Washington: Big powers fail to agree on capital reforms
The International Monetary Fund called Saturday for further study on global imbalances and exchange rate policies, stopping short of any specific calls to head off what some see as a looming currency war. The IMF steering committee, which has been struggling to find a consensus on easing currency tensions among key economies including China and the United States, said the organization should continue its study of the issue. While the international monetary system has proved resilient, tensions and vulnerabilities remain as a result of widening global imbalances, continued volatile capital flows, exchange rate movements and issues related to the supply and accumulation of official reserves, it said in a statement. Given that these issues are critically important… we call on the Fund to deepen its work in these areas, including in-depth studies to help increase the effectiveness of policies to manage capital flows. The statement from the International Monetary and Financial Committee, the policy arm of the IMF, stopped short of any specific call on China or others to change policies of using a low currency and accumulation of reserves to boost exports. There are frictions obviously, committee chair Yousaf Boutros-Ghali said at the conclusion of talks at IMF headquarters in Washington. These are being addressed. We have come to the conclusion that the IMF is the place to deal with these issues. IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, when asked about the failure to come up with a stronger statement, said that there is only one obstacle, and that is an agreement of the members. He added that I don’t believe action can be done in a way other than in a cooperative way. Recent IMF figures showed Beijing had currency reserves of 2.447 trillion dollars, the largest in the world and nearly 30 percent of the global total. Washington maintains that China purchases large amounts of dollars to keep the yuan artificially low, which distorts global trade by boosting Chinese exports. The has done little to ease fears of a global currency war, with the United States and China facing off over Beijing’s currency policies.
Kaira urges Pak-US cooperation to fight terrorism
ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira has said that Pakistan and the United States should continue working together to change the extremist mindset to achieve peace and development in the region.
He was talking to American Ambassador in Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson who called on him here on Wednesday.
The meeting discussed bilateral relations as well as cooperation in the field of public diplomacy and communications between the two countries.
The minister stressed the need of enhancing technical and financial cooperation between the two governments, especially in the field of information and media.
He underlined the need of this cooperation to fight the extremist mindset of a very small segment of the society that have threatened the whole social fabric of the country.
He said that elimination of this mindset is essential for sustainable peace in the region.
The minister highlighted the potential role played by media in uprooting this mindset and stressed the need for capacity building of the media infrastructure in the country through collaboration between the two countries.
Talking about changing the extremist mindset, the minister said that only democratic behaviors in all walks of life can discourage this mindset.
John McCain Backs Drone Strikes in Pakistan
January 7, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under Breaking News
John McCain Backs Drone Strikes in Pakistan, US Senator John McCain defended Thursday the use of drone attacks against suspected militants in Pakistan, despite the mounting civilian casualties of the raids.
“The drone strikes are part of an overall set of tactics which make up the strategy for victory and they have been very effective,” he said during his visit to Kabul. He did not mention the collateral damage inflicted upon the civilian population.
“I think it should continue, I think it’s an important tool in our overall strategy and we can claim measurable success in carrying out those operations,” said McCain.
The drone attacks, carried out by the US Central Intelligence Agency in cooperation with the Pentagon, reportedly killed over 700 civilians in Pakistan last year.
Drones had “knocked Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups off balance and they have been successful, and we are working more closely with the Afghan government as well as the Pakistan government to make those operations more efficient and less damaging to the civilian population,” McCain said.
John McCain Backs Drone Strikes in Pakistan was first posted on January 7, 2010 at 3:55 pm.
