Headline: Davos gets to grips with scandal - BBC -- Detail Story
Corporate scandals and the possibility of war with Iraq will be the two issues dominating this year's World Economic Forum.
The political and business elite have already begun gathering in the exclusive Swiss ski resort of Davos for the annual meeting that starts on Thursday.
On the other side of the Atlantic, in Brazil, anti-globalisation protestors meanwhile are gathering for a rival summit, the World Social Forum.
Meeting in Porto Alegre they will focus on issues like poverty and participative democracy. Organisers expect more than 100,000 people from 157 countries to attend.
Powell's podium
Top billing goes to the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, who will deliver a "major speech" on US foreign policy at the weekend.
He will be speaking on the eve of a critical report on Iraqi disarmament by weapons inspectors to the UN Security Council.
Other political figures likely to make the headlines include Presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Vicente Fox of Mexico and Johannes Rau of Germany.
King Abdullah II of Jordan and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad will also be there.
Heavily guarded
Among the 1,300 business leaders at the forum will be Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Douglas Daft of Coca Cola, Nobuyuki Idei of Sony and Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard.
The theme of this year's meeting is "building trust".
The organisers says this is about the need to restore confidence in companies and in government.
"The string of corporate scandals revealed in 2002 has contributed to the serious undermining of trust," says the guidebook to this year's meeting.
The forum has been held in Davos for three decades although last year it moved to New York as a show of solidarity after the 11 September attacks.
It has increasingly drawn demonstrations from anti-globalisation protestors.
This year the meeting will be more heavily guarded that usual, with the Swiss air force patrolling the skies, because of the fear of terrorist attacks.
But the authorities have decided to allow a demonstration in Davos itself although it will be kept away from the meeting site.