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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 .

Father of Pakistan kidnap boy Sahil Saeed helps police

The father of a five-year-old boy who was kidnapped in Pakistan has returned home and is helping officers in the search for his son, police have said. Raja Saeed, 28, is aiding authorities "to ensure the safe return of Sahil", Ch Supt Darren Shenton said. Sahil, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, was taken by armed robbers from his grandmother's house in Jhelum, Punjab. UK police stressed they have made no arrests in the case. Authorities in Pakistan are leading the search. They have arrested several people including a taxi driver. However, on Thursday they said it could be several days or weeks before the boy is found. nterior Minister Rehman Malik has said he believes someone "very close to the family" was responsible for the abduction. On Wednesday, the BBC learned that Mr Saeed had returned to the UK. Although he was free to travel, he did so against the wishes of Pakistan's police who felt his presence could have helped them recover Sahil more quickly. He has now been reunited with his wife, Akila, who had made an impassioned plea for her son's return.

Russia to build Indian atomic units

Russia is to build 12 nuclear reactors in India, half of them by 2017, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom has announced. Sergei Kiriyenko, speaking in the Indian capital New Delhi on Friday, said six of the reactors will be built between 2012 and 2017. "So far it is clear that it will be 12 [reactors]. And this is not the final figure," he said. Some of the units will be located in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where two reactors are currently being built. One reactor is planned to be built in the eastern state of West Bengal after 2017. Kiriyenko is accompanying Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister, on a visit to India to sign a series of lucrative arms deals. Uday Bhaskar, a New Delhi-based defence and security analyst, told Al Jazeera that Putin's visit was significant in many ways. "This trip is about consolidating their relationship. There are a number of defence and strategic deals that will be signed. I also think there will be some political issues talked about such as how to deal with Afghanistan and also the rise of China," he said.

Five low-intensity blasts hit Lahore

Six explosions have been reported in Iqbal town. The first blast occurred in an empty plot near crowded Moon Market in Kashmir Block. The second blast hit a car parked outside a house. The third and sixth blast also occurred in Kashmir Block. The fourth blast reported outside the residence of a Group Captain Inam-ul-Haq's home in Zeenat Block. The fifth and the last blast struck Karim Block. Rescue teams and police have cordoned the area. Panic and fear prevailed among the masses. No causality has been reported. Cracker bombs were used in all the blasts. It was the eighth terror attack of the day in the city. Two blasts in Aray Bazaar this morning killed 40 people and injured 130 others. A series of attacks in Pakistan's second city, Lahore, has killed dozens of people and wounded more than 100 others, police say. At least 45 people, including 10 soldiers, were killed in Friday's first attack - a double bombing aimed at military vehicles, police said. A second attack later in the day near a police station is reported to have claimed another four lives. The double bombing occurred in RA Bazaar, a residential and commercial neighbourhood where several security agencies have facilities. "Two suicide bombers attacked within the span of 15 to 20 seconds and they were on foot," Tariq Saleem Dogar, the chief of Punjab police, said. No group immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's blasts, but the government blamed the Taliban.