DEVELOPMENT: Lula, Vajpayee Make Demands of Wealthy G8

One should never squander an opportunity, especially when one can make the truth be heard, said Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, defending his participation and that of other developing nation leaders in this year's summit of the Group of Eight (G8) most powerful nations.

POLITICS: Summer Brings No Thaw in Chill Between Canada, US Leaders

Prime Minister Jean Chretien and U.S. President George W Bush met for the first time last weekend since Canada opted out of the U.S.-led war against Iraq, and engaged in what the prime minister called ''chit-chat''.

DEVELOPMENT: Growing Doubts About Value of G8 Summits for Africa

Civil society organisations are becoming increasingly sceptical about the value of the G8 summits to Africa.

DEVELOPMENT: Counter-Summit Issues Desperate Call for Debt Relief

Civil society organisations issued another call to the Group of Eight (G8) most powerful countries to cancel the foreign debt owed by the world's 52 poorest nations - although they do not harbour hopes for a favourable response.

AFRICA: G8 Leaders Challenged To Fulfil Commitments

African leaders have joined non governmental organisations in calling on the Group of Eight countries to deliver on previous commitments, in particular on the Africa Plan of Action that was launched at last year's G8 Summit in Canada.

LATIN AMERICA: Lula, Fox Vie for Leadership in Visit to G8 Summit

The presidents of Brazil and Mexico will ask, on behalf of Latin America, for more free and just international trade in their visit to the summit of the Group of Eight (G8) richest countries Sunday. But as the two promote their own proposals, they are expected reveal their muted dispute for regional leadership.

POLITICS-U.S.: A Threadbare Emperor Tours the World

With U.S. President George W. Bush embarked on his first tour of major world capitals since the war in Iraq, his handlers are predictably depicting his stature as something akin to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar ''bestrid(ing) the world like a Colossus''.

POLITICS: US Prepares to Snub France at G8

The G8 summit in the French Alpine city of Evian was expected to ease the diplomatic tension between the U.S. and France, but the U.S. is taking the summit as an opportunity to punish France, officials here say.

ECONOMY: NGOs Visualize a Just World – Without G8

Non-governmental organisations are holding a summit in the surroundings of the French city of Evian through Sunday, focusing on development, health, and environmental issues.

POLITICS: African Leaders May Re-order the Alphabet of their Agenda in Evian

Governments and civil society from Africa have the gamut of issues from A to Z on their platter for the G-8 meeting in Evian, France next week.

DEVELOPMENT: Mobilisations against G-8 Summit Get Underway

The reception planned by civil society activists for the annual summit of the Group of Eight (G-8) began Thursday with street protests and cultural events in towns surrounding the French Alpine city of Evian, where the eight heads of state and government will gather Jun. 1-3.

DEVELOPMENT-AFRICA: Blueprint Polishes the Chains of Global Apartheid

With this year's Group of Eight (G-8) summit starting in Evian, France, this weekend, civil society critics are united on the belief that while the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has good intentions, it will not break the chains of global capital.

POLITICS-G8: ‘No Time for Pressing Issues Facing Global Economy’

The summit of the Group of Eight, to take place June 1-3 in the French Alpine city of Evian, will not fulfil its own agenda, independent observers say.

POLITICS: U.N. Helpless as Congo Threatened by Genocidal War

The United Nations remains in limbo waiting for member states to answer its call to assist one of the largest countries in Africa, the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which continues to be threatened by a genocidal war.

DEVELOPMENT: Iraq Rift May Harm Africa at G8 Summit

As G8 leaders prepare to meet next Sunday in Evian-les-Bains in the French Alps, the fall-out of the diplomatic rift over Iraq is threatening to push Africa to the fringes.

DEVELOPMENT: British to Present Bold Aid Proposal to G8 Summit

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to present a bold new proposal at the G8 summit that aims to double aid to developing countries up to the year 2015.

DEVELOPMENT: Global Plus Local Equals ‘Glocal’

"Glocalize" means to combine global questions with the identities and necessities of local communities. Elected officials, youth leaders, intellectuals and athletes are gathering in the Italian capital this weekend for an international meet on this ostensibly paradoxical equation.

DEVELOPMENT: In G-8, China Goes from Revolutionary to World Player

Long claiming to be a champion of the developing world, China is making its first appearance at the meeting of the Group of Eight (G-8) industrialised nations in June - a sign of a shift in its foreign policy from being a revolutionary power to a major world player.

POLITICS: Rich Nations Continue to Wield Power in Global Bodies

Officials of global organisations and rich nations rarely admit it but civil society groups and developing countries say the sad fact has not changed: multilateral bodies meant to help create a global community are in fact undemocratic.