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G20 leaders seal new deal London Diary
Man dies protesting summit
Rudd appeals for instant action
IMF: World economy to shrink by 2.7 pc
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Don’t repeat mistakes: PM
Critics rap dinner menu at 10, Downing Street
Michelle Obama breaks royal protocol by hugging Queen
Obama, Manmohan have their first chat
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G20 leaders seal new deal Accepting some of the radical steps suggested by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to effectively fight global financial crisis, the G-20 summit today decided to constitute an additional 1.1 trillion dollar programme of support to restore credit, growth and jobs in the world economy. For helping the countries with troubled economies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will get extra resources worth up to 750 billion dollars, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, releasing to the media an official communiqué adopted by world leaders at the end of their day-long summit. The summit leaders agreed to support a new SDR (special drawing rights) allocation of 250 billion dollars, support at least 100 billion dollars of additional lending by MDBs (multinational development banks), ensure 250 billion dollars of support for trade finance, and use the additional resources from agreed IMF gold sales for concessional finance for the poorest countries, the eight-page communiqué said. There would also be sanctions against secretive tax havens and tougher global financial regulation, Brown said. This was also one of the proposals that had the strong backing of India. Leader of the Opposition, LK Advani, had recently demanded that the Prime Minister raise the issue with G-20 leaders so that the illegal money belonging to Indian individuals stashed in Switzerland and other tax havens could be brought back and used for the country’s development. “We have reached a new consensus and whatever necessary to restore growth and jobs will be done," Brown said. There had been concerns that a rift was opening up between the approach being championed by the US and Britain and that favoured by France and Germany. "There are no quick fixes but we can shorten the recession and save jobs... and prevent a crisis such as this ever happening again." The US and Britain wanted countries to agree to more economic stimulus ahead of new rules for the banking system. France and Germany wanted the rules first -- and tougher ones than initially suggested -- and remain resistant to pumping more money into their economies. Brown said another G-20 meet would be held later this year and the venue of the meet would be announced in a few days. Some of the other significant steps mentioned in the communique are: “Bankers' pay and bonuses will be subject to stricter controls, a new Financial Stability Board will be set up to work with the IMF to ensure co-operation across borders, there will be greater regulation of hedge funds and credit ratings agencies, a common approach to cleaning up banks' toxic assets and the world’s poorest countries will receive 50 billion dollars in aid.”
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London Diary Former British foreign secretary Robin Cook once hailed chicken tikka masala as 'Britain's national dish'. But he is no more. And sadly, the Indian delicacy was missing at the dinner at 10, Downing Street, last night, hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the G-20 leaders. Chicken tikka masala is so much in demand here that every supermarket or shopping mall ought to carry this Indian delicacy. However, a report in a newspaper carried a long article today saying the Chinese cuisines are gradually becoming more popular in Britain than the Indian delicacies. May be, it’s time for the Indians here to invent a new delicacy. At Brown’s dinner,the world’s most powerful men and women had to settle for a menu which included Welsh lamb, Jersey Royal new potatoes and asparagus. So tight was the security in view of the protests against the G-20 summit that the cooks were not allowed to carry their personal mobiles into the kitchen.
PM Fully Booked
Was it because of the increasing economic clout of India or the personality of Manmohan Singh that prompted Financial Times to carry a full-page interview of the Indian Prime Minister yesterday with his colour picture? Only the newspaper editor has the answer. But Indians here are certainly feeling proud that their Prime Minister is attracting headlines in the British newspapers for the first time. Never in the past has any Indian leader been given so much of a space in a British newspaper. "The economist, who leads the world's biggest democracy, will be in demand at the G-20, but back home in India, Manmohan Singh faces a hard fight," the newspaper said in the only full-fledged interview with any of the G-20's leaders. The interview went on to say that Singh, who arrived in London late on Tuesday appeared rather robust, if not tired, and that it was hard to believe the 76-year-old, who pursued his higher education in economics in this city, had undergone a quintuple heart bypass surgery barely two months ago.
Delhi rules mindspace
Who will rule Delhi after the Lok Sabha elections? This is the main topic of discussions among Indians in Britain, who are monitoring developments back home with keen interest. Even at a dinner for the Indian media accompanying Manmohan Singh last night, one senior Indian journalist settled in Britain predicted that it could well be the ‘khichriest’(mixed) of sarkars that will come to power. Its obviously a new phrase coined by him to describe a hotchpotch government that will assume power in Delhi. But everyone at the dinner felt that the country needs a stable government that could grapple with economic and financial crisis and fight terrorism. The overwhelming impression,though, was that the elections will throw up a hung Parliament this time and anybody could become the Prime Minister. Lets all keep our fingers crossed till the outcome is known in mid-May.
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Man dies protesting summit
London, April 2 Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President Barack Obama are among leaders attending the summit that is expected to resolve the worst global economic crisis since the 1930s. There were over 80 arrests during yesterday’s protests, including four for violent disorder, six public order offences and 11 for possessing police uniform. A network of campaign groups has organised a series of protests to highlight causes ranging from job cuts, recession, climate change and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. One person died yesterday after he collapsed during demonstrations near the Bank of England. A protester called the police after he saw the man collapse and stop breathing. Two police medics broke through the cordon and carried the man to a clear area. The ambulance arrived six minutes later and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It is believed that the man died of a heart attack. Today, demonstrations are scheduled at the Stock Exchange, but the main focus will be the ExCeL Centre, where the summit meeting will be held. Commander Simon O'Brien of the metropolitan police warned that there may be more clashes between officers and demonstrators today.
— PTI
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Rudd appeals for instant action
Melbourne, April 2 Rudd, who met Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and South Korean President Lee
Myung-bak, today to discuss the G20 summit, warned that else the global economy will suffer the consequences by the end of this year. Rudd also met a group of world leaders and senior international figures to discuss climate change and rainforest destruction. G20 leaders want to settle on a plan to reform and resource the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), recapitalise banks to remove toxic debt which is choking the flow of credit, stop trade protectionism and restructure financial regulatory systems to make it more transparent. “Today there was an emerging consensus among leaders but there was a lot of work ahead, possibly enough for another G20 summit either later this year or early in 2010,” Rudd said.
— PTI
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IMF: World economy to shrink by 2.7 pc
Gordon Brown will appeal to the world's richest nations today not to close the door to stimulating their economies further. As the G-20 leaders, including Barack Obama, arrived in London last night for their historic summit, the scale of the crisis confronting them was illustrated by a gloomy new forecast from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It warned of “economic haemorrhaging” and a “bleak scenario” in which unemployment will rise to 36 million, as a result of the “deepest and most synchronised recession in our lifetimes”. The 30 most advanced economies in the world will see a slump in GDP of 4.3 per cent in 2009; the IMF says the world economy as a whole will shrink by 2.7 per cent, the worst decline in 60 years. The OECD said international trade was “in free fall”, down 13 per cent this year, with especially grim consequences for those nations most dependent on exports and manufacturing. The American economy will contract by 4 per cent, France by 3.3 per cent and the UK by 3.7 per cent, which would be the worst since 1931. The OECD warned that Britain’s soaring deficit would hamstring the potential for a further boost unless a “credible” framework for restoring public finances was set out. “The room for additional fiscal manoeuvre to respond to worse-than-expected activity developments is therefore limited and new measures would need to be accompanied by detailed and credible fiscal consolidation plans, in order to ensure that confidence is not eroded,” it said. — By arrangement with The Independent
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London, April 2 “An issue of vital concern to developing countries is the rise of protectionist sentiment in the industrialised world. This phenomenon is not surprising, given the downturn in economic activity and the rise in unemployment,” Singh said in his remarks at the official dinner hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to leaders of the G-20 summit here last night. “However, it will be a test of leadership whether we can persuade the public that we must not repeat past mistakes. We know that the Great Depression was as deep and prolonged as it was because countries resorted to protectionism which triggered protectionary responses, leading to a downward spiral," the Prime Minister added. — PTI
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Critics rap dinner menu at 10, Downing Street
London, April 2 Regretting that Britain’s love affair with Indian food was not reflected in the G-20 dinner diplomacy last night, many dissected the menu and felt that celebrity chef Jamie Oliver did not do justice to vegetarians among the guests. Chef Yotam Ottolenghi, who runs the Ottolenghi chain of restaurants, said he would have liked to see a few subtle multicultural influences in the menu to reflect a modern UK. In particular, he would have preferred to serve Indian vegetable curry. Many agreed with Ottolenghi that the menu was ‘not terribly exciting’ and according to him
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Michelle Obama breaks royal protocol
London, April 2 But much to the surprise of onlookers the Queen returned the gesture by putting her arm round first lady’s waist. The extraordinary scene took place yesterday as President Barack Obama made his first visit to Britain as US President. It is forbidden under royal protocol to touch the Queen, reported Daily Mail online. The American first lady, dressed in a black satin suit skirt, towered over the Queen who was dressed in a soft shade of pink. The two women seemed to have formed a bond as they chatted and laughed together, with shoes reportedly being one of the topics of discussion. The American president and his wife presented the Queen with an iPod containing photographs and videos of her last state visit to the US. The Obamas who are in London for the G-20 summit, had earlier met Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife Sarah Brown. — PTI
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Obama, Manmohan have their first chat
London, April 2 This was their meeting since since Obama assumed office January 20. A member of the Indian delegation said: “President Obama walked up to the Prime Minister and spoke to him for almost 10 minutes.” The interaction Wednesday set the stage for the bilateral meeting between the two leaders and their delegations later Thursday. Diplomatic sources said several world leaders were particularly keen to listen to the Indian prime minister, the Oxford-educated economist who had fashioned the country's economic reforms in the early 1990s as finance minister. “Over the last five years, our PM has emerged as a highly respected leader at international gatherings,” a diplomat said, maintaining that Manmohan Singh's views were considered seriously by all the G20 leaders.
— IANS
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