Daily News Channel
Early international media reaction to the Group of 20 summit in London — and the performance of world leaders there — ranged from wary to upbeat. Here is a sampling of opinions from global media outlets: United Kingdom The Guardian newspaper acknowledged the accomplishments of the summit, but said more work needs to be done to fix the world economy.
One measure of a summit’s success is the number of participants who attempt to lay claim to its outcome.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he would be willing to accept prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which U.S. President Barack Obama has said he will close, the Venezuelan government said Thursday. Chavez also said he hopes the United States will give Cuba back the land on which the naval base is located, the government said in a news release.
The current global economic downturn will change the worldwide power structure, giving China and India a stronger role to play in the future, Singapore’s foreign minister said Tuesday. “China and India will continue to grow and by the time this is all over, the global landscape will look quite different,” George Yeo told a group of visiting foreign journalists
Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Tuesday that "extremist Islam is trying to bring us down through terrorism from north and south" as his Cabinet prepared to take office. He offered an olive branch of sorts to Palestinians, but did not hold out the promise of their own state. “In order for there to be peace, our Palestinian allies and partners also have to fight terrorism,” he said
Turkey was Sunday voting in local elections widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Rece Tayyip Erdogan, whose challenges the country’s strict secular system have pitted him against the military and judiciary. Polls show Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party, or AK Party, in power since 2002, is once again likely to win more than 40 percent of votes in the mainly Muslim country. More than 90,000 positions are up for grabs, from the mayor of Turkey’s largest city Istanbul to the headman of the smallest village.
Malaysia’s prime minister wants to step down and has scheduled a meeting with the supreme ruler of the country to hand in his letter of resignation, Malaysia’s national news agency reported Saturday.
At least 22 civilians were killed and 38 other people were wounded Thursday in a Baghdad car bombing, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said. The number of protesters outside Government House had grown sharply since the afternoon, said Worapong Tuepreecha, the chief of the Metropolitan Police. He said they set up a stage and tents in front of the building.
The Czech government lost a confidence vote in parliament Tuesday, forcing the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign, Czech media reported.
The threat from terrorists using chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons is growing, Britain said Tuesday, warning advances in technology will enable extremists to conduct more lethal attacks in the future. The predictions came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government’s laid out its anti-terrorism policies and strategy in a document containing previously-classified information