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BEIJING - The United States should not make a political issueout of the yuan, a Chinese central banker said on Friday, as the two countries lurched towards a potential bust-up over Beijing's currency regime.

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LAHORE, Pakistan - Suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in Lahore on Friday, officials said, in a challenge to government assertions that crackdowns have weakened Taliban insurgents.

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ATHENS - Greece's economy will shrink much more than the government is forecasting this year, the country's central bank governor said, as economists shrugged off slightly stronger data and warned of a further deterioration.

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BAGHDAD - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had a narrow lead over rival Shi'ites, partial results in Iraq's tight election race showed on Friday, but a secularist challenger remained far ahead in minority Sunni areas.

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KABUL - An upcoming U.S.-led military campaign to regain control of the Taliban heartland of Kandahar will be a "decisive phase" in the Afghan war, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told frontline troops this week.

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JOHANNESBURG - Deep divisions between South Africa's ruling ANC and its labour and communist allies are threatening a decades-old alliance as rival factions battle for power and influence to shape policy.

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TOKYO - Japan's prime minister said the government and the Bank of Japan should work together to beat deflation as he fended off mounting political pressure for action on the economy and the yen, raising expectations that the central bank will ease monetary policy next week.

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MOSCOW - The Russian rouble is setting fresh 14-month peaks versus a euro-dollar basket on an almost daily basis, increasing speculation the central bank could put the brakes on the rally in order to protect economic growth.

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LONDON - An online opinion poll has shown Britain's opposition Conservatives well ahead of ruling Labour and on course for election victory, contrasting with other surveys showing the race too close to call.

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BANGKOK - Thai "red shirt" protestors began a series of demonstrations on Friday aimed at overthrowing the government, a scenario that has hit consumer confidence and may force the central bank to keep interest rates in Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy at a record low .