World News from the BBC.
The Afghan central bank has taken over the country’s largest private financial institution, the Kabul Bank, after rumours about its
solvency
led to thousands of people queuing to withdraw their savings. Depositors became worried when reports
circulate
d of large losses. The Kabul Bank is responsible for paying the salaries of a quarter of a million government employees. From Kabul, Quentin Sommerville.
Afghanistan’s central bank has come to the rescue of the failing Kabul Bank by
taking direct control of
its affairs. The central bank governor, Abdul Qadir Fitrat, says that a number of the bank’s senior directors have already been sacked or being investigated. According to some reports, the bank may have losses in the region of $300 million. Its directors are being criticised for a lack of transparency in the bank’s operations and for making risky investments in the Dubai property market.
The price of cotton in international markets has risen to its highest level in 15 years. Cotton for delivery in October has been trading in New York at over 94 cents a pound. Export restrictions in India, as well as floods in other major producers like Pakistan, have all
contributed to
the rise in prices. A BBC correspondent says this is welcome news for producers, but not for the textile industry.
The Czech authorities have stopped the Internet company Google from expanding its Street View mapping