Dismay at Algeria constitution vote

Algerian newspapers say Wednesday's vote in parliament to approve constitutional changes allowing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a third term was expected. The Berber-dominated opposition denounced it as a "hold-up", while the government parties hailed it as "historic".
The private French-language daily newspaper El Watan said that "by adding itself to the handful of states in the world, the Arab world in particular, which have written lifetime presidencies into their constitutions and consolidated personal or hereditary powers, Algeria is jumping backwards".

Cascading global threats need coordinated responses

What happens when you put on the table all the major crises facing the world, identify how they are linked to each other, and attempt to start charting a path towards their resolution? What happens when you do this by bringing together 700 experts and leaders in their fields from around the world who analyze and recommend action on 68 issues and regions of the world?

This is what took place in Dubai on 12 November 2008 when the World Economic Forum (WEF) convened the inaugural Summit on the Global Agenda, in partnership with the Government of Dubai. WEF founder and chairman Klaus Schwab audaciously but accurately called it "the biggest brainstorming exercise ever held on a global agenda."