Erstellt am: 14. 9. 2011 - 14:37 Uhr

The motives behind China's interest in the Euro

Reality Check: China and the Euro, record US Poverty levels, call for ICC to prosecute the Pope, SENSE, Canada as the computer games capital

Earlier in the summer it was mooted that China might step in to help Greece out of its financial crisis. Now it seems that China is getting increasingly twitchy about the whole Euro zone. At the opening of the World Economic Forum in the Chinese city of Dalian, premier Wen Jiabao, while upbeat about the recovery prospects in Europe and the USA, also said that China would be willing to invest more in Europe, but of course, that investment would come at a price.

Just a few days ago, China and the UK announced that a new trading hub for the Chinese currency, the Yuan, will be developed in London with a view to extending Chinese interests in Europe, and the UK is also courting Chinese investment in its infrastructure, so it certainly seems that China means business.

So what lies behind China's sudden interest in the Europe in general, and in particular the Euro? Our Beijing correspondent, Jörg Winter, told Steve Crilley it's partly about protecting its investments in European sovereign debt - of which it has a great deal, but it's also about updating its own economy. China is now looking not to invest in European bonds, but rather European business and industry, and what it wants in return is technology. China's exports are still heavily dominated by cheap goods, and it would love to break into the higher profile market - but to do that it needs European technology and expertise. Whether it wants it enough to seriously get on board in the stormy waters around the Euro at the moment remains to be seen.

Poverty - the taboo word in US politics

According to the US Census Bureau's latest report, 15% of Americans are now living belose the poverty line, with black and Hispanic people worst affected. It's a shocking figure for the world's largest economy and represents the highest point in the figures since 1993, but "poverty" is a word rarely heard in the world of US domestic politics.

Joanna Bostock reports on the figures and the taboo surrounding poverty in the USA.

Sex abuse victims seek to take the Pope to the ICC

A group representing victims of the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic church has put in a claim to the International Criminal Court, asking that the Pope and senior Vatican officials should be investigated for crimes against humanity.

They say the global church has maintained a "long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence" and is not doing enough to protect children now and in the future.

However, Dr. Phil Clark, Lecturer in Comparative and International Politics, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, told Riem Higazi there is no precedent for such a case, and it is very unclear whether the ICC would have jurisdiction in such a case.

SENSE - computer training for conflict resolution

Computer similations are well known training aids for pilots, soldiers - and even car drivers, but a programme called SENSE allows leaders and authorites to train for conflict resolution. First designed for helping resolve the knotty problems faced in Bosnia after the Dayton Agreement, SENSE has since been successfully adapted for use around the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Poland and Georgia. It now may have an important role to play in countries like Tunisia and Libya as they emerge from civil conflict. Mike Lekson from the United States Institute of Peace told Joanna Bostock how it works and why it has been successful in so many different situations.

Canada as the capital of computer games

If you're a computer programmer looking to join the games industry, Canada could be the place to go. Computer games are big business, and the governement is ploughing a great deal of money into nurturing this new business sector. Technology correspondent, Daniel Sokolov, told Steve Crilley about the boom in computer games and the opportunities it is bringing for talented programmers around the world

FM4 Reality Check

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