Leaders of the G8 developed nations have pledged $20bn (£12bn) for efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, on the final day of a summit in Italy.The investment, which is $5bn more than had been expected, will fund a three-year initiative to help poor nations develop their own agriculture. US President Barack Obama said the issue of food security was of huge importance to all nations in the world. Richer nations had a moral obligation to help poorer nations, he said. Mr Obama added that the G8 nations had agreed to commit $15bn for the new initiative going into Friday's meeting, but had then promised an additional $5bn in "hard commitments" during the talks.
Leaders of the G8 developed nations have pledged $20bn (£12bn) for efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, on the final day of a summit in Italy.
The investment, which is $5bn more than had been expected, will fund a three-year initiative to help poor nations develop their own agriculture.
US President Barack Obama said the issue of food security was of huge importance to all nations in the world.
Richer nations had a moral obligation to help poorer nations, he said.
Mr Obama added that the G8 nations had agreed to commit $15bn for the new initiative going into Friday's meeting, but had then promised an additional $5bn in "hard commitments" during the talks.
World leaders prepared for talks on food security and the threat of starvation facing millions by eating a six-course meal featuring truffles and a different wine to match each course. At talks on Friday, the US will push G8 leaders meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, to commit to a $15 billion fund to be used to invest in improving farming standards in developing countries. Britain would contribute $1.8 billion. Gordon Brown said: "There is a need to show the world we will take action to stop what is a farming and food emergency."But before talkes on hunger, the assembled world leaders on Thursday sat down to a gala diner prepared by Michele Persechini, personal chef to Silvio Berlusoni, Italy's billionaire prime minister.
At talks on Friday, the US will push G8 leaders meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, to commit to a $15 billion fund to be used to invest in improving farming standards in developing countries. Britain would contribute $1.8 billion.
Gordon Brown said: "There is a need to show the world we will take action to stop what is a farming and food emergency."
But before talkes on hunger, the assembled world leaders on Thursday sat down to a gala diner prepared by Michele Persechini, personal chef to Silvio Berlusoni, Italy's billionaire prime minister.
And the boys have fun
I mean FUN!!!
So, what else can you expect?
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Leaders from the Group of Eight industrialised countries agreed to donate $20 billion (€14.3bn) to developing countries on Friday (10 July), $5 billion (€3.6bn) more than was originally anticipated. The money will fund a three-year initiative to help poorer countries develop their agriculture. The new funding is largely targeted towards Africa "We believe that the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed, to help people become self-sufficient," said US president Barack Obama after the meeting. European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called the decision "a clear commitment to food security." The G8 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with Spain also attending this time round.
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Leaders from the Group of Eight industrialised countries agreed to donate $20 billion (€14.3bn) to developing countries on Friday (10 July), $5 billion (€3.6bn) more than was originally anticipated.
The money will fund a three-year initiative to help poorer countries develop their agriculture.
The new funding is largely targeted towards Africa
"We believe that the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed, to help people become self-sufficient," said US president Barack Obama after the meeting.
European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called the decision "a clear commitment to food security."
The G8 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with Spain also attending this time round.
Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent could be thrown into a world disarmament deal after President Obama called yesterday for the biggest summit to stop the spread of atomic weapons. In a move designed to increase pressure on Iran, up to 30 countries will be invited to Washington next spring for a nuclear security conference. Iran is likely to be forced to prove to the world that it does not have a nuclear weapons programme, Gordon Brown suggested at a press briefing last night. His words raised the prospect of inspectors visiting Tehran to verify the existence of weapons. Officials suggested that a refusal to provide evidence could lead to pariah status for Iran, pointing out that Libya had been admitted to the world community after renouncing a nuclear programme.
Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent could be thrown into a world disarmament deal after President Obama called yesterday for the biggest summit to stop the spread of atomic weapons.
In a move designed to increase pressure on Iran, up to 30 countries will be invited to Washington next spring for a nuclear security conference.
Iran is likely to be forced to prove to the world that it does not have a nuclear weapons programme, Gordon Brown suggested at a press briefing last night.
His words raised the prospect of inspectors visiting Tehran to verify the existence of weapons. Officials suggested that a refusal to provide evidence could lead to pariah status for Iran, pointing out that Libya had been admitted to the world community after renouncing a nuclear programme.
Deceptive and slippery. Politics before country. always. keep to the Fen Causeway
At the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, the Western industrial nations have pledged to revive the Doha round of WTO trade talks. But what is being sold as a breakthrough is actually a mirage -- it will hardly be possible to revive the fatally stalled talks. Pascal Lamy has had, professionally at least, little to smile about in recent years. As head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), he has had to watch the Doha round of trade talks, whose aim is to reduce global trade barriers, run into the sand. The negotiation round began in 2001 and is still going on today -- at least in theory. Protesters wearing masks representing Silvio Berlusconi, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev eat "spaghetti" in an anti-G-8 protest in Rome. In that respect, few would grudge Lamy his appearance at this week's three-day G-8 summit in L'Aquila, which finishes Friday. The group of major industrialized nations had obviously decided to make him the center point of a success story. After making abundant verbal commitments to free trade, the leaders of the G-8 states -- the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy, France and Russia -- are now trying to achieve something slightly more concrete in L'Aquila. In a joint declaration released Thursday, the G-8 members and the G-5 group of emerging economies -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa -- said they were "committed" to seeking a conclusion to the stalled Doha round by 2010. The statement also said the G-8 and G-5 would task their trade ministers to meet ahead of September's G-20 summit in the US city of Pittsburgh in a bid to get the deadlocked talks back on track. But only a few of the parties involved believe that the ambitious goals are actually attainable.
At the G-8 summit in L'Aquila, the Western industrial nations have pledged to revive the Doha round of WTO trade talks. But what is being sold as a breakthrough is actually a mirage -- it will hardly be possible to revive the fatally stalled talks.
Pascal Lamy has had, professionally at least, little to smile about in recent years. As head of the World Trade Organization (WTO), he has had to watch the Doha round of trade talks, whose aim is to reduce global trade barriers, run into the sand. The negotiation round began in 2001 and is still going on today -- at least in theory.
Protesters wearing masks representing Silvio Berlusconi, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev eat "spaghetti" in an anti-G-8 protest in Rome. In that respect, few would grudge Lamy his appearance at this week's three-day G-8 summit in L'Aquila, which finishes Friday. The group of major industrialized nations had obviously decided to make him the center point of a success story. After making abundant verbal commitments to free trade, the leaders of the G-8 states -- the United States, Canada, Japan, Germany, Britain, Italy, France and Russia -- are now trying to achieve something slightly more concrete in L'Aquila.
In a joint declaration released Thursday, the G-8 members and the G-5 group of emerging economies -- Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa -- said they were "committed" to seeking a conclusion to the stalled Doha round by 2010. The statement also said the G-8 and G-5 would task their trade ministers to meet ahead of September's G-20 summit in the US city of Pittsburgh in a bid to get the deadlocked talks back on track.
But only a few of the parties involved believe that the ambitious goals are actually attainable.
A clear statement on Iran, ambitious targets for climate protection and billions of dollars in aid for developing countries: the G-8's ability to make real decisions has impressed its critics. Yet it was easy to regard the summit as a success when expectations were so low. Instead of fat black limousines there are only small white electric vehicles cruising around the area where the G-8 summit is being held. And it was odd seeing Libyan President Muammar al-Gaddafi, famed for his penchant for gaudy opulence, lowers himself onto a narrow bench. But he clearly doesn't feel very at home on that bench, judging by the brief wave he gives in response to a greeting. At least Gaddafi's entourage, which trails his slow-moving car, is somewhat bigger than that of the other heads of state in the convey. (L to R) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. As it is, humility has been the order of the day for the members of the G-8 and their guests. There's the financial crisis, not to mention Silvio Berlusconi's decision to relocate the summit -- at short-notice -- to the earthquake-scarred town of L'Aquila. Berlusconi says he did this in order to raise awareness about the devastation in the region. As a result the attending politicians have had to make do with spartan accommodation in barracks belonging to the Italian financial police, which has been done up with a couple more bits of furniture.
A clear statement on Iran, ambitious targets for climate protection and billions of dollars in aid for developing countries: the G-8's ability to make real decisions has impressed its critics. Yet it was easy to regard the summit as a success when expectations were so low.
Instead of fat black limousines there are only small white electric vehicles cruising around the area where the G-8 summit is being held. And it was odd seeing Libyan President Muammar al-Gaddafi, famed for his penchant for gaudy opulence, lowers himself onto a narrow bench. But he clearly doesn't feel very at home on that bench, judging by the brief wave he gives in response to a greeting. At least Gaddafi's entourage, which trails his slow-moving car, is somewhat bigger than that of the other heads of state in the convey.
(L to R) Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev, US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. As it is, humility has been the order of the day for the members of the G-8 and their guests. There's the financial crisis, not to mention Silvio Berlusconi's decision to relocate the summit -- at short-notice -- to the earthquake-scarred town of L'Aquila. Berlusconi says he did this in order to raise awareness about the devastation in the region. As a result the attending politicians have had to make do with spartan accommodation in barracks belonging to the Italian financial police, which has been done up with a couple more bits of furniture.
