BBC new curve in describing the Egyptian political view

Egypt pushes for high voter turnout http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27570653
Egypt pushes for high voter turnout
May 27, 2014 3:05 PM

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Cairo: "This election feels like a formality, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi looks guaranteed an easy win"
Polling in Egypt's presidential election has been extended, in an effort to effort to encourage a high turnout on the final day of voting.

A public holiday has been declared, and voters have been warned they will be fined if they do not cast a ballot.

The scale of turnout is seen as key to legitimising the winner. Former military chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is the clear frontrunner.

He is standing against only one other candidate, left-winger Hamdeen Sabahi.

Unofficial results are expected hours after polls close at 22:00 (19:00 GMT).

It is the second presidential election since the 2011 revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak.

The previous elected President, Islamist Mohammed Morsi, was deposed by Mr Sisi in July 2012 following massive opposition protests.

After polls closed on Monday, authorities announced that voting would be extended for an hour on Tuesday, which was declared a public holiday, to try to boost turnout.

Election officials said they would enforce a fine of over 500 Egyptian pounds ($72) for non-voting.

There has been no announcement from the Higher Election Commission on Monday's turnout, although Reuters news agency said the number of people casting their vote appeared lower than in previous elections.

Polling resumed on Tuesday, with a public holiday declared and voting hours extended

The level of turnout will be decisive in giving legitimacy to the winner

The election is being held amid heavy security because of the threat of attacks by militants

Former army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi is expected to win by a wide margin

Mr Sisi cast his vote shortly after polls opened on Monday

His sole challenger is left-wing Hamdeen Sabahi, who came third in the election in 2012
In 2012, just under 52% of the electorate voted, handing a slim victory to Mohammed Morsi.

The Associated Press news agency reported election monitoring groups as saying turnout was moderate, apart from in Islamist-dominated areas where it was low to non-existent.

"Sisi killed youths and now he is grabbing power. This is the biggest evidence that [the ousting of Mohammed Morsi] was a coup," Mohamed Gamal told AFP news agency in the pro-Morsi town of Kerdasa.

Polling stations visited by AFP in Cairo were deserted on Tuesday morning, the agency reported.

The election is being held amid tight security, with more than 250,000 troops and police deployed across the country, according to the interior ministry, amid fear of attacks by militants seeking to disrupt the polls.

Voting on Monday passed off without an major incidents.

Shortly after polls opened on the first day, Mr Sisi cast his vote at a polling station in Heliopolis, Cairo, amid a throng of reporters and spectators.

"The Egyptians are coming out to write their history and chart their future," said the 59-year-old, dressed in a dark suit and tie.

Mr Sisi appeals to Egyptians who crave stability after years of political upheaval, and anything other than an easy win for him would be a source of astonishment, says the BBC's Kevin Connolly in Cairo.

Mohammed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, banned as a "terrorist group", called for a boycott of the polls. More than 1,400 people have been killed and 16,000 detained since authorities cracked down on the movement in July.

Mr Morsi and other Brotherhood leaders are on trial on a raft of charges, including murder.

Some secular activists, including the 6 April youth movement which was prominent in the 2011 revolution, have also shunned the polls in protest at the curtailing of civil rights.

BBC © 2014

Too big to fail banks

IMF warns banking reform is too slow http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27588394

IMF warns banking reform is too slow
May 27, 2014 11:50 AM

Christine Lagarde said financial firms still prize profit over prudence
Banking reforms aimed at preventing another financial crisis have failed to make enough progress, the boss of the International Monetary Fund has warned.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde blamed a combination of the complexity involved, industry lobbying and "fatigue" for the delay.

"The industry still prizes short-term profit over long-term prudence," Ms Lagarde said at a conference on the future of capitalism.

She called for tougher global rules.

Ms Lagarde said some of the biggest problems were with the so-called "too-big-to-fail firms", banks whose collapse would cause such a big knock-on effect on the wider economy that governments were still expected to rescue them.

She said a recent IMF study indicated that such banks were still "major sources of systemic risk" and called for "tougher regulation and tighter supervision" to tackle the issue.

"Their implicit subsidy is still going strongly - amounting to about $70bn (£41.5bn) in the US, and up to $300bn (£178bn) in the euro area," she said.

Ms Lagarde called for regulators worldwide to agree a framework to wind down big banks in trouble, as well as mutual recognition on rules for financial markets.

"This is a gaping hole in the financial architecture right now, and it calls for countries to put the global good of financial stability ahead of their parochial concerns," she said.

For such changes to be effective, however, Ms Lagarde said there also needed to be a change in the culture of financial firms, saying changes so far were "not deep or broad enough".

"Incentives must be aligned with expected behaviour and be made transparent," she said.

Ms Lagarde said the changes required both investors and the leaders of financial firms to "take values as seriously as valuations" and "culture as seriously as capital".

"Ultimately, we need to ingrain a greater social consciousness - one that will seep into the financial world and forever change the way it does business," she said.

BBC © 2014

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin face copyright fight http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27497950

A legal dispute faces the band Led Zeppelin over the song Stairway to Heaven, widely seen as one of the greatest rock compositions of all time.

The copyright infringement action is being taken on behalf of late guitarist Randy California, who played on the same bill as Led Zeppelin in the 1960s.

His lawyers say that he should be given a writing credit on the 1971 track.

Pleaded guilty BY Bank (Swiss Bank)

Credit Suisse helped 'tax cheats'
May 20, 2014 2:17 AM

Credit Suisse pleads guilty - a rarity in big bank settlements in the US
The Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse has pleaded guilty to helping some US clients avoid paying taxes to the US government and agreed to pay a $2.6bn (£1.5bn) fine.

It is the biggest bank to plead guilty to criminal charges in the US in more than 20 years.

US attorney general Eric Holder said the bank helped US "tax cheats dodge US taxes".

Credit Suisse said in a statement it deeply regretted the past misconduct.

The bank said the settlement would reduce its second-quarter net profit by 1.6bn Swiss Francs ($1.8bn; £1bn).

However, as part of the agreement with US regulators, the bank will not lose its banking license in the US.

The bank's chief executive, Brady Dougan, said: "Having this matter fully resolved is an important step forward for us. We have seen no material impact on our business resulting from the heightened public attention on this issue in the past several weeks."

'Elaborate lengths'

Mr Holder told a press conference: "The bank went to elaborate lengths to shield itself, its employees, and the tax cheats it served, from accountability for their criminal actions."

"They subverted disclosure requirements, destroyed bank records, and concealed transactions involving undeclared accounts by limiting withdrawal amounts and using offshore credit and debit cards to repatriate funds."

He added that the tax evasion schemes went back decades, saying that in one case, the practice of using sham entities began more than 100 years ago.

However, according to US media reports, neither Credit Suisse chairman Urs Rohner nor chief executive Brady Dougan are expected to lose their jobs as a result of the agreement.

US authorities have already indicted eight Credit Suisse employees who helped clients evade taxes.

Credit Suisse is not alone. US prosecutors are chasing more than a dozen other Swiss banks for allegedly helping wealthy Americans dodge US taxes, and at the press conference, they hinted that there would be more settlements to come.

In 2009, another Swiss bank, UBS, settled similar charges with US regulators for $780m as well as an agreement in which the bank would give US authorities the names of its so-called "secret" account holders.

BBC © 2014