DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The latest developments from the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where top executives and world leaders are gathered this week. All times local.
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4:30 p.m.
The office of the U.N. special envoy for Syria says peace talks initially scheduled to start Monday between government and opposition representatives in Geneva are likely to be delayed by a few days.
Jessy Chahine, spokeswoman for special envoy Staffan de Mistura, said in an email Thursday that the start date was likely to slip “for practical reasons” — without elaborating — but that “we are still aiming for that date and we will in any event assess progress over the weekend.”
The intra-Syrian talks are set to become the third in Geneva since the conflict erupted nearly five years ago, leaving at least 250,000 dead. Diplomats and other officials say the makeup of the invitees list is among the sticking points.
The annual World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos is about global diplomacy.
In Davos, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said the talks will likely be delayed “a day or two.” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davotoglu, Syria’s northern neighbor, insisted no “terrorist groups” should be allowed to take part.
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2:45 p.m.
British Prime Minister David Cameron says he is not asking for anything “outrageous” from European Union leaders so that he can campaign for the country’s continued membership in the 28-country bloc.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Cameron said Thursday that his aim is to “secure the future of Britain in a reformed European Union.”
He said that if a deal does not emerge at a February summit of EU leaders then he can wait. His party’s manifesto pledge was to hold a referendum by the end of 2017.
If offered a good deal at the summit, Cameron said he would take it.
Cameron laid out his four reform proposals. He wants changes to rules affecting migration and benefits; to “hard-wire” competitiveness into the EU’s DNA; to make sure non-euro countries like Britain aren’t discriminated by the 19 EU countries that use the euro currency; and to get Britain out of the idea of an “ever-closer union.”
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1:20 p.m.
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says his country is increasingly determined to fight extremism after a university attack by Islamic militants that killed 21.
Sharif, speaking Thursday in the Swiss resort of Davos, said, the country’s resolve to fight against these elements is “getting stronger every day.”
He said the attack was the result of “blowback” after Pakistani authorities’ efforts to dismantle extremists’ infrastructure and hide-outs.
Even as his country mourned the students killed at Bacha Khan university in the town of Charsadda, Sharif insisted that the extremists’ “ability to strike back has been considerably destroyed.” The terrorists are “on the run,” he insisted.
Sharif was speaking at a debate moderated by The Associated Press at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
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1:10 p.m.
US Treasury chief Jack Lew says the beneficial effect of lower oil prices on consumers may not yet be fully apparent.
The plunge in oil prices has unnerved financial markets in recent weeks as investors worry it means the global economy is weakening and requiring less energy.
But in a panel in Davos, Switzerland, Lew stressed how the drop in oil prices acts like a tax cut for the majority of people and countries, which are net oil consumers.
He said consumers “have more money in their pockets” and that people are either spending or improving their household finances by saving or reducing debt. In either case, he said, that strengthens the economy in the longer term. “I don’t think that money is just evaporating,” he said.
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12:30 a.m.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says the European Union needs to come up with a comprehensive package of measures to deal with its migrant crisis — including more involvement by Europe-wide bodies in transit countries like his and a properly thought-out and paid-for relocation and resettlement plan.
Dismissing suggestions that his country has been reluctant to allow a bigger EU involvement in the eastern Greek islands, Tsipras said Thursday that Europe has to cooperate more on the many difficulties it faces, not least the refugee crisis and the economic problems afflicting the euro currency.
Greece has been at the heart of both crises, and last year Tsipras signed the country’s third international bailout agreement in a little more than five years.
Tsipras told a panel at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos that “we need more Europe” that is focused on building democracy, solidarity and employment.
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12:15 p.m.
European leaders said they will do what they can to make sure British Prime Minister David Cameron can support his country’s continued future in the European Union in a referendum expected this year.
Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime minister whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the 28-country EU, said Thursday he’s “fairly optimistic” a deal with Britain will emerge in February, but that he’s “not absolutely sure.”
Addressing a panel at the World Economic Forum at the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Rutte voiced his strong support for Britain’s continued membership of the EU as the country is outward-looking and trade-oriented.
Cameron is seeking a series of reforms on things like benefits, powers for national parliaments and movement of people. He has voiced his hope that a successful renegotiation will lead to the British people backing Britain’s future in the referendum that is expected this year.
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said it would be a “tragedy” if Britain left the EU — so-called Brexit.
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11:45 a.m.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says Europe will have to invest billions to deal with the refugee crisis that it’s faced over the past year.
Schaeuble indicated his strong support for efforts to deal with problems in the transit countries at the forefront of the crisis, such as Greece and Italy. He didn’t respond to a question on how many more refugees Germany can take in the current year.
At a panel at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos, Schaeuble said Thursday it would be a “disgrace” if Europe became a fortress.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said Europe has to come up with a comprehensive strategy to deal with the refugee crisis within the next two months.
Rutte said nobody was talking about ending the Schengen Agreement, which allows free movement of people across European borders.
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11:15 a.m.
Christine Lagarde is refusing to say whether she will seek a second term as the head of the International Monetary Fund after both Britain and Germany gave her their backing.
British finance chief George Osborne issued a statement Thursday saying his government nominated her to stay in the post. The German government quickly followed, with a finance ministry statement saying Lagarde “was a circumspect and successful crisis manager during the difficult period after the financial crisis.”
Countries normally nominate their preferred candidate before the individual declares their intention to run.
At a panel at Davos, Switzerland, Lagarde said she was honored but did not want to confirm whether she would agree to stand again.
The IMF has typically been run by a European official, while its sister organization, the World Bank, by an American. Developing countries have increasingly opposed this informal arrangement.
Lagarde, who is French, was in Davos to attend the World Economic Forum, a meeting of business leaders and public figures.
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11:00 a.m.
A Chinese market regulator says the country has no option but to support growth this year, using its large financial reserves if needed.
As concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy roil markets, Fang Xinghai, from China’s Central Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, said Thursday: “We cannot afford to let growth rate to fall too sharply, because that would ignite a lot of financial problems inside China. So we will have appropriately expansionary fiscal and financial policy this year.”
At a panel in Davos, Switzerland, Ray Dalio, the chairman of Bridgewater Associates, said the biggest concern was China’s currency. As it weakens, that will weigh on the global economy.
He said: “That happens at a time there is a weakness in the rest of the world.”
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10:00 a.m.
The annual elite economic gathering in the Swiss Alps resort of Davos is about global diplomacy, too.
War and diplomatic tensions from the Mideast to South Asia are high on Thursday’s agenda. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is meeting with the leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and later Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu — all of whom are holding a flurry of talks with other envoys as well.
Britain’s David Cameron, China’s Vice President Li Yuanchao, and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu are taking the stage later Thursday at the World Economic Forum.
And U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, fresh from talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, is joining Davos with a full schedule.
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