Davos 2020: Greta Thunberg vs Mnuchin; Coronavirus fears; Soros's $1bn university - Day Three as it happened

Finally, here’s our news story on George Soros’s new initiative:

The key points:

George Soros is also stingingly critical of Facebook, saying the social network has not improved its behaviour.

He suggests it will now work to ensure Donald Trump is re-elected in November.

George Soros has outlined plans for a new higher education network, to promote his vision of an open society against the likes of populist politicals.

The initiative is called “The Open Society University Network”, and is being endowed with $1bn from the billionaire philanthropist.

Soros tells his audience in Davos tonight that it will be an international platform for teaching and research, offering classes, and aiming to reach places in need of high quality education.

That could include refugees, the Roma people and other displaced people, he adds.

It sounds like a successor to his Central European University, which Soros founded in Hungary - it fled to Vienna after falling foul of prime minister Victor Orbán.

Soros says he will provide $1bn funding to get it going, but is calling on other philanthropists to help too.

Soros, who turns 90 in August, says that he considers OSUM to be the most important and enduring project of his life, adding:

I hope to see it implemented when I’m still around.

Soros is also concerned about President Xi, and his attempts to control Chinese society.

With the climate crisis a growing threat too, 2020 and next few years, may determine the fate of both Xi and Trump and the whole world, he adds.

George Soros says there is now a torrent of protests from people around the world against closed societies.

The biggest is Hong Kong, he says, which “may well destroy the city’s economic prosperity.”

Onto economics and markets ....Soros warns that Trump has pumped up an already overheated economy through tax cuts.

That’s why the markets have risen so high — high enough to guarantee Trump’s re-election, Soros says, except there’s still 10 months to go.

Plenty of time for things to change, in a revolutionary time

George Soros now turns his guns on Donald Trump, saying that the US president’s “impetuous actions have heightened the risk of a conflict in thei Middle East” (he’s thinking of the asssasination of Qasem Soleiman)

Then he really wades in:

Trump is a con man and the ultimate narcissist who wants the world to revolve around him.

When his dream of the presidency came true, his narcissism took on a pathalogical dimension, Soros continues.

And it’s now become a malignant disease, because Trump has build a following who believe him.

Soros then gives a searing assessment of the global situation.

The strongest powers - the U S, China and Russia - have all ended up in the hands of would-be or actual dictators.

And the battle against Brexit, which will be bad for the UK and the EU, ended in “a crushing defeat”, Soros adds.

He also criticises India’s Modi for trying to create a Hindu state.

Hello again. George Soros, the billionaire philanthropist is speaking at an event in Davos now.

He starts by warning that open societies (Soros’s big cause) is under threat, and Climate crisis is threatening our civilisation.

It is easier to influence events than understand what’s going on, he warns.

This is leading to widespread unhappiness in the population, which populists have taken advantage of, he says.

Here’s a summary of the key points from another busy day here in Davos.

Greta Thunberg has hit back at criticism from US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, as the climate emergency continues to dominate the World Economic Forum.

Mnuchin claimed that Thunberg should go and study economics before pronouncing on fossil fuel. He also defended America’s record on sustainability, hailing its private sector’s work.

Thunberg pointed out that you don’t need a college degree to see which way the (hot, polluted) wind is blowing.

Angela Merkel also hailed the contribution of young activists, as she warned that the cost of inaction would be hugely higher than the cost of action.

In other news:

Leading experts in viruses and infection control have warned that the Wuhan coronavirus is a global issue, as they announced new partnerships to find a vaccine.

But with the virus spreading fast, experts are very concerned -- and want people to be meticulous about hand-washing and getting a flu vaccine to lower the burden on doctors.

Steven Mnuchin and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella wouldn’t say whether they might be caught up in the WhatsApp hacking scandal suffered by Jeff Bezos.

UK chancellor Sajid Javid tried to reassure businesses that Brexit won’t lead to a bonfire of EU rules.

At a lunch with top UK corporate leaders, he pledged:

We won’t diverge just for the sake of it”