London Journal: Briefly Ascending to the Spotlight, Britons Take Their Place Among Giants

“One & Other” is a grand art project that places 2,400 people on Trafalgar Square’s usually vacant fourth plinth, for an hour apiece, from now through Oct. 6.

In Russia, Obama’s Star Power Does Not Translate

Unlike other capitals, Moscow has greeted President Obama as just another dignitary passing through.

Tribunal Says Bosnian Serb’s Trial Must Proceed

The decision is expected to clear the way for the trial of Radovan Karadzic, who faces charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Murdoch Papers Said to Pay to Settle Hacking Cases

Targets of cellphone message hacking by reporters were said to include public figures, including cabinet members.

In Europe, a Regulator Penalizes Two Utilities

Europe’s antitrust commission accused E.On and GDF Suez of anticompetitive practices that were costing consumers more.

Working together

A capitalist enclave in North Korea belies the country's increasing isolation

KURT CAMPBELL, a man who would not look out of place on an American football field, likes sporting metaphors. America’s assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs reckons a “game plan” is being developed by America and South Korea over how to deal with North Korea in coming months. South Korea called on Monday July 20th for new efforts to persuade North Korea to end its nuclear-arms programme.

American officials too are “in the midst of putting in place a series of actions…that are designed to put more pressure on North Korea” to give up its nuclear bombs, Mr Campbell told reporters in Seoul. United Nations sanctions aimed at stopping North Korea from earning money by selling arms, Mr Campbell claims, has caused “some pain to the leadership” in North Korea. ...

So long, and thanks for all the fish

Efforts to ban the international trade in bluefin tuna

EXTINCTION comes in various ways. The dodo was done in by sailors who not only killed the birds themselves but also brought to Mauritius animals such as dogs and pigs that plundered their nests. Przewalski’s horse, which once roamed the steppes of Mongolia, is thought to have become too dispersed in the wild to breed. It was saved from extinction only because there happened to be some specimens in European zoos that were reintroduced to Mongolia in the 1980s. As efforts to prevent the bluefin tuna suffering a similar fate are increased, some conservationists wonder whether there will still be a breeding population left to save.

Bluefin tuna are a pelagic species: they live in the open waters, far beyond the reach (and governance) of individual nations. They are also one of those predators at the top of the ocean’s food chain, preyed upon mostly by man. They grow up to four metres (12 feet) in length, weigh as much as 250kg (550lb) and, when chasing prey—mostly sardines—can swim at a speed of 70kph (45mph). They also range widely, traversing the Atlantic Ocean to reach breeding grounds in the Mediterranean Sea. But what was once known as the common tunny has, over the past few decades, come to be at serious risk of extinction, thanks to overfishing driven by demand from Japan, where bluefin tuna are considered a delicacy and are used in sushi and sashimi. ...

Crisis resistant or crisis prone?

Uzbekistan's economy is growing but so are the risks

The Uzbek authorities claim the economy has been barely affected by the global downturn, with GDP growing by 8.2% year on year and 500,000 jobs being created in January-June. However, signs of stress are apparent across the economy: output has stagnated or contracted in the main sectors while the population’s mainstay—remittances from workers abroad—have fallen by nearly a third over the last year. The authorities are responding to this with measures to protect jobs and boost living standards. Yet with 40% of the 20m population under 16 years of age, the Uzbek economic model in its current guise may not be sustainable.

Uzbekistan’s GDP grew by 8.2% year on year in the first half of 2009—according to Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Uzbekistan’s prime minister, at a cabinet meeting held on July 17th. A day later it was reported that 534,600 jobs were created in the first six months of the year, including 328,000 jobs in rural areas. If these figures are to be believed, Uzbekistan is among the best performing economies in the world at present. The authorities have for months stressed that the economy is well-placed to ride out the global downturn, as a result of the extensive controls the government has maintained. The official GDP growth forecast for this year is in the range of 7-9%; and on a visit to the country in June, an IMF delegation concurred with that assessment. ...

Plugging the gap

California’s lawmakers finally reach a deal to close the state’s gaping budget deficit

Arnold Schwarzenegger emerged from a meeting late on Monday July 20th of the “big five” political leaders in California to announce that, at long last, a deal had been reached on closing the state’s $26 billion budget deficit. It comes after months of partisan bickering, special legislative sessions and the rejection by voters of ballot proposals that would have gone some way to tackling the problem. California’s governor laid on the superlatives, calling the agreement hammered out with the Assembly speaker, Senate leader and Republican leaders of both houses of the legislature “a really, great, great accomplishment”.

The state legislature still needs to give its approval and will probably vote on the deal on Thursday. The accord’s fine details were not made public immediately but Mr Schwarzenegger stressed that there would be no across-the-board tax rises, which Republicans in the state had fought hard to avoid. Instead, the budget will bring in deep spending cuts, such as slicing $6 billion from the budget for schools and community colleges and $3 billion from higher education. ...

Fraud reporting

The rise in financial crime in America

OVER 730,000 counts of suspected financial wrongoing were recorded in America last year, according to recent data from the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Institutions such as banks, insurers and casinos are required by law to report suspicious activities to federal authorities under 20 categories. Financial institutions filed nearly 13% more reports of fraud compared with 2007, accounting for almost half of the increase in total filings. The number of mortgage frauds alone rose by 23% to almost 65,000. But not all categories saw an increase: incidents suspected terrorist financing fell. Just under half of all filings are related to money laundering, a proportion that is little changed in over a decade.

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