The appointment means that the President Goodluck Jonathan does not face a powerful political rival in government. Elections are coming, and Mr Sambo is not a strong

contender

. It could clear the way for Mr Jonathan to run himself.

Nonetheless

, the new vice president is controversial. In his home state Kaduna, Mr Sambo is seen as weak and inexperienced. Now his replacement in Kaduna will be his Christian deputy, and that has

prompt

ed anger because the state is mostly Muslim.

European Union finance ministers have agreed to introduce tougher regulation of the trillion-dollar hedge fund industry which has been blamed for speculation on the euro and worsening the global financial crisis. Ministers

overrode

objections by the new British government and the city of London where 80% of European funds are based. The Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado explained how the measures would work.

"We are not regulating the funds. We are regulating the fund managers. You

ought to

make that clear. For these managers, we have rules about conduct; we have rules about organization, setup, information. All of them will be very

stringent

requirements."

Several of the largest forestry companies in Canada have reached an agreement with environmental groups to restrict logging in the country's northern forests. In return, the environmentalists will end a decades-long international campaign against buying Canadian lumber. A spokesman said it was the largest commercial forest conservation plan in history.