Global Agenda articles from June 2004

Global Agenda archives from June 2004

Still plotting, still recruiting.(al Qaeda)
June 1, 2004... As a suspected al-Qaeda attack kills 22 people, mainly foreigners, in Saudi Arabia and with George Bush's intelligence chiefs warning of possible attacks on the scale of the Madrid bombings, a leading security think-tank says Osama bin Laden's...

Ariel Sharon up against the wall.(non approval of plan)
June 1, 2004... After a marathon cabinet debate, Ariel Sharon is weakened by his failure to win support for his "disengagement" plan with the Palestinians. But he has won support in his Likud party for the principle of removing at least some Jewish settlements...

The end of an era; Umberto Agnelli's death; The end of an era at Fiat.
June 1, 2004... The death of Umberto Agnelli, chairman of Fiat, almost certainly brings to an end his family's dominance of the troubled Italian industrial group. Fiat's heavy debts may prompt a sale of the core car division THE death of Umberto Agnelli,...

The Fund's golden Rato; A new boss for the IMF; The golden Rato.
June 1, 2004... Rodrigo Rato takes over as head of the IMF at a time when emerging-market economies look in fairly good shape. But he should not bet on enjoying a quiet life in his new job THE backroom deals have long since been struck, the horses long...

A new Iraqi leadership, impatient for full power.
June 1, 2004... After days of arguments between America and its appointees on the Iraqi Governing Council, the country now has a provisional president, prime minister and cabinet. Now they are pushing for "full sovereignty" at the end of this month AFTER...

Ariel Sharon up against the wall.(non approval of plan)
June 2, 2004... After a marathon cabinet debate, Ariel Sharon is weakened by his failure to win support for his "disengagement" plan with the Palestinians. But he has won support in his Likud party for the principle of removing at least some Jewish settlements...

The Fund's golden Rato; A new boss for the IMF; The golden Rato.
June 2, 2004... Rodrigo Rato takes over as head of the IMF at a time when emerging-market economies look in fairly good shape. But he should not bet on enjoying a quiet life in his new job THE backroom deals have long since been struck, the horses long...

A new Iraqi leadership, impatient for power; Iraq's new goverment; A new Iraqi leadership, impatient for full power.
June 2, 2004... After days of arguments between America and its appointees on the Iraqi Governing Council, the country now has a provisional president, prime minister and cabinet. Now they are pushing for "full sovereignty" at the end of this month AFTER...

Ariel Sharon up against the wall.
June 3, 2004... After a marathon cabinet debate, Ariel Sharon is weakened by his failure to win support for his "disengagement" plan with the Palestinians. But he has won support in his Likud party for the principle of removing at least some Jewish settlements...

A new Iraqi leadership, impatient for power; Iraq's new goverment; A new leadership, impatient for full power.
June 3, 2004... After days of arguments between America and its appointees on the Iraqi Governing Council, the country now has a provisional president, prime minister and cabinet. Now they are pushing for "full sovereignty" at the end of this month AFTER...

Wooing the grand old lady; A bid for Marks & Spencer; Philip Green woos the grand old lady of British retailing.(acquisition plans)
June 3, 2004... Marks & Spencer has received a takeover approach from Philip Green, billionaire owner of the Bhs and Arcadia high-street chains. How did it come to this for Britain's best-known retailer? "PHILIP GREEN is a likeable guy and a good...

Kerfuffle over falafel.(planning of production quotas for petroleum producers)
June 3, 2004... OPEC, the oil producers' cartel, meeting in Beirut, has agreed to increase production quotas. Does it make any difference? BEIRUT is not a city known for providing a source of calm in troubled times. But as representatives from the...

Was Tenet pushed? The CIA's Tenet resigns; Was he pushed?(Central Intelligence Agency)
June 3, 2004... George Tenet has resigned as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, citing personal reasons. But speculation is rife that the Bush administration is seeking to make him a scapegoat for failures in Iraq and elsewhere GEORGE TENET told...

Kerfuffle over falafel.
June 4, 2004... OPEC, the oil producers' cartel, meeting in Beirut, has agreed to increase production quotas. Does it make any difference? BEIRUT is not a city known for providing a source of calm in troubled times. But as representatives from the...

Was he pushed?
June 4, 2004... George Tenet has resigned as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, citing personal reasons. But speculation is rife that the Bush administration wants to make him a scapegoat for failures in Iraq and elsewhere. Whether he jumped or was...

Recalling Chavez; Venezuela's political turmoil; The opposition gets its recall vote but Chavez may play dirty.
June 4, 2004... Venezuela's opposition seems to have succeeded in forcing a "recall" referendum that could force President Hugo Chavez out of power. In an apparent about-turn, Mr Chavez now says he's happy to accept the challenge. But don't bet on a happy...

A creaking partnership; The transatlantic alliance; A creaking partnership commemorates D-Day.
June 4, 2004... Though the Americans and Europeans are getting together four times this month, starting with this weekend's D-Day celebrations, they still find it hard to get on THE commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings, on Sunday...

Kerfuffle over falafel.(OPEC increases oil production quotas )
June 7, 2004... OPEC, the oil producers' cartel, meeting in Beirut, has agreed to increase production quotas. Does it make any difference? BEIRUT is not a city known for providing a source of calm in troubled times. But as representatives from the...

The first post-Enlightenment president?(Obituary)
June 7, 2004... Ronald Reagan's presidency brought the end of Soviet-block communism and changed most people's views of how a market economy should be run. These achievements owed as much to gut feeling as to reason WHEN Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the...

Sharon stoops to conquer; Israel and the Palestinians; Sharon serves up a Gaza fudge.
June 7, 2004... Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has won cabinet backing, in principle, for his planned withdrawal from Gaza, but his coalition may collapse as a result. Meanwhile, the jailing of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian leader, may...

Restructuring the superpower.
June 7, 2004... America is reducing its troop levels in Germany and South Korea, two long-time allies, and is considering repositioning other forces too. Will improved strategic flexibility come at the cost of worsening already-strained relationships? ...

A creaking partnership; The transatlantic alliance; A creaking partnership commemorates D-Day.
June 7, 2004... Though the Americans and Europeans are getting together four times this month, starting with the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of D-Day, they still find it hard to get on THE commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the D-Day...

Sharon stoops to conquer; Israel and the Palestinians; Sharon serves up a Gaza fudge.(Ariel Sharon)
June 8, 2004... Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has won cabinet backing, in principle, for his planned withdrawal from Gaza, but his coalition may collapse as a result. Meanwhile, the jailing of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian leader, may...

Restructuring the superpower.
June 8, 2004... America is reducing its troop levels in Germany and South Korea, two long-time allies, and is considering repositioning other forces too. Will improved strategic flexibility come at the cost of worsening already-strained relationships? ...

Agreed at last.
June 8, 2004... America and Britain have reached a compromise with France over the role of foreign troops in Iraq after the handover of power, resulting in unanimous approval by the UN Security Council for a resolution authorising the troops to stay on ...

Recalling Chavez; Venezuela's political turmoil; The opposition gets its recall vote but Chavez may play dirty.
June 9, 2004... Venezuela's opposition seems to have succeeded in forcing a "recall" referendum that could force President Hugo Chavez out of power. In an apparent about-turn, Mr Chavez now says he's happy to accept the challenge. But don't bet on a happy...

Sharon stoops to conquer; Israel and the Palestinians; Sharon serves up a Gaza fudge.
June 9, 2004... Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, has won cabinet backing, in principle, for his planned withdrawal from Gaza, but his coalition may collapse as a result. Meanwhile, the jailing of Marwan Barghouti, a prominent Palestinian leader, may...

Agreed at last.
June 9, 2004... America and Britain have reached a compromise with France over the role of foreign troops in Iraq after the handover of power, resulting in unanimous approval by the UN Security Council for a resolution authorising the troops to stay on ...

Can supermodels save Strasbourg? European elections; The increasingly powerful, increasingly unloved European Parliament.
June 9, 2004... Once again, it appears turnout will be low for the election of the European Parliament, the only bit of the European Union that is directly accountable to the public. Why don't voters care more about this powerful institution? IT IS one of...

The first post-Enlightenment president?
June 10, 2004... Ronald Reagan's presidency brought the end of Soviet-block communism and changed most people's views of how a market economy should be run. These achievements owed as much to gut feeling as to reason WHEN Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the...

Agreed at last.
June 10, 2004... The UN Security Council has passed a resolution authorising foreign troops to stay in Iraq after the handover of power. But world powers still have their differences, over both Iraq and the broader Middle East MAYBE it was the spirit of...

A day to celebrate.
June 10, 2004... In a sign of growing respect for the rights of its largest ethnic minority, Turkey has allowed Kurdish-language broadcasts to begin and has freed from jail a leading Kurdish politician and three colleagues. But Turkey still has some stains to...

Can supermodels save Strasbourg? European elections; The increasingly powerful, increasingly unloved European Parliament.
June 11, 2004... Once again, it appears turnout will be low for the election of the European Parliament, the only bit of the European Union that is directly accountable to the public. Why don't voters care more about this powerful institution? IT IS one of...

Papering over the cracks.(some unity among international leaders )
June 11, 2004... The week began well for George Bush, with the UN Security Council passing a resolution authorising foreign troops to stay in Iraq. But despite a show of unity at the G8 summit, world leaders remain divided over Iraq, the broader Middle East and...

Returning to earth; China; Slowing a ballistic economy to cruise speed.
June 11, 2004... New figures suggest China's communists are still in command of their economy CHINA'S growth in recent years has been nothing short of ballistic: 9.1% last year, and an annualised 9.8% in the first quarter of this year. But though missiles...

Nokia fights back.
June 14, 2004... Hoping to reverse a slump in its market share and entrench its position as the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, Nokia has launched a range of new models. But the firm faces an increasingly diverse range of challengers WHEN a firm...

Unhappy voters send a message.
June 14, 2004... In the European Parliament's elections, turnout was low, governing parties generally suffered and a clutch of anti-EU parties did notably well. This may make it harder to reach agreement on the proposed EU constitution ANOTHER set of...

Can supermodels save Strasbourg? European elections; The increasingly powerful, increasingly unloved European Parliament.
June 15, 2004... Once again, it appears turnout will be low for the election of the European Parliament, the only bit of the European Union that is directly accountable to the public. Why don't voters care more about this powerful institution? IT IS one of...

Nokia fights back.
June 15, 2004... Hoping to reverse a slump in its market share and entrench its position as the world's biggest maker of mobile phones, Nokia has launched a range of new models. But the firm faces an increasingly diverse range of challengers WHEN a firm...

Karzai seeks more troops; Afghanistan; Another place that needs more troops.
June 15, 2004... As Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, visits Washington, security in his country worsens. Many now doubt whether NATO can make voting in September's elections safe beyond Kabul without more troops SUPPOSE the western powers occupying...

Karzai seeks more troops; Afghanistan; Another place that needs more troops.
June 16, 2004... As Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, visits Washington, security in his country worsens. Many now doubt whether NATO can make voting in September's elections safe beyond Kabul without more troops SUPPOSE the western powers occupying...

The summit of all fears.
June 16, 2004... On Thursday the leaders of the European Union's 25 member states begin a summit to finalise their draft constitution. There are many contentious issues remaining, and a deal is anything but certain THE leaders of the newly enlarged European...

Enterprise prepares for lift-off; Space exploration; One small step for enterprise.
June 16, 2004... A rocket backed by a high-tech entrepreneur is about to attempt the first commercial manned flight beyond the earth's atmosphere--just as a commission set up by President Bush has called for NASA to hand over many space-exploration activities...

Captains of space industry.(Brief Article)
June 16, 2004... Who's who of entrepreneurs in the "alt.space" movement Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal. Now founder and chief executive of SpaceX, company trying to reduce access to space through cheap satellite launches. Paul Allen, co-founder of...

Shameful revelations will haunt Bush; Bush, Iraq and torture; Shameful revelations.
June 17, 2004... Amid a steady dripfeed of embarrassing revelations about Iraq, a leaked, high-level memo justifying torture of prisoners--or what most people would call torture--is casting a long shadow over the Bush administration FOR a moment last week,...

The summit of all fears.
June 18, 2004... Leaders of the European Union's 25 member states are holding what is proving to be a stormy summit to finalise their draft constitution. Many contentious issues remain and a deal is anything but certain THE leaders of the newly enlarged...

Captains of space industry.(Brief Article)
June 18, 2004... Who's who of entrepreneurs in the "alt.space" movement Elon Musk, co-founder of PayPal. Now founder and chief executive of SpaceX, a company trying to reduce the cost of access to space through cheap satellite launches. Paul Allen,...

Shameful revelations will haunt Bush; Bush, Iraq and torture; Shameful revelations.
June 18, 2004... Amid a steady dripfeed of embarrassing revelations about Iraq, a leaked, high-level memo justifying torture of prisoners--or what most people would call torture--is casting a long shadow over the Bush administration FOR a moment last week,...

Detroit's big three in the slow lane; America's big carmakers; In the slow lane.
June 18, 2004... Despite some promising-sounding news this week from two of America's big three carmakers, they are still struggling to halt their steady loss of customers to foreign--especially Japanese--rivals. GM has announced a big shake-up of its European...

Finally, a constitution. Now the hard part; The EU's constitution; Finally, an agreement. Now the hard part.
June 19, 2004... After public rows and exhausting negotiations, Europe's leaders have agreed on a constitution for the EU. They failed to pick a president of the European Commission, however. And several--notably Tony Blair--must now sell the constitution to...

Karzai seeks more troops; Afghanistan; Another place that needs more troops.
June 21, 2004... As Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, visits Washington, security in his country worsens. Many now doubt whether NATO can make voting in September's elections safe beyond Kabul without more troops SUPPOSE the western powers occupying...

Lift-off for enterprise; Space exploration; One small step for enterprise.
June 21, 2004... A rocket backed by a high-tech entrepreneur has successfully completed the first commercial manned flight beyond the earth's atmosphere--days after a commission set up by President Bush called for NASA to hand over many space-exploration...

Finally, a constitution. Now the hard part; The EU's constitution; Finally, an agreement. Now the hard part.
June 21, 2004... After public rows and exhausting negotiations, Europe's leaders have agreed on a constitution for the EU. They failed to pick a president of the European Commission, however. And several--notably Tony Blair--must now sell the constitution to...

Maestro or mechanic?
June 21, 2004... The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point for the third time in three months. But monetary policy remains too loose for Alan Greenspan's comfort, forcing him to continue to tighten during a slowdown ...

Nicely Taylored?
June 21, 2004... The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by another quarter of a percentage point. Is there method in its moves? BEFORE his second term is over, President George Bush will leave his mark on two of the most important, unelected arms of...

How to slay America's monster trade gap? America's huge trade gap; Unsustainable but uncloseable?(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
June 22, 2004... America's trade gap is growing again. Worse, it may be extremely hard to close it without causing much economic pain--and not just for Americans LAST year, when the dollar resumed its steady decline after a brief spring rally, many...

Finally, a constitution. Now the hard part; The EU's constitution; Finally, an agreement. Now the hard part.
June 22, 2004... After public rows and exhausting negotiations, Europe's leaders have agreed on a constitution for the EU. They failed to pick a president of the European Commission, however. And several--notably Tony Blair--must now sell the constitution to...

How to slay America's monster trade gap? America's huge trade gap; Unsustainable but uncloseable?
June 23, 2004... America's trade gap is growing again. Worse, it may be extremely hard to close it without causing much economic pain--and not just for Americans LAST year, when the dollar resumed its steady decline after a brief spring rally, many...

Another health disaster in Africa.
June 23, 2004... Scare stories spread by religious zealots have led to a resurgence of polio in Africa. The UN's drive to eradicate the crippling disease by next year now looks in danger HAVING rid the world of the scourge of smallpox in the 1970s, the...

Perils on the sea.
June 25, 2004... As leaders of the NATO military alliance head for a summit at which new measures against shipborne terrorism will be on the agenda, there are worries that world trade may be disrupted by new anti-terror rules for ports and ships that are about...

Wanted: a cure for weltschmerz.
June 25, 2004... Germans are once again losing confidence in their economy; they long since lost it in their government "I WANT to show them that soft growth, high unemployment and disinvestment are not facts to be fatalistically accepted," Nicolas...

Perils on the sea.
June 28, 2004... As leaders of the NATO military alliance head for a summit at which new measures against shipborne terrorism will be on the agenda, there are worries that world trade may be disrupted by new anti-terror rules for ports and ships that are about...

Mr Compromise to lead the European Commission; The European Commission's new president; Mr Compromise.
June 28, 2004... The European Union's leaders finally seem to have agreed on a new president of the European Commission: Portugal's prime minister, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso. Though the row over the commission's new boss is over, the bitterness will not fade so...

Iraq's sovereignty restored, up to a point; Iraq; Sovereignty restored, up to a point.
June 28, 2004... The American-led coalition has handed power to Iyad Allawi's interim government two days ahead of schedule. Mr Allawi now faces an enormous struggle to establish his credibility among frustrated Iraqis and, above all, improve security THE...