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Khan said Pakistan wants the peace process in Afghanistan to succeed and an interim broad-based government taking

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Khan said Pakistan wants the peace process in Afghanistan to succeed and an interim, broad-based government taking power in Kabul. UN diplomats are working to organize a conference in Germany this weekend to begin the process. The day a UN-sponsored interim government for Afghanistan is announced, Pakistan will immediately recognize it and severe its last ties to the Taliban, Khan said.. Two journalists working for Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper have been arrested on kidnapping and torture charges, police said on Monday. President Robert Mugabe, facing strong opposition in elections expected next year, accused his opponents of abducting and strangling Nkala, who helped to lead the occupation of white-owned farms. Mr Mugabe said Nkala's death, on 5 November, was part of a British-backed plot toblock the redistribution of white-owned farms to landless blacks.Nkala's killing sparked a wave of violence by ruling party militants in the country..

Everything that I had planned to discuss this evening has been overshadowed by the horrific events of 11 September, and I think that there is really no point in discussing any subject without putting it into the context of this devastating event.It is not enough to fight terrorism, we must also address the social conditions that provide a fertile ground from which volunteers who are willing to sacrifice their lives can be recruited. And, here, I think I do have something to contribute to the debate because I have been actively engaged through my network of foundations in trying to improve social conditions in a number of countries where the foundations are operating. I have also spent a lot of time and effort in the last few years trying to analyse the deficiencies of the global capitalist system – that is the uneven playing field, the growing gap between rich and poor and the instability of financial markets to alleviate these problems. We must match the war on terrorism with constructive steps to improve the world in which we live.I have several proposals for the strengthening and reform of our existing institutions. In the case of the IMF, I argue that the present arrangements have created a very uneven playing field. The centre, that is basically the United States, is in charge and although the US monetary authorities are concerned with global conditions, their primary responsibility is to foster prosperity in the United States This gives the United States a decided advantage. Countries at the periphery of the global financial system often run into difficulties.In the past, the IMF used to bail out these countries at a heavy price for the countries concerned. In the course of the emerging global market crisis of 1997-99, it came to be recognised that bail-outs create a moral hazard.

Namely, the lenders might extend unsound credit in the expectation that in the case of trouble, the IMF would come to their rescue. It did so in Mexico in 1994 and it was expected to do so in Russia in 1998 But the IMF took a 180-degree turn. Instead of bailing out, it now wants to bail in the private sector. This change in direction will ensure that there will be no repetition of the emerging crisis that ended in bust in July 1997. The danger now comes from the opposite direction – from the inadequate flow of capital to the emerging market economies This is already happening. Taking resident lending, portfolio investment and private credit flows together, there has actually been a net outflow from emerging markets since 1997 – going from a positive $81.7bn (£57.2bn) in 1996 to a negative $104.7bn in 2000, offset by slightly larger inflows of foreign direct investment and by official financing.I believe the elimination of moral hazard is a positive step because IMF bail-outs were debilitating for the debtor countries.

But it is not enough to insist on burden-sharing by the private sector The private sector is not a charitable institution If it has to bear a burden, it will charge for it. That is why the cost and availability of capital has moved against the emerging market economies. Market discipline must be complemented by guarantees and other credit enhancements to create a more even playing field.I do not have the time to go into details or to discuss the role of the WTO or the World Bank. The point I want to make is that there are deficiencies in our international arrangements that urgently need to be addressed.We need to hunt down bin Laden and resist international terrorism.

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