It wasn't so much the extra security as incompetence that resulted in first-day confusion at the World Economic Forum in Manhattan yesterday. There was chaos as the 2,700 attendees lined up for security clearance at the Waldorf Astoria.

Hundreds of journalists had to queue for hours in a wet street for accreditation (that, when issued to The Irish Times, identified it as an organ of the People's Republic of China).

Reporters have been corralled in an adjacent hotel - where they can only see participants at press conferences, or if the elite deign to give individual interviews.

At a press conference welcoming participants, former mayor Mr Rudolph Giuliani said New York was "an even more legendary city" after the September 11th attacks.

Mr Roberto Civita, head of Abril Group, Brazil, told reporters he was there representing the developing world. Mr Niall FitzGerald, chairman of Unilever added: "So am I. I come from Ireland. Ireland has still a lot of developing to do."

Trade unions demonstrated outside Gap's flagship clothing store on Fifth Avenue over alleged sweat-shops in developing countries.

Police arrested seven people from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and a man who defaced a Starbuck's cafe. About 70 Chinese protested against Beijing's ban on the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

The major anti-globalisation protests are planned for today and tomorrow.