Antananarivo  - The showdown between Madagascar's President Marc Ravalomanana and the capital's mayor Andry Rajoelina continued over the weekend, after Rajoelina declared he was taking over the running of the Indian Ocean island.

Until the opposition's demands for the installation of a transition government had been met, the 34-year-old mayor said Saturday, the security forces and government ministries should take their orders from him, and not Ravalomanana.

Ravalomanana, 59, who has been in power since 2002, made clear for his part he had no intention of stepping aside after a week of unrest, in which over 100 people were killed.

Moscow - Thousands of people in far-eastern Russia on Saturday began what are expected to be nationwide protests against the Kremlin's economic policies.

About 5,000 people in Vladivostock and Khabarovsk took to the streets, Echo Moskvy radio reported.

In the east, demonstrators protested against higher import tariffs on foreign cars that are meant to protect Russia's ailing domestic auto industry. Millions of drivers in the Asian part of Russia prefer used cars made in Japan and South Korea.

New York  - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday announced massive layoffs, proposed slashing the city budget by 1 billion dollars and may need to hike sales tax to bridge a 4-billion- dollar deficit for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

"We had prepared for a downturn, but I think it's safe to say nobody prepared for the severity of the downturn that we have been experiencing," Bloomberg said at a news conference while outlining his preliminary budget.

Baghdad - A sculpture of an enormous shoe erected in honour of the Iraqi reporter who hurled his shoes at then-US president George W Bush in December, was taken down on Friday.

The huge bronze-coloured sculpture, made of fiberglass, was erected at an orphanage complex in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit on Thursday.

The head of the Childhood organisation, which the orphanage belongs to, said that the Provincial Joint Coordination Centre told her to take the structure down immediately.

Mumbai, Jan 30: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray met Maharashtra Governor S C Jamir for about an hour on Friday in connection with the vandalisation of Mumbai University premises.

Raj was accompanied by key associates, including spokesperson Shirish Parkar, to the Raj Bhavan.

Details of the meeting were not disclosed.

Earlier this week, MNS student wing activists attacked the Mumbai University premises, destroying property after they were denied permission to hold talks with the vice chancellor.

Ranchi, Jan 30: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief ministerial nominee and former agriculture minister Nalin Soren has been accused of accumulating extended wealth, which does not comply with his known sources of income.

Vineet Kashyap, a resident of Ranchi, filed the complaint against Nalin Soren and Nestar Minz, agriculture director, in the vigilance court.

Kashyap has appealed for a probe into the assets of the minister and agriculture director.