Strauss-Kahn: Mashtaka huenda yakafutwa

Strauss-Kahn na Bi Diallo

Waendesha mashtaka wamemuomba jaji kutupilia mbali kesi inayo mkabili aliyekuwa mkurugenzi wa Shirika la Fedha Duniani (IMF), Dominique Strauss Kahn.

Bw Strauss Kahn anakabiliwa na kesi ya jaribio la kumbaka mhudumu wa hoteli moja mjini New York.
Waendesha mashtaka wamemuelezea jaji kwamba '' hawajaridhika kuwa mshitakiwa ana hatia bila shaka yoyote''.

Kesi hiyo, iliyoanzishwa kufuatia madai ya mhudumu wa hoteli moja, Nafissatou Diallo, ilivunjika wiki chache zilizopita kufuatia maswali kuhusu uaminifu na nia bi Diallo.

Bw Strauss-Kahn, mwenye umri wa miaka 62, alikamatwa mwezi Mei na kufunguliwa mashataka ya kujaribu kumbaka mwanamke huyo mhamiaji kutoka Afrika, mwenye umri wa miaka 32.
Waendesha mashtaka wamemueleza jaji kuwa Bi Diallo ''hakuwa mwaminifu kuhusu maswali mazito na hata yale madogo''.

Jaji anatarajiwa kutoa uamuzi wake siku ya jumanne.
Iwapo kesi hiyo itatupiliwa mbali Bw Strauss-Kahn atakuwa huru kurudi nchini Ufaransa, japo bado anakabiliwa na kesi nyingine bado dhidi ya Bi Diallo.

Akizungumza na waandishi habari baada ya mkutano mfupi na waendesha mashtaka katika mahakama hiyo ya Manhattan, wakili wa Bi Diallo, alisisitiza kuwa haki haikuwa imetendeka.

Umaarufu wa Strauss-Kahn wapungua Ufaransa.

Nchini Ufaransa, maafisa bado wanafikiria ikiwa watamfugulia mashtaka Bw Strauss-Kahn kwa tuhuma za kujaribu kumbaka mwandishi wa habari nchini humo Tristane Banon wakati alipokuwa akihojiwa naye mwaka wa 2003.

Bw Strauss-Kahn alidhaniwa kuwa angempa ushindani mkali rais wa Ufaransa Nicolas Sarkozy katika uchaguzi wa urais wa Aprili 2012.

Hata hivyo kura ya maoni ya hivi karibuni inaonyesha kuwa theluthi mbili ya raia nchini Ufaransa hawamtaki Bw Strauss-Kahn kuwania urais katika uchaguzi wa mwaka ujao.

Lagarde begins 1st day as head of IMF

Former finance minister of France Christine Lagarde was elected to the IMF's top job last week.

(CNN) -- Christine Lagarde is set to take over as the head of the International Monetary Fund Tuesday, the first woman to run the influential financial institution.

Lagarde, who was the finance minister of France, takes over at a crucial time for the IMF as the organization is working closely with the European Union and the European Central Bank to provide financial support for troubled European economies.

Lagarde will serve a five-year term as the global financial institution's managing director and chairman, the IMF said.
"I am deeply honored by the trust placed in me by the Executive Board," Lagarde said in a statement last week. She succeeds Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested earlier this year in New York on sexual assault charges.

The only other contender for the job was Mexican Central Bank chief Agustin Carstens, who was supported by Australia, Canada and Mexico.

The IMF said it selected Lagarde, last week, by a consensus vote. Lagarde was also backed by the United Kingdom, Germany and most European powers, as well as some Asian and African nations. The IMF, which is made up of 187 member countries, has traditionally been led by a Western European official.

Some developing nations had pushed to break that tradition, arguing that the IMF should consider candidates from rising economic powers in Asia and South America.

Lagarde, 55, had been French President Nicolas Sarkozy's finance minister since June 2007. She also served as the country's to foreign trade official.

A lawyer by training, Lagarde was a partner at the international law firm of Baker & McKenzie before going into politics. According to her official biography, Lagarde was born in Paris to school teachers and has two children of her own. She was a member of the French national synchronized swimming team and was inducted into the nation's Legion of Honor in 2000.