World powers to bankroll Palestinian state

     The one-day Paris conference was attended by 90 international delegations, making it the biggest of its kind since 1996. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hopes to win pledges for $5.6 billion – the sum he says is needed to underwrite a Palestinian state and stave off severe hardship in the territories "The creation of a Palestinian state and the modernization of the Palestinian economy are in the interests of Israel, just as stopping terrorism is in the interests of the Palestinians," Tzipi Livni said. French President Nicolas Sarkozy opened the conference, with Abbas at his side: "It is urgent to stabilize the Palestinian economy and implement measures on the ground that will improve the daily lives of Palestinians," said Sarkozy. Some 70% of the pledged funds will go to stabilizing the Palestinian budget, and the rest on development projects. (10,47)