M A I N   N E W S

IMF chief under pressure to quit

On Suicide Watch Dominique Strauss-Kahn * IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been put on suicide watch by prison authorities who fear he may try to kill himself. * He has been stripped off his Cartier watch and given a blue jailhouse smock to wear. *The high-profile prisoner is being checked regularly and has been made to wear shoes with no laces to pre-empt any suicide attempt.

New York/Paris May 18
Dominique Strauss-Kahn faced growing pressure to quit as head of the IMF on Wednesday after his arrest and detention in a New York jail on attempted rape charges. The arrest, while dashing his prospects for the French presidency, has also raised a broader question over the future of the world economic body. Developing countries, looking to a succession, have questioned Europe's hold on the post.

The United States, the IMF's biggest shareholder, said Strauss-Kahn was clearly unable to go on running the global lender from a prison cell, whatever the eventual outcome of the allegations of sexual assault on a New York hotel maid.

"I can't comment on the case, but he is obviously not in aposition to run the IMF," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said, calling for an official stand-in to be named.China, Brazil and South Africa questioned Europe's right to the International Monetary Fund job but Europeans said it made sense for them to retain the post while the Fund plays such a crucial role in helping to ease the euro zone debt crisis. — Reuters