www.guardian.co.uk Thursday January 23, 2003 11:30 PM

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) - Anti-globalization activists banged drums, yelled anti-war slogans and danced the samba at the start of the World Social Forum on Thursday, the third annual summit of protests and talks on ways to limit the excesses of global capitalism.

An estimated 30,000 to 40,000 red-shirted protesters gathered to open the event, waving banners decrying a possible U.S.-led war in Iraq and U.S. efforts to create a Free Trade Area of the Americas stretching from Alaska to Argentina by 2005.

No to Bush!'' they shouted, switching gears to sing samba and Cuba's well-known folk song, Guantanamera.''

Organizers predicted a turnout of 100,000 activists in this port city of 1.2 million in southern Brazil for the six-day forum, held as a counterpoint to the World Economic Forum taking place simultaneously at the luxury Swiss ski resort of Davos.

At least 2,000 police were on hand to keep order. Military police captain Joao Carlos Gomes said no major disturbances were expected.

With lectures from globalization critics and more than 1,700 seminars and workshops, the forum seeks to change the perceived ills of capitalism, including foreign debt and unfair global trade that favor rich, industrialized nations and multinational corporations.

``Because of global poverty, the system does not recognize the right of every human being to succeed and have access to services and goods,'' said Riccardo Petrella, a business professor and globalization expert at the Catholic University at Louvain, Belgium.

Participants include intellectuals, celebrities and activists ranging from American anarchist and linguist Noam Chomsky and actor Danny Glover to Aleida Guevara, the Cuban daughter of legendary guerrilla leader Ernesto ``Che'' Guevara.

Jose Bove, a farmer who became famous in 1999 when he and nine others used farm equipment to dismantle a French McDonald's under construction, said he has no plans to disrupt the forum like he did in 2001 - with an invasion of a farm owned by Monsanto, the U.S. agricultural giant.

Also present is a faction of left-wing politicians from Spain, Italy and France - traditional skeptics of U.S.-inspired free market capitalism.

Italian biologist Umberto Pizzolato toted his bicycle to Porto Alegre and planned to ride it during the march to send a message of ``Less oil, more bicycles, less war.''

If you use a car, your country has to buy oil,'' he said. And with less oil, there would be fewer conflicts.''

President Bush is being criticized extensively because activists say he personifies their darkest fears - capitalism benefiting huge corporations and war with Iraq to guarantee developed countries get the oil they need.

The forum, which previously shunned government leaders, has a white knight in Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - Brazil's first elected leftist leader. Silva arrives in Porto Alegre Thursday night and will speak Friday. Embattled Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected Sunday.

After speaking, Silva flies to Davos to participate in the economic forum.

Silva's decision to mingle with the rich and powerful in Davos has angered some activists here. They see his Switzerland trip as kowtowing to international financiers seeking reassurances Silva will maintain austere fiscal policies for South America's largest economy.

But Silva issued a statement Thursday saying he is going to Davos to ``show that another world is possible,'' quoting a popular phrase coined at the social forum.

Davos must listen to Porto Alegre,'' Silva said. In the same way that Brazil needs a new social contract, a new world contract is needed to reduce the gap between rich and poor nations.''

A worker taking orders for Big Macs at a Porto Alegre McDonald's Thursday wasn't worried about possible attacks by radical groups against one of America's biggest corporate symbols abroad.

Everything's calm,'' said Monica Gomes. There's been a lot of foreigners here for the forum ordering food.''

www.upi.com From the Business & Economics Desk Published 1/23/2003 7:30 PM View printer-friendly version

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- The elite World Economic Forum Thursday kicked off its five-day meeting in Davos, Switzerland, attended by over 2,000 world business, economic and political leaders.

This famous forum returns to its traditional home in Davos this year, having held its annual meeting in New York City last year as a show of respect and solidarity with that city after the devastating terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Over the course of three decades, the Davos economic forum's annual meeting has become one of the world's foremost gathering of leaders from business, government, international organizations, academia, civil society and the media, with the gathering gaining particular acclaim during the Clinton era.

While still considered a key meeting of the world's elite, the glamour and overall attendance of the globe's powerful and famous has slightly declined.

But the event still holds much of its allure, with attendees this year including everyone from Microsoft founder Bill Gates, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, Brazil's recently elected president -- Workers' Party leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The theme of this year's meeting is "Building Trust."

The 33rd annual meeting of the forum takes place during what event planners called "an extraordinary climate of global uncertainty and complexity."

"The past year witnessed the breakdown of trust in many sectors of society. Restoring confidence in the future is one of the most important leadership challenges today," event promotional materials said.

Planners hope that the 2003 meeting of the forum will be a rallying point for the international community to debate on five main themes: business, economics, geopolitics, global governance and values.

At the opening session, economists cautioned about the state of the world economy, noting that economic growth is stalled in many of the world's largest economies.

Gail Fosler, the chief economist for the influential U.S.-based Business Council, warned of the of the wild card economic effects a war in the Gulf would have on investor and consumer confidence, around the world.

Over the course of the five-day meeting, over 2,150 participants from 99 countries will gather at the Swiss ski-resort of Davos.

According to event planners, over one-fourth of attendees -- about 500 -- will come from developing countries.

Slightly more than 60 percent of attendees are business leaders, who are represent nearly 1,000 of the top revenue-producing companies around the world and across economic sectors.

Other major categories of participants include: 239 public figures, including 29 heads of state or government, 81 cabinet ministers, 46 ambassadors, 62 heads or senior officials of international organizations, 264 media and "opinion" leaders, 71 heads of non-governmental organizations, 14 union leaders, 37 religious leaders of different faiths and 172 persons from academic institutions and think tanks.

This year's attendance is down from a high of over 3,000 two years ago.

Event organizers declined to give an exact list of participant names. Also, media access was tightly controlled with only around 250 correspondents being given credentials to cover the forum.

The Swiss government is spending around $10 million on security for the Davos forum, with thousands of police and military being deployed to guard the event. In addition, the airspace over Davos will be closed for the next five days.

www.gulf-daily-news.com DAVOS, Switzerland:

The annual World Economic Forum (WEF) opened in the Swiss ski resort of Davos yesterday, with dire forecasts about the economic impact of a war on Iraq and demands for more responsible business practices.

Economists and industry leaders at the forum warned that a US-led war could jeopardise chances of recovery for the fragile global economy, which was more "US-centric" than any other time since the Second World War.

They opened their meeting as the foreign ministers of Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Turkey were due to meet in Istanbul in a last-ditch effort to avert a US-led war.

"The true risk ... if we see a war in Iraq (is) that there will be an event either in the Middle East or in the US, or a series of events around the world, that will create a sharp visible impact on consumer confidence, said Gail Fosler, chief economist of the private US forecasting institute, the Conference Board.

"This could give you no growth in the US or a possible recession," she said, adding: "If there is a major oil shock, its impacts are likely to be felt as much in 2004 as 2003." A poll of chief executives worldwide, published by the consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers at the forum, showed 48 per cent of CEOs rated "terrorism and global war" as "significant or one of the biggest threats" to their growth prospects.

"The uncertainty and the variation of possible scenarios (concerning a war) is certainly weighing on our economies," Bertrand Collomb, CEO of French construction materials giant Lafarge, told a news conference in Davos.

"The sense (among top US executives) seems to be that a short, successful conflict could even be positive for the economy because it would remove the economic uncertainty (and) the war premium on the price of oil. A long, dragged out conflict could be very depressing for everyone concerned, certainly the economy" added Henry A McKinnell, CEO of pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to address the Iraqi crisis in a speech on Sunday in Davos, where police and soldiers drafted in from across Switzerland have mounted a tight security operation.

His speech comes one day before UN chief arms inspector Hans Blix gives his first report to the United Nations Security Council on Baghdad's alleged weapons programme.

US Attorney General John Ashcroft is also due in Davos today, while Iraqi opposition groups are expected to meet there on Tuesday, the same day US President George W Bush will deliver an anxiously awaited State of the Nation address to the American people.

Another key speaker at the forum - a seven-day brainstorming session for some 2,100 political and business leaders - is newly-elected Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

www.thescotsman.co.uk EMMA COWING DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR

DAVOS may be known as a gathering place for the world’s great and good, but yesterday even the brilliant white snow that covered the Swiss mountains couldn’t brighten the gloom surrounding the alpine resort.

The creme de la creme of politicians, economists and businessmen arrive here every year for the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, and 2003 is no different.

About 2,300 participants are expected - along with about two dozens heads of state and government. Microsoft’s Bill Gates, Douglas Daft of Coca Cola, Carly Fiorina of Hewlett-Packard, King Abdullah II of Jordan and Brazil’s new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, are among those attending.

But a year of corporate scandals, executive sackings and turbulent markets, plus the threat of terrorism and fears of an impending war in Iraq has cast a gloom over this year’s party.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, for example, set to arrive tomorrow, will not be given the chance to smooth over differences concerning Iraq with French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, who cancelled his trip yesterday.

At the Forum’s opening session, distinguished economists warned that, in a world where growth is stalled in three of the world’s largest economies, the US provides the only set of broad shoulders to muscle forward the global economy.

Gail Fosler, chief economist for the US-based Business Council, said: "We are looking forward to a set of risks, certainly surrounding war in the Middle East, that have a truly profound downside."

Switzerland is mounting its biggest ever security operation in Davos this year at a cost of around US$10 million (£6.1 million), equivalent to about $5,000 (£3,000) per delegate.

Anti-globalisation protesters have become an increasing problem at Davos in recent years. This year, however, the Swiss have authorised a demonstration , but it is to be kept well clear of the meeting site. A tight screening procedure has been set up to keep known troublemakers from entering the narrow valley that leads to the town .

Davos is not on the route of commercial airlines, and so jumpy are Swiss government officials, they have warned that any light plane seeking to overfly it could be shot down by Swiss fighters if it ignores orders to change course.

www.voanews.com VOA News 24 Jan 2003, 00:28 UTC

The World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, is heading into its second day Friday, overshadowed by worries over a possible U.S.-led war in Iraq. Thursday, global business and political leaders at the forum warned that a conflict could jeopardize already slim chances for recovery in financial markets.

One financial analyst, Peter Cornelius, said a drawn-out war will have negative long-term effects on areas such as oil prices, but that a short conflict could actually improve world markets.

The forum's founder and director, Klaus Schwab, said never in the event's 33-year history has the world been so fragile, complex and dangerous.

Mr. Schwab also urged leaders to improve business ethics in order to regain confidence lost due to corporate controversies such as the accounting scandal at U.S. energy giant Enron.

About 2,300 delegates from 104 countries are participating in the 33rd annual World Economic Forum, which ends on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, thousands of anti-globalization activists in Brazil are holding their third annual World Social Forum to protest the Davos meeting. As many as 100,000 activists are expected to attend the six-day forum in Porto Alegre.

Brazil's first elected leftist leader, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is expected to speak on hunger and poverty in upcoming days at the Davos forum. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is also expected to address the forum.

Swiss officials have mounted a 10-million dollar security operation at the event. They closed the airspace over Davos and deployed hundreds of police officers and two-thousand troops to guard the ski resort.