Turkmen president creates money-laundering watchdog.

ASHGABAT, January 16 (Itar-Tass) -- Turkmenistan's President
Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov on Friday signed a resolution to create a
financial monitoring department at the country's Finance Ministry, the
press-service of the Turkmen Foreign Ministry said.

The decision was made "with the aim to enhance the effectiveness of
operations for the prevention, identification and termination of money
laundering processes and of the financing of terrorism and also for the
purpose of implementing Turkmenistan's law on resistance to the
legalization of incomes of criminal origin and to the financing of
terrorism."
The Foreign Ministry says the creation of this new government
structure is fresh evidence of Turkmenistan's steps to implement at the
national level of United Nations conventions, resolutions by the UN
General Assembly and the corresponding UN Security Council's resolutions
on the struggle against terrorism.

.3,000 in Kiev cheer presidential candidate Yanukovich at minus 12C.

KIEV, January 16 (Itar-Tass) -- A crowd of over 3,000 backers of
Ukraine's presidential candidate from the Party of Regions, Viktor
Yanukovich, gathered in Kiev's Sofiiskaya Square Friday evening despite
biting temperatures to demonstrate their firm support for the man they
want to be the country's president for five years to come. The podium
placed on the square was decorated with posters We Shall Unite Ukraine, We
Shall Win! and Ukraine for the People!
The demonstrators were carrying Ukraine's yellow-blue state flags and
also blue banners with the slogan Yanukovich - Our President-2010.
Yanukovich told the crowd that "a mere two days are still to go before
the end of the five-year period of Ukraine's destruction by the 'orange
power.'"
"The current authorities have deceived the people for the past five
years. The people have realized that. 'The orange ones' started with
bombastic rhetoric only to end up very deplorable results," Yanukovich
said. "The country is living on credit and the 'orange authorities' are
begging for money around the world."
"After the victory in the presidential election we shall change life
for the better. We shall give a better life to each single individual and
to each family, and we shall let the country regain its image in the world
scene," Yanukovich said. "The people are expecting changes and they will
get them." The Party of Regions' presidential candidate is certain that
the people of Ukraine on January 17 will make "the right choice and pass
their sentence on the current authorities."
The participants in the rally saw live greetings through a video
link-up by Yanukovich's supporters in Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, and Kharkov
and Odessa.
Blue scarves with the inscription 'Yanukovich-2010' were in great
demand and were sold out in virtually no time, as air temperatures sank to
12 degrees below freezing. The demonstrators kept themselves warm with hot
tea from thermos bottles and cheerful chanting.
The stage show in support of the candidate featured 'the golden voice'
of Ukraine's variety stages, Taisiya Povaliy, President Viktor Yushchenko'
s former culture adviser, opera singer Vladimir Grishko, and other popular
performing artists and groups, who treated the audience to a jamboree of
Ukrainian, Russian, Belarussian and Moldovan songs. The world-famous and
easily recognizable Russian folk hit Kalinka drew stormy applause.

.6,000 Avtovaz workers to stay idle for a while for 2/3 of wage.

SAMARA, January 16 (Itar-Tass) -- More than six thousand employees of
Russia's largest car manufacturer AVTOVAZ have been asked to stay idle for
a while and promised they will be paid a greater part of their wage, the
mayor's office of the city of Togliatti told Itar-Tass.
"A total of 6,348 AVTOVAZ workers will be on paid suspension and get
two-thirds of their normal wages, the mayor's office told Itar-Tass after
last Thursday's meeting of the Togliatti Mayor Anatoly Pushkov-led
anti-crisis management center.
In December 2009 AVTOVAZ personnel numbered some 90,000.
After the Near Year and Christmas holidays in early January the plant
has resumed work under a new production schedule.
"Those working shorter hours will be paid two-thirds of their normal
wage for the whole period they have to do nothing. The same measure will
apply to all personnel not involved in the manufacturing process or in
keeping the plant going," the news release runs.
The AVTOVAZ press-center said the new schedule was needed to adjust
production to demand, reform conditions and contain costs.

-0-str