight prizes handed out yearly by a foundation named after ...

Wikipedia wins top Spanish prize for international cooperation

Egypt has granted presidential pardons to 165 people jailed under a controversial law governing the right to protest, a statement from the presidency said today.
	However, the list does not include any figures from the 2011 revolt that drove Hosni Mubarak from power and who were imprisoned under the law in a move that caused uproar among international human rights groups.
	The 165, "convicted in trials for breaking the law on demonstrations", have been granted a presidential pardon and will not serve the remainder of their sentences, the statement said.
	It said the list of those to be released "includes a large number of young people and minors".
	The announcement comes on the eve of the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
	Since the army toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, the authorities have cracked down hard on his supporters and on all forms of opposition.
	In November 2013, they adopted a new law outlawing demonstrations that have not been ...

Egypt to free 165 jailed protesters: presidency

Israel's first museum of Arab contemporary art opened today with a mission to promote peace and with one exhibit literally featuring the glow of love.
	Founders of the Arab Museum of Contemporary Art, a joint project in cooperation with the mayor of northern Arab-Israeli town of Sakhnin, said it aims to promote "peace and dialogue" in the troubled region.
	An old Arab-style building nestled among greenery in Sakhnin in the Galilee region, which has a mixed Jewish and Arab population, houses the exhibits.
	The opening exhibition, Hiwar (dialogue in Arabic), featured works from paintings to sculptures to video art, by dozens of local and internationally acclaimed artists.
	A painting by Afghan-German Jeanno Gaussi entitled Moghul Dream displayed a historical-style south Asian landscape.
	Outside, another work, a set of traffic lights connected to an electrical supply, read "Love" when switched to green.
	"We found Sakhnin to be a suitable place for the museum, it being right in the ...

Israel's modern Arab art museum opens to glow of love

A Chinese university has earned comparisons with Harry Potter's Hogwarts due to its bizarre castle campus, but local traditions supplied the magic at a Confucian-style ceremony for its degree graduates.
	The gigantic grey towers, stone walls and turrets of the Hebei Academy of Fine Arts' castle complex dominate surrounding wheat fields near Xinle city in northern China.
	The university, which has more than 8,000 students, made headlines last year when overseas media compared its new campus building to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from the Harry Potter series of children's novels.
	"This castle has boosted the reputation of our academy across the world," straggle-bearded college head Zhen Zhongyi told AFP as he stood in the brick and concrete building's shadow.
	"I aim to allow students to appreciate Western architecture without leaving the country," he said, adding that he had invested 1.7 billion yuan (USD 274 million) in the academy so far.
	The school's first crop 

China 'Hogwarts' students embrace ancient tradition

Chinese police today shot dead a Uighur man who allegedly attacked several people at a train station with a concrete brick, officials said, in the country's latest deadly station incident.
	Officers in the northern Chinese city of Xian opened fire on the man after he attacked "people buying tickets," the city's rail police said in a social media post, adding he later died of injuries.
	The brief post identified the man as a member of China's mostly-Muslim Uighur minority whose homeland is the northwest region of Xinjiang, but provided no further details.
	No details were given on whether any of the people attacked with the brick had received serious injuries.
	Blurred pictures posted by state-broadcaster CCTV showed a person lying on the ground surrounded by more than a dozen police, some holding sticks.
	Ordinary police in major Chinese cities began patrolling with guns for the first time last year, in response to a mass train station knifing which killed 31 and was blamed on ...

China police shoot man dead at train station

Nestle chief Paul Bulcke said today he wanted to see its hugely popular Maggi brand of instant noodles back on the Indian market as soon as possible after it was banned over a health scare.
	India's food safety regulator on June 5 banned the product after tests that it said showed the noodles contained excessive levels of lead.
	"The only thing that interests me is to have the product back as soon as possible and that things are cleared up," he told AFP in an interview while visiting the Milan expo.
	"We are doing all we can to make contact with Indian authorities at the earliest," he said, adding: "The product is safe."
	Asked about the possible impact of the ban on jobs in India, he said production would resume "if we can resolve this fast."
	On Monday, the Swiss food giant said that the ban had led to 3.2 billion rupees (44.5 million euros, USD 50.5 million) worth of goods being withdrawn.
	A Nestle spokesman said it was the biggest ever withdrawal of a product by the company.
	The 

Nestle chief wants Maggi noodles back in India asap

Iranian lawmakers unveiled proposed legislation today that a top official said would protect the nation's nuclear interests, but which could become an obstacle in negotiations for a deal this month.
	The bill, sponsored by the chairman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, was signed by 225 of the country's 290 MPs and faces a vote on Sunday.
	"At the moment, the negotiating team is facing excessive demands from the United States," said chairman Alaeddin Boroujerdi.
	"This bill is being introduced with the aim of supporting the negotiators... And to protect the red lines drawn up by the supreme leader."
	It sets out three criteria that must be met by any deal reached with the United States and five other world powers, which faces a June 30 deadline.
	First is the "complete and unified lifting on the day of agreement of all sanctions imposed through the UN Security Council, the US Congress and the European Union."
	That condition does not specify if it means ..

Iran MPs unveil potential obstacle to nuclear deal

Sweden is considering drafting new legislation that would ban its nationals from fighting in armed conflicts for terrorist organisations such as Islamic State (IS), the government said today.
	"It is completely unacceptable that Swedish citizens are travelling to (join) IS, financing the organisation, or fighting for it," Justice Minister Morgan Johansson and Interior Minister Anders Ygeman wrote in a joint article in leading newspaper Dagens Nyheter.
	The proposed ban would prohibit combat for terrorist organisations listed as such by the United Nations or European Union.
	"We have a responsibility for what our citizens do both here at home and in other countries," they wrote.
	"People who live here and who have chosen to join IS can constitute a serious threat upon their return. Criminalisation is of course not the only way of preventing this but it is an important part of anti-terrorism measures," they said.
	Johansson told reporters at a press conference that he had commissioned a 

Sweden mulls new laws banning jihad combat, travel

South Korea today announced its 20th death from the MERS virus as criticism grew of efforts to contain the outbreak, with alarming reports of new cases slipping through a quarantine that already affects thousands.
	A 54-year-old woman died of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome today morning after being diagnosed on June 5, the health ministry said.
	It also reported eight new patients including four who had been infected at Samsung Medical Centre in Seoul, considered the epicentre of the outbreak.
	This took the total number of infections including those who have died to 162, the largest outbreak outside Saudi Arabia.
	Seventeen patients are in critical condition, the ministry said, adding 19 had recovered and been released from hospital.
	The number of new infections had fallen for three days in a row from 12 on Friday to four on Tuesday, when the ministry said it was cautiously optimistic the worst was over.
	But the latest number dashed such hopes, as a health official raised ...

AFP

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