When Sharif was prime minister last time, his economic reforms surprised his detractors and pleased the international business community -- until he was ousted for running an allegedly corrupt government.

CNN: CAN THIS MAN MEND PAKISTAN?

Mr Cook, who has offered to pay a "substantial" sum of money to buy the runway and surrounding facilities, said the international business community looked on Sheffield's lack of an airport with "universal incredulity".

BBC: Sheffield City Airport

"By basing the center here at the school, we can act as a bridge between the academic world and the world of business and finance, bringing together people from different backgrounds, academic disciplines and from the international business community, to jointly focus on the most important policy debates of our time, " he said.

CNN: Bridging commerce and research

Instead of focusing on who owns the moon, the international community needs find ways to incentivize future business activity on the moon by guaranteeing that rights to land and resources will not be preempted by competing interests, said Hertzfeld.

CNN: Who owns the moon? It's 'complicated,' say experts

Director-General Irina Bokova joined the United Nations delegation to the High-Level Forum, which gathers some 3, 000 participants, including 100 ministers, forty heads of international organizations, parliamentarians, the business community and civil society.

UNESCO: High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness Highlights "Korean Miracle" and Calls on World to Do Better | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Numerous personalities from the German business community, the media, and the international sport and art scene, will participate.

UNESCO: MEDIA SERVICES

Some observers on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. business community worry ICANN is trying so hard to build international support that it could end up creating an organization in which the status of the U.S. is not equal to its investment in or influence over the Internet.

CNN: Domain group lacking strong U.S. presence

Davos has traditionally attracted the cream of the global business community, eager to bring a boardroom mentality to bear on a smorgasbord of international issues from climate change to developing world aid to weapons proliferation.

CNN: Davos delegates gather to 'shape new world'