The week ahead
Jul 5th 2009
From
Economist.com
Barack Obama visits Russia, and other news
• AMERICA'S president, Barack Obama, embarks on a three-day trip to Russia on Monday July 6th hoping for a thaw in relations that have been chilly for several years. A new treaty on nuclear arms to replace START, which expires in December, America’s plans for a missile-defence shield in eastern Europe and NATO expansion in that region are issues that may be raised in Moscow. The hosts might also have some advice for the visitor regarding the American-led offensive in Afghanistan.
• THE progress of America’s surge in Afghanistan will become clearer over the week. Thousands of American marines are attempting to expel Taliban fighters form strategically important strongholds in Helmand province in the south of the country. America is deploying over 20,000 extra troops to try to ensure that presidential elections can go ahead in August. America also wants to disrupt the drug trade: most of the country’s opium poppies are grown in the region.
• INDONESIA, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority democracy goes to the polls on Wednesday July 8th to elect a president. The incumbent, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, promises “more of the same” with his election slogan. Despite his patchy record Mr Yudhoyono will win outright on the first ballot with more than half of votes cast, according to opinion polls. The lacklustre showing of his two opponents has helped him. Megawati Sukarnoputri, his predecessor, was a mediocre president and Jusuf Kalla, the president’s deputy, cannot convincingly take more credit for the government’s successes than Mr Yudhoyono.
• LEADERS of the G8 group of rich countries are set to meet for two days beginning on Wednesday July 8th in L’Aquila, an Italian town devastated by an earthquake earlier this year. Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s embattled prime minister, shifted the meeting from Sardinia in order to attract funds to the town. The various prime ministers and presidents are set to discuss the world economy, climate change and other topics, although stories about Mr Berlusconi's private life and the customary antics of demonstrators could overshadow the high-level pow-wow.
• BRITAIN’S government is expected to unveil its plans for reforming the banking sector this week. The long-awaited proposals for legislation in the government’s white paper may include measures to stop banks becoming “too big to fail” by demanding that bigger banks hold proportionately greater capital than smaller ones. There may also be new liquidity and regulatory requirements for larger and more complex financial institutions. But an unseemly spat has broken out over who should wield the most power to police Britain’s banks.
