G8 SUMMIT: Live 8 Emotion Imperfect but an Impetus

The film clip played at the Live 8 concert at Hyde Park in London was meant, of course, only briefly to look like more of the same: the malnourished African child trying to feed off a more malnourished mother; the predictable end to the clip with a close-up of what appeared like a dying child.

MEKONG REGION: Summit Eve Sees Gulf Between Gov’t, Activists

When leaders of the six countries in the Mekong region meet in China on Monday, they will be out of the earshot of non-government groups and academics who say the area's development would put at risk the environment, local livelihoods and cultures.

G8-SUMMIT: “We Are Making Good Progress, Considering Where We Came From”

Demands for good governance and tough action on corruption could eclipse calls for increased aid to Africa when the Group of Eight (G8) leaders meet this week in Scotland for their annual summit, African academics and civil society groups fear.

G8 SUMMIT: Protesters Prepare "Warm" Welcome for World Leaders

In the run-up to the Group of Eight (G8) summit next week, activists from all over the world are streaming into Scotland and settling into self-organised tent communities as they prepare for a full calendar of actions on poverty and environment.

G8 SUMMIT: Expect Little on Climate, Says Top UN Expert

Little change should be expected on climate change at the G8 summit, chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Dr Rajendra K Pachauri told IPS in an interview.

G8 SUMMIT: The Music Will Have Developmental Echoes

Long after the music dies down at the Live 8 concerts and the crowds go home, echoes will linger by way of questions whether star-studded shows like these are what Africa needs.

G8 SUMMIT: The Problem May Lie En Route

The arrival of huge planeloads of leaders and officials to the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland will be made ''carbon neutral'' by the British government. But that may not be enough, experts say.

G8 SUMMIT: Africa Needs Food Security, Not Experimental Crops

As world leaders prepare for the Group of 8 (G8) summit next week, a leading global consumer body is warning that genetically modified food is not the ''miracle solution'' to world hunger and malnutrition.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Warnings of Imminent Disaster Fall on Deaf Ears

If a select international group of architects and engineers warned that a house already showing cracks and leaks was in danger of collapse, the residents would logically adopt immediate measures to prevent the imminent disaster.

G8 SUMMIT: Africa Wants Aid, Rich Nations Demand Reforms

Fresh money for the world's weakest economies will be a touchy topic when the world's economically most powerful nations meet next week in Scotland. While Africa hopes for increased development funds, some G8 nations, like Germany, first want to see more progress on reforms.

DEVELOPMENT: Rich Nations Again Falter in Aid Pledges

A two-day high-level U.N. meeting on development financing concluded here on a predictable note: developing nations criticising industrial countries for reneging on their pledges to increase aid to help eradicate poverty.

G8 SUMMIT: As Bloggers Will See It

For news on the summit of the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations, Red Pepper, the British magazine "of the green and radical left," is inviting people around the world to forget the usual media channels and turn to coverage by its "grassroots writers" instead.

ECONOMY: China Planning Currency Moves

Despite repeated calls by the United States and other western powers for an upward revaluation of the Chinese currency, the yuan, Beijing has refused to budge on its stance that the currency is a matter of national sovereignty - meaning that increased pressure from abroad is likely to provoke greater resistance to change.

POLITICS-AFRICA: Bush Exaggerates Increase in U.S. Aid

U.S. President George W. Bush has been significantly exaggerating the amount of money his administration has provided in aid to sub-Saharan Africa, according to a new study released here Monday.

G8 SUMMIT: Alarm Bells to Ring Over Climate Change

Alarm bells will ring out during the Group of Eight (G8) summit next month to wake up world leaders to take action against climate change.

GUYANA: Debt Relief Won’t Ease Loss of EU Sugar Subsidies

The umbrella Sugar Association of the Caribbean (SAC) may have put it best in accusing Western nations of giving aid and debt relief to Third World governments with one hand and taking it away with the other.

G8 SUMMIT: The Injuries Need More Than Band Aid

The developing world needs long-term economic opportunities and not temporary relief, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon told IPS in an interview Tuesday.

G8 SUMMIT: London Makes a Long-Distance Call

When London city launched climate control measures Monday, it was doing more than something for itself, or the planet. It was a direct message to the G8 summit that other cities can do what London can, and that national leaders can show the way.

RIGHTS: Nigerian Challenge Over Emissions

Ethnic communities from Nigeria's Niger Delta are challenging the Nigerian government and some of the world's biggest oil companies over the level of greenhouse gases emitted during oil production.

G8 SUMMIT: Think Africa on Climate Change

Africa and climate change will be the two priorities at the Group of Eight (G8) summit next month, host Britain says. But think of the two also as one, say scientists after a meeting on the impacts of climate change on the African continent.

DEVELOPMENT: South Summit Launches Fund for Poorer Nations

As the cry for increased development assistance continues to intensify, one of the world's fastest growing gas-rich developing nations in the Middle East has initiated the creation of a new fund to meet some of the urgent social, economic, health and educational needs of poorer nations.