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.

G-20 Agriculture Ministers Unveil Plan to Tackle High Food Prices

In their first-ever summit, agriculture ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) leading economies gathered to tackle high and volatile food prices. The Paris meeting, held on 22 and 23 June, ended with the release of an “Action Plan” that drew both praise and criticism. The plan will be evaluated at the G-20 summit in November, where heads of state will meet to decide whether to approve the measures outlined.

G20 eyes Russia's WTO entry this year

Group of 20 nations support Russia's bid to complete negotiations this year to join the World Trade Organisation, the conclusions of a G20 farm ministers meeting said on Thursday.

After years of talks, Russia aims to become a member of the global trade watchdog in December, but Russian Economy Minister Elvira Nabiullina warned recently that entry could be delayed for years if key issues were not settled by the end of next month.

Businesses get compensation for G8, G20 summits

By Elizabeth Thompson, iPolitics.ca

The federal government has agreed to pay nearly $2 million in compensation to businesses affected by last year's G8 and G20 summits in Ontario, iPolitics has learned.

Of that amount, $1,908,152 is for those affected by Toronto's G20 summit, which sealed off much of the city's downtown core and sparked violent clashes between police and protesters.

Another $67,256 in claims will be paid out in connection with the G8 summit in Huntsville, Ont., in picturesque Muskoka cottage country north of Toronto.

City cashes in on G8, G20 summits

WINDSOR, Ont. -- The Windsor fire department billed the feds $83,000 for the use of two surplus fire trucks during last year's G8 and G20 summits, only to sell the vehicles shortly after for less than half that amount.

Windsor Fire Service Chief Dave Fields said the trucks were rented for 11 days to provide emergency protection at the G8 gathering of world leaders in Huntsville.

Admirers and critics debate future of G8 summit as G20 grows in power

DEAUVILLE // The latest Group of Eight summit was "historic", the moment for the great powers to rally their wealth and arms behind the Arab people and staunch a gap in the spread of "western" values across the world.

Or was it a pointless, costly absurdity, a vanity project for leaders of nations in decline, marginalised by the rise of China and other big, industrialising nations, for whom the forum founded in the 1970s is a neo-colonial throwback?

G-8 Chiefs Say Strengthening Economies to Prompt Focus Shift to Debt Cuts

Group of Eight leaders said a strengthening global economy will pave the way to cuts in the debt built up during the recession that followed the 2008 financial crisis.

Europe vowed to fight its fiscal woes with “determination,” while President Barack Obama promised a “clear and credible” U.S. deficit-reduction strategy. Japan was allowed to put off savings measures until its economy rebounds from the March earthquake and tsunami.

The last jailed Toronto G-20 activist is released

Computer security expert Byron Sonne was granted finally bail after 330 days behind bars on May 16. He waited until Wednesday to be released, however, following the final bail hearing, when the crown attorney had the opportunity to contest the decision. Fortunately, the judge disagreed and he was free to go.

Sonne spent roughly 11 months in custody. The 38 year old was denied bail twice since his June 22, 2010 arrest, which took place just prior to the start of the G-20 Summit in Toronto.

G20 security still a question

Premier Dalton McGuinty has lost an opportunity to clarify the bizarre security regulations at last year’s G20 summit in Toronto by either apologizing for the secretly passed regulations or calling a broad inquiry.

Speaking last week, McGuinty declined to apologize for the regulations cabinet approved to the Ontario Public Works Protection Act that allowed police to search pedestrians in an area near the summit. The regulations caused confusion for demonstrators, particularly when police left the impression that the regulations applied to a five-metre zone near the summit’s fence. In fact, one may wonder if some police officers sincerely thought they did have the right to question pedestrians in that zone.

Judge refuses to release controversial G-20 report

A court has said it won't order the release of a controversial auditor general's report into government spending during last year's G8 summit.

A Federal Court of Canada judge ruled Thursday against activists who were seeking the release of the report before Monday's election, saying the group should have filed its suit weeks earlier.

Lawsuit seeks release of G8 spending documents

An online activist group has filed a lawsuit asking the Federal Court to order the release of a report into government spending during last year's G8 and G20 summits.

Auditor General Sheila Fraser has steadfastly refused to release the final report until after the election. However, drafts of the report that leaked to the media suggested the government misled Parliament about the true cost of the world leaders summit, held last June in Toronto and near Huntsville, Ont.

Untimely Leak From Canada's Auditor General

You don't have to be an auditor-general to know some of the Harper Government's spending around last year's G-20 and G-8 event in Ontario was wasteful, partisan and even eridiculous. But that certainly is not the sort of message a party leader wants the electorate to be reminded of mere weeks before an election.

No compensation yet for G20: business owners

Dozens of businesses in the city centre say they haven't received any federal compensation following last summer's G20 meetings, which led to large-scale street closures and rampant vandalism in major retail areas in Toronto.

Kevin Parker from the Queen Street West landmark Steve's Music said that his storefront was seriously damaged when a police cruiser was set on fire only metres from the store.

France, US to make G20 monetary propositions: Sarkozy

France and the United States plan to make G20 propositions on world monetary reform, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday at a meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House.

France "will work hand in hand" with Washington in the Group of 20 rich and emerging economies, Sarkozy said on his one-day visit as his country embarks on its year at the helm of the G20 and Group of Eight (G8) powers.

Sarkozy has says he wants to use France's dual presidencies to reform currency and commodity markets and world governance.

The two leaders also discussed commodity prices during their one-hour talk.

Source:http://www.expatica.com

France says 2011 make or break year for G20

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Thursday that 2011 is a make or break year for the G20 forum of top global economies to prove its worth by tackling economic reform or risk being marginalised.

Alexander Mirtchev Discusses the Evolvement of the Economic and Financial Crisis in Emerging Markets and the Strategic Options for the Multi-Nationals With Voice of America

In an interview with Voice of America television, Dr. Alexander Mirtchev, an economic policy expert and president of Krull Corporation, shed light on the strategic options that multi-national companies have in some rapidly emerging markets during the economic crisis and beyond.