Japan’s Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tuesday he would resign. The declaration comes a day after he denied being drunk at a G7 (Group of Seven) meeting in Rome where he appeared incoherent and indistinct his speech.

Nakagawa denied that he was drunk when he addressed the Japanese press on Saturday. He instead blamed his awkward and at times unfathomable performance on an overdose of cold drug. In spite of his refutations, those who have witnesses footage of the press conference, repetitive all day on Japanese TV, agree he had the glassy eyes and covered with sweat complexion of a man who had take pleasure in a few glasses of Chianti too many courtesy of his Italian hosts. The 55 years old Nakagawa said reporters in Tokyo.

“It is true that I didn’t conduct myself properly, and I feel I must set the record straight,”

He apologized for his manner and he said to journalists,

“I have resigned. I decided that it would be better for the country if I quit.”

Mr Nakagawa’s leaving is seen as a major blow to Mr Aso’s government in an election year. The prime minister was already facing dropping support of him. Prime Minister Taro Aso had accepted his resignation. Kyodo news agency said Kaoru Yosano was expected to take on his portfolio.

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On Friday 6th, US regulator closes two more banks in Georgia and California. This brings the total of eight US bank failures in this year.

“It became a receiver of Culver City, California-based Alliance Bank and entered into an agreement with California Bank & Trust of San Diego to assume all the deposits.” said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The California Department of Financial closed Alliance Bank, which has five offices. The bank had $1.14 billion in assets and $951 million in deposits. However, FDIC estimated the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $206 million. Regulators said on Friday that FirstBank Financial Services Inc also failed. Regulators said that FirstBank Financial Services had assets of about $337 million and $279 million in deposits at the end of 2008. The estimated cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund will be $111 million.

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The news is shocking for Pakistan as it may loose USD 1.5 billion financial aid from the US as a Congressional bill. It was set to debate the 10 years package but it has lapsed. According to the Pakistani daily Dawn the Biden-Lugar Bill, which would have provided as much as USD 1.5 billion to Pakistan over a period of 10 years expired in 2008 along with the term of the US Congress which was to debate it. Dawn published the report recently. Pakistani Urdu-language daily Jang said the bill must now be reintroduced by the Senate.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s US envoy Hussain Haqqani said to private television channel Geo that the bill had not been sidelined and remained an integral component of future Pak-US relations. Additionally, he underlined that the lapsing of the bill was a technicality of the transition of power within the US and the bill would soon be reintroduced by the US Senate.

The Pak Government is upset because the aid through the Biden-Luger bill is dreadfully needed to improve Pakistan’s faltering economy. Pak economy has been roughly hit by the unrest in the Islamic nation. As soon as taking office, the Obama government has indicated that America will hold Pakistan responsible for security in the disputed border region with Afghanistan. However, Pak authority try to manage the aid get again.

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