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Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau flies to Florida to meet with Trump after tariffs threat WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has flown to Florida to have dinner with President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club after Trump threatened to impose sweeping tariffs on Canadian products. Joining Trump and Trudeau at dinner were Trump's picks for commerce secretary, interior secretary and national security adviser, and the three men's wives. From the Canadian side, the dinner guests included Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, whose responsibilities include border security. Trump’s transition did not respond to questions about what they had discussed or whether the conversation alleviated Trump’s concerns about the border. A smiling Trudeau declined comment upon returning to his West Palm Beach hotel late Friday. Emboldened 'manosphere' accelerates threats and demeaning language toward women after US election CHICAGO (AP) — An emboldened fringe of right-wing “manosphere” influencers has seized on Donald Trump’s presidential win to justify and amplify misogynistic derision and threats online. Many have appropriated a 1960s abortion rights rallying cry, declaring “Your body, my choice,” and have been using it publicly on college campuses and even in public schools. While none of the current online rhetoric is being amplified by Trump, experts say many young men see the former president’s return to the White House as vindication of their views on women. For many women, the words are a worrying sign of what might lie ahead as some men perceive the election results as a rebuke of reproductive rights and women’s rights. Syrian insurgents are inside Aleppo in a major setback for Assad as government forces regroup BEIRUT (AP) — Thousands of Syrian insurgents have fanned out inside Syria's largest city Aleppo a day after storming it with little resistance from government troops. Syria's army said troops have redeployed to prepare for a counteroffensive. Witnesses said insurgents were seen Saturday at landmarks in Aleppo for the first time since 2016, when they were expelled by government forces backed by Russia and Iran. The surprise offensive is a major embarrassment for Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has regained total control of the city eight years ago. An Israeli strike in Gaza kills World Central Kitchen workers. Israel says 1 was an Oct. 7 attacker DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli airstrike on a car in the Gaza Strip on Saturday killed five people including employees of World Central Kitchen. The charity says it is “urgently seeking more details” after Israel’s military said it targeted a WCK worker who had been part of the Hamas attack that sparked the war. The charity in an email says it is “heartbroken” by the airstrike and that it had no knowledge anyone in the car had alleged ties to the Oct. 7, 2023 attack, saying it is “working with incomplete information.” It says it is pausing operations in Gaza. Lebanese fishermen hope ceasefire with Israel means normal life returning TYRE, Lebanon (AP) — The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is bringing hope for normality back to many in southern Lebanon. That includes fishermen who’ve long launched their single-engine wooden boats into the Mediterranean at dawn. For months, Israel imposed a siege that kept hundreds of fishermen at this ancient Phoenician port ashore. That upended their lives and dealt the industry a major blow. The port siege also cut people off from key ingredients for traditional Lebanese dishes. As war devastated their country, the loss of fish damaged a deep association with home. Now, the possibility of renewed fishing is helping fuel hope. How Brazilian police say Bolsonaro plotted a coup to stay in office SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s Federal Police have formally accused former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro and 36 others of plotting a coup to keep him in office. The plot was allegedly comprised of several components and substantiated by evidence and testimony in the agency's 884-page report. The pieces of the puzzle include laying the groundwork by systematically sowing distrust of the electoral system among the populace. It also includes drafting a decree to give the plot a veneer of legal basis and pressuring top military brass to go along with the plan. Bolsonaro and his main allies have denied any wrongdoing or involvement and accuse authorities of political persecution. Protesters gather for third night of demonstrations after Georgia announces suspension of EU talks TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Protesters have gathered across Georgia in a third straight night of demonstrations against the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union. The third night of protests were held Saturday. More than 100 demonstrators were arrested as crowds clashed with police Friday night. The Associated Press saw protesters in Tbilisi being chased and beaten by police as demonstrators rallied in front of the country’s parliament building. The violence follows the ruling Georgian Dream party's disputed victory in the Oct. 26 election. It was widely seen as a referendum on the country’s aspirations to join the European Union. Romania's parliamentary vote risks being overshadowed by presidential race chaos BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanians are preparing to go to the polls in a parliamentary vote that will determine a new government and prime minister to lead the European Union and NATO member country. However, Sunday's vote is sandwiched between a two-round presidential race and is overshadowed by controversies and chaos following the outcome of the first vote. While the president has significant decision-making powers in areas such as national security and foreign policy, the prime minister is the head of the nation’s government. Sunday’s vote will determine the formation of the country’s 466-seat legislature. North Korea's Kim vows steadfast support for Russia’s war in Ukraine SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will “invariably support” Russia’s war in Ukraine as he met Russia's visiting defense chief. A Russia military delegation led by Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in North Korea on Friday as international concerns about the two countries’ expanding cooperation deepened after North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia. During a Friday meeting, Kim and Belousov reached “a satisfactory consensus” on issues on how to further boost strategic partnership and defend each country’s sovereignty and security interests, state media said. Heavy snow blankets parts of the US during busy holiday travel weekend BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — The first big snowfall of the season is threatening to bury towns in upstate New York and northwestern Pennsylvania as the hectic holiday travel and shopping weekend winds down. Numbing cold and heavy snow could persist into next week and cause hazards in the Great Lakes, Plains and Midwest regions. A state of emergency was declared for parts of New York, making it problematic for scores of Thanksgiving travelers trying to return home. This week’s blast of frigid Arctic air also brought bitterly cold temperatures of 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit below average to the Northern Plains. Cold air was expected to move over the eastern third of the U.S. by Monday, the weather service said, with temperatures about 10 degrees below average.DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 11, 2024-- Intelligent power management company Eaton (NYSE:ETN) today announced that Pete Denk has been named president and chief operating officer, Industrial Sector, effective January 1, 2025. Denk succeeds Paulo Ruiz, who will assume the role of president and chief executive officer following Craig Arnold’s retirement on May 31, 2025. In this role, Denk will be responsible for the company’s Aerospace, Mobility, Filtration and Golf Pride businesses. He will continue reporting to Ruiz as a member of Eaton’s senior leadership team. In a related move, Antonio Galvao will succeed Denk as president, Mobility Group, effective January 1, 2025. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241211094187/en/ Pete Denk named president and chief operating officer, Industrial Sector, Eaton (Photo: Business Wire) “Pete’s strong leadership and empowering approach help fuel a passion for growth and margin expansion,” said Ruiz. “His demonstrated ability to lead large teams and deliver results in a highly dynamic environment make him ideally suited to oversee our Industrial Sector as we continue our evolution as an enterprise.” Denk joined Eaton in 2018 as president, Vehicle Group, North America before becoming president, Mobility Group, in 2023. Prior to Eaton, Denk spent nearly 20 years with Robert Bosch LLC, starting in manufacturing and operations and then serving in a variety of other roles of increasing responsibility including director, Development and Applications Engineering; vice president, Thermal Systems; and president, Electrical Drives, North America. Denk holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering and a Master of Mechanical Engineering and fluid mechanics degree, both from Cornell University. He also holds a Master of Manufacturing Engineering degree from the University of Michigan. Galvao has been with Eaton for 38 years, most recently as president, Mobility Group and Corporate, South America. As president, Mobility Group, Galvao will continue reporting to Denk and will become a member of Eaton’s senior leadership team. He has held many quality, manufacturing and operations roles over the years including director, Passenger Car business unit, at the Light and Medium Duty Transmission facility in Mogi Mirim, Brazil and director, Operational Excellence, Light and Medium Duty Transmission division, Truck Group in Galesburg, Michigan. Ruiz continued, “Antonio is a proven leader whose decades of experience in our Mobility Group position him well for success in leading this talented team.” Galvao holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil and a Master of Business Administration degree from Fundação Getulio Vargas in Brazil. Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power ─ today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we’re accelerating the planet’s transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world’s most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come. Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for more than a century. We reported revenues of $23.2 billion in 2023 and serve customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit www.eaton.com . Follow us on LinkedIn . View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241211094187/en/ CONTACT: Camie Melton Hanily +1 (952) 240-2270 camiemmeltonhanily@eaton.com KEYWORD: OHIO EUROPE IRELAND UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: OTHER MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY OTHER ENERGY ENGINEERING UTILITIES MANUFACTURING ENERGY MACHINERY HARDWARE DATA MANAGEMENT SOURCE: Eaton Copyright Business Wire 2024. PUB: 12/11/2024 04:15 PM/DISC: 12/11/2024 04:15 PM http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241211094187/enCA school stops disciplining students for shirts protesting trans athlete as movement spreads to more schools
DALLAS (AP) — Juan Soto gets free use of a luxury suite and up to four premium tickets behind home plate for regular-season and postseason New York Mets home games as part of his record $765 million, 15-year contract that was finalized Wednesday. The Mets also agreed to provide personal team security for the All-Star outfielder and his family at the team’s expense for all spring training and regular-season home and road games, according to details of the agreement obtained by The Associated Press. Major League Baseball teams usually provide security for player families in seating areas at ballparks. New York also agreed to assist Soto's family for in-season travel arrangements, guaranteed Soto will have uniform No. 22 and included eight types of award bonuses. Soto's suite will be valued at the Mets' prevailing prices, presumably for tax purposes, and after 2025 he can by each Jan. 15 modify or give up his suite selection for the upcoming season. He can request the premium tickets, to be used by family members, no later than 72 hours before the scheduled game time. The Yankees had refused to offer Soto a free suite. “Some high-end players that make a lot of money for us, if they want suites they buy them ... whether it's CC (Sabathia), whether it’s (Aaron) Judge, whether it’s (Gerrit) Cole, whether it’s any of these guys," general manager Brian Cashman said. "We've gone through a process on previous negotiations where asks might have happened and this is what we did and we’re going to honor those, so no regrets there." Cashman said the Yankees have a shared suite for player families and a family room with babysitting. Soto gets a $75 million signing bonus, payable within 60 days of the agreement’s approval by the commissioner’s office. The deal for the 26-year-old, which tops Shohei Ohtani's $700 million, 10-year contract with the Dodgers, was reached Sunday pending a physical that took place Tuesday. Soto receives salaries of $46,875,000 each in 2025 and 2026, $42.5 million in 2027, $46,875,000 apiece in 2028 and 2029 and $46 million in each of the final 10 seasons. Soto has a contingent right to opt out of the agreement within three days of the end of the 2029 World Series to become a free agent again, but the Mets have the an option to negate the opt-out provision by increasing the yearly salaries for 2030-39 by $4 million annually to $50 million and raising the total value to $805 million. If the club exercises its option to negate the opt-out provision, Soto can make his opt-out decision by the fifth day after the World Series. He has a full no-trade provision and gets a hotel suite on road trips. Soto would receive a $500,000 bonus for winning his first Most Valuable Player award and $1 million for each MVP award. He would get $350,000 for finishing second in the voting and $150,000 for finishing third through fifth. Soto was third in the AL voting this year. He would earn $100,000 for each All-Star selection and Gold Glove, $350,000 for World Series MVP and $150,000 for League Championship Series MVP. Soto would get $100,000 for selection to the All-MLB first or second team, $150,000 for Silver Slugger and $100,000 for the Hank Aaron Award. Award bonuses are to be paid by the Jan. 31 after the season in which the bonus is earned. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Players from Swiss team Young Boys held up teammate Meschack Elia's shirt as a tribute during their Champions League game at Stuttgart after his son died this week. Lukasz Lakomy gave Young Boys the lead with a powerful long-range shot in the sixth minute Wednesday and ran toward the sideline, where he held up Elia's shirt as his teammates gathered around him. Young Boys said in a statement earlier Wednesday that one of Elia's sons had “died completely unexpectedly following a short illness” in Elia's home country of Congo. The 27-year-old Elia had been informed Tuesday evening and was on his way to Congo to be with his family, the club added. Both teams wore black armbands during the game, and there was a moment of silence before kickoff. Stuttgart won the game 5-1 to leave the Swiss champion with its sixth loss from six games. Young Boys captain Loris Benito said the game and the result meant little to his team in the circumstances. “I honestly have to tell you that this evening is not about sport at all for us, but about the tragedy that we experienced yesterday,” Benito told broadcaster DAZN. “It is so unimaginable and everything else is irrelevant when you experience this.” ___ AP soccer: The Associated PressThis is CNBC's live blog covering European markets. European markets are expected to open higher Tuesday, with investors keeping an eye on political upheaval in France this week. 24/7 San Diego news stream: Watch NBC 7 free wherever you are The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 18 points higher at 8,322, Germany's DAX up 15 points at 19,922, France's CAC up 29 points at 7,245 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 43 points at 33,601, according to data from IG. Data releases Tuesday include U.K. retail sales and Spanish unemployment figures. France's financial markets will be closely watched Tuesday after Prime Minister Michel Barnier turned to special constitutional powers to pass a contested budget bill without a parliamentary vote. Opposition parties on both the left and right say they will back a no-confidence vote to bring Barnier's minority government down. The vote could take place Wednesday. Read more France's prime minister to push through contested budget despite risk of no-confidence vote The French CAC 40 index recorded a choppy session on Monday, starting the day lower before turning positive and then tumbling back into negative territory again. Overnight, Asia-Pacific markets traded higher , tracking gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite rose to new records overnight. U.S. stock futures were near flat Monday night. Money Report Trump repeats vow to ‘block' Nippon Steel's bid for U.S. Steel Asian chip stocks mostly rise, shrugging off new U.S. semiconductor export curbs on China Goldman Sachs just refreshed its conviction lists of global stocks, giving 3 over 40% upside Goldman Sachs has refreshed its lists of top global stock picks for December by adding some and removing others. The stocks are featured in the investment bank's "Conviction List - Directors' Cut," which boasts a "curated and active" list of buy-rated stocks. There have also been plenty of additions to the Directors' Cut, including the following three stocks which Goldman gives more than 40% upside potential over the next 12 months. CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here . — Amala Balakrishner CNBC Pro: Buy this Canadian dividend growth stock with a 5% yield, Scotiabank says One of Canada's large financial holding companies appears to be an attractive dividend investment opportunity, according to Scotiabank analysts. The investment bank believes the value of the dividend growth is "not reflected" in the stock price and is "underappreciated" by the market. The stock is currently offering investors 5% dividend yield. CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here. — Ganesh Rao S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite close at new record highs The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed at new records on Monday. The broad market benchmark added 0.24% to settle at 6,047.15. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.97%, finishing at 19,403.95. On the other hand, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 128.65 points, or 0.29%, to close at 44,782.00. — Lisa Kailai Han European markets: Here are the opening calls European markets are expected to open higher Tuesday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 18 points higher at 8,322, Germany's DAX up 15 points at 19,922, France's CAC up 29 points at 7,245 and Italy's FTSE MIB up 43 points at 33,601, according to data from IG. Data releases Tuesday include U.K. retail sales and Spanish unemployment figures. — Holly Ellyatt Also on CNBC S&P 500 futures are little changed after index closes at a record Fed Governor Waller says he is 'leaning toward' a December interest rate cut Markets are getting more comfortable again with the idea of a December rate cut
Elena Rybakina guided Kazakhstan to a 2-1 victory against Spain in her United Cup debut at the RAC Arena in Perth on Friday. The world number six defeated Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-2 6-3 in the singles and then combined with Alexander Shevchenko to clinch the deciding mixed doubles. Kazakhstan can qualify for the quarter-finals of the 18-nation mixed teams event by beating Greece in their second Group C match on Monday. Former world number 10 Pablo Carreno Busta swept aside Shevchenko 6-2 6-1 in little over an hour to put Spain ahead before Rybakina, playing her first match since hiring Goran Ivanisevic as coach for the season, pulled Kazakhstan level. The 25-year-old raced to a 4-0 lead before Bouzas Maneiro could put up some sort of resistance winning the next two games. Rybakina soon asserted herself again and broke her opponent at love to take the opening set. The Kazakh fired a series of backhand winners for a similar 4-2 lead in the second set and Bouzas Maneiro held three break points at 5-3 before Rybakina’s power game prevailed. “The first match is always difficult,” former Wimbledon champion Rybakina said. “It’s not easy to get used that quick but I’m pretty happy with the way I played today.” She was soon back on court alongside Shevchenko to score a 7-6(4) 6-7(2) 10-7 win against Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers and Carreno Busta.
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A nightclub in the UK has implemented a strict rule that you have to cover your phone's camera with a sticker to get into the club – should Ireland follow suit? The idea behind the rule is to get people more into the moment and stop them trying to film for social media. DMG music journalist Becca Fisher told The Hard Shoulder people take their phones out in clubs to “create memories”. “My generation and people a little before me brought digital cameras [out to clubs], I'm sure my parents brought disposables, and now everything's built into one lovely, very expensive device that you want to get your money out of,” she said. Ms Fisher said she thought implementing a policy where you can’t take pictures of videos in a club is “a bit ridiculous”. “I mean what's going on in a nightclub that's not going on in a late bar, or even these days around Christmas, in a pub,” she said. “People have their phones out everywhere - where are we going to draw the line? “I think at this point it's de-incentivising people to get involved with like the nightlife industry and the nightlife economy which is greatly suffering and really needs our business. “While I might find it annoying, while you might find it annoying, while the DJ might find it annoying, can we really dictate what people do when they've also paid the same amount of money to be there as you?” Ms Fisher said she believes Ireland needs more regulations around taking pictures or videos of people without their consent. “We've had instances where politicians have found themselves filmed, celebrities have found themselves filmed in compromising positions, and it's not great and it's not fun,” she said. “But then again, people have free will to do these things if they want to and you know if you're going into one of these establishments, that's the case. “So I suppose if this club wants to implement [a no phone rule], if you don't want to do that, you just don't go.” It’s a different situation at a concert, where you might be obstructing someone’s view of the artist, Ms Fisher said. “Gig etiquette as a whole has gone down and there's many things we need to do to make gig experiences far more enjoyable, but in a club, you know, we're not all piled together,” she said. “People are in different corners, doing different things, having a good time - if you want to take your phone out, take your phone out.” Today FM’s Ed Smith said people go into nightclubs to do things that aren’t meant to be filmed. “The figures behind the decline of nightclubs is quite startling since the year 2000 in Ireland, 84% of nightclubs have clothes, dropping from over 500 venues around the country to just around 70 today,” he said. “I spoke to numerous young people over the last day or so about this, and they just don't like going to clubs. “Things have changed and I do find that the idea of a nightclub is less appealing now. “I think young people are a lot more health conscious, and also they don't have the disposable cash that they did back in day. “I'm not sure that blocking someone's phone camera is going to bring back nightclubs.” Mr Smith said he understands from his years of DJing that when the dance floor is full of people on their phones, “the vibe is very much affected”. “If you want to open a nightclub solely with absolutely zero technology and go back to the old school and just play the old tunes - I'm absolutely certain there's a market for them,” he said. “But [thinking this is] the way that they're going to solve the nightclub crisis, it's not going to happen. “I think they've got to make things cheaper, they've got to make it easier to get in and out of town, they've got to sort out the taxi situation and have to make it safer.” Mr Power said he might sound like “an old fogy”, but he thinks the days of the nightclub that he “knew and loved” with “sticky floors and the smell of stale cigarettes and curry sauce” is gone. Listen back here: People in a nightclub. Image: AlamyThe world you will enter is a different one from the one I walked into when I graduated. There was one aspect of the world of my youth that I treasure, an aspect I would greatly like to see restored: that somehow the society in which I lived and worked was more united, more naturally, unselfconsciously Indian than the one that is emerging today. That all-permeating Indianness is still strong. My principal civil servants, for instance, come from four corners of India. One comes from Tamil Nadu, another from Kerala, one from Punjab and another from Gujarat; and they have all served India in their own ways. The India in which I grew up, earned my livelihood, brought up my children -- this India has meant much to me. I have regarded all of it as my home, and I could not have been at home anywhere else. But in some important respects, that India is being questioned, challenged. My own home state is rent by strife over its Indianness, a strife that fills me with great sadness. Competitive politics has raised caste and communal tensions to a dangerous level in several parts of our country. There is more parochiality in the governments. Politics is ceasing to be a vehicle of purposeful social change. Even industry finds its cosmopolitan character under threat of erosion. This is what I find most disturbing, even more for you than for myself. You have the future of this country in your hands; I would urge you to work to restore its Indianness, its instinctive unity. There is another important respect which requires urgent national attention. I refer to the visible signs of erosion of national self-confidence and to the need for strong corrective action. The sense of confident nationhood was the most palpable characteristic of the era of my youth. Our leaders Gandhi ji, Nehru, Patel had this confidence in great abundance; they had no doubts about the potential of this nation, or about its ability to look after itself. They were, in fact, allergic to dependence and its consequences to sycophancy on the one hand and truculence on the other. The one thing they tried to impart to the country was self- confidence and self-respect. Their influence is still strong, and their example would continue to inspire us to look the world in the face. But it must be admitted that of late there has been a weakening of this feeling of self-confidence. A feeling has grown that somehow, we Indians are inferior to other nations, that we cannot compete against other countries in the global markets, that therefore we must build strong protective walls to insulate our economy from outside competition. I regard this feeling of lack of self-confidence a major barrier to the realisation of India’s immense development potential. The leaders of our national struggle had faith in our nation, and the greatest homage we can pay them would be if we could restore the nation’s belief in itself not simply restore it, but revivify, rediscover, and redesign it. Let me illustrate what I mean by taking examples from the fields with which I know well. Trade and industry Take, for instance, the area of trade. Industrialists in this country are blessed with many advantages that other countries do not enjoy. Our wage costs are very low. Our food prices are generally lower than elsewhere. We grow some of the world’s best cotton at extremely competitive costs. Our raw materials, where it is iron ore or coal or bauxite or bamboo, are available at throwaway prices. But even with these advantages, the idea of our industry competing with industry abroad encounters resistance. Our import duties are amongst the highest in the world. We are trying to reduce them. We have reduced the peak duties to 110% in the last budget. With this, the duties on some products have fallen to the same level as the duties on their inputs. This appears to some of our industrialists as unreasonable. They argue that their products must bear a duty that is at least 20% higher than the duty on their components and raw materials. But if they made full use of the cheap labour and raw materials available in this country, it is not they but their competitors abroad that should need protection. Excessive protection of industry and import substitution regardless of cost have created a pattern of industrialisation which generates few additional jobs. It has sheltered monopolies and accentuated disparities in income and wealth. Protection entails a subsidy given to the producer at the cost of the consumer. Heavy protection granted to industry has constituted massive discrimination against agriculture; no wonder that the disparities in living standards between rural and urban India have increased over time. Industries and firms may be protected to correct inequalities in competition. If firms are new or small, they may deserve protection until they can compete on equal terms. But they should not become permanent infants. It is important not to equate protection with patriotism and trade with sin. Glorification of autarky can do our country enormous harm. India has a fairly diversified natural resource endowment but it has to be recognised that on a per capita basis we are not well endowed with natural resources. Thus, India has to become a major international trading nation if its development potential is to be realised in full measure. With our manpower, with our natural resources, we can capture considerable share of markets in the world. We can be the world’s leading exporters of tropical goods, textile, steel and engineering goods. With larger exports, we can import materials from elsewhere and become competitive manufacturers of goods for which we do not have cheap inputs electronic goods, chemicals, wooden and metal handicrafts. Export activity would generate production and employment in our own country. We would not need to send our workers abroad to work under arduous conditions: they could make a gainful living in India itself. With a more dynamic economy, the graduates of our institutes of science and technology will not need to migrate to foreign lands in such large numbers. Trade also has political implications. Japan and Germany are major world powers today, not because of powerful armies or lethal weapons, but because of their trade with the world. As the world prospers, they will inevitably prosper; on the other hand, they are so important to the world that the world cannot let them go down. The world has a stake in a country in proportion to its international trade. Our share in world trade has declined from 3% in 1950 to half a per cent today. The result is that the world’s stake in our welfare and prosperity is minimal today. Our country has been in serious economic trouble in the last two years. We have looked for help from outside. Irrespective of their political colour, irrespective of their nationalist postures at home, finance ministers have travelled abroad in search of support. Yet they got very little. The reason is not that the world is unduly hardhearted towards us, but that our importance to the world has diminished. Our place in the world is not measured by the size of our population or our arsenal, but by the goods and services we export and import. India sits astride the busiest trade lanes of the world. All the sea and air traffic between the east and the west passes along its seaways and airways. But little of it originates or ends in India. It is my hope that this trade will not simply pass us by, and that we shall take our rightful share of it. But the world outside cannot be forced to take our goods and services; it must be coaxed to do so. We have to produce the goods the world wants, up to the quality standards that it demands, with the techniques it finds acceptable. This is where we need not only to have knowledge of the world, but to use it in ways it recognises. Our country has imported technologies on a considerable scale. We have sent thousands abroad to be trained. But if we want to learn at home how people work and produce abroad, it is also possible to do so by letting people from abroad come and show us; and one way to get a live demonstration is to invite them to set up enterprises in India. The idea of foreign direct investment generates considerable heat in our country. It is evident that there are large corporations in the world, and that they can play a role in the foreign policies of their home countries. One should not be unmindful of the possibility that their interests may conflict with our national interests. But their power should not be exaggerated; nor should our ability to protect our interests be belittled. Building self-reliance The East India Company had acquired control of a large part of east-west trade by means of a control of trade routes, ports, centres of production and markets. No multinational corporation of today comes close to acquiring that kind of control. Further, the government today has more means and more knowledge to regulate the activities of foreign enterprises in the national interest. This is what independence means; this is what independence should be used for not for cutting ourselves off from the global production system, but to interact with it for our own benefit. And worldwide, direct investment is not a monopoly of large transnational corporations; more often, it is small knowledge-intensive firms that make the most difference. For instance, small Japanese firms driven out of production by rising wages have gone to Malaysia and made it the world’s biggest exporter of rubber gloves. Italian shoemakers looking for new opportunities have provided the backbone of the highly successful Brazilian shoe exports. Mysore and its surroundings today produce some of the finest silks. The most expensive garment in the world is the Japanese silk kimono. Why should not Japanese pattern makers come and make kimonos out of Mysore silk? For trade, technology and investment are not the only things the world can give us; there is a world full of knowledge outside. There are books, journals that inform and educate and with the ad vent of electronic communications, new means of knowledge are arising. The creation of knowledge is a global process involving universities, research institutes, industries and inventors. We too can participate in this Process with enormous benefit. or much of this knowledge is available at costs far lower than we would incur to produce it, and the value that can be produced by using that knowledge is a vast multiple of the cost of the knowledge It is short-sighted to try import substitution in knowledge at whatever cost. It can do considerable harm to our technological dynamism. It can cut India off from the community of nations where know ledge grows in an ordered framework. The successful absorption, assimilation and adaptation of available knowledge is a critical aspect of development It is a necessary precursor to the stage where we can ourselves generate new knowledge. India needs a strong research and development base to emerge as a front-ranking nation in the world We must spend more on research and development. Our scientists and technologists ought to be provided with facilities comparable to those available abroad. But R&D must have a proper focus. We ought to pay particular attention to areas which have hitherto been neglected, where we cannot depend on foreigners to generate new knowledge and where new knowledge can make a major contribution to the enhancement of India’s developmental potential and the improvement of living conditions of our masses. So how are we to regain our self- confidence, to restore our self-reliance? Self-reliance should not mean self-defeating withdrawal and futile confrontation; it should mean thinking for oneself. An essential element in restoring the spirit of self-reliance must be to change the policy environment which gave sanctified withdrawal and glorified confrontation, and to open our country again to the winds of change. Self-confidence comes from practice, from successful adaptation to change; for adaptation, change has to be invited into our country. This is what we have been engaged in doing in our recent policy initiatives. The intention behind the initiatives is not to betray our nation, nor to weaken its resolve for creative self-reliance. It is to broaden the arena for our productive forces, to bring the best out of them by raising the level of challenge, to make our resources more productive and to distribute the fruits of that productivity more equitably. But practice is helped by example, and action by resolve. For this leadership our nation will look to you, to young men and women whom it has educated at much cost. I would invite you I would challenge you to look at the world with frank and confident eyes, and to translate the lessons it holds into a better life for our people.