Tom's Take

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/11/09/art.amanpour.writer.jpg caption="Sr. Writer Tom Evans"]

On AMANPOUR. today, while international donors meet in Montreal to ponder the future of the relief and development effort, Christiane travels to the southern port town of Jacmel.  A popular tourist site and center of the arts in Haiti, the city was hoping for a renaissance with the announcement of the first major hotel chain deal in a decade.  That was the day before the earthquake.  Does tourism still hold the key to its rebirth from the rubble? Haiti is just one of the stories in our round-up of some of the top headlines this morning.

Tom Evans
Sr. Writer, AMANPOUR.

HAITI – Will international donors make a long-term commitment to Haiti’s recovery?

–         International donors meet in Montreal, Canada to decide priorities for Haiti’s long-term development

–         Canada says meeting will lay groundwork for future aid, not seek immediate pledges of money

–         Haitian prime minister Jean-Max Bellerive is among the officials attending the meeting, which also includes representatives of the U.N. and other international organizations

QUESTION:  Will Haiti’s partners seize the moment and give the country an opportunity to build a new and better country out of the ruins without dictating the way Haiti does it?
AFGHANISTAN – Is the international community moving closer to giving some Taliban elements an opportunity to join the political process?

–         U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, tells Financial Times “I think any Afghans can play a role if they focus on the future, and not the past”

–         U.N.’s top official in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, tells New York Times it’s time for Afghan government to seek removal of at least some senior Taliban figures from the U.N.’s list of terrorists

–         Comments came days after U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates said the Taliban is part of Afghanistan’s “political fabric” and can participate in elections if it stops killing people

QUESTION:  Is it time to begin talks with the Taliban, or at least those elements that are open to the possibility of negotiations?

GOOGLE – Is the U.S.-China dispute over cyber attacks and internet censorship spiraling out of control?

–         China’s information technology ministry calls accusations of government involvement in cyber attacks alleged by Google to be “groundless”

–         Google has threatened to pull out of China in protest at censorship, saying Chinese hackers have targeted the company and up to 34 other firms

–         U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Thursday called on China to investigate cyber attacks, saying they raise “very serious concerns”

QUESTION: Why is China taking such a hard-line stance on this issue and why won’t Beijing move towards some sort of compromise?