* President's chief of staff nominated as prime minister * Reforms boost President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's powers (Adds quotes, background) BISHKEK, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev reshuffled his government on Tuesday, appointing a close ally as prime minister as part of wider measures that boost his control over the political system. Bakiyev won a second five-year term in office in July and has pledged then to reform the government to cut red tape and administrative costs at a time when economic growth is slowing down due to the global recession. Bakiyev told a government meeting that the number of ministries in the Central Asian state would be reduced and that the powerful National Security Committee and financial police would now report directly to him. "It is no secret that the existing public service system is clumsy and unable to quickly and adequately react to crisis situations and swift changes," Bakiyev said at the meeting. As part of the reshuffle, Prime Minister Igor Chudinov resigned and Bakiyev's Ak Zhol party nominated presidential chief of staff, Daniyar Usenov, to lead the new government. Usenov, 49, was one of Bakiyev's allies during the 2005 riots which forced then-President Askar Akayev to flee and brought Bakiyev to power. Bakiyev's critics said the reform was only meant to boost his already sweeping powers. "The power is being concentrated in one man's hands, the presidential authority is being strengthened," human rights activist Tolekan Ismailova said. Bakiyev has said that he was reforming the National Security Committee, now renamed National Security Service, to make it more efficient. "Threats to the national security are growing," he told the government meeting. "The country needs a modern, compact and efficient security service.., not a law enforcement body with security service functions." Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished mostly Muslim country, hosts a U.S. air base used to support operations in the nearby Afghanistan. (Reporting by Olga Dzyubenko; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
An employee works at a traditional light bulb factory, which produces up to 110 million bulbs a year, in Russia's Siberian city of Tomsk, October 16, 2009. Russia will ban the ...
