Richer developing countries must stretch for Doha pact: US
Washington: The United States pinpointing at Brazil, China and India said richer developing countries had to open their markets if a crisis in the negotiations in WTO talks was to be overcome. US Trade Chief Susan Schwab said a deal was still possible and added that trade would be a focus at a meeting of G8 leaders -- heads of state from the world's seven industrial states plus Russia -- later this month. Leaders from Brazil and India are also expected to attend.

A meeting last weekend of trade ministers from G6 countries which are leading trade powers in Geneva broke up when they were unable to resolve any differences over farm and industrial goods, which, along with services, comprise the negotiations.
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U.S. Congress to probe Pakistan jet deal
Washington: The Bush administration's decision to push a landmark $5 billion sale of F-16 jets to Pakistan before completing traditional consultations with the U.S. Congress without answering security concerns, has led to concerns among congressman. Some lawmakers are seeing this as the latest example of the administration's distaste for consulting Congress on security issues and they said the relevant committees would probe the deal further in the coming weeks.

Among Congress' concerns about the deal are how Pakistan intends to ensure that its long-time defense ally China will not have access to advanced U.S. technology and whether there has been any diversion of such technology already in Pakistani hands.

The State Department announced last week that consultations with lawmakers had been concluded and that formal notification had been given to Congress, paving the way for the deal with U.S. aerospace company Lockheed Martin Corp. to proceed.

Democrat and Republican sources however say the Republican-controlled committees with jurisdiction over the sale -- the House panel and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- have scheduled hearings in the next two weeks to probe the matter further.

Public debate over the sale could prove awkward for the administration and Pakistan, a front-line U.S. ally against Islamic terrorism. A previous F-16 sale was halted in 1990 because of concerns over Pakistan's nuclear program.
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Intel, Motorola to invest in Clearwire
Intel and Motorola plan to invest $900 million in Clearwire, a wireless Internet service provider, in hopes of speeding development of its high-speed wide-range network. Intel Capital said it would make a $600 million cash investment in Clearwire, which was founded nearly three years ago by Craig O McCaw, a pioneer in the cellular telephone industry.

Motorola Ventures did not clarify how much of its $300 million investment would be in cash. In a related transaction, Motorola said it would buy Clearwire's NextNet Wireless subsidiary for an undisclosed amount.

Analysts opine that Intel and Motorola wanted to boost WiMax, a standard for mobile wireless used by Clearwire which competes with technology from Qualcomm.

WiMax is like the popular WiFi networking standard but works over much greater distances, carrying both Internet data and mobile phone calls. A single WiMax base station can connect thousands of customers to the Internet over distances of many miles.
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