China and Russia sought greater international clout at a summit yesterday, with China promising US$10 billion in loans to Central Asian countries and Russia challenging the US dollar’s dominance as a global reserve currency.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) said Beijing would offer the loans to several countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, to help them through the global financial crisis.
The move, announced at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, adds muscle to China’s role in the group, which Moscow and Beijing use to counter Western influence in Central Asia.
The leaders of Afghanistan, Iran, India and Pakistan were also at the table, underscoring Russia and China’s reach for broader global influence. The Shanghai group members released a summit declaration saying that global “multi-polarity is irreversible,” a reference to their opposition to perceived US domination in international affairs.
Russia gave a prominent platform to newly re-elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a show of support for a leader facing major protests at home.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sought to further raise his country’s leverage in geopolitical issues by separately meeting with Afghan and Pakistani leaders late on Monday to discuss the stabilization of Afghanistan.
Medvedev said Russia offered help in carrying out joint transport, energy and other economic projects in the region to help eradicate poverty and remove feeding grounds for terrorism.
Russia also signaled its intention to offer stronger assistance to the US-led efforts in Afghanistan.
At the same time, Medvedev pushed against US domination of financial markets by calling for new global reserve currencies to complement the dollar.
“No currency system can be successful if we have financial instruments denominated in just one currency,” he said. “We must strengthen the international financial system not only by making the dollar strong, but also by creating other reserve currencies.”
Medvedev said new currencies will take a long time to emerge, but emphasized that the world will feel the growing need to hedge financial risks.
“The main reserve currency, the dollar, has failed to serve its purpose,” he said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) is set to issue sea and land warnings for Tropical Storm Krathon as projections showed that the tropical storm could strengthen into a typhoon as it approaches Taiwan proper, the CWA said yesterday. The sea warning is scheduled to take effect this morning and the land warning this evening, it said. The storm formed yesterday morning and in the evening reached a point 620 nautical miles (1,148km) southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, moving west-southwest at 4 kph as it strengthened, the CWA said. Its radius measured between 220km and 250km, it added. Krathon is projected