Daniel Barenboim, the world renowned Israeli pianist and conductor, has taken Palestinian citizenship and said he believed his rare new status could serve a model for peace between the two peoples. "It is a great honor to be offered a passport," he said late on Saturday after a Beethoven piano recital in Ramallah, the West Bank city where he has been active for some years in promoting contact between young Arab and Israeli musicians. "I have also accepted it because I believe that the destinies of ... the Israeli people and the Palestinian people are inextricably linked," Barenboim said. "We are blessed - or cursed - to live with each other. And I prefer the first." "The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible," he continued. Former Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi, who helped organize Saturday's concert, said the passport had been approved by the previous government of which he was a member and which was replaced in June. The passport had actually been issued about six weeks ago, he added.
"The fact that an Israeli citizen can be awarded a Palestinian passport, can be a sign that it is actually possible," he continued. Former Palestinian Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi, who helped organize Saturday's concert, said the passport had been approved by the previous government of which he was a member and which was replaced in June. The passport had actually been issued about six weeks ago, he added.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- President Bush on Sunday described Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and called on Arab allies to help his administration curb the threat "before it's too late." In a speech at an opulent, palace-style resort here Sunday, Bush accused Iran's militant Shiite Muslim government of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to foment instability in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, while ordinary Iranians face economic hardships and political repression."Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Bush said. "So the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it's too late." But Bush appears unlikely, based on the regional reaction to his address, to find many Arabs to heed his alarms against Iran, a powerful neighbor and trading partner. Nor did many endorse his speech's other theme -- a vision of "free and just society" featuring broad political participation and a voice for moderate Muslims in a region where money and family are common keys to leadership.
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- President Bush on Sunday described Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism and called on Arab allies to help his administration curb the threat "before it's too late."
In a speech at an opulent, palace-style resort here Sunday, Bush accused Iran's militant Shiite Muslim government of spending hundreds of millions of dollars to foment instability in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories, while ordinary Iranians face economic hardships and political repression.
"Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere," Bush said. "So the United States is strengthening our longstanding security commitments with our friends in the Gulf, and rallying friends around the world to confront this danger before it's too late."
But Bush appears unlikely, based on the regional reaction to his address, to find many Arabs to heed his alarms against Iran, a powerful neighbor and trading partner. Nor did many endorse his speech's other theme -- a vision of "free and just society" featuring broad political participation and a voice for moderate Muslims in a region where money and family are common keys to leadership.
Israeli and other foreign officials asked Bush to explain the NIE, which concluded with "high confidence" that Iran halted what the document describes as its "nuclear weapons program." The NIE arrived at this finding even though Tehran continues to operate uranium-enrichment centrifuges that many experts believe are intended to develop material for a bomb, and despite the CIA's assertion that it had, for the first time, concrete evidence of such a weaponization program. Most confusing of all, the document seemed to directly contradict a 2005 NIE that concluded--also with "high confidence"--that Iran did have such a weapons program. Bush's national-security adviser, Stephen Hadley, told reporters in Jerusalem that Bush had only said to Olmert privately what he's already said publicly, which is that he believes Iran remains "a threat" no matter what the NIE says. But the president may be trying to tell his allies something more: that he thinks the document is a dead letter.
We have to depend on Arab leaders to keep peace in the world?
Well, it seems that might work better than relying on the restraint of the USA keep to the Fen Causeway
The recent, and escalating, tension between Iran and the US in the narrow corridor of the Strait of Hormuz has once again drawn attention to the strait's international maritime status, and to the ramifications of this tension as a flashpoint in the Middle East. In a significant raising of the temperature, US President George W Bush on Sunday accused Iran of threatening security around the world by backing militants and urged his Gulf Arab allies to confront "this danger before it is too late". Speaking in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates during his seven-nation tour of the Middle East, Bush said the US is strengthening its "security commitments with our friends in the Gulf" and "rallying friends around the world to confront this danger". He also called Iran "the world's leading state sponsor of terror". Tension spiked markedly last week when Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) speedboats were involved in an "incident" with three US Navy vessels, which claimed they were international waters. Yet there is no "international water" in the Strait of Hormuz, straddled between the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. The US government claimed, through a Pentagon spokesperson, Bryan Whitman, that the three US ships "transiting through the Strait of Hormuz" were provocatively harassed by the speedboats. This was followed by the Pentagon's release of a videotape of the encounter, where in response to Iran's request for ship identification, we hear a dispatch from one of the US ships stating the ship's number and adding that "we are in international waters and we intend no harm".
Article 19, elaborating on the meaning of "innocent passage", states that "passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state". And that means a prohibition on "any exercise or practice with weapons of any kind" and or "any act of harmful and serious pollution". In other words, US warships transiting through Hormuz must, in effect, act as non-war ships, "temporarily depriving themselves of their armed might". And any "warning shots" fired by US ships at Iranian boats, inspecting the US ships under customary international laws, must be considered an infringement on Iran's rights. This technically warrants a legal backlash in the form of the Iranians temporary suspending the US warships' right of passage. Again, the US could be technically prosecuted by Iran in international forums for conducting questionable activities while in Iranian territorial waters.
In other words, US warships transiting through Hormuz must, in effect, act as non-war ships, "temporarily depriving themselves of their armed might". And any "warning shots" fired by US ships at Iranian boats, inspecting the US ships under customary international laws, must be considered an infringement on Iran's rights. This technically warrants a legal backlash in the form of the Iranians temporary suspending the US warships' right of passage. Again, the US could be technically prosecuted by Iran in international forums for conducting questionable activities while in Iranian territorial waters.
So, if, in previous encounters as both sides concede, the US has fired "warning shots" then they are breaching the laws of the sea. So the US Navy is in the wrong and it's likely the arabs know that when they sit on their hands as Bush lies to them. And it's likely that the Pentagon knows this too, which suggests like this is just politicos trying to stir up American public sentiment for a war, which the arabs are very unlikely to allow them.
Or is this for Olmert's sake in the "negotiations" with the Palestinians ? keep to the Fen Causeway
The strait at its narrowest is 21 miles wide. ... Ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), which separates inbound from outbound traffic to reduce the risk of collision. The traffic lane is six miles wide, including two two-mile-wide traffic lanes, one inbound and one outbound, separated by a two-mile wide separation median. To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the territorial waters of Iran or Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[1]
...
Ships moving through the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), which separates inbound from outbound traffic to reduce the risk of collision. The traffic lane is six miles wide, including two two-mile-wide traffic lanes, one inbound and one outbound, separated by a two-mile wide separation median. To traverse the Strait, ships pass through the territorial waters of Iran or Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[1]
On Tuesday, in Madrid, politicians, non-governmental organisations and civil society leaders from across the globe begin two days of dialogue aimed at addressing the growing polarisation between nations and cultures worldwide. The objective is not only to promote cross-cultural understanding, but also to create and develop partnerships and joint initiatives aimed at promoting an "Alliance of Civilisations".
Non-western civilisations and cultures have their own unique history, traditions and theology, which often embody ideas and values that are fundamentally different from what the west has to offer. Nowhere is this divergence more apparent than on issues pertaining to religion. Many in the west expect that as Muslim societies develop materially, they will separate religion from the public sphere, treating it as a purely private matter, as happened during the period in Europe termed the "Enlightenment". However, as many Muslim societies urbanise and modernise, what we witness is a growing attachment to Islam. The reasons for this are complex; people often want to protect their identity from being subsumed by a global norm. In some cases, the attachment to religion is a reaction against the monolithic forces of globalisation, forces that sometimes clash with Islam's own search for deeper meaning and purpose, and concern for the needy. For Muslims, then, religion can never be a purely private matter for, unlike other prophets, Mohammed steered a state and established principles of governance that embody these values.
Many in the west expect that as Muslim societies develop materially, they will separate religion from the public sphere, treating it as a purely private matter, as happened during the period in Europe termed the "Enlightenment". However, as many Muslim societies urbanise and modernise, what we witness is a growing attachment to Islam. The reasons for this are complex; people often want to protect their identity from being subsumed by a global norm. In some cases, the attachment to religion is a reaction against the monolithic forces of globalisation, forces that sometimes clash with Islam's own search for deeper meaning and purpose, and concern for the needy. For Muslims, then, religion can never be a purely private matter for, unlike other prophets, Mohammed steered a state and established principles of governance that embody these values.
The Alliance of Civilizations' mission statement is:
to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions and, in the process, to help counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism.
It's great to learn that there are such internationally constituted organizations and efforts, with high level official backing, that are devoted to working on these critical challenges. Truth unfolds in time through a communal process.
What we see is profoundly polluted by the fact that islam is seen in many countries as the voice of freedom and democracy (and social progress) against corrupt autoritarian regimes supported by the West. When that drops away (like in Iran), support for Islam in politicla life will drop. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Let's take, as a random example of a Muslim country, Ireland. Huge migration from rural to urban environment in 20th C that gave us a new middle class of intensely insecure ex-peasants who clung to their religion as a crutch, a religion that had become mixed up with the national identity during the preceding period, provided the only source of education for 99% of the people - tied up in the state provision - and which served as a pretty major source of guidance for the laws of the country through the 70s and 80s. The whole game of status here was tied up with being seen to be a good Catholic.
It takes until at least the second or third educated, urban generation to get past that, and if we help reinforce the national identity elements of Islam in the the Middle East it'll take longer.
Ehud Olmert is battling to keep together Israel's fractious multi-party government, amid rising tensions between the prime minister and his rightwing coalition partner over the current Middle East peace talks.Mr Olmert is due to meet the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party on Tuesday in a bid to maintain the backing of Avigdor Lieberman and his 10 fellow parliament members. The meeting was triggered by Mr Lieberman's opposition to the opening of talks on the core issues of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, such as the status of Jerusalem and the final borders of a Palestinian state.Mr Lieberman, who has said in the past that such a move would cross a "red line" for his party, will announce a decision on whether to pull out of the government or not on Wednesday, his spokeswoman said. She added the party was also opposed to evacuating Jewish settlement outposts in the Palestinian West Bank, which have been erected without the backing of the government.
Mr Olmert is due to meet the leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party on Tuesday in a bid to maintain the backing of Avigdor Lieberman and his 10 fellow parliament members. The meeting was triggered by Mr Lieberman's opposition to the opening of talks on the core issues of an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, such as the status of Jerusalem and the final borders of a Palestinian state.
Mr Lieberman, who has said in the past that such a move would cross a "red line" for his party, will announce a decision on whether to pull out of the government or not on Wednesday, his spokeswoman said. She added the party was also opposed to evacuating Jewish settlement outposts in the Palestinian West Bank, which have been erected without the backing of the government.
Does he hope they'll go away ? Or gradually die in the desert as the water they need to live and grow food is denied them. Or maybe he just wants to gas them ?
C'mon Lievberman, you sound just like your scumbag Connecticut namesake, a smiling apologist for a brutal hegemony. Speak up. Tell us what happens to the Palestinians ? What is your plan ? Or are you really just a nazi eliminationist bastard ? keep to the Fen Causeway
I ask the question, what is the logical end of his proposals if they are not some form of eliminationist tendency ? There are distinctly fascitic tones to the right wing of Israeli politics, not the fringe elements who have no influence, but people who are a part of government. I believe it is entirely legitimate to ask if they realise where they're going with this, and if they are not going to this place, what alterantive are they offering cos right now I don't see it. keep to the Fen Causeway
Growth in Asia's developing economies is likely to slacken this year because of the US slowdown and higher fuel prices, the president of the Asian Development Bank said on Monday. Haruhiko Kuroda told the Financial Times that the ADB's next set of forecasts, due to be published in March, would put regional growth - including China but excluding Japan - at "slightly less'' than 8 per cent.This compares with a forecast of 8.2 per cent in September, when the Asian lender raised its forecast for 2008 from 7.7 per cent and predicted that the region would weather any slowdown generated by the credit squeeze because of its reduced reliance on international lending.The ADB's growing pessimism about the regional economy confirms that it has rejected the theory that emerged last year that Asian economies had "decoupled" from the rest of the world and could continue growing even in the face of a US recession. Mr Kuroda's warning came as Goldman Sachs lowered its growth forecast for the region to 8.3 per cent from 8.6 percent.
This compares with a forecast of 8.2 per cent in September, when the Asian lender raised its forecast for 2008 from 7.7 per cent and predicted that the region would weather any slowdown generated by the credit squeeze because of its reduced reliance on international lending.
The ADB's growing pessimism about the regional economy confirms that it has rejected the theory that emerged last year that Asian economies had "decoupled" from the rest of the world and could continue growing even in the face of a US recession. Mr Kuroda's warning came as Goldman Sachs lowered its growth forecast for the region to 8.3 per cent from 8.6 percent.
Growing skills shortages in Asia mean multinational companies operating in the region may, within five years, be forced to pay western-level wages to skilled scientists, IT specialists and engineers, according to the head of one of the world's largest recruiting companies.A shift to higher value-added manufacturing in Asia is contributing to skills shortages and resulting in "a massive productivity hit'' for many companies investing in the region, Jeff Joerres, chief executive of Manpower, the US staffing company, told the Financial Times.Many western companies, he said, were "clearly underestimating'' the challenge of finding adequate staff for advanced jobs, both in China and in younger manufacturing destinations such as Vietnam and Cambodia. "Companies will shift from facing a technology deficit to a talent deficit. They are trading off one productivity loss for another," he said.Legal changes in the Asian labour market also make attracting and retaining staff more difficult, he warned. This month China introduced a labour contract that raises the compensation companies have to provide for dismissing workers. Strikes for higher pay are also becoming more common.
A shift to higher value-added manufacturing in Asia is contributing to skills shortages and resulting in "a massive productivity hit'' for many companies investing in the region, Jeff Joerres, chief executive of Manpower, the US staffing company, told the Financial Times.
Many western companies, he said, were "clearly underestimating'' the challenge of finding adequate staff for advanced jobs, both in China and in younger manufacturing destinations such as Vietnam and Cambodia. "Companies will shift from facing a technology deficit to a talent deficit. They are trading off one productivity loss for another," he said.
Legal changes in the Asian labour market also make attracting and retaining staff more difficult, he warned. This month China introduced a labour contract that raises the compensation companies have to provide for dismissing workers. Strikes for higher pay are also becoming more common.
The Baltic Dry Shipping Index (BDI) is the key gauge of shipping rates for the world's busiest 24 key shipping routes. Last Thursday, the BDI fell the most it since 1989 plummeting 384 points (4.6%) to 7,949. (single day change). The BDI is now 28% lower than its Nov. 13 2007 record peak of 11,039. The potential of a U.S. recession is starting to spread to othr contraries, all chatter of "decoupling" and "containment" notwithstanding. If this is foreshadowing a broader global decline, we should expect commodity prices to suffer as well.
The Baltic Dry Shipping Index (BDI) is the key gauge of shipping rates for the world's busiest 24 key shipping routes.
Last Thursday, the BDI fell the most it since 1989 plummeting 384 points (4.6%) to 7,949. (single day change). The BDI is now 28% lower than its Nov. 13 2007 record peak of 11,039.
The potential of a U.S. recession is starting to spread to othr contraries, all chatter of "decoupling" and "containment" notwithstanding. If this is foreshadowing a broader global decline, we should expect commodity prices to suffer as well.
As Kenya braced itself for a third week of post-election unrest, analysts warned that the continuing standoff between President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, could have far more damaging repercussions for east Africa's biggest economy than initially forecast.Kenyan schools, which had delayed reopening because of the violence, welcomed back pupils on Monday for the first time since the Christmas break and shops opened in Nairobi's central business district, so far untouched by the looting that has gutted other urban centres.But an opposition call for three days of nationwide protest, starting on Wednesday, was expected to bring much of the country to a halt again, with clashes likely between demonstrators and riot police enforcing a ban on rallies.
Kenyan schools, which had delayed reopening because of the violence, welcomed back pupils on Monday for the first time since the Christmas break and shops opened in Nairobi's central business district, so far untouched by the looting that has gutted other urban centres.
But an opposition call for three days of nationwide protest, starting on Wednesday, was expected to bring much of the country to a halt again, with clashes likely between demonstrators and riot police enforcing a ban on rallies.
The United Nations' in-house team of white-collar crime-fighters, threatened with closure despite identifying $600m of fraud-tainted UN contracts, has survived to fight another day.In bargaining over the UN's budget at the end of last year, the UN General Assembly agreed to extend the mandate of investigators at the Procurement Task Force for another 12 months."I and others in the team are happy to be alive," said Robert Appleton, the former US federal prosecutor who heads the force, in his first public comments since the closure threat was lifted. He said he headed a dedicated band of international investigators, which still had 300 cases of potential fraud within the UN system on file. The budget extension means the team, with fewer than 20 investigators, will have at least another year to pursue the kind of inquiries that last year led to the conviction of Russia's highest-ranking UN diplomat on money-laundering charges.The team, set up two years ago in the wake of the scandal over the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq, identified more than 10 cases of significant fraud involving contracts worth $610m. The loss to the UN through corruption was at least $25m.
In bargaining over the UN's budget at the end of last year, the UN General Assembly agreed to extend the mandate of investigators at the Procurement Task Force for another 12 months.
"I and others in the team are happy to be alive," said Robert Appleton, the former US federal prosecutor who heads the force, in his first public comments since the closure threat was lifted. He said he headed a dedicated band of international investigators, which still had 300 cases of potential fraud within the UN system on file.
The budget extension means the team, with fewer than 20 investigators, will have at least another year to pursue the kind of inquiries that last year led to the conviction of Russia's highest-ranking UN diplomat on money-laundering charges.
The team, set up two years ago in the wake of the scandal over the UN oil-for-food programme in Iraq, identified more than 10 cases of significant fraud involving contracts worth $610m. The loss to the UN through corruption was at least $25m.
A group of influential investors has warned 78 listed companies that they are breaching pledges to a United Nations agreement on society and the environment by failing to publish progress reports.The investors, led by Morley Fund Management in the UK, have also praised a smaller group of mostly European companies for "notable" performance under the UN Global Compact.The compact commits companies to principles on human rights, labour standards, the environment and corruption, with the aim of improving the "social legitimacy" of businesses.According to the UN database of compliance, 904 companies - the bulk of them from emerging markets - have failed to produce the updates required by the scheme.The investor group - which runs more than $2,130bn (£1,088bn) in total - has written to the chief executives of the biggest listed companies whose reports are late, urging them to comply.
The investors, led by Morley Fund Management in the UK, have also praised a smaller group of mostly European companies for "notable" performance under the UN Global Compact.
The compact commits companies to principles on human rights, labour standards, the environment and corruption, with the aim of improving the "social legitimacy" of businesses.
According to the UN database of compliance, 904 companies - the bulk of them from emerging markets - have failed to produce the updates required by the scheme.
The investor group - which runs more than $2,130bn (£1,088bn) in total - has written to the chief executives of the biggest listed companies whose reports are late, urging them to comply.
Who knew that such an organization existed --
The Global Compact is a framework for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption . As the world's largest, global corporate citizenship initiative, the Global Compact is first and foremost concerned with exhibiting and building the social legitimacy of business and markets... The Global Compact is a purely voluntary initiative with two objectives: Mainstream the ten principles in business activities around the world Catalyse actions in support of broader UN goals, such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) What is the UN Global Compact?
The Global Compact is a purely voluntary initiative with two objectives:
-- or that the Financial Times should care to report on the accountability of its participants!
The investor group - which runs more than $2,130bn (£1,088bn) in total - has written to the chief executives of the biggest listed companies whose reports are late, urging them to comply. On the UN list of overdue companies are Premier Oil and Standard Chartered of the UK; Luxembourg's ArcelorMittal; Caisses d'Epargne, Hermès and Bouyges Telecom of France; Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo; the São Paulo, Jakarta and Istanbul stock exchanges; car hire group Europcar, and Edelman, the US public relations firm. Steve Waygood, head of engagement at Morley, said the scheme was a valuable addition to global corporate governance and helped investors. "We want to help protect the credibility of the Global Compact, which suffers when companies free-ride on the good work of others," he said.
On the UN list of overdue companies are Premier Oil and Standard Chartered of the UK; Luxembourg's ArcelorMittal; Caisses d'Epargne, Hermès and Bouyges Telecom of France; Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo; the São Paulo, Jakarta and Istanbul stock exchanges; car hire group Europcar, and Edelman, the US public relations firm.
Steve Waygood, head of engagement at Morley, said the scheme was a valuable addition to global corporate governance and helped investors.
"We want to help protect the credibility of the Global Compact, which suffers when companies free-ride on the good work of others," he said.
The article's last two paragraphs are revealing:
The Global Compact was launched in mid-2000 with the support of many of the world's biggest multinationals as part of an effort by Kofi Annan, then-UN general secretary, to head off criticism of globalisation. However, it was immediately plunged into controversy when campaign groups accused the UN of creating a toothless code with no enforcement mechanism. It is this, in part, that the investors hope to address by pressing for compliance.
However, it was immediately plunged into controversy when campaign groups accused the UN of creating a toothless code with no enforcement mechanism. It is this, in part, that the investors hope to address by pressing for compliance.
Rich countries will struggle to achieve the rises in living standards their citizens think are normal unless they sustain faster increases in economic efficiency, according to a report on Tuesday from the Conference Board, the international business organisation. The board's international comparison of labour productivity in 2007 shows sluggish growth in advanced economies compared with rapid improvements in many emerging markets.Although the EU scored slightly higher on growth in output per hour worked than the US for the second year in a row, the important difference says Bart van Ark, executive director of the Conference Board, is between increasingly sustainable productivity growth in countries such as China and much lower growth rates in advanced economies. "With a projected slowdown in the growth of the labour force relative to the total population, advanced countries will need to raise productivity growth rates to well beyond 2 per cent a year over the next two decades to maintain current per-capita income growth rates," the report says.
Although the EU scored slightly higher on growth in output per hour worked than the US for the second year in a row, the important difference says Bart van Ark, executive director of the Conference Board, is between increasingly sustainable productivity growth in countries such as China and much lower growth rates in advanced economies.
"With a projected slowdown in the growth of the labour force relative to the total population, advanced countries will need to raise productivity growth rates to well beyond 2 per cent a year over the next two decades to maintain current per-capita income growth rates," the report says.
the important difference says Bart van Ark, executive director of the Conference Board, is between increasingly sustainable productivity growth in countries such as China and much lower growth rates in advanced economies.
Words fail. Sustained might vaguely make sense. But "sustainable"??? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
Rich countries will struggle to achieve the rises in living standards their citizens think are normal unless they sustain faster increases in economic efficiency,
Hold on. What rises in living standards ? as the rich increasingly capture more and more of the wealth, even in growing economies as the West have been for much of the last decade, median wage growth has been stagnant compared to the cost of living.
Economic efficiency is how the rich actually capture more of the wealth, by making everybody else's work less rewarded or secure. So economic efficiency and citizen's rising living standards are actually forces opposed to each other, not co-dependent.
so bugger efficiency, let's all put a spanner in the works and give a mechanic a job. keep to the Fen Causeway
And they work faster. Amazing! In the end, might makes right. Nothing has changed since the caveman.
As America's biggest banks prepare to announce tens of billions of dollars in fresh writedowns from the international credit squeeze, they are turning to unlikely rescuers.Sovereign wealth funds - or state-backed investors - are expected to buy further stakes in Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as the banks try to repair their battered balance sheets. The funds' role may be unnerving for some in Washington. But their involvement is as welcome as it will be necessary if the US economy is to avoid a prolonged slump.A populist backlash against sovereign wealth funds may follow. Some US politicians, including Chuck Schumer, the influential New York senator, are worried that the biggest funds, owned by countries from China to the Gulf, could try to gain influence over US companies. They argue the funds are potentially susceptible to "non-economic" interests. So the closer they come to taking control, the greater the concern. The main flaw in this argument is the absence of any proof to back it up. Because they lack transparency, there may be problems with the way sovereign wealth funds operate. But they have every financial incentive to be good stewards of the assets they buy. Their investment may even be an opportunity for US firms, as China's investment in Barclays, the UK bank, promises to be.
Sovereign wealth funds - or state-backed investors - are expected to buy further stakes in Merrill Lynch and Citigroup as the banks try to repair their battered balance sheets. The funds' role may be unnerving for some in Washington. But their involvement is as welcome as it will be necessary if the US economy is to avoid a prolonged slump.
A populist backlash against sovereign wealth funds may follow. Some US politicians, including Chuck Schumer, the influential New York senator, are worried that the biggest funds, owned by countries from China to the Gulf, could try to gain influence over US companies. They argue the funds are potentially susceptible to "non-economic" interests. So the closer they come to taking control, the greater the concern.
The main flaw in this argument is the absence of any proof to back it up. Because they lack transparency, there may be problems with the way sovereign wealth funds operate. But they have every financial incentive to be good stewards of the assets they buy. Their investment may even be an opportunity for US firms, as China's investment in Barclays, the UK bank, promises to be.
With a controversial nuclear deal with the United States now in limbo, India held out the possibility of civilian nuclear cooperation with China. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the last day of a visit to China, said the world's two most populous nations -- who have a decades-long history of mistrust -- should work together to develop their nuclear energy programmes. "India seeks international cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy, including with China," Singh said, noting such cooperation could help the two countries meet their skyrocketing energy needs. "The rapid growth of India and China will lead to expanding demand for energy. We have no choice but to widen our options for energy availability and develop viable strategies for energy security," he said in a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He did not go into further details. Singh's visit, the first here by an Indian premier in five years, comes as the two rising Asian giants try to strengthen ties and put their history of animosity behind them. The prime minister made an appeal to what he called "the Asian way -- avoiding confrontation and building trust, confidence and consensus".
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on the last day of a visit to China, said the world's two most populous nations -- who have a decades-long history of mistrust -- should work together to develop their nuclear energy programmes.
"India seeks international cooperation in the field of civilian nuclear energy, including with China," Singh said, noting such cooperation could help the two countries meet their skyrocketing energy needs.
"The rapid growth of India and China will lead to expanding demand for energy. We have no choice but to widen our options for energy availability and develop viable strategies for energy security," he said in a speech at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
He did not go into further details.
Singh's visit, the first here by an Indian premier in five years, comes as the two rising Asian giants try to strengthen ties and put their history of animosity behind them.
The prime minister made an appeal to what he called "the Asian way -- avoiding confrontation and building trust, confidence and consensus".
Singhʻs speech has been the main story on CCTV today, which has been very enthusiastic about the Indian prime ministerʻs visit to China. The entire speech was broadcast live, and the parts theyʻre playing over and over are (in bold):
In pursuing these initiatives we will do it and we shall do it the Asian way - avoiding confrontation and building trust, confidence and consensus. It is only in an environment of peace that prosperity in Asia can be sustained. India and China have an important role to play in building peace, security and stability in the region. <...> I look forward with optimism to the future and the role which India and China are destined to play in the transformation of Asia and the world as well. This optimism is based on my conviction that there is enough space for both India and China to grow and prosper while strengthening our cooperative engagement. History shows that our two civilizations, flourished for centuries, side by side, interacting and influencing each other. PM ADDRESSES THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
I look forward with optimism to the future and the role which India and China are destined to play in the transformation of Asia and the world as well. This optimism is based on my conviction that there is enough space for both India and China to grow and prosper while strengthening our cooperative engagement. History shows that our two civilizations, flourished for centuries, side by side, interacting and influencing each other.
PM ADDRESSES THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
