Ugandans vote in presidential election

Ugandans voted Friday in a presidential election that the term of the incumbent, who is in power 25 years could be extended.

A new term would become President Yoweri Museveni further five years.

This is the third consecutive time the opposition front-runner Kizza Besigye has run against the incumbent.

The candidate - a former doctor for Museveni - lost presidential bids in 2001 and 2006.

A total of eight presidential candidates, said Margaret Wokuri, a spokeswoman for the opposition Inter-party cooperation.

Besigye's party said it expected because, an accusation the government has dismissed as trying to undermine the vote.

"We plan to have our own tally and release it in 24 hours," said Wokuri. "We can not trust an electoral commission was appointed by the ruling party. We have our own control mechanism."

Museveni, the leader of the National Resistance Movement party led the country since he was a rebel group in line with the government overthrown in 1986.

He was once praised for stabilizing and Uganda to help combat the AIDS epidemic, but has faced mounting criticism over corruption and lack of political transition in the country.

Parliament removed presidential term limits in the East African country six years ago, which essentially established the office of unlimited duration.

Approximately 14 million people are registered to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections.

U.S. travel fee proposal criticized by Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he did not much like a new border tax proposed by the United States, calling it a cash grab designed to a budget crisis.
The U.S. government wants to slap a $ 5.50 inspection fee to Canadians in the country to travel by air or sea. Canadians crossing the U.S. land would not have to pay the fee.
"I think it is clear that the U.S. government is casting around for ways to generate revenue," Harper said Thursday. "I think this is not a convenient way to do that."
"We want to ensure that trade and travel between our countries is easier, not harder, and we do not need additional taxes on that kind of economic activity," he added.
In the House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said the passenger fee was "just a draft idea."
Cannon noted that the measure was the 2012 U.S. budget recently revealed and that the 2011 budget is not over Congress.
Currently, visitors from Canada, Mexico and some Caribbean countries are exempt of "passenger inspection fees." It is an exemption of the countries have enjoyed since 1997.
The budget includes a new U.S. proposal to lift that exemption - a move that a proof of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates would bring in an additional 110 million U.S. dollars annually.
Income from fees would be used for U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection functions support, says the document.

Canada and the U.S. are currently in talks to set up a North American security perimeter. The proposed fee is a sticking point in negotiations should be. Aviation groups against
Several aviation industry groups also came out against the proposed fee.
"An extra tax on air passengers, the ability of Canadian carriers to compete with low-cost operations in the border airports fall ...," said Board of Canada National Airlines President George Petsikas.
"Indeed, the announcement of an additional cost advantage for the border region facilities should make clear the need for commercial aviation in Canada to reduce cost structure," Petsikas said in a statement.
A group of Canadian airports echoed those comments.
"We share the concern of our tourism partners who would drive an extra fee on Canadian travelers to take to their cars and to fly out of U.S. border airports," said Canadian Airports Council President Bill Restall.

More protests break out in several areas in Bahrain

There was no police in the area, but a helicopter hovered above keeping a watchful eye on the procession that stretched a half a mile down a road.

The crowd chanted praises to the people killed in the protests calling them martyrs and also leveled a strong message calling for death to Bahrain's ruling family.

Demonstrators also gathered in an area of the village of Karzakan for a funeral for another victim, about 7 miles west of the capital city Manama, witnesses said.

In total, six people have died since protesters took to the streets Monday demanding reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain.

The tiny but strategically critical island nation of Bahrain is an American ally and houses the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

On Thursday, police stormed protesters gathered in Manama's Pearl Roundabout, a landmark circle in the city center.

Witnesses described a blunt show of force by police who fired pellets, rubber bullets and tear gas to force out protesters who had been rallying and, in some cases, camping out throughout the week. 

Bank fears rise on ECB emergency borrowing spike

Emergency overnight loans from the European Central Bank remained exceptionally high for the second day running on Friday, reinforcing fears that a euro-zone banks could face serious problems with financing.

ECB figures showed banks borrowed over 16 billion euros in high cost of emergency overnight funding - the largest amount since June 2009. The amount compared to the 1.2 billion euro loan for the numbers spiked to more than 15 billion on Thursday.

The ECB gives no breakdown of the loans figures and declined to comment when asked to explain the sudden spike.

Traders were unsure whether the jump was due to a serious financial issue or a bank had an error earlier in the week by not borrowing enough regular weekly subscription of the ECB.

"One can assume that a bank or a group of banks that are not easy money on the open market to get a good rate," said one trader.

2nd week of protests possible in Yemen

Anti-government protesters in Yemen called for more protests after the Friday noon prayers, possibly ushering in a second week of unrest in the Middle East nation.

It was unclear whether an appeal for calm by the country's most influential religious cleric, Sheikh Al-Zindani Abdulmajeed would be followed. On Thursday, he said religious clerics in the country were called for a government of national unity.

Of an official government source expressed his surprise at the attention of the turmoil was over the globe to generate a number of accusing the media of "false, misleading and biased information," the state-run Saba news agency reported Thursday.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that "at least four photo journalists were attacked, beaten and had their cameras confiscated" by pro-government supporters at the protests.

The developments come a day after a person was slain and more than two dozen injured in protests in Yemen, witnesses and an opposition legislator reported.

A 18-year-old protester died in Aden on Thursday when police fired to disperse demonstrators, said Aref al-Qubati, a participant who said the victim was a friend. It was the second fatality reported in the past two days in Aden, where the authorities cut off power to the Al-Mansoora area and fired in the air to break up the crowd of about 3,000.