Police wrong to question man with crossbow near G20 fence, judge rules

Police breached the rights of a man arrested with a crossbow near the G20 security fence when they questioned him without giving him a chance to consult a lawyer, a judge has ruled.

“The law makes clear that an investigative detention of that kind gives rise to a right to counsel,” provincial court Justice David Fairgrieve said Wednesday as he excluded all the statements made by Gary McCullough to a police officer who questioned him at the scene.

G20 accused fight 'no-demo' bail

TORONTO - A year after her release from jail over G20-related conspiracy charges, Amanda Hiscocks returned to court to fight the constitutionality of her “no-demonstration” bail condition.

She and co-accused Alex Hundert represented themselves during the hearing Thursday seeking to get a clear definition what “demonstration” means.

Baum: lower margins but higher volumes in the new world order

Make no mistake, the 2009 G20 leaders statement on OTC derivatives will be seen to have been the initiator of a revolution in OTC derivatives trading as we know it today.

The quest of governments for more secure financial markets, a reaction to the collapse of CDO markets, the default of Lehman and near default of AIG, is relentless, spurred on by the ongoing economic slump and only mildly distracted by the lobbying of concerned parties.

UK Treasury Minister:Basel III Dilution Incredibly Disappointing

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Treasury Minister Mark Hoban Tuesday hit out at attempts by some of the world's largest economies to water-down the implementation of the new "Basel III" standards for bank capital and liquidity.

Asia may struggle to meet G20 derivative deadline-ISDA

(Reuters) - Asian countries may struggle to implement rules on derivative clearing and trade data warehouses by the deadline set by the world's top 20 economies (G20), according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA).

Asian members of the G20 have committed to establish central clearing services for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and systems to store trading data by the end of 2012.

Somalia famine: UN to hold emergency meeting

The United Nations is to convene an emergency meeting to discuss the response to Horn of Africa drought, which it says has already killed tens of thousands of people.

Famine was declared in two regions of Somalia on Wednesday – the first time this has occurred since 1992 – with 3.7 million people needing urgent humanitarian assistance. A further 8 million people require food in neighbouring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia.

Court date set for officer charged in G20 assault

A Toronto police officer charged with assaulting a resident at the G20 summit last June has been scheduled to return to court Sept. 12.

Constable Glenn Weddell was not in court Thursday but was “doing fine” despite the charges, said lawyer Maureen Salama, who appeared on his behalf to set the next date.

Fears of slow global growth foster protectionism - report

TOM MILES - The Globe and Mail

Protectionism is on the rise as more countries try to give their economies a leg-up by blocking foreign competition – especially Chinese imports, according to a report by independent economists to be published on Wednesday.

The report, by Global Trade Alert (GTA), found almost 200 protectionist steps taken since the G20 summit in Seoul last November. Four out of five of those steps were taken by G20 countries, and almost half – 91 out of 194 – would harm Chinese interests.

G-20 Poised For Joint Effort On Financial Stability

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Central bankers and finance regulators from the world's 20 leading economies met in Paris on Monday to set new rules for about 30 of the world's biggest financial institutions.

Once the rules are in place, institutions that wield a major influence on global finance would have to hold more capital and put forward crisis-management plans. Should one of them fail despite these precautions, its assets would be instantly frozen worldwide.

No more charges in 'Nobody' G20 case: SIU

No additional officers will be charged in a G20 police brutality case involving a complainant named Adam Nobody, the director of the province's Special Investigations Unit said Monday.

"I cannot form reasonable grounds that any identifiable officer was involved in excessive use of force against Mr. Nobody in this aspect of the investigation. This investigation, therefore, is closed," Ian Scott said Monday in a news release.

G20 task force expected to endorse bank surcharges

(Reuters) - Global regulators are expected to give the green light on Monday to two measures they hope will shield taxpayers from having to rescue failed banks again.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) meets in Paris to endorse the capital surcharge and bank resolution proposals that will be put out to public consultation ahead of final approval by leaders of the world's top 20 economies (G20) in November.

Did ‘owling’ Internet craze start with G20 protester?

The wild man of the G20 is behind the craze taking over from planking — owling.

Owling involves perching in a crouch, somewhat like the bird, on top of things: fences, kitchen counters, mailboxes. It’s not to be confused with that “craze” from last month, coning.

IMF To G-20: Urges 'Immediate' Plan For Failing European Banks

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The International Monetary Fund issued a dire warning about the poor state of Europe's banks Thursday, just a day before officials plan to release details on how well banks there are suited to withstand financial shocks.

Global banks urge G20 over supervision

Global reform of supervisory standards should be at the centre of G20 summits with "no tolerance" for jurisdictions that make an insufficient effort to improve.

The International Institute of Finance argues that the banking industry is "prepared to meet" the significant new costs that this will create and is keen to work out a code of best practice to foster the best quality of supervision on its firms.

G-20 and food prices

The G-20 will have to ensure there is free trade, without which prices will not come under control.

It is a pity that it took the G-20 — which accounts for 65 per cent of farmland in the world and 77 per cent of foodgrain production — so long to address the issue of surging food prices. Despite the long-standing nature of the problem, it was only two weeks ago that G-20 farm ministers agreed to set limits on export bans and create a crop database in a bid to tackle rising food prices. The agreement included a call for international market regulation, higher farm production and the development of a proposal for emergency food reserves. There can be no denying the G-20's complacency in addressing an issue as important as this. In February, an index of prices of 55 food commodities climbed to a record 238 (base period 2002-04) and it took the G-20 this long to wake up. Around the same time, the World Bank President, Mr Robert Zoellick, said that the elevated food prices had pushed 44 million people into poverty since June 2010, and that another 10 million could be added to the list if the index rose another 10 per cent. The World Bank has estimated that nations will spend $1.29 trillion on food imports this year, the highest ever, and 21 per cent more than last year. The Food and Agriculture Organisation, on its part, has been expressing concern over surging food prices since June 2010.

G8 'neglecting hunger fight pledge'

G8 leaders have been accused of neglecting a pledge to fight hunger in poor countries.

Anti-poverty group ONE said the drought crisis in east Africa is a "wake-up call" to Governments who pledged to help feed the hungry in Africa two years ago.

A spokeswoman from the group said leaders of the rich world meeting at the G8 summit in Italy in 2009 pledged 22 billion US dollars (£13.7 billion) to go towards agricultural projects designed to put Africa on the road towards food self-sufficiency, rather than on emergency aid during famines and disasters.

Public inquiry needed into police bully tactics at the G20

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair just doesn't get it. Perhaps Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty get it, but they either don't care or would rather it just go away.

But what's even more concerning is that it's clear police officers -- not just in Toronto, but everywhere in Canada -- don't get it either: how the transgressions, abuses, thuggery directed at peaceful demonstrators and innocent bystanders alike at the G20 Summit a year ago and their ridiculously misplaced code of silence to protect each other from prosecution has impacted the public's perception of them.

ECB's Draghi: G20 Should Be Able To Manage Legacy Of Crisis

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (MNI) - Foreign exchange rate tensions and conflicts among national policies can best be countered by pursuing the international cooperation set up during the crisis, European Central Bank Governing Council member Mario Draghi said Friday.

Introducing the topic "Currency Wars" for a round table here, the governor of the Bank of Italy hesitated to use a phrase evocative of "disasters" but acknowledged the "reality" of national monetary policies that create undesirable spillovers.

Analysis: French G20 commodity rule hope may prove forlorn

France's push to get the world's leading economies to toughen regulation on commodity markets may prove to be like herding cats as most governments see little benefit in new rules that could harm their financial interests.

Many say improving market transparency and raising food production is the way to tackle price volatility and few expect last month's call by G20 farm ministers for regulation to bring coordinated hard action among the Group of 20 leading economies.

G-20 offers solutions to cool food prices

We are becoming more selfish, not less. As food, fuel and fibre become increasingly expensive it's every country for itself. That's why the prescription for global food security by the G-20 , a group of 20 nations including India, is so odd. It completely ignores reality. G-20 has offered five solutions to cool food prices. First, increase production and yields on the millions of small farms in developing nations.