New York and London have been ranked as the joint-top global financial centres, according to research published by the City of London Corporation.

New York, which was previously second to London, was rated as a better place to do banking business than six months ago, while London’s rating fell.

The City warned that "damage had been done" to London’s competitiveness.

Bankers have previously warned that tougher regulation of UK banks could push the industry abroad.

‘Wake-up call’

Financial centres in Asia saw gains in their ratings, with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai all seen as improving places to do business.

The City of London Corporation’s policy chairman Stuart Fraser said the gains of its rivals should be a "wake-up" for the UK.

"Although London and New York have always led the pack, this research is a wake-up call for decision-makers that our standing as a world-leading global financial centre should not be taken for granted," he said.

"Damage has been done to the Square Mile’s perceived competitiveness relative to New York, but this is not irreversible."

Mr Fraser urged the next government to make a "positive statement" on their intentions for taxation and regulation of the UK’s financial sector.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Ivory Coast and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba has been named African Footballer of the Year.

Drogba scored five goals as Ivory Coast qualified for the 2010 World Cup and scored for Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

Chelsea team-mate and Michael Essien and Cameroon forward Samuel Eto’o were also shortlisted for the award.

Drogba, who turned 32 on Thursday, had previously won the award in 2006, while Algeria were named team of the year at the ceremony in Accra, Ghana.

Algeria qualified for the World Cup finals in South Africa after defeating Egypt in a play-off game.

Drogba has scored 25 goals so far this season for Chelsea, who are in contention for the Premier League title and remain in the Champions League and FA Cup.

And the Ivorian claimed as he celebrated his 32nd birthday that his appetite for the game is as strong as ever.

606: DEBATE
Has the right man won the award

"I still have the same passion for the game," said Drogba. "I still feel hungry and I am still chasing medals.

"I feel really good. As I have said in the past it depends on the injuries you get and this season I can say that I am lucky, or I can say that the few months that I took out last year to get my knee well are now paying off.

"Your lifestyle is only as important as your mental approach to the game. If you put in your head that you are 32 and you are old it is going to be difficult.

"I still feel like a kid when I am on the pitch so sometimes Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has to pull me back."

None of the three shortlisted candidates for the individual award were at the Confederation of African Football (Caf) ceremony.

The last time that Drogba won the award, Essien and Eto’o were also the other two shortlisted players. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Nine members of a Russian white supremacist group have been jailed for up to 22 years each in connection with the killing of a man from Cameroon.

Three of the group, known as Simbirsk White Power, were convicted of the racially motivated murder of Etizok Ndobe Ernest in the city of Ulyanovsk.

Investigators said his throat was cut and he was stabbed repeatedly on his way home from work as a DJ in 2008.

It is the latest in a series of cases involving racist attacks in Russia.

"When investigators identified the people who carried out this cruel murder, it turned out that they were all members of an extremist organisation called Simbirsk White Power," Ulyanovsk investigators said in a statement.

Simbirsk is the original name of Ulyanovsk, about 900km (560 miles) east of Moscow.

Three members of the group were found guilty of murder for reasons of ethnic hatred, investigators said.

The other defendants, who included one woman, were convicted on various charges including the organisation of an extremist group, attempted murder, robbery and hooliganism.

The nine received jail terms ranging from two to 22 years.

Attacks filmed

Prosecutors said earlier that the group had attacked 10 non-Slavic people in 2008, which they filmed on mobile phones and posted on the internet.

Correspondents say the latest case comes as Russian authorities appear to be making a concerted effort to combat hate crime.

Last month a court in Moscow sentenced nine members of a neo-Nazi skinhead gang to prison terms of up to 23 years.

Independent groups monitoring the issue say the number of those killed in race attacks last year dropped by more than a quarter to just over 70 - a figure they say is still unacceptably high.

They attribute this fall to the police and justice system taking hate crimes more seriously and targeting some of the largest far-right groups.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently called for tougher laws against racially motivated attacks.

He also urged a deeper sense of community and a recognition that Russia is a multi-cultural country.

Hate crimes increased sharply in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Skinhead groups began targeting people of foreign appearance such as Central Asians, residents of the Caucasus or Africans.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Turkey has withdrawn its ambassador to Sweden after the parliament voted narrowly to describe as genocide the killing of Armenians in World War I.

The Turkish government condemned the resolution, saying it was "based upon major errors and without foundation".

The Swedish government opposed the opposition resolution but it passed by one vote after some MPs voted against party lines.

It comes days after a US congressional panel passed a similar resolution.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cancelled a visit to Stockholm scheduled next week and issued a statement criticising the vote.

"Our people and our government reject this decision based upon major errors and without foundation," said the statement.

MASS KILLINGS OF ARMENIANS

• Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks in 1915-6
• Many historians and the Armenian people believe the killings amount to genocide
• Turks and some historians deny they were orchestrated
• More than 20 countries regard the massacres as genocide

Q&A: Armenian genocide dispute

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the vote was a "mistake" but that it did not change the position of his government, which supports Turkey’s entry into the EU.

The Swedish vote comes less than a week after the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved a similar resolution - by 23 votes to 22 - despite strong Turkish lobbying not to.

That vote also sparked anger from Turkey and the recall of its ambassador to Washington.

Historic argument

Moves between Turkey and Armenia to normalise relations have faltered recently.

Hundreds of thousands of Armenians died in 1915, when they were deported en masse from eastern Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire. They were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.

Armenia says up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed, but Turkey says the figure is no more than one-third that and that many Turks died as well.

Turkey accepts that atrocities were committed but argues they were part of the war and that there was no systematic attempt to destroy the Christian Armenian people.

Armenia wants Turkey to recognise the killings as an act of genocide, but successive Turkish governments have refused to do so.

Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Here are three talks I found thought-provoking and inspiring. All three demand some attention (and probably some time after to ponder what was said), but all three are also new ideas from thinkers who are breaking new ground. Very worldchanging.

Futureproofing the City: ZEDfactory; Foster + Partners; R/E/D from The Architecture Foundation on Vimeo.

Dan Hill-Keynote: New Soft City from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

Dan Barber on a remarkable food project: the sort of food shed every city should have.

(and, of course, you might find these talks I gave in November interesting as well.)

Help us change the world - DONATE NOW!

(Posted by Alex Steffen in Cities at 12:37 AM)

Preliminary results from Iraq’s election show the grouping of PM Nouri Maliki is leading in two southern provinces, the electoral body says.

The partial results from Najaf and Babil, in the Shia south, are the first released - four days after balloting.

Full initial results, which will be made public when 30% of the ballots are counted, could be released later by the Independent High Electoral Commission.

Final results for all 18 provinces are not expected for a fortnight. </p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Chilean tycoon Sebastian Pinera is due to be sworn in as president of the country, which was recently devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami.

Mr Pinera not only faces the challenge of reconstruction, but takes over from a highly popular outgoing leader.

Michelle Bachelet leaves office with a record 84% popularity rating despite criticism of the government’s slow reaction to last month’s disaster.

Meanwhile, Chile’s disaster management chief has resigned over the response.

Carmen Fernandez is the second Chilean official to leave her post in the aftermath of the February 27 quake and ensuing tsunami that killed close to 500 people.

On Friday, Mrs Bachelet dismissed the head of the navy’s Oceanography Service for failing to provide a clear warning of the tsunami.

Incoming leader

Mrs Bachelet, Chile’s first woman president, was constitutionally-barred from seeking re-election.

The task of rebuilding now falls to her successor, Mr Pinera, whose presidential win ended 20 years of centre-left rule in Chile.

"We won’t be the government of the earthquake, we’ll be the government of reconstruction," the 60-year-old billionaire said recently.

Last month, the conservative leader named his cabinet, leaving out any figures linked with the former military ruler, Augusto Pinochet.

In his election campaign, Mr Pinera said he would focus on boosting economic growth and producing jobs while continuing with the outgoing president’s social policies.

Mr Pinera is one of the country’s richest men. He made his fortune introducing credit cards to Chile, then went on to buy a television channel, a stake in Chile’s most successful football club, and millions of dollars in other investments.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Many governments have used the internet to curtail freedom of expression at home, says the US state department in its latest annual human rights report.

In many cases, new forms of electronic communications are restricted to control domestic dissent, it says.

The wide-ranging report also highlights continuing human right violations in China against the Uighurs or extra-judicial killings in North Korea.

Iran’s human rights record had "degenerated" after the June elections.

The report pointed out that the "government of China increased its efforts to monitor internet use, control content, restrict information, block access to foreign and domestic websites, encourage self-censorship, and punish those who violated regulations".

Election blocking

It said the government employed thousands of people at all levels of political life to monitor electronic communications.

"The government at times blocked access to selected sites operated by major foreign news outlets, health organisations, foreign governments, educational institutions, and social networking sites, as well as search engines, that allow rapid communication or organisation of users."

Iran was another country which cracked down on websites such as Facebook and Twitter, the report said.

"Ahead of the June presidential election, on the actual day of election, and during the 27 December Ashura protests, when authorities detained 1,000 individuals and at least eight persons were killed in street clashes, the government blocked access to Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites," it said.</p

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.