All posts tagged: Davos

Davos Man Has No Plan to Stop Political Extremism

Davos Man Has No Plan to Stop Political Extremism

Published by skeptic

C-suite types fear the polarization will only deepen as half of the global population, in more than 60 countries, votes in 2024 — everywhere from South Africa to the United States. For them, financial consequences can be stark, especially if the results of an election threaten shipping lanes or when campaign rhetoric leads to violence in a place they’ve invested. “The biggest concern is instability,” the CEO of a private equity fund told me. These 12 months may well be the biggest election year in history. Many of the campaigns are unfolding in hotbeds of populist and nationalist sentiment, including major democracies such as India. Far from seeing this as a moment to turn back the tide of insularism, executives are girding for endless backlash. Some say they are worried about speaking up about politics because the far right and the ultra left see them as an enemy. They also have financial responsibilities to shareholders of all political stripes and so must be careful about taking certain stances. The CEO of one consumer goods company …

Defense in Davos: US on back foot as world roils around it

Defense in Davos: US on back foot as world roils around it

Published by skeptic

DAVOS, Switzerland — In a setting they usually dominate, top Biden administration officials and U.S. lawmakers found themselves in an unusual position at the glitzy annual gathering this week — a defensive crouch. Day after day, the officials faced questions about the political tussle over providing more aid to Ukraine, congressional polarization, the optics of supporting Israel despite the suffering of Palestinians and a growing bombing campaign against the Houthis in Yemen. And day after day, they had to reassure foreign counterparts that the U.S. had everything under control, that these were complicated times but nothing America and its allies couldn’t handle. The last time American officials were in this high-society ski town, just a year ago, they boasted about how Western support put Ukraine on the front foot against Russia and how investments in clean energy made the U.S. more competitive — even if it led to a major-but-temporary spat with Europeans. The talk of Davos wasn’t about what was wrong with America, but what was right. Not this time. When Secretary of State Antony …

Zelenskyy invites Trump to Kyiv – POLITICO

Zelenskyy invites Trump to Kyiv – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

LONDON — Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited Donald Trump to Kyiv, but on one condition. The Ukrainian president said the former U.S. president would be welcome to visit him in the capital — as long as Trump is able to stop the war with Russia within 24 hours, as he once promised. Trump has boasted that, if he were president, he could end the war immediately by insisting Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin agree to a settlement, insisting he has a good relationship with both leaders. Trump, during his political career, has repeatedly gushed over Putin, who launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives. “Yes please, Donald Trump — I invite you to Ukraine, to Kyiv,” Zelenskyy said, in an interview set to be aired Friday evening with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 News. “If you can stop the war during 24 hours I think it will be enough to come to Kyiv, on any day I am here.” Zelenskyy added that, if Trump does have …

Trump’s return could be ‘big win for the world’ – POLITICO

Trump’s return could be ‘big win for the world’ – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has endorsed Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States, arguing the controversial former leader might just be “what the world needs” right now — so long as Trump supports Ukraine in its war against Russia. “We all need to grow up and get used to the prospect,” the former British leader wrote Friday in his weekly Daily Mail column. “If he does the right thing and backs the Ukrainians — and I believe he will — a Trump presidency can be a big win for the world.” NATO-skeptic Trump — who has repeatedly lavished praise on the bellicose Russian President Vladimir Putin — has sparked fears in Kyiv that he would withdraw U.S. military aid for Ukraine; such concerns are echoed in other Western capitals. But Johnson disagrees. The globe needs a leader “whose willingness to use force and sheer unpredictability is a major deterrent to the enemies of the West” who is “an enthusiastic exponent of free markets and capitalism” and who is …

Casting their shadow: how Trump, Putin and AI dominated talk at Davos | Davos 2024

Casting their shadow: how Trump, Putin and AI dominated talk at Davos | Davos 2024

Published by skeptic

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Neither were on the guest list for the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, yet the man in the Kremlin and the other one plotting a return to the White House still managed to dominate Davos. The regular January talkfest high in the Swiss Alps attracted an impressive list of world leaders of all political persuasions. The Chinese premier, Li Qiang, set out China’s five-point plan for rebuilding trust. Javier Milei used his first overseas trip since becoming Argentina’s president to set out his ultra free-market agenda. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, boasted about his success in revitalising France’s economy. Yet in a week dominated by the war in Ukraine, Putin was everyone’s favourite villain. The Russian president once gave a keynote addressat Davos, but that was 15 years ago, before the 2014 annexation of Crimea and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These days Putin is most definitely persona non grata. The summit heard warnings against Ukraine ceding occupied territory to Vladimir Putin in order to secure a …

Iran’s Desire for ‘A Seat at the Table’ Felt in Davos

Iran’s Desire for ‘A Seat at the Table’ Felt in Davos

Published by skeptic

By Dmitry Zhdannikov and Maha El Dahan DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – At a dinner in the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani hosted business and political leaders to showcase Iraq’s improved security and finances. As the private event was about to end, two attendees told Reuters, news reached some guests that Iran had fired ballistic missiles at what it said was an Israeli “spy headquarters” in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. “Some people at the dinner were checking if their houses have been hit,” said one guest, who asked not to be named because the dinner was closed to media. The strikes by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the oil and gas rich region was the most direct intervention by Iran, and sparked fears of the Israel-Hamas conflict spreading in the Middle East. While Iran’s proxies, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels who have attacked shipping in the Red Sea off Yemen, have stepped in since it began in October last year, Tehran has made …

The influence of China, Ukraine and America at WEF – POLITICO

The influence of China, Ukraine and America at WEF – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

As the World Economic Forum draws to a close in Davos, Power Play rounds off the week with analysis of an eventful week in the Swiss Alps. Host Anne McElvoy brings together a top team of POLITICO’s reporters: Alex Ward, national security reporter based in Washington; Nahal Toosi, senior foreign affairs correspondent; and Suzanne Lynch, author of POLITICO’s Global Playbook, your must-read each morning to keep up with the latest news from Davos. They discuss China’s notable presence this week, President Zelenskyy’s plea for the international community to refocus on Ukraine’s war with Russia and whether American eyes have been distracted by events back home as Donald Trump returns to the fray. We unpack how the business community is grappling with fast-changing technological advances as well as geopolitical uncertainty in a bumper election year. And stay tuned to hear who our team deems as the surprising “hero” of the Davos crowd. Further reading: “Why the Davos Smart Set Sounds Dumb,” by John Harris “China snubs Zelenskyy in Switzerland,” by Nahal Toosi “Lawmakers’ short stay in Davos …

The desirables of Davos – POLITICO

The desirables of Davos – POLITICO

Published by skeptic

contentonly Voiced by artificial intelligence. It began as a mountaintop get-together for industry titans and politicos to discuss the fate of the world, perched both literally and figuratively above the plebs below. But how do you get billionaires and presidents to take a week out of their busy schedules to ascend a mountain in below-freezing winter temperatures? Celebrities — that’s how. The promise of running into a vogue leader, Oscar-winning actor or heartthrob pop star at a signature Davos nightcap is a key ingredient of the secret recipe that gets execs to hand over six-figure sums to attend the annual Alpine shindig. Of course, there are celebrities — and then there are Davos celebrities. Who’s the hottest star at this year’s WEF: Sting or will.i.am? Trick question — it’s Sam Altman! Here are the Davos desirables, whose RSVPs can make an event. 1. OpenAI boss Sam Altman Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images After emerging victorious from a bruising boardroom battle that both astonished and amused bigwig business types, 38-year-old wunderkind Sam Altman is doing his …

A panel of healthcare experts discussed ‘Disease X’ at Davos. But it’s only a hypothetical illness

A panel of healthcare experts discussed ‘Disease X’ at Davos. But it’s only a hypothetical illness

Published by José

CLAIM: A deadly contagion known as Disease X is emerging and under discussion at the World Economic Forum’s 2024 annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Disease X is not real. It is the name given to a hypothetical pathogen that is being used to help plan for future health crises. Global healthcare experts this week spoke on a WEF panel called “Preparing for Disease X.” The name was coined by the World Health Organization in 2018. THE FACTS: In the days leading up to Wednesday’s panel on the topic, social media users began sharing a range of posts misrepresenting Disease X as real, and portraying it as an imminent threat to society. “Disease X is the mystery contagion that the World Economic Forum is having a meeting about TODAY!” reads one Instagram post that had received more than 2,000 likes as of Thursday. “Apparently it ‘could have 20 times more fatalities than COVID.’ Remember… they always tell us what’s coming.” But Disease X is not an actual illness. The WHO introduced the concept …