DAVOS, Switzerland: People around the world place much more trust in their companies than their political leaders, according to a major survey that suggests a mood of uncertainty and pessimism on the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
The annual Edelman Trust Barometer shows only one in five people believe the economic, political and social system is working for them, while nearly 60 percent think trade conflicts are hurting their companies and putting their jobs at risk.
The sense of gloom is strongest in developed markets led by Japan, where 84 percent of the general public — excluding the ‘informed public’ who are college-educated, earn above-average incomes and consume news regularly — do not believe they will be better off in five years’ time, followed by France at 79 percent, Germany at 74 percent and Britain at 72 percent. That is far above the average 49 percent of the 27 countries examined in the research.
Amid low confidence that politicians will fix the problems, these people are turning to companies, with 75 percent saying they trust “my employer,” compared to 48 percent for government and 47 percent for the media.
“CEOs now have to be visible, show personal commitment, absolutely step into the void, because we’ve got a leadership void in the world,” Richard Edelman, head of the communications marketing firm that commissioned the research, told Reuters.
Optimism was higher in the United States, where nearly half of the general public believed they would be better off in the next five years. The corresponding figure there was 62 percent for the better-educated, higher-earning “informed public.”
“The stock market was very good, the deregulation and lower taxes for the wealthy — it’s pretty good if you are an elite,” Edelman said of the US findings.
The survey, based on the opinions of over 33,000 people and conducted between Oct. 19 and Nov. 16, is published on the eve of the Davos gathering in the Swiss Alps, which this year brings together some 3,000 business and world leaders amid anxiety over the US-China trade war, Brexit and a slowdown in global growth.
“Violation of trust“
The pessimism in Japan, France, Germany and Britain reflects a variety of factors.
“I think Japan’s never really recovered from Fukushima, there was such a violation of trust when that happened,” said Edelman, referring to the authorities’ botched response to a massive nuclear accident in 2011.
Signs of slowing global demand and a sharp rise in the yen have clouded the outlook for Japan’s export-reliant economy, and the government plans tax hikes to pay for ballooning health care costs for its rapidly aging population.
“The problem for the three (European) countries.... is that given the reality of the potentially diminished economic future, there is deep anger in advance,” Edelman said.
In France, what started as a grassroots rebellion by low-paid workers to protest taxes on diesel fuel and a squeeze on household incomes has morphed into an assault on President Emmanuel Macron and his reforms, seen by the protesters as favoring the wealthy.
And in Britain, the Brexit crisis intensified last week after Prime Minister Theresa May’s two-year attempt to forge an amicable divorce from the European Union was crushed by parliament in the biggest defeat for a British leader in modern history.
The survey found that while only 49 percent of the wider population trusted institutions such as governments, this figure rose to 65 percent among high-income, college-educated and well-informed people — the biggest gap since the research began 19 years ago.
Despite widespread distrust of the media, uncertainty about the future has led to a sharp jump in people’s consumption and sharing of news and information, up 22 percentage points in a year to 72 percent.
But more than 70 percent said they worry about false information or fake news being used as a weapon.
In the United States, where President Donald Trump has repeatedly denounced the media as purveyors of fake news, trust in media varied widely depending on political affiliations.
Those who identified themselves as Republican voters showed only 33 percent trust in media, while 69 percent of Democrats did so.
Eve-of-Davos survey shows people place trust in companies over governments
Eve-of-Davos survey shows people place trust in companies over governments
- Only one in five people believe the economic, political and social system is working for them
- Nearly 60 percent think trade conflicts are hurting their companies and putting their jobs at risk
China’s Xi in Kazakhstan to cement ties
- Astana summit brings Xi together with Central Asian leaders
ASTANA: Xi Jinping celebrated China’s “eternal friendship” with Central Asia at a summit in Kazakhstan on Tuesday, as the Chinese leader blasted tariffs and sought to assert Beijing’s influence in a region historically dominated by Russia.
The summit in Astana brought together Xi with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Under Russia’s orbit until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the five Central Asian states have courted interest from major powers including China, the European Union and the US since becoming independent.
At the summit, the group signed a pact of “eternal” friendship as Xi called for closer ties with the resource-rich region.
“We should ... strengthen cooperation with a more enterprising attitude and more practical measures,” said Xi in comments carried by state news agency Xinhua.
Central Asia is also seen as a key logistics hub, given its strategic location between China, Russia, the Middle East and Europe.
While Central Asian leaders continue to view Russia as a strategic partner, ties with Moscow have loosened since the war in Ukraine.
China has also shown willingness to invest in massive infrastructure projects in the region, part of its Belt and Road initiative that uses such financing as a political and diplomatic lever.
In a meeting with Kyrgyzstan’s president, Xi called for moves to “advance high-quality construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and foster new drivers of growth in clean energy, green minerals and artificial intelligence.”
The five Central Asian nations are trying to take advantage of the growing interest in their region and are coordinating their foreign policies accordingly.
They regularly hold summits with China and Russia to present the region as a unified bloc and attract investment.
High-level “5+1” format talks have also been organized with the European Union, the United States, Turkiye and other Western countries.
“The countries of the region are balancing between different centers of power, wanting to protect themselves from excessive dependence on one partner,” Kyrgyz political scientist Nargiza Muratalieva told AFP.
China has now established itself as Central Asia’s leading trading partner, far outstripping the EU and Russia.
Construction of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan-China railway and the China-Tajikistan highway, which runs through the Pamir Mountains to Afghanistan, are among its planned investments.
New border crossings and “dry ports” have already been built to process trade, such as Khorgos in Kazakhstan, one of the largest logistics hubs in the world.
“Neither Russia nor Western institutions are capable of allocating financial resources for infrastructure so quickly and on such a large scale, sometimes bypassing transparent procedures,” said Muratalieva.
Kazakhstan said last week that Russia would lead the construction of its first nuclear power plant but that it wanted China to build the second.
“Central Asia is rich in natural resources such as oil, gas, uranium, gold and other minerals that the rapidly developing Chinese economy needs,” Muratalieva said.
“Ensuring uninterrupted supplies of these resources, bypassing unstable sea routes, is an important goal of Beijing,” the analyst added.
Belgium seeks to try former diplomatic official over 1961 killing of Congo leader
- If he goes on trial, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face justice in the more than six decades since Lumumba was murdered
BRUSSELS: Belgian prosecutors said Tuesday that they were seeking to put a 92-year-old former diplomat on trial over the 1961 killing of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba.
Etienne Davignon is the only one still alive among 10 Belgians who were accused of complicity in the murder of the independence icon in a 2011 lawsuit filed by Lumumba’s children.
If he goes on trial, Davignon would be the first Belgian official to face justice in the more than six decades since Lumumba was murdered.
A fiery critic of Belgium’s colonial rule, Lumumba became his country’s first prime minister after it gained independence in 1960.
But he fell out with the former colonial power and with the US and was ousted in a coup a few months after taking office.
He was executed on Jan. 17, 1961, aged just 35, in the southern region of Katanga, with the support of Belgian mercenaries.
His body was dissolved in acid and never recovered.
Davignon, who went on to be a vice president of the European Commission in the 1980s, was a trainee diplomat at the time of the assassination.
He is accused of involvement in the “unlawful detention and transfer” of Lumumba at the time he was taken prisoner and his “humiliating and degrading treatment,” the prosecutor’s office said.
But prosecutors added that a charge of intent to kill should be dropped.
It is now up to a magistrate to decide if the trial should proceed, following a hearing on the case set for January 2026.
“We’re moving in the right direction. What we’re seeking is, first and foremost, the truth,” Juliana Lumumba, the daughter of the former Congolese premier, told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.
The prosecutor’s decision is the latest step in Belgium’s decades-long reckoning with the role it played in Lumumba’s killing.
In 2022, Belgium returned a tooth — the last remains of Lumumba — to his family in a bid to turn a page on the grim chapter of its colonial past.
The tooth was seized by Belgian authorities in 2016 from the daughter of a policeman, Gerard Soete.
A Belgian parliamentary commission of enquiry concluded in 2001 that Belgium had “moral responsibility” for the assassination, and the government presented the country’s “apologies” a year later.
Japan’s Foreign Minister avoids sanctioning Israel, criticizes Iran’s nuclear “ambitions”
- “We do not permit Iran’s nuclear development, and we believe that solving this through discussion is crucial,” Takeshi stated
- “Moving forward, we will continue to exert all necessary diplomatic efforts”
TOKYO: Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi avoided condemning or approving sanctioning Israel in a press conference on Tuesday, shifting the emphasis onto Iran’s alleged pursuit of a nuclear weapon.
“We do not permit Iran’s nuclear development, and we believe that solving this through discussion is crucial,” he stated, emphasizing the potential for peaceful resolutions. “Moving forward, we will continue to exert all necessary diplomatic efforts to prevent further deterioration of the situation (between Iran and Israel.)”
When asked by Arab News Japan about the possibility of Israel using nuclear weapons in its conflict with Iran, as well as potentially targeting other countries like Pakistan and Egypt, as suggested by some reports, Iwaya opted not to answer directly. Instead, he stated, “Our country believes that the current tense situation in the Middle East is detrimental to the international community as a whole. We strongly urge all parties involved, including Israel, to exercise maximum restraint and to de-escalate the situation,” highlighting the urgency of the situation.
The Japanese Foreign Minister also said he strongly urged de-escalation when he spoke with Iran’s Foreign Minister on Monday, adding that Japan has “also been making efforts with Israel,” without specifying what those efforts entail or outlining how Japan might influence the situation. Rather, he emphasized Japan’s closeness to Israel.
“Israel is, of course, a friendly nation to our country, and we have had long-standing diplomatic relations with Iran, so we believe it is essential for Japan to work toward resolving issues through dialogue and consultation,” he stated.
“The peace and stability of the Middle East are extremely important to our country. The situation is becoming increasingly tense, particularly in Iran. We plan to raise the danger level further and issue evacuation adviseries for the Japanese for the entire country of Iran soon.”
Minister Iwaya was confronted about why Japan agreed with its G-7 partners to support so-called Israel’s self-defense and condemn Iran after Tokyo initially condemned Israel immediately when it launched a preemptive attack on Iran.
The Japanese Foreign Minister justified the change in the position, saying: “Initially, there were attacks from Israel that we condemned, but Iran retaliated, and this back-and-forth continues to this day. We believe that both Israel and Iran should ensure that they are engaged in dialogue and consultation to resolve issues.”
This situation is a source of significant concern for us, Iwaya continued. Regarding the G7 leaders’ statement, it is a consensus that reflects the discussions among the leaders considering the current situation. It reiterates the G7’s commitment to peace and stability in the Middle East.
700 foreigners flee Iran to Azerbaijan, Armenia; evacuation from Israel begins
- A Czech plane carrying 66 people landed in Prague on Tuesday a day after a Slovak plane had taken 73 evacuees to Bratislava from Amman
BAKU: More than 700 foreign nationals have crossed from Iran into neighboring Azerbaijan and Armenia since Israel began striking the country last week, government officials in Baku and Yerevan said on Tuesday.
The Caucasus countries border Iran’s northwest, with the closest crossing into Azerbaijan around 500 km from Tehran by road.
“Since the start of the military escalation between Israel and Iran, more than 600 citizens of 17 countries have been evacuated from Iran via Azerbaijan,” a government source said on Tuesday.
The evacuees, who crossed the border via the Astara checkpoint on the Caspian Sea coast, are being transported to Baku airport and “flown to their home countries on international flights,” the source said.
Among those evacuated are citizens of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, Serbia, Romania, Portugal, the US, the UAE, China and Vietnam. Azerbaijan shut its land borders in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has kept them closed ever since.
“In light of the evacuation need, Azerbaijan has temporarily opened its border for those leaving Iran,” the official said.
India also evacuated 110 of its citizens from Iran through Armenia, Ani Badalyan, Yerevan’s Foreign Ministry said. Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it would evacuate part of its embassy staff in Tehran via Baku.
“We have decided to evacuate or support the departure of staff who do not need to remain in the country, so-called non-essential personnel,” Deputy Foreign Minister Henryka Moscicka-Dendys said.
“Our colleagues will try to reach the border with Azerbaijan,” she said, without specifying how many people were involved.
Turkmenistan — one of the world’s most closed-off countries — said it had also allowed the transit of around 120 people evacuated from Iran through its territory, mainly citizens of Central Asian countries.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia have taken 139 people home on government planes from Israel because of its conflict.
A Czech plane carrying 66 people landed in Prague on Tuesday a day after a Slovak plane had taken 73 evacuees to Bratislava from Amman.
“I am glad they are all OK. The transport was really demanding in the difficult environment,” Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said about the Czech flight on social media site X.
The Defense Ministry said most of the 66 evacuees were Czech nationals. “It was not possible to send the army plane straight to Israel,” the ministry said, citing the air-space closure.
“The evacuees were taken to the airport in the neighboring country by buses. They crossed the border on foot.”
Czech media said a convoy with the evacuees had left Tel Aviv on Monday morning and boarded the plane in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
A Slovak government plane with 73 passengers, mostly Slovaks, landed in Bratislava on Monday.
France urged to apologize for Polynesia nuclear tests
- Tens of thousands of people in the French overseas territory are estimated to have been exposed to harmful levels of radiation
- France conducted 193 nuclear tests in French Polynesia from 1966 until 1996
PARIS: Paris should apologize to French Polynesia for the fallout of nuclear tests there over three decades, which led to harmful radiation exposure, a French parliamentary report released on Tuesday said.
France conducted 193 nuclear tests in French Polynesia from 1966, especially at the Pacific archipelago’s Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls, to help build up its atomic weapon arsenal. These included atmospheric and underground tests which had severe health impacts.
Tens of thousands of people in the French overseas territory are estimated to have been exposed to harmful levels of radiation, leading to a significant public health crisis that has been largely ignored.
The tests remain a source of deep resentment in French Polynesia, where they are seen as evidence of racist colonial attitudes that disregarded the lives of islanders.
“The inquiry has strengthened the committee’s conviction that a request for forgiveness from France to French Polynesia is necessary,” the report said.
“This request is not merely a symbol, nor a request for repentance. It must be a... fundamental step in the process of reconciliation between French Polynesia and the State,” the authors said.
The report said the apology must be added to a 2004 law on French Polynesia’s semi-autonomous status.
Residents in the south Pacific Ocean islands are hoping for compensation for radiation victims.
The investigative website Disclose, citing declassified French military documents on the nearly 200 tests, reported in March that the impact from the fallout was far more extensive than authorities let on.
Only a few dozen civilians have been compensated for radiation exposure since the tests ended in 1996, Disclose said.
