Davos 2010: Day three as it happened

Tanya Beckett tweets: Just in a session of Afghanistan. This is an area in which discussions in Davos can be electrifying.

1350 Coming up this afternoon - Google's Eric Schmidt makes two appearances - speaking at Technology for Society and then Business Leadership for the 21st Century. He's joined on the second panel by the boss of China Mobile, Wang Jianzhou. Wonder if Google's row with the Chinese government will come up?

1335 All those business people and leaders at Davos will be pleased with the news - just out - that the world's biggest economy grew at an annualised rate of 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Biggest jump in six years. Is this the US back on form?

Tim Weber tweets: Just had lunch with top EU central banker. Boy, is he unhappy w bankers' recent behaviour. And boy, is he carrying a big stick

1315 Another leader joins BBC World on its picturesque balcony overlooking the Alps. Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva promises growth of 4% this year.

1301 A warning - as if we needed another in Davos - from the IMF's Dominique Strauss-Kahn, not to get too carried away by signs of a return to global growth. The future, he cautions, will not be "business as usual". A new global economic model will need to be invented to take account of growth from Chinese consumers, rather than US ones. It needs to be a green one too, he says. No small task.

Aron Cramer tweets: Consensus view that emerging market multinationals are still 10-15 years off.

Evan Davis tweets: No, I didn't get a chance to ask Bill Gates about the iPad. But the 10bn seemed too big to make it worth going on about.

1233 Stephen Schwarzman, boss of mega-hedge fund Blackstone, is pleasing the China Central Television host of the session on redesigning China's growth by saying that the country is "very flexible - extremely high energy and that's the makings of a dynamic economy and culture".

Evan Davis tweets: Bill Gates had been criticised for comments on Google and China. Worth reading. 'I may have been misquoted,' he told me.

Jason Pontin tweets: No one at Davos #WEF knows what's after Copenhagen, 'cos the West can't talk to China & India. Delegates talk hopelessly of "engagement."

The BBC's Nik Gowing tweets: Barney Frank, US Congressman/Ch Fin Cttee, tells me in BBC Debate there is 'constitutional crisis' in US. Newshounds jump on his rmrks.

1152 The debate on China is under way, with China Central Television's Rui Chenggang saying the country is like a 16-year-old Yao Ming (the Chinese basketball player) - "already two metres tall, but still growing".

1150 Greece is the word - again. The BBC's Stephanie Flanders says: Eurozone officials would like a way to say yes (they will help Greece) to the bond markets, without appearing to let Greece off the hook. But it's not clear that such a path exists. And if they keep looking for one, they risk making the bailout which they fear that much more likely.

1123 A pledge from Bill and Melinda Gates: their foundation is committing $10bn (£6.2bn) over the next decade to help research, develop and deliver vaccines for the world's poorest countries.

1120 Another high-profile no-show: Pakistan's Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has cancelled his trip here at the last minute.

Tim Weber tweets: John Evans at #wef: bankers complaining about reg failure is like having a burning house and complaining about firebrigade flooding it.

Mayor of London tweets: Just urged the punters in Davos to befriend a banker in order to hug a hoodie. They have got to come to the table to help society.

1112 A BBC producer in Davos writes: The small hotel where we're broadcasting is opposite the congress centre, so very convenient. The downside is you have armed security on the centre's roof peering through your hotel room window when you wake up in the morning.

1105 Quite a line-up in the upcoming session Redesigning the Global Dimensions of China's Growth. Alcoa chief Klaus Kleinman (yes, the former Siemens boss who was caught up in the corruption scandal), the Chinese economist David Li Daokui, Blackstone's chairman Stephen Schwarzman, John Zhao chief exec of investment house Hony Capital and Chinese TV personality Rui Chenggang.

EvanHD tweets: Waiting to hear Bill and Melinda Gates talk about vaccinations. Hoping for quick interview afterwards. Is it too trivial to ask about iPad?

1047 Standard Chartered's Peter Sands predicts Asian currencies will eventually become more valuable than Western ones, reflecting shifts in economic power. Does that mean the end of the US dollar as the reserve currency?

David Brain tweets: John Evans [trade union expert, in session about rethinking government assistance]: 'The fairer a society is (in wealth equality) the better it does economically over the long term'.

1038 The issue of Greece's financial predicament just won't go away, with speculation continuing it is seeking an EU bail-out, despite fresh denials from the Greek premier. Speaking in a Bloomberg TV interview at Davos, European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said there was no special EU plan for Greece.

1031 India's economic policy-maker Montek Ahluwalia says his government's strategy is for public-private partnerships for much-needed investment in the country's infrastructure.

1030 Back in the session about rethinking government assistance the talk is about job creation. Dominic Barton, from consultants McKinsey, criticises policy-by-soundbite. He gives the example of green jobs growth - when you look at the potential for green job creation in the US it's relatively small, he says.

Sean Feely, Ithaca, USA says: I think it's clear with the recent disaster in Haiti that there needs to be a serious effort to not only cancel third world debt, but also to aid the development of poor nations. What do you think Davos will achieve this year?

1007 Plenty of financial crystal-ball gazing going on this year, as ever. But as the famous US economist John Kenneth Galbraith once said: "The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable." Discuss

Daniela Hinrichs tweets: Watching the helicopter ballet in Davos whilst trying to figure out the 'greener Davos' initiative #wef

Tim Weber tweets: David Cameron at #wef: supports a global insurance levy (Tobin-ish tax) on financial services to safeguard fin system Read Tim Weber's tweets

Tim Weber tweets: European Central Bank's Trichet at #wef - we were very close to "catastrophe" and global "depression", we still underestimate size of crisis Read Tim Weber's tweets

Chinoy Mathew, Bangalore, India says: People will want to see the global financial system being properly regulated and balanced. People will also want prevention from the whole concept of too big to fail. What do you think Davos will achieve this year?

0955 Over at the big climate change session of the day, where Mexican President Felipe Calderon says he hopes to re-establish "trust and confidence" when countries meet to thrash out a climate treaty in Cancun this December. "Our objective is to reach a robust, substantial and comprehensive agreement," he said. Deja vu, anyone?

0952 Plain speaking from Standard Chartered boss Peter Sands. He says the relationship between banks, governments and society has changed irreversibly. Banks have been tone deaf and shot themselves in the foot, he says, but politicians' demonisation of an entire industry hasn't helped much either. He says re-establishing the fundamental social purpose of banks is now the primary challenge.

MayorOfLondon tweets: Told the financial elite in Davos last night that the masters of the universe must become the servants of society Read MayorOfLondon tweets

0934 Peter Voser, chief executive of oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, tells the BBC's Tanya Beckett he doesn't want the financial system overburdened. He says it's about time we focused more on job creation. On climate change he says: "Let's stop debating and go and do what we can" - like look at bio-fuels and gas.

0929 Karzai's bailed, it seems. AFP news agency is quoting a Davos spokesman who says the Afghan president has cancelled his planned stopover on the way home from Thursday's London conference on Afghanistan. No reason given.

Tim Weber writes: WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrrell said: "We in the West have gone to some sort of state-directed capitalism in the past year." So how can we, the taxpayer, get out of it? I'm just going into a session called Rethinking Government Assistance. The panel includes European Central Bank boss Jean-Claude Trichet, UK opposition leader David Cameron, Indian government economic policy-maker Montek Ahluwalia and McKinsey head honcho Dominic Barton. Stay tuned.

QueenRania tweets: Was nice to see P[resident].Clinton. Heard abt his tireless effort & concern 4 people of Haiti. Stories of survival, hope the world must never forget Read Queen Rania of Jordan's tweets

0913 Development economist Jeffrey Sachs tells the Millennium Development Goals forum that business is better at getting things done than government when it comes to carrying out pledges.

0905 With all the world leaders here, it's not just finance on the agenda. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has told the BBC artillery shells fired by North Korea this week may have been a negotiating tactic. He also said he would have a face-to-face with Kim Jong-il this year, if the dialogue was constructive, yielded results and the North was willing to talk candidly about its nuclear programme. A lot of "ifs", says the BBC's Bridget Kendall.

0859 Morgan Tsvangirai says it's important to set goals relevant on the ground. He talks about his village with no water or electricity where people still live in thatched houses and children go to school 10km away. "What we need is a development model that can pull the village out of peasant entrapment," he says.

Anandmahindra tweets: Sum journo shld do photoessay on diff security contingents at Davos. Compare dour faces of Chinese, Russian & US teams. What a coffeetable book! Read Anandmahindra's tweets

0849 The BBC's Tim Weber was at the Davos equivalent of a pub quiz last night. Find out how some of the world's best finance brains (and Tim) would invest $1bn.

0846 Today's opening session in the congress hall includes Bill Gates and Morgan Tsvangirai discussing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Mr Gates says: "It's clear we are not going to get straight As on MDGs but among our successes is malaria, where we should hit our goal; Vietnam likely to make all MDGs."

0842 Diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall writes: Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's beleaguered PM, is doing the rounds, trying to get investors to take an interest. More interestingly, he signalled support for easing targeted Western sanctions, as a way of sending a message to opponents that there could be rewards for supporting the unity government.

0834 The BBC's Tim Weber says: The sun is shining over Davos and the first breakfast briefings are under way. The millionaires were stomping on the dance floor at last night's party hosted by US consultancy McKinsey. On the way, one man said to me: "Seems there's still a bubble economy." Not sure whether he meant the party, or the bubble machine at the entrance.

0830 Welcome to the third day's coverage of the World Economic Forum in Davos. We have Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan among the stellar line-up - and that's just this morning!