Thursday 2 April

I’ve looked again at the international press comments on the G20 output. By the way has anyone calculated how high $1T would reach? Most of the world’s press as reflected in their web versions lead on this IMF funding, together with the fact that there seems to have been agreement - quite an achievement in one day from 20 leaders. Can you imagine any meeting of 20 divers people agreeing in such a short time. Here are the headlines:

IHT: G-20 Pact Has New Rules and Commitments of $1.1 Trillion

Al Jazeera: G20 pledges $1 trillion in funds

USA Today: G-20 to give $1 trillion to IMF, World Bank

The Times: Gordon Brown says G20 will give world $1 trillion boost

Le Monde: G20 : plus de 1 000 milliards de dollars pour la relance et l'aide aux institutions financières

However, the lead on Le Monde’s International page is Paradis fiscaux : la liste noire de l'OCDE comprend le Costa Rica et l'Uruguay. This is all about how the G20 was attacking tax havens (I love ‘paradis fiscaux’) So although Sarkozi and Merkel didn’t walk out (and claimed that the summit was a success) the French, as usual, have their slant on things.

The Times on-line version had as it’s third story Zimbabwe's MDC ministers accept official Mercedes cars. This relates how the all of the new MDC ministers in the coalition government have now accepted official $50,000 Mercs. To quote the story

The Mercedes Benz has long been the symbol of sleaze and rapacity among Zimbabwe’s ruling elite under President Mugabe, who proclaims his supremacy with a $500,000 bombproof model S600L. As with the parasitic waBenzi class in most of Africa, they bled the country’s treasury to be able to roar down potholed roads
and past ordinary people deprived of food, homes, medicine
and education. "The thing about driving a Merc is that it is not just a
different car — it is a different planet. How can you be in touch with the people in a Mercedes?" one senior MDC official, now a minister, asked at the time.

Any guesses about the height of £1T?