The need to fulfill promises of increased aid for Africa, and a general agreement between the United States and Russia on an approach to Iran's nuclear program took center stage as leaders from the Group of Eight industrial nations met Monday in Japan, The Associated Press reported.
President Bush, attending his last summit as a sitting U.S. president, underscored the importance of providing aid for Africa, calling on wealthy nations to provide mosquito netting and other aid to prevent needless deaths, the AP reported.
Basic items - - even equipment as basic as mosquito netting - - can reduce mortality rates in sections of Africa. Mosquito netting prevents children and others from dieing of bites from disease-carrying mosquitoes.
In 2005 the G-8 pledged to increase global aid to $130 billion, and increase assistance to Africa to $50 billion. ONE, a nonpartisan group working to end extreme poverty, predicted that the U.S. and the United Kingdom will meet their commitments, while France, Italy, Germany and Canada are off the mark, Bloomberg News reported Monday.
Increased global food aid likely
Economist Glen Langan, whose specializations include agricultural economics, said increased aid for food and agricultural development will likely be announced by G-8 leaders at the summit, or soon thereafter, due to the rising cost of food's impact on poorer nations. "The aid will be targeted to meeting basic needs first, but with an eye toward directing some funds to self-sustaining agriculture," Langan said, adding that Africa "has the potential to achieve food production gains greater than South America."
At the G-8 summit the United States and Russia also reached a general agreement on their approach to Iran regarding its nuclear program, Bloomberg News reported Monday. The U.S., Russia, the European Union, and China have been working to persuade Iran - - including offering economic incentives - - to end its uranium enrichment program. The west says Iran is enriching uranium to produce a nuclear bomb. Iran says it wants the nuclear technology solely to produce electricity for civilian use.
Oil fell $4.86 to $140.43 per barrel early Monday afternoon after Iran, OPEC's no. 2 oil producer, expressed new confidence in the uranium talks with the west.
Langan said the summit, which will also include climate change talks, will probably be President Bush's last chance to forge a consensus on the aforementioned international issues. Langan does not expect a fixed target agreement on greenhouse gas emissions to spring from the Japan summit, "but if a ballpark figure is reached" among the major economic powers, that could lay the groundwork for an agreement after a new U.S. presidential administration commences in January 2009.
G-8 economic powers focus on Africa aid, Iran uranium issues at summit
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-07-2008 @ 4:03PM
Petkov said...
The corporate owned media NEVER fails to mention the Iran's nuk'ear program and how all the major world countries are SO worried about it yet we have NOT been presented with a single shred of evidence Iran is doing anything illegal. Give me the evidence please or shut the #&@$ up about Iran!
The stock market is rapidly losing its value, people are being laid off left and right, yet Iran is the big problem everyone should be worried about, isn't it? What total crock of stinking poop.
7-07-2008 @ 6:35PM
Pauline said...
Save America First!
What America needs to do before they should even think about giving away any more money to any other country ( for any reason) is as follows:
1) It is time for America to send the 12-30 million Illegal's and their extended familes tax burden back to their country of origin.
2) Take all the money from welfare, education, health care and the criminal justice system going to cover the "illega's benefits programs" and pour it into solving America's domestic problems.
3) Any employer that hires illegals should be fined 2,000 a day until the company deports them. And those funds can go into helping the American people that have been strung along for far to long.
4) Stop ALL immigration until we can get back on our feet.
5) Our government needs to support legitimate American busineses and close down the NAFTA sweat shops.
6) We need to get La Raza and other hate groups out of our country and stop allowing our politicains from making covert deals with them.
7) The 14th amendment making "anchor babies" US citizens must be revised so that illegals that have had babies here in the past 25 years...are no longer considered US citizens and will NOT recieve the gifts and opportunities of US citizens.
8) It is time for our government to put our tax dollars into programs that will help American restore her glory…as previously stated!
9) Simultaneously, it’s time to let the middle eastern countries fight their own battles and bring our brave troops home safely and swiftly !
10) When we have taken care of Illegal immigration the way that 80% of the American public wants our government to i.e send them home and give them no befits…. then we might consider allowing ONLY well educated and skilled immigrants to legally come to our country to visit. And they need to be well monitored...lest we have a repeat of our current mess.
7-09-2008 @ 3:23AM
Dorian said...
Hey,
I love the Red Campaign too! Check this out:
Avanoo is a startup that is helping to make the world better by letting people use a new support channel- web presence. Web users can go to Avanoo.com get a badge for a cause and start raising awareness and donations 24/7 effortlessly. And each time one of these badge is clicked, a donation is made to the nonprofit organization on the badge. If you could put a badge on you blog or write about this growing movement, you would be helping to make the world a better place!
Thanks,
Dorian