IMF race start 123

Amid mounting pressures, beleaguered International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director, Dominique Strauss-Khan, resigned on Thursday, but insists he was innocent of the sexual assault accusations hurled against him.

“It is with infinite sadness that I feel compelled today to present to the Executive Board my resignation from my post of Managing Director of the IMF.

“I want to say that I deny with the greatest possible firmness all of the allegations that have been made against me,” he said in a statement.

Strauss-Kahn, one of the world’s most powerful man and considered as a sure winner in the next French presidential elections, is jailed in New York and awaiting a grandy jurity decision whether there is sufficient evidence to indict him of the allegations that he sexually assaulted a 32-year-old chambermaid in Soffitel Hotel in New York last Saturday.

The International Monetary Fund’s managing director has traditionally been an European male, often a Frenchman. But with Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s resignation amid sexual assault charges, the job is available.

As the Strauss-Kahn controversy rages here, the political fallout appears unclear. So far, the sexual assault allegations dogging him have not hurt the image of his opposition Socialist party. Indeed, an IPSOS survey this week puts another, less charismatic Socialist politician, Francois Hollande, ahead in the polls, scoring 29 percent of possible votes - 10 points ahead of conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.

"Holland has started his campaign a few months ago quietly, saying he was a normal man and a good politician. And this image of stability and normality in [this] context is probably going to play in his favor," said Gosset.

The Strauss-Kahn scandal has also benefited another politician - Marine Le Pen, the 42-year-old leader of the far-right National Front and a rising star in French politics.

Le Pen told French radio Thursday that Strauss-Kahn's indictment definitely puts him out of the presidential race. She has described him as politically discredited.

Along with support, Strauss-Kahn also earned derision among ordinary French, who criticized his wealthy, "caviar-left" lifestyle. Analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges believes the sexual assault charges now facing him only serve to deepen public disillusionment toward the political establishment.

So far, President Sarkozy has remained uncharacteristically silent about the scandal. In 2007, he championed Strauss-Kahn's candidacy to head the IMF - in part, observers say, to get a rival out of the way.

Strauss-Kahn's downfall has not improved Sarkozy's ratings. He remains one of France's most unpopular presidents ever.

Still, journalist Gossett says its too early to write off a second Sarkozy term.

"He's going to fight right to the end and he's very efficient. So even if the polls are low today, it doesn't mean a thing."

Next week, Sarkozy hosts the G8 summit in the French city of Deauville - giving him the opportunity to burnish his international statesman's stature.

And there are a slew of reports that his glamorous wife, Carla Bruni Sarkozy, is pregnant. The presidency has no comment, but recent pictures of Sarkozy are revealing. That may cast the French president in another flattering light - as a happily married, family man.

NY judge orders ex-IMF chief be released from jail

New York prosecutors told New York Supreme Court Judge Michael Obus that an initial location for Strauss-Kahn to be detained had fallen through. Strauss-Kahn is facing charges he tried to rape a hotel maid.

Obus earlier on Friday received a $1 million cash bail and $5 million insurance bond from Strauss-Kahn's lawyers.

Obus had agreed Thursday to release Strauss-Kahn to house arrest with round-the-clock armed guard if he posted $1 million cash bail plus a $5 million bond.

The plan hit a snag after objections from within the apartment building where Strauss-Kahn was initially to stay. Prosecutors say he would be housed temporarily at another location.

The 62-year-old Strauss-Kahn has been behind bars since Saturday after he was accused of trying to rape a hotel maid. He has denied breaking any laws.

The $5 million bond, or $1 million cash bail, was secured by his wife's money, bail bondsman Ira Judelson said.

Lawyers arguing whether Strauss-Kahn should get out of jail while he awaits trial on attempted rape charges have used two famous examples from different sides of the spectrum to make their case Roman Polanski and Bernard Madoff.

Prosecutors brought up Polanski, the French filmmaker whom U.S. authorities pursued for decades after he jumped bail in a 1977 child sex case.

Defense lawyers have mentioned Bernard Madoff, the financier who was freed on high bail and strict house arrest, the same conditions that a judge approved Thursday for Strauss-Kahn.

The judge agreed to free him on bail — provided he's confined to a New York apartment, under armed guard and electronic monitoring.

The Department of Correction said in a statement Friday that it will manage Strauss-Kahn's release following the posting of bail and all required paperwork. A corrections spokeswoman said no details about timing or location of the transfer would be provided, but confirmation would be given of his release from custody.

The 62-year-old French economist and diplomat briefly wore an expression of relief after Obus announced his bail decision in a packed courtroom Thursday. Later, Strauss-Kahn blew a kiss toward his wife.

Strauss-Kahn didn't speak during the court proceeding. But as he headed back to jail for what he hoped would be a final night, lawyer William W. Taylor called the bail decision "a great relief for the family" and said Strauss-Kahn's mindset was "much better now than before we started."

The ex-IMF head is accused of attacking a 32-year-old housekeeper Saturday in his $3,000-a-night hotel suite. The West African immigrant told police he chased her down a hallway in the suite, forced her to perform oral sex and tried to remove her stockings.

One versus Ninety Thousand

Nearly 90,000 people reported being raped in the United States in 2008. There is an arrest rate of 25%.

The United States Justice Department defines rape as

"Rape - Forced sexual intercourse including both psychological coercion as well as physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal or oral penetration by the offender (s). This category also includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Includes attempted rapes, male as well as female victims, and both heterosexual and homosexual rape. Attempted rape includes verbal threats of rape."

The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics (1999) estimated that 91% of U.S. rape victims are female and 9% are male, with 99% of the offenders being male.

Woolworths sacks staff as planking craze sweeps Australia

Dangerous stunt epidemic sweeping Australia that has already left one man dead. Now major retailers are cracking down on planking, sacking workers who get busted performing the dangerous manoeuvre on the job.

Woolworths, the nation's biggest employer, has axed eight employees across three states this week for planking - which involves laying flat and face-down on top of an object and being photographed - on top of meat grinders, display shelves, trolleys and stacks of milk crates then boasting about it online.

The sackings follow the suspension of six school students for planking in Queensland, with police and education officials warning the fad will not be tolerated.

Planking is a direct contradiction of our safety and health policy. Our employees have a responsibility to ensure their own safety and the safety of those around them."

Mr Wilson added workers were being warned of the dangers of planking at work.

But one of the nation's leading workplace law firms said planking alone should not be grounds for sacking and employees could potentially sue for unfair dismissal.

Slater and Gordon's national head of employment law Marcus Clayton said a warning might be more appropriate.

"If an employee is lying on the lunchroom table at the workplace and they get sacked for that, that's clearly unfair and could be the subject of an unfair dismissal claim," he said.

"If they're presenting a real danger to themselves or others that's an issue for an employer to deal with but whether it's a sackable offence is another question."

The sackings come after Queensland man Acton Beale, 20, died on Sunday when he fell from a balcony while planking.

Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott became to latest politician warn about the dangers of the craze.

"I don't want to be a killjoy, obviously," Mr Abbott said yesterday.

"But I think it's very important that people think twice before they do something that might be dangerous.

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Obama Says U.S. Opens ’New Chapter’ in Middle East

On Syria, Obama said the government "has chosen the path of murder and the mass arrests of its citizens." He praised the Syrian people for their courage in standing up to repression in a bloody crackdown that has killed hundreds.

Obama said the region's revolutions speak to a "longing for freedom" that has built up for years and has led to the overturning of tyrants - with perhaps more to fall.

He embraced the call for change and compared it to signature moments of US history such as the American revolution and the civil rights movement.

The president spoke at the State Department in his first comprehensive remarks on the astonishing ripples of change in the Middle East. He hailed the killing of al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and declared that bin Laden's vision of destruction was fading even before US forces shot him dead.

Obama compared the upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa to the American revolution and said democracy movements have accomplished in a matter of months the kind of changes that terrorists were unable to achieve in decades.

“The events of the past six months show us that strategies of repression and strategies of diversion will not work anymore,” Obama said in an address at the State Department in Washington. “Two leaders have stepped aside. More may follow.”

The U.S. will support all efforts to meet the legitimate aspirations of the region’s citizens and promote democracy and economic development, he said.

Obama said that for decades the U.S. has pursued core interests in the region including countering terrorism, stemming the flow of nuclear weapons and standing up for Israel’s security along with pursuing Middle East peace.

White those goals remain important, he said, the U.S. “must acknowledge that a strategy based solely upon the narrow pursuits of these interests will not fill an empty stomach.”

Today’s speech comes almost two years after he called for a “new beginning” with the Arab world, at a time of great uncertainty in the region with sweeping and still evolving democratic movements taking shape.

Obama said the "shouts of human dignity are being heard across the region."

The president noted that some "true leaders" had stepped down and that "more may follow".

He quoted civilian protesters who have pushed for change in Egypt, Libya, Syria and Yemen but noted that among those countries, only Egypt had seen the departure of a long-ruling autocratic leader.

Obama said that while there will be setbacks that accompany progress with political transitions, the movements present a valuable opportunity for the US to show which side it is on.

"We have a chance to show that America values the dignity of the street vendor in Tunisia more than the raw power of a dictator," he said, referring to the fruit vendor who killed himself in despair and sparked a chain of events that unleashed uprisings around the Arab world.

Colin Barnett blows $2bn hole in Wayne Swan's budget target

West Australian government's decision to increase royalty rates for a certain type of iron ore will not stop the Commonwealth delivering a budget surplus in 2012/13, a federal minister says.

In handing down its 2011/12 budget today, the WA government said it would lift the royalty rate for iron ore fines in the three financial years to 2014/15, bringing in an extra $1.9 billion in state revenue.

It would bring the fines rate into line with the rate for lump iron ore and was also a way to recoup falling GST revenue to the state.

But federal resources minister Martin Ferguson says the Colin Barnett government may have shot itself in the foot in "a short-term grab for cash" and should have waited for the Commonwealth Grants Commissions (CGC) GST carve-up.

"The WA government may have cut their own nose off to spite themselves," Mr Ferguson told reporters in Perth.

"The decision sends a message to the Commonwealth Grants Commission that the revenue-raising capacity of WA is far higher.

"It will not have any impact in terms of returning the budget to surplus."

Mr Ferguson said the federal government would honour its commitments to credit state iron ore and coal royalties to the miners, saying "a deal is a deal".

"We will credit the royalties but we are not happy about it because it cuts the amount we can spend on infrastructure.

Australia has blown a $2 billion hole in the Gillard government's predicted return to a budget surplus and threatened to wreck its mining-tax peace deal with the big resources companies after announcing it would raise iron ore royalties.

The Barnett government's move presents Wayne Swan with a major headache after he promised the miners, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, he would reimburse them for all state royalties when the planned $7.4bn mineral resources rent tax starts next year. The federal Treasurer must now choose between picking a bitter fight with Western Australia by imposing heavy financial penalties on the resource-rich state or by backing down on his agreement with the mining companies to foot the bill for state royalty increases.

Mr Swan last night admitted the move would hit his budget, delivered only last week, and warned that Western Australia faced the prospect of receiving even lower GST grants through the Commonwealth Grants Commission and lower federal infrastructure funding as a result of the royalty hike.

The federal government does not intend to intervene in the CGC process to save Mr Barnett from the effects of his own decision to play politics with the mining boom."

A review of the formula for distributing GST receipts among the states is being conducted by a panel led by former NSW premier Nick Greiner, but will not present a report to the government until September next year. It will therefore not affect the redistribution of GST revenue in 2011-12 and 2012-13.

A spokeswoman for BHP said the company was seeking talks with the West Australian government over the royalty move.

The state's Chamber of Minerals and Energy called on the federal government to honour its commitment to fully refund all current and future state royalties.

The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies said it was disappointed that industry bodies and companies were not consulted over the royalty hike. AMEC chief executive Simon Bennison said the move would add to the uncertainty being created by the MRRT.

IMF board split on how to react to Dominique Strauss-Kahn detention

Lawyers for the International Monetary Fund are pushing for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to clarify his position as he sits in jail facing charges of sexual assault with the IMF's board split on what to do next.

IMF officials have yet to speak to their managing director since his arrest on Sunday for an alleged attack on a chambermaid at a New York hotel, and pressure is mounting on the institution, which plays a critical role in global finance, to appoint a new head. The US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, and European finance ministers have made it clear they believe he should resign.

Strauss-Kahn, who was denied bail and is considered a flight risk, is being held in Rikers Island prison in New York. According to city officials, the only people with access to the IMF boss are his family and his lawyers.

Sources close to the IMF say its board is split on how to proceed. Strauss-Kahn's deputy, John Lipsky, has stepped in on an interim basis, but both men had been planning to retire shortly even before the scandal broke. The race to succeed Strauss-Kahn has now intensified with candidates from the developing world pushing for senior jobs that have traditionally been dominated by Europeans.

The IMF chief's personal lawyer, William Taylor, Wednesday declined to comment on Strauss-Kahn's future plans, telling AFP: "I think in the end it will be resolved."

The IMF is planning ahead however, with acting chief John Lipsky to attend next week's Group of Eight summit in Strauss-Kahn's place.

The French government's spokesman Francois Baroin told reporters Lipsky would represent the International Monetary Fund at the top-level summit in Deauville, northwestern France, on May 26 and 27.

In France, Strauss-Kahn continues to enjoy some support, including from conspiracy theorists who claim he was set up. A poll said Wednesday that 57 percent of French people believe he is the "victim of a plot."

"France is flummoxed," political scientist Stephane Rozes told AFP. The French have been forced to decide whether there was some kind of behind-the-scenes plot or if their former finance minister is mentally unwell.

"Both ideas are unsettling," Rozes said, adding that, while a conspiracy appeared "incredible," madness would be "shocking.

Planking' or not, man left fighting for his life

Simon Hallam, a plasterer from Inverell in northern NSW, was skylarking with friends on Monday night when he fell heavily from a fast-moving car.

Police said witnesses told them Mr Hallam was attempting to "plank" on the boot of a sedan moments before he fell.

He is now in an induced coma in an intensive care unit.

Inverell police said Mr Hallam was on the boot of a car in Henderson Lane, shortly before 9pm, when the accident happened.

"We have spoken today with witnesses who have reported the young man was in fact 'planking', or similar too it,'' a police spokesman said yesterday.

Doctors at Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital have told the family they do not know if Simon will ever recover from the accident.

Witnesses said Mr Hallam, a plasterer, had been planking on the boot of the Holden Commodore at the time of his injury. But a police spokeswoman said the man had been standing on the boot of the car when he fell.

A 19-year-old man, also from Inverell, has been charged with dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm, negligent driving (occasioning grievous bodily harm) and negligent driving. He has been granted conditional bail and is due to appear in Inverell Local Court on June 16.

The accident follows the weekend death of Acton Beale, 20, from Brisbane, who fell from a seventh-storey balcony railing, on which he intended to ''plank''.

Yesterday the Ambulance Ser-vice of NSW issued a statement warning people not to put themselves in danger when planking, an internet craze that involves being photographed while lying face-down in unusual locations. ''Whilst it may seem like some harmless fun, the idea of 'planking' and outdoing your mates can be fraught with danger,'' it said.

''It is recommended to avoid planking and other silly stunts whilst intoxicated and/or drug affected, especially in places that could see you seriously injured or killed, such as attempting such stunts from a tall building/object, roadway, railway line or other hazardous areas.''

The accident follows the death of 20-year-old Brisbane man Acton Beale, who plunging seven storeys while attempting to plank on a balcony railing at a unit block on Sunday. (Read more: Man dies in Brisbane stunt)

Earlier this week, police warned more young people could die or be seriously hurt if they continued to take part in the craze.

A number of high-profile stars have been accused of fuelling the planking movement, including Footy Show host Sam Newman, who appeared on Nine News last night lying face down on the balcony rail of his high rise apartment.

U.S.Housing and Urban Development

United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, also known as HUD, is a Cabinet department in the Executive branch of the United States federal government. Although its beginnings were in the House and Home Financing Agency, it was founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, as part of the "Great Society" program of President Lyndon Johnson, to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises.

Programs

The 203(k) program offers low down payment loans to primary resident owner occupants or nonprofit groups to buy and renovate a house. A scandal with the program arose in the 1990s in which at least 700 houses were sold for profit by real estate speculators taking the loans; at least 19 were arrested, and the situation devastated the housing market in Brooklyn and Harlem and resulted in $70 million in HUD loans going into default. Critics said that HUD's lax oversight of their program allowed the fraud to occur. In 1997, the HUD Inspector General had issued a report saying: "The program design encourages risky property deals, land sale and refinance schemes, overstated property appraisals, and phony or excessive fees.

One of the most successful HUD programs over the years has been the Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator Program. Each year since 1992, HUD has included in its Notice of Fund Availability (NOFA), a specific allocation of dollars to allow sponsors and owners of HUD multifamily housing for the elderly the opportunity to hire a Service Coordinator. The Service Coordinator provides case management and coordinative services to elderly residents, particularly to those who are "frail" and "at-risk" allowing them to remain in their current residence. As a result, thousands of senior citizens throughout the United States have been given the opportunity to continue to live independently instead of in an institutional facility such as a nursing home. Professional organizations such as the American Association of Service Coordinators provide support to HUD Service Coordinator through education, training, networking and advocacy.

Due to HUD's lending practices, it occasionally takes possession of a home when a lender it insures forecloses. Such properties are then generally sold off to the highest bidder through the HUD auction process. Buyers of HUD homes as their primary residences who make a full-price offer to HUD using FHA-insured mortgage financing receive seller concessions from HUD enabling them to use only $100 down payment.

History

The department was established on September 9, 1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act[1] into law. It stipulated that the department was to be created no later than November 8, sixty days following the date of enactment. The actual implementation was postponed until January 13, 1966, following the completion of a special study group report on the federal role in solving urban problems.

HUD is administered by the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Shaun Donovan, a former New York City housing commissioner and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, is the current Secretary, having been confirmed by the United States Senate unanimously on January 22, 2009.[2] Its headquarters is located in the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building. Some important milestones for HUD's development include:

June 27, 1934 - The National Housing Act creates the Federal Housing Administration, which helps provide mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders.

September 1, 1937- Housing Act of 1937 creates the United States Housing Authority, which helps enact slum-clearance projects and construction of low-rent housing

February 3, 1938: The National Housing Act Amendments of 1938 is signed into law.[6] The law creates the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), which provides a secondary market to the Federal Housing Administration.

July 27, 1947 – The Housing and Home Finance Agency is established through Reorganization Plan Number 3

July 15, 1949 – The Housing Act of 1949 is enacted to help eradicate slums and promote community development and redevelopment programs

August 2, 1954 - The Housing Act of 1954 establishes comprehensive planning assistance

September 23, 1959 – The Housing Act of 1959 allows funds for elderly housing

September 2, 1964 - The Housing Act of 1964 allows rehabilitation loans for homeowners

September 1965 – HUD is created as a cabinet level agency by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act

April 1968 – The Fair Housing Act is made to ban discrimination in housing

August 1969 – The Brooke Amendment establishes that low income families only pay no more than 25 percent of their income for rent.

August 1974 – Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 allows community development block grants and help for urban homesteading

October 1977 – The Housing and Community Act of 1977 sets up Urban Development Grants and continues elderly and handicapped assistance

July 1987 – The Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act gives help to communities to deal with homelessness

February 1988 – The Housing and Community Development Act provides for the sale of public housing to resident management corporations.

October 1992 – The HOPE VI program starts to revitalize public housing and how it works

October 1992 – The Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 codifies within its language the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 that creates the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, and mandates HUD to set goals for lower income and underserved housing areas for the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

March 1996 – The Housing Opportunity Program Extension Act give public housing authorities the tools to screen out and evict residents who might endanger other existing residents due to substance abuse and criminal behavior

October 1998 – Government laws are proposed which would allow local housing authorities to open up more public housing to the middle class

November 2007 – HUD initiates program providing seller concessions to buyers of HUD homes, allowing them to use down payment of $100

The Office of Inspector General

The United States Congress enacted the Inspector General Act of 1978 to ensure integrity and efficiency in government. The Inspector General is appointed by the President and subject to Senate confirmation.

The Inspector General is responsible for conducting and supervising audits, investigations, and inspections relating to the programs and operations of the HUD. The OIG is to examine, evaluate and, where necessary, critique these operations and activities, recommending ways for the Department to carry out its responsibilities in the most effective, efficient, and economical manner possible.

Mission

The mission of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to: • Promote the integrity, efficiency and effectiveness of HUD programs and operations to assist the Department in meeting its mission.  Detect and prevent waste, fraud, and abuse • Seek administrative sanctions, civil recoveries and/ or criminal prosecution of those responsible for waste, fraud and abuse in HUD programs and operations.

The OIG accomplishes its mission by conducting investigations pertinent to its activities; by keeping Congress, the Secretary, and the public fully informed of its activities, and by working with staff (in this case of the HUD) in achieving success of its objectives and goals. Right now, the post of Inspector General of the HUD is vacant. Michael P. Stevens is the acting Inspector General