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US Finance Official Calls for Interim IMF Chief

   VOA News  May 18, 2011

   U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has urged the International
   Monetary Fund to formally appoint an interim leader while IMF chief
   Dominique Strauss-Kahn is held on charges of criminal sexual acts and
   attempted rape.
   Speaking at an event in New York City Tuesday, Geithner became the
   latest in a string of international finance officials to speak out
   about Strauss-Kahn and the future of the IMF.
   Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter said Strauss-Kahn should quit to
   avoid damaging the IMF. Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said her
   sympathies are with the woman who was allegedly assaulted.
   Officials in China and Brazil suggest that the next IMF leader come
   from outside Europe. German Chancellor Angela Merkel says world leaders
   should not pre-judge Strauss-Kahn. But she added that Europe has good
   candidates available to take his place.
   Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempted rape and criminal sexual acts
   against a maid at a luxury hotel in New York. He denies the charges.
   A law enforcement official said Tuesday that Strauss-Kahn is under a
   24-hour suicide watch at Rikers Island, a maximum security prison.
   The prison official Tuesday said Strauss-Kahn was placed under a
   suicide watch after undergoing a psychological exam. He gave no other
   details.
   A New York judge has denied Strauss-Kahn bail, saying he could be a
   flight risk. Strauss-Kahn is reported being kept in a single cell away
   from the general prison population.
   Strauss-Kahn has weathered past sexual scandals. In 2008 he apologized
   for what he termed an "error in judgment" for an affair with one of his
   subordinates. Also, a lawyer for French writer Tristane Banon says she
   is considering filing a legal complaint against Strauss-Kahn, claiming
   he sexually assaulted her in 2002.
   Strauss-Kahn is due back in court on Friday.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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