Politics in Bangladesh Jolted by Huge Protests

Andrew Biraj/Reuters

Plain clothes police officers arrest a  Jamaat-e-Islami activist. Clashes erupted after the Bangladeshi government rejected a request by Jamaat leaders to stage a counterprotest against the youth demonstrations.

NEW DELHI — Huge daily demonstrations in the heart of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, are upending the nation’s politics and illustrating how heavily the country’s bloody past still weighs on its present. Thousands of protesters, most of them college students and other young people, demonstrated again on Tuesday, fueled by broad public anger over a recent ruling by the country’s special war crimes tribunal that they say was too lenient.

Though the protests have been peaceful, a gunfight erupted in another part of Dhaka on Tuesday when followers of Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamic political party, vandalized vehicles and clashed with the police. Earlier in the day, the Bangladeshi government had rejected a request by Jamaat leaders to stage a counterprotest against the youth demonstrations.

For more than two years, the Bangladeshi government has been prosecuting defendants accused of atrocities during the country’s 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. On Feb. 5, the special tribunal hearing the cases convicted Abdul Quader Mollah, 65, now a leader of the Jamaat party, on charges of rape and mass murder, and sentenced him to life in prison.

Within hours of the verdict, protesters gathered at Shahbagh, a major intersection in the center of the capital near Dhaka University. Their message was loud and clear: they thought the life sentence was too lenient, possibly the result of a political deal, and they demanded that Mr. Mollah be sentenced to death. Protesters waved torches and banners and chanted slogans like “Joy Bangla.”

“We were really surprised” at the large turnout the first day, said Imran H. Sarkar, one of the organizers. “But young people were very concerned.” Last weekend, the crowds swelled to 200,000 or more by some estimates.

Protests and strikes, common in Dhaka, are often coordinated and organized by political parties. But the Shahbagh protests, as the demonstrations over the verdict have come to be known, were organized by bloggers, and have attracted poets, artists, social activists and untold numbers of other citizens. Related protests are being held in other cities.

The protesters have directed their ire at Jamaat-e-Islami, which has been accused of opposing independence and collaborating with Pakistani forces during the 1971 war, charges the party has denied. At the Shahbagh protests, thousands of people pledged to boycott the Jamaat party and its related businesses, and a delegation of protest leaders presented the Bangladeshi Parliament with a list of demands, including that laws be changed so that Mr. Mollah’s life sentence can be appealed.

Political analysts in Bangladesh say the youth demonstrations reflect broad public disenchantment with the usual style of Bangladeshi politics. Debapriya Bhattacharya, a Bangladeshi economist and former United Nations diplomat, said that the demands for tough sentencing reflected a broader public desire for closure on the 1971 war, in which rapes and assaults of women were common and an estimated three million people were killed.

“There is a general understanding among the people that they want justice in the case,” said Mr. Bhattacharya, who is now a senior fellow at the Center for Policy Dialogue, a leading research institute in Dhaka. “And somehow, at the end of the day here, justice is about capital punishment.”

The protests, he said, are entwined with a rising patriotism among many young Bangladeshis, who are proud of their country’s progress, even as they often distrust the established political parties. “This is something different and something new,” Mr. Bhattacharya said of the protests. “This is the rise of a new social force that can change the political calculus in the country.”

The Awami League, the political party leading the national government, now faces political pressure from opposing directions. The Shahbagh protesters are complaining that the recent verdict is too lenient, while opposition parties, including the Jamaat party, have accused the government of manipulating the tribunal to ensure convictions of their leaders.

One justice has resigned from the tribunal over irregularities in its proceedings. Before its verdict on Feb. 5, Jamaat and other opposition parties staged huge protests against the tribunal’s proceedings; they sought to renew those protests on Tuesday but the government denied their request. Tensions are expected to remain high as the tribunal issues more verdicts in coming weeks.

The scattered violence on Tuesday occurred about a mile away from the Shahbagh protest site. Followers of Jamaat and members of the party’s youth wing were photographed smashing vehicles and clashing with security officers. Authorities say the Jamaat followers opened fire with machine guns and that the police responded with rubber bullets. Bangladeshi media reported that at least 10 people were injured by the rubber bullets, and that members of the Jamaat youth wing were seen firing weapons and throwing fire bombs.

Julfikar Ali Manik contributed reporting from Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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Fashion designers go digital to reach broadest audience

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Hundreds of fashion designers are showing their fall and winter 2013 collections at New York Fashion Week, but not all of them are on the runway.

The semi-annual event, which is followed by fashion weeks in London, Paris and Milan, includes up to 500 fashion shows around New York and attracts about 232,000 people, from buyers to foreign press and wealthy customers.

Top name designers at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, which runs at Manhattan’s Lincoln Center through February 14, have been streaming their runway shows online for the past three or four years.

Now, many lesser-known names, up-and coming-fashion stars and established designers who want to reach a wider, younger audience are going digital.

“This season it is really prevalent,” said Stacy Roman of the New York fashion and publicity firm Factory PR. “There has definitely been an increase in this type of platform.”

In addition to reaching a wider audience, going digital lets designers give fashionistas a behind-the-scenes look at the show and presentations, taking them backstage and through make-up and even fittings.

It is also far less expensive than staging a runway show, which can run upwards of $ 100,000 depending on the venue, models, makeup artists, stylists and disc jockeys for the show.

THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX

Rachel Roy, who launched her first collection in 2005 and has done presentations at Fashion Week, will feature her designs in a digital runway show to stream live on February 14.

“It just really seemed like the right thing to do,” said Roy, whose collection juxtaposes modern and antique looks with deep jewel tones and bright metallics, textured and smooth fabrics and light with dark colors.

“I always want to think outside the box, to do something that is new and fresh, and I think part of my job is to bring newness to fashion,” she said. “Part of doing that is showing to as many people that love fashion, that want it, making it accessible to them.”

Roy is building a full set for her digital show and will include backstage shots to let viewers experience all elements of the production.

Los Angeles-based Kelly Wearstler is also taking the digital route and will feature plenty of denim in a collection that will be displayed in her New York showroom and in a digital show with behind-the-scenes videos shot in her California studio.

“I am in the infancy stage of my fashion world, and I have a ton to learn, so I am baby-stepping it,” said Wearstler, who launched her fashion line 18 months ago but has been in interior design for more than 17 years and has a flagship store in Los Angeles.

The content will go out on several digital platforms including her blog , Twitter, the content sharing service Pinterest, the photo sharing and social networking services Instagram and Facebook, as well as fashion-focused websites such as Refinery29.com, racked.com, Style.com and Vine, Twitter’s new video sharing app for recording and sharing six-second clips.

“Right now I am happy where I am, learning and growing,” she added.

For 32-year-old Radhika Perera-Hernandez, who designs for her New York based-Lois London label, there was no question that online is the place to be.

“It is the smartest way for a start-up line to get their name out there. A lot of designers that are at the same level as myself are doing the same kind of thing,” she said.

Perera-Hernandez, who was born and raised in London, features kaftans, jumpsuits and swimwear in her collection.

“Anything that I am doing for the brand I will be pushing through my website and (the microblogging website) Tumblr and any of the other viral things that I have going on.”

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Nick Zieminski)

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Ahmad Rashad Divorcing Sale Johnson

02/11/2013 at 03:45 PM EST

Sale Johnson and Ahmad Rashad

Charley Gallay/Getty

Ahmad Rashad and Sale Johnson are ending their marriage.

The sportscaster, 63, and Johnson, who wed in 2007, confirmed the news to PEOPLE in a joint statement on Monday.

"This process, while difficult, is and has always been amicable – despite erroneous press reports to the contrary – and we remain committed to jointly raising our daughter," they say. "We appreciate the respect of our privacy during this trying time."

This will be the fourth divorce for Rashad, while Johnson was previously married to Johnson & Johnson billionaire Woody Johnson. Rashad inherited three stepdaughters from his ex's former marriage, including the late Casey Johnson.

• Reporting by JENNIFER GARCIA

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Pope shows lifetime jobs aren't always for life

The pope's announcement that he will resign has taken many people by surprise, but experts on aging say perhaps it shouldn't.

They say that as people live longer, the physical and mental challenges of old age are catching up with more of those in positions of power. Many are choosing to step down instead of continuing in jobs traditionally held until death.

Justices appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court used to serve until death. But since 1955, 21 justices have retired and only one, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, died in office.

The Netherlands' Queen Beatrix just announced she would pass the crown to her son in April. And 20 percent of U.S. senators are now 70 or older.

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Wall Street ticks lower, investors seek new catalysts

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell modestly on Monday as investors found few reasons to keep pushing shares higher following a six-weeks-long advance that has taken the S&P 500 index near record highs.

The benchmark index is up more than 6 percent so far this year after a steep rally in January that has stalled as the S&P and Dow industrials near multi-year highs.

"This is still a market that looks terrific, but when you're up for six weeks in a row, everyone is going to want to take a pause going into the seventh week even if there is no bad news out there," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management in Chicago.

The S&P 500 would need to rise 3.9 percent to reach its all-time intraday high of 1,576.09, which was hit in October 2007.

Google Inc shares fell 1 percent at $777.67 after the company said in a filing former chief executive Eric Schmidt is selling roughly 42 percent of his stake in the Internet search giant, a move that could potentially net him $2.51 billion.

But the decline was offset by gains in Apple , up 1.4 percent at $481.73 after a New York Times report that the iPhone maker is experimenting with the design of a device similar to a wristwatch.

The Federal Reserve's Vice Chair Janet Yellen, seen as a potential successor to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke next year, said the Fed is still aggressively stimulating an anemic U.S. economic recovery that has failed to bring rapid progress on employment.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 31.05 points, or 0.22 percent, at 13,961.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 1.80 points, or 0.12 percent, at 1,516.13. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 5.25 points, or 0.16 percent, at 3,188.62.

Upbeat U.S. and Chinese data last week helped the S&P 500 extend its weekly winning streak to six. The index gained about 8 percent over that period.

Equities have been strong performers lately, rising 6.3 percent so far this year. Many investors have used any declines in the market as opportunities to buy.

"Everyone wants to buy on a dip in this market, but if you're on the sidelines right now, the decline we're seeing today just isn't the kind you would jump in on," Kuby said.

President Barack Obama will describe his plan for spurring the economy in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. He is expected to offer proposals for investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy and education.

Opposition has grown to the $24.4 billion buyout of Dell Inc , the No. 3 personal computer maker, as three of the largest investors joined Southeastern Asset Management on Friday in raising objections. Dell said in a regulatory filing it had considered many strategic options before opting to go private in a buyout led by Chief Executive Michael Dell.

Dell shares hovered near $13.65, the buyout offer price.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc shares rose 1.6 percent at $168.72 after it said longtime drug development partner Sanofi plans to boost its stake.

Moody's Corp was one of the strongest percentage gainers on the S&P 500, rising 3.9 percent to $45.06. Last week the stock plunged 22 percent after the U.S. government launched a civil lawsuit against the company. The sell-off marked the stock's worst week since October 2008.

(Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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Rabbi David Hartman, 81, Champion of an Adaptive Judaism

JERUSALEM — Rabbi David Hartman, an American-born Jewish philosopher who promoted a liberal brand of Orthodoxy and created a study center that expressed his commitment to pluralism by bringing together leaders from all strains of Judaism, died on Sunday at his home here. He was 81.

His son Donniel said the death came after a long illness.

Rabbi Hartman, who was a professor at Hebrew University for more than 20 years, was a leading advocate of the idea that Jews are partners with God in a covenant, and that they should therefore adapt religious observance to modern values in a multicultural world.

A charismatic teacher and prolific author, he encouraged students to question tradition and urged people of different backgrounds and ideologies to pore over Jewish texts together, a practice more common in his native United States than his adopted country.

“At the center of his thinking was a kind of counter-religious idea, where religious life is a life of affirmation, not a life of denial,” said Moshe Halbertal, a professor of philosophy at Hebrew University and Rabbi Hartman’s former son-in-law. “If human life is not denied by the force of revelation, but it’s actually a participant in revelation, then human life has to come to its full fledge, with its moral convictions, with its encounter with the world.”

The Shalom Hartman Institute, which Rabbi Hartman founded in his father’s name in 1976, has become a theological and cultural landmark, particularly for the thousands of Diaspora Jews who attend frequent conferences or spend summers studying there. With an annual budget of $18 million and a staff of 125, the institute has sponsored two Jerusalem high schools, runs a research center, opened a branch in Manhattan and trained more than 1,000 Israeli military officers. In the last year, according to the institute, more than 5,000 people across North American participated in a Hartman learning series called iEngage.

But Rabbi Hartman’s progressive, universalistic approach was embraced more in the United States than in Israel, where some challenged his status as Orthodox and shunned his open-mindedness as heresy. He received honorary doctorates from Yale and Hebrew Union College, a Reform institution with three branches in the United States and one in Jerusalem, but not the coveted Israel Prize. His never receiving it was a source of painful regret, several people close to him said.

In recent years he had been highly critical of the growing influence of the ultra-Orthodox on public life. He described as “insane” an ultra-Orthodox boycott of a military ceremony in which women sang.

“What is happening today with religion is more dangerous than what’s happening with the Arabs — the Arabs want to kill my body, the Jews are killing my soul,” Rabbi Hartman said in a 2011 interview with the Israeli daily Yediot Aharanot. “I want to return the Torah to the Labor Party, to the entire people of Israel. I don’t want religion to be the private property of certain people. I don’t want the length of the sidelocks to be the determining factor.”

David Hartman was born on Sept. 11, 1931 in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, one of six children of Shalom and Batya Hartman, Hasidim who had moved to New York from Israel. Donniel Hartman said that the family was poor — Shalom peddled sheets and pillowcases door to door — but that the four boys became rabbis and the two girls married rabbis.

Rabbi Hartman was ordained by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, perhaps the most important Orthodox thinker of the 20th century, and received a doctorate of philosophy from McGill University in Montreal. He was a pulpit rabbi in the Bronx and Montreal before moving to Israel in 1971 as part of a generation of Zionists inspired by the Israeli victory in the Arab-Israeli war of 1967.

Rabbi Hartman published several books in English and Hebrew, including two about Maimonides, the Torah scholar of the Middle Ages; one on the theological legacy of Rabbi Soloveitchik; and two about his own spiritual evolution. He was an adviser to Ehud Olmert, the former prime minister; Teddy Kollek, the longtime mayor of Jerusalem; and Zevulun Hammer, Israel’s education minister from 1977 to 1984.

“He was a public philosopher for the Jewish people,” said Michael J. Sandel, a professor of political philosophy at Harvard who has written about Rabbi Hartman’s work. “As Maimonides drew Aristotle into conversation with Moses and Rabbi Akiva, so Hartman renovated Jewish thought by bringing the liberal sensibilities to bear on Talmudic argument.”

Jonathan D. Sarna, a professor of American Jewish history at Brandeis University, described the Hartman Institute as “a little island of pluralism amidst a sea of what was often religious fanaticism,” but noted that “he had to establish his own institutions precisely because, unlike Soloveitchik, he was not really welcomed” by Israel’s religious establishment.

Avi Sagi, a professor at Bar Ilan University and a Hartman fellow who edited a two-volume set on the rabbi’s work, said of him, “He gave me the opportunity to think without any limitation.”

Besides his son Donniel, who replaced him as president of the Hartman Institute, Rabbi Hartman is survived by four other children, including a daughter, Tova, who helped found Shira Hadasha, a feminist Orthodox congregation in Jerusalem; 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his former wife, Barbara; the couple had married twice and were divorced twice.

Yedidia Z. Stern, a law professor and vice president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said Rabbi Hartman’s charisma and curiosity were apparent even a few weeks before his death, during a Sabbath meal at Donniel Hartman’s home.

“He was ignoring the adults at the table; he was talking to my kids,” Professor Stern said. “He was asking them about school: Do they like the curriculum, what do they think should be different? Even when he was very sick, you can see the life coming out.”

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: February 11, 2013

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this obituary misstated the number Hebrew Union College branches in the United States.  Hebrew Union College has three branches in the United States and one in Jerusalem, not four in the United States.

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Tech wizards honored by Oscars organizers

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) – Some of the most ingenious behind-the-scenes innovators, whose breakthroughs in computer technology and other fields were key to the making of movies such as “Shrek” and “Avatar,” were awarded at an early Oscar organizers’ ceremony in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

From the team who developed a system to bring to life computerized digital stunt doubles for fantastic creatures in movies such as “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” to the man who simply developed one of the most versatile lighting delivery systems in film production, the Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards showcased emotional speeches and lifetimes of work for those whose lives are spent behind the camera.

The Beverly Hills ceremony honored 25 individuals with nine awards. Unlike the main Oscars ceremony, which will be held on Sunday, February 24 and will only recognize movie achievements from 2012, the Scientific and Technical Awards honored those with a proven record of achievement in the process of making feature films.

The ceremony was hosted by actors Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana, who respectively played Captain James T. Kirk and Uhura in “Star Trek” in 2009 and who will reprise those roles in this May’s sequel. Saldana payed tribute to the night’s honorees, saying they made it possible for life in front of the camera.

Richard Mall received perhaps the greatest applause of the night, for his invention of the Matthews Max Menace Arm, a portable device which allows studio lights to be moved and positioned all over a set, often where normal lighting cannot be used because of on-site restrictions of other difficult conditions.

“I am a little humbled to be up here with all this technology, because basically I built something in my garage,” Mall said to applause and cheers. He thanked his wife for all the strange noises that had come out of that garage. His invention has been sold to over 40 countries and used in more than 300 films.

The evening was also devoted to people who had invented systems such as “Tissue: A Physically-Based Character Simulation Framework,” which has made huge advances in bringing to life computer-generated characters such as Gollum in “The Hobbit“. An Academy Plaque for Scientific and Engineering went to Simon Clutterbuck, James Jacobs and Dr. Richard Dorling for this technique.

The team of Daniel Wexler, Lawrence Kesteloot and Drew Olbrich that created the Light system for computer graphics at PDI/DreamWorks was awarded for technical achievement. Their work, which combines light, color and rendering in one, was used in “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and other animated DreamWorks pictures.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Helen Mirren's Surprising Pink Hair Inspiration Revealed

Stylewatch
Style News Now

02/10/2013 at 03:49 PM ET

Ian Gavan/Getty

What do Dakota Fanning, Katy Perry and Helen Mirren have in common? Until Sunday’s BAFTA awards in London, not a whole lot, but Mirren’s bright new do put them all in a rarefied group of stars who have rocked pink hair.

“I saw it on America’s Next Top Model, so I decided to have a go,” Mirren, 67, told reporters of her tress inspiration. The cotton-candy hue highlighted her brand-new choppy pixie cut, which she showed off to great effect in a white crew-neck Nicholas Oakwell Couture gown with floral embroidery. “I know I won’t win tonight,” she said of her best actress nomination for Hitchcock, “but I’m going to have lots of fun and celebrate anyway.”

Though we’re used to the star’s bold fashion choices, her colorful locks (rumored to be temporary) still managed to surprise us — if only because we’d bet she’s the first-ever Dame Commander of the British Empire to sport a pastel pink pixie.

Tell us: What do you think of Mirren’s new do?

–Alex Apatoff

PHOTOS: VOTE ON MORE STAR HAIR CHANGES HERE!

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After early start, worst of flu season may be over

NEW YORK (AP) — The worst of the flu season appears to be over.

The number of states reporting intense or widespread illnesses dropped again last week, and in a few states there was very little flu going around, U.S. health officials said Friday.

The season started earlier than normal, first in the Southeast and then spreading. But now, by some measures, flu activity has been ebbing for at least four weeks in much of the country. Flu and pneumonia deaths also dropped the last two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

"It's likely that the worst of the current flu season is over," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

But flu is hard to predict, he and others stressed, and there have been spikes late in the season in the past.

For now, states like Georgia and New York — where doctor's offices were jammed a few weeks ago — are reporting low flu activity. The hot spots are now the West Coast and the Southwest.

Among the places that have seen a drop: Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa., which put up a tent outside its emergency room last month to help deal with the steady stream of patients. There were about 100 patients each day back then. Now it's down to 25 and the hospital may pack up its tent next week, said Terry Burger, director of infection control and prevention for the hospital.

"There's no question that we're seeing a decline," she said.

In early December, CDC officials announced flu season had arrived, a month earlier than usual. They were worried, saying it had been nine years since a winter flu season started like this one. That was 2003-04 — one of the deadliest seasons in the past 35 years, with more than 48,000 deaths.

Like this year, the major flu strain was one that tends to make people sicker, especially the elderly, who are most vulnerable to flu and its complications

But back then, that year's flu vaccine wasn't made to protect against that bug, and fewer people got flu shots. The vaccine is reformulated almost every year, and the CDC has said this year's vaccine is a good match to the types that are circulating. A preliminary CDC study showed it is about 60 percent effective, which is close to the average.

So far, the season has been labeled moderately severe.

Like others, Lehigh Valley's Burger was cautious about making predictions. "I'm not certain we're completely out of the woods," with more wintry weather ahead and people likely to be packed indoors where flu can spread around, she said.

The government does not keep a running tally of flu-related deaths in adults, but has received reports of 59 deaths in children. The most — nine — were in Texas, where flu activity was still high last week. Roughly 100 children die in an average flu season, the CDC says

On average, about 24,000 Americans die each flu season, according to the CDC.

According to the CDC report, the number of states with intense activity is down to 19, from 24 the previous week, and flu is widespread in 38 states, down from 42.

Flu is now minimal in Florida, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

___

Online:

CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/

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G20 to skirt potholes and follow growth signposts

LONDON (Reuters) - With the road ahead looking a bit smoother, G20 finance ministers will be happy to ignore the wreck in the rear-view mirror when they meet this week to steer a course for the world economy.

The euro zone as a whole and a clutch of its members, including France, Italy and the Netherlands, are expected to report that their economies shrank last quarter - joining Germany and the United States - while Japan's barely grew, according to economists polled by Reuters.

But the Group of 20 leading economies, which meets in Moscow on Friday, should be able to take heart from a pair of more timely indicators - a New York Fed manufacturing survey and a University of Michigan poll on consumer sentiment.

Economists expect both to show an improvement, despite the gnawing uncertainty of how long-running U.S. deficit reduction negotiations will affect taxes and spending.

Luca Paolini, chief strategist at Pictet Asset Management in London, said he was more positive on the global outlook on balance but a sense of perspective was needed. Buoyant markets risked getting ahead of themselves.

"Our own leading indicators are going up, but we don't think we're in a strong growth environment. We see weak growth, and that's not going to change this year," he said.

PASSING THE GROWTH BATON

Simon Hayes, an economist with Barclays Capital, broadly agreed. "On the whole, recent activity data have been encouraging of our view that the global economy is improving, albeit slowly," he said in a report.

January U.S. retail sales figures are likely to underline this point. Hobbled by the January 1 increase in payroll taxes, economists expect a rise of just 0.1 percent on the month.

By contrast, U.S. capital spending is finally perking up from a low level as corporations, realizing that protracted cost-cutting is hurting productivity and growth prospects, give the green light to pent-up investments, Paolini said.

"But we're not overly optimistic because investment is based on confidence. You can have all the money you want, but you're not going to invest if you expect growth to be weak. So if we have any kind of shock - it can be politics or something else - investment will fall again," he said.

China delivered a boost to confidence on Friday with a batch of strong trade and money data for January.

Economists are wary of reading too much into China's figures at the start of the year because of distortions due to the variable timing of the long Lunar New Year holidays.

But Ting Lu, Bank of America Merrill Lynch's chief China economist, said they supported his view that gross domestic product growth could accelerate to 8.3 percent in the first half of this year from 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.

China is not the only developing economy that is doing its bit for global growth.

Mark Williams, chief Asia economist with Capital Economics in London, said there had been signs of a rebound across the emerging world in the past month. Goldman Sachs, too, said there had been a marked improvement in consumer confidence across emerging markets coming into 2013.

"It had been the case that Latin America and Asia were looking up at the end of last year but emerging economies in Europe were still looking very weak. But even they are now joining in the recovery. So it's looking increasingly broad-based," Williams said.

CURRENCY SKIRMISHES

One obvious pothole on the road to recovery is the threat of a spate of competitive devaluations, as growth-hungry countries seek to give their exporters an edge by talking down their currencies or actively pushing them lower by bold monetary easing.

Japan has come in for fierce criticism in some quarters for that very reason, but Finance Minister Taro Aso sought to restore calm on Friday by saying the recent slide in the yen had gone too far.

His emollient words reinforced expectations that the G20 will not point the finger at Tokyo.

At the same time, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's success in reversing the euro's climb with a few well-chosen words last Thursday has eased the worries of France and others for now that the single currency was approaching levels that would do real damage to the euro area.

So, although Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega fears global currency wars could intensify, the betting is on an anodyne statement from the Moscow meeting that avoids rattling confidence.

"There will be something very vague reminding everybody that if you start getting into currency wars everybody is going to lose," Paolini with Pictet said.

(Editing by Toby Chopra)

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