Morning Brief: What's the G-20's deal?

Top Story

Talks are ongoing, but it appears that G-20 leaders are close to a deal that would pledge an additional $500 billion for the IMF to assist struggling governments and create new financial regulations to prevent "banking secrecy."

While conceding some U.S. responsibility for the global financial crisis, U.S. President Barack Obama has resisted regulatory proposals that could reach inside U.S. borders. Though Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have downplayed the differences, Germany' Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy remain adamant about pushing for regulation.

Obama also said the world was entering a new era in which the U.S. could not be relied upon has the sole driver of economic growth. "Everybody is going to have to pick up the pace," he said.

Middle East

Israel's new foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman has already provoked controversy by saying the 2007 Annapolis agreement "has no validity." He was immediately criticized by his predecessor, Tzipi Livni.

The Palestinian authority has warned it could dissolve if Israel does not continue serious peace negotiations.

Despite the Iraqi government's clashes with Sunni paramilitaries last week, it has agreed to pay them.

Asia

Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud threatened to carry out attacks in the United States in retaliation for U.S. drone strikes on Pakistan.

North Korea may carry out its planned missile launch as early as this weekend.

Malaysia's reformist prime minister has resigned.

Europe

86 arrests were made at the G-20 protests in London yesterday. More marches are expected today.

A general strike has shut down public services and transportation in Greece.

Sweden's parliament voted to legalize same-sex marriage.

Americas

The U.S. announced more funding to crack down on weapons smuggling on the U.S.-Mexican border.

Former Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori testified in court to defend himself from human rights abuse charges.

A new internal report criticizes U.S. intelligence agencies for years of mismanagement.

Africa

Meidator Kofi Annan has threatened to turn over the names of perpetrators of Kenya's 2008 post-election violence to the International Criminal Court unless Kenya tries them.

The Obama administration’s new envoy told the Sudanese government that the United States seeks "friendship and cooperation" with the country.

The search for survivors of the ferry carrying African migrants that sank off the coast of Libya on Sunday has been called off.

DOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images

SASHENKA

9:05 AM ET

April 2, 2009

Is there a caption to go with

Is there a caption to go with that chummy photo?

JOSHUA KEATING

9:31 AM ET

Feel free to write your own

ALETHEIAK

11:30 AM ET

tanfastic

PAPICEK

9:54 AM ET

As noted today in the European Tribune...

Does US Face G20 Mutiny? which relates outgoing debt to US military spending. Well, the logic of that escapes me, even though in effect, that's the dynamic we currently see.
And my comment there:

Back on 24 October, I wrote about this in The Globalization Backlash. At the time, the irony of of businessmen who embraced globalization and who were backed by those who believed that American business was going to go out to rule the world were now being hoist on their own petard.

Then today this diary and this from Foreign Policy's Passport:

While conceding some U.S. responsibility for the global financial crisis, U.S. President Barack Obama has resisted regulatory proposals that could reach inside U.S. borders. Though Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have downplayed the differences, Germany' Angela Merkel and France's Nicolas Sarkozy remain adamant about pushing for regulation.

It's my view that in this matter, Europe is correct, but having regulation imposed by others will never, ever fly in the U.S. For Obama to survive politically, he must be shown to be forced into accepting, reluctantly, regulation imposed from without. For this to happen, European central banks must lobby the administration and European economists and businessmen must insist that the European view be adopted. This should be done both privately and openly. It's not that there's no support for greater bank regulation here in the US, in fact there have been repeated calls for it - many times from the pro-business pundits. The isolationists will have a field day, but they're mostly talking heads who've been discredited by now.

The G20 summit needs to lead to a new Bretton Woods conference where new ground rules can be hammered out. For this to happen, it may be necessary for this summit to be seen as a failure, because if anyone on either side of the Atlantic thinks Obama can take on Wall Street on his own, they're dreaming.

11:12 AM ET

pal authority would be wise to dissolve with warning or without

it would say
we people are just here on the land & in the land now
& no longer associated with any authority
nor any other even quasi political nor quasi military organization in fact than that of the land we are living in & on
& indeed our dreadful history itself no longer even clings or applies to us

accordingly we are no longer interested in victimization nor even justice

so
welcome to our new reality & new authority
the pure sovereign divinity of humanity

now
what works

& how can we continue to improve things

GARVAGH

6:00 PM ET

Great photo!

Are there more where this great photo came from? Bravo!

Foreign Policy Magazine

Morning Brief: What's the G-20's deal?

Posted By Joshua Keating Thursday, April 2, 2009 - 7:36 AM Share

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