Developing nations skewer G8 proposal
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Five of the top developing nations on Tuesday denounced the Group of Eight's qualified proposal to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, saying the industrialized powers should slash their own emissions by up to 95 percent below 1990 levels. The five ...
At People's Summit, NGOs plug the voices of 'ordinary' people
SAPPORO — Domestic and international nongovernmental organizations ended their three-day People's Summit on Tuesday vowing to keep pushing "rich" Group of Eight leaders to heed the voices of ordinary citizens. "The G8 leaders from the world's richest countries decide on the most important (policies) for ...
Fukuda, Medvedev favor isle row solution
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed Tuesday they should resolve the territorial row over the four Russia-held islands off Hokkaido, saying the dispute hinders bilateral ties. The meeting between Fukuda and Medvedev on the sidelines of the Group ...
Both the number of corporate failures and their debt jumped in the first half of 2008, marking the first time in six years they increased together on a first-half basis, a private credit research agency said Tuesday. The number of bankruptcies in the January-June period ...
Toyako businesses seek long-term benefit
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Takuji Okamoto, 69, has run a tiny noodle shop with his wife, Chieko, for 23 years at the Lake Toya hot springs resort area. Since April, his business has been thriving. Customers ranging from government officials who laid the groundwork for the ...
Actor's new role: to remind G8 of their pledges
SAPPORO — The Group of Eight leaders need to "act now" and place eradicating poverty at the top of their agenda because 30,000 children are dying every day in the developing world, British actor Bill Nighy said. Nighy, an established actor who has appeared in ...
G8 offers halving of emissions by 2050
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The Group of Eight powers agreed Tuesday to "seek to share" with both developing and developed states the goal of at least halving global emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050, showing only scant progress from last year's summit in fighting global ...
Summit aiming to offset all its CO2 emissions
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Debate on global warming can heat up sometimes, but the Group of Eight summit shouldn't be contributing to climate change. According to the Foreign Ministry, the gathering in Toyako will be the second G8 summit, after the 2005 affair in Gleneagles, Scotland, ...
Leaders call for more fuel to cool global inflation
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The leaders of the Group of Eight nations addressed "strong concern" Tuesday about multiple transborder problems, including soaring energy and food prices, and urged the world's major energy producing states to increase output and refining to tame further price hikes. They also ...
Staid events said losing relevancy
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The three-day Toyako G8 summit will become history when it wraps up Wednesday. But with its conclusion, a growing number of critics are demanding that the whole concept of the summits becomes a thing of the past. After months of preparation, spending ...
G8 nations reaffirm Africa aid pledges
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — Faced with criticism for long delays in delivering promised aid to Africa, member nations of the Group of Eight pledged Tuesday to follow through on commitments made at the 2005 Gleneagles, Scotland, summit. In a joint statement on development and Africa, the ...
TOYAKO, Hokkaido — The Group of Eight leaders gave the green light Tuesday to expanded development of nuclear power, saying it is a vital energy source in the fight against global warming. But they warned that further development of nuclear plants must adhere to nonproliferation ...
