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发信人: Porod (扬之水◎Love in One Day), 信区: English
标题: The week ahead
发信站: 哈工大紫丁香 (Mon Apr 23 07:14:12 2007), 转信

Apr 22nd 2007
From Economist.com

Japan's ties with America, Turkey's leaders and other stories that may make
the news

? JAPAN'S prime minister, Shinzo Abe, makes an official trip to America.
His predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, had a sour relationship with China and
a sweet one with America, but Mr Abe appears, at first glance, to be shifting
things around. He has managed to improve ties with China considerably in
the past few months, while a row over Japan’s war-time use of “comfort
women”, which Mr Abe clumsily denied involved coercion, has put a strain
on the Japanese-American relationship. Long-running grumbles about the redeployment
of American soldiers from Okinawa have added to the tension. However, Mr
Abe knows well enough that Japan’s most important foreign relationship
remains that with America. Expect mutual backslapping and friendly bows to
confirm that fact.

? THE eventual fate of ABN Amro may become clear. An announcement is expected
about Barclays’ bid for the big Dutch bank. But the British bank’s offer
, worth over €68 billion ($92 billion), could founder. A rival consortium
of Royal Bank of Scotland, Spain's Santander and Fortis, a Belgian-Dutch
bank, also wants to buy ABN Amro and break it up. Sitting uncomfortably
in the middle is Nout Wellink, the Dutch central-bank chief, who has the
power to veto any deal. He is unwilling to see the Dutch bank dismembered
yet is loth to risk accusations of unwarranted interference. He called the
new proposal risky and complicated, signalling his preference, but rumours
have since circulated that Barclays would also sell on parts of ABN Amro
to help pay for the deal.

? THE registration deadline for candidates hoping to become Turkey’s next
president expires in the middle of the week. The seven-year term of the
fiercely secular incumbent, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, ends in May. Turkey’s mildly
Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, may fancy the job. But recent
massive demonstrations show that opponents, perhaps unfairly, fear that
his ascent to the presidency would constitute a grave threat to Turkey’s
secular republic. And his AK Party members want him to lead them into November
’s parliamentary elections to boost their chances of maintaining their huge
majority. Mr Erdogan may conclude that he is better off in his current role
.

? AFTER a seven-week haul the final of the cricket World Cup is contested
in Barbados. The tournament in the West Indies will be remembered for matches
often taking place in largely empty stadiums, many built especially for
the event. The failure of the hosts to make the last four, the early exit
of some fancied teams and low attendance by locals because of high ticket
prices all contributed to a lack of the carnival atmosphere usually associated
with cricket in the region. And a dark cloud has hung over the competition
since the death of Bob Woolmer, Pakistan's English-born coach. Mr Woolmer
was apparently poisoned and strangled after his team were knocked out in
mid-March.

--
困境有一种特殊的科学价值，有智慧的人是不会放弃这个通过它而进行学习的机会的。　

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