Mission accomplished for Prague protesters
The week began with nervous economic leaders heading for talks - and the now inevitable activist protests - at the Group of Seven (G7) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) meetings in Prague.
While soaring oil prices and the battered euro were being bandied as the most vital talking points, many finance ministers were more concerned about the mundane matter of simply getting past the awaiting protesters and into the meeting.
Activists, fresh from 'successful' disruptions of last year's WTO meeting in Seattle and the free-trade talks in Melbourne earlier last month, have long eyed Prague as the next soap-box for their anti-globalisation views.
Tear gas, water cannons, stun grenades, vandalism and arrests followed. If the protesters' main aim was to disrupt the meeting, they were successful, as it seemed no concrete decisions were made in Prague.
Sinopec plans axings in line with rival
About 20 per cent of China Petrochemical Corp's (Sinopec) workforce will be laid off over the next five years as the giant battles to keep in touch with mainland restructuring.
