(7 Jul 2008)
1. Various of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda walking out to greet Group of Eight leaders
2. Various of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
3. Various of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
4. Various of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
5. Various of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
6. Various of German Chancellor Angela Merkel greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
7. Various of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
8. Various of French President Nicolas Sarkozy greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
9. Various of United States President George W Bush greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
10. Various of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon greeting Fukuda and posing for photo
11. Fukuda, Bush and other world leaders arriving for taking photo
12. Bush and Fukuda posing for cameras
13. Pan of world leaders posing for cameras
14. Wide of world leaders posing for photo
15. Fukuda arriving for his speech at round table
16. World leaders arriving for round table
17. Mid of French President Nicolas Sarkozy
18. Wide of round table
STORYLINE:
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda greeted leaders from the Group of Eight industrialised nations on Monday at the start of a three day summit, set to include of meetings amongst themselves and with heads of African nations and rapidly developing countries such as China.
The summit is being held at the resort village of Toyako, near Sapporo, in northern Japan.
Africa was one of the subjects expected to take centre stage at the summit that will also grapple with climate change and the global food crisis.
The G-8 leaders - representing the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia - were to meet with seven African leaders to address key problems such as food supplies, infectious diseases and economic development.
Activists have accused some G-8 nations, particularly France, Canada and Italy, of skimping on aid to Africa, and urged them to ramp up their contributions.
Aid to Africa was the centrepiece of the G-8 summit three years ago in Gleneagles, Scotland, where leaders called for increasing aid to 50 (b) billion US dollars a year through 2010 - with half of that going to Africa itself - and to cancel the debt of the most heavily indebted poor nations.
Advocacy groups for Africa and hunger gave the G-8 a mixed report card on progress in reaching its commitments to Africa.
Collectively, the G-8 has delivered just three (b) billion of the 25 (b) billion pledged to Africa in 2005, according DATA, a group founded by U2 singer Bono and music producer Bob Geldof.
Germany, the US and Britain were following through on commitments, while progress from Japan, France, Italy and Canada was either unclear or weak, DATA said.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development reported in April that foreign aid by major donor countries slumped in 2007 as debt-relief plans tapered off and amid a global economic downturn in Japan and some other rich nations.
The related topic of soaring food prices was another key topic on the agenda at the summit, with some experts predicting that the leaders would announce a food aid package and possibly funds to invest in agricultural development in poorer nations.
Merkel said the leaders will confer on how to toughen sanctions against Zimbabwe, and hoped that they would get support from African colleagues on the matter.

Find out more about AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ] ​​
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]


You can license this story through AP Archive: [ Ссылка ]

свернуть