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The African Economist Vol. XXIV No. 39 August 2005 NEWS
Security warning He is believed to have had close ties to Karim al-Majati, an al-Qaeda leader killed in April 2005. Six policemen were lightly wounded in the clash. Al-Arabiya reported that two other militants had been injured in the overnight operation, but authorities would not confirm this. There are also unconfirmed reports of several arrests. Most of the suspects on the list issued last week are Saudis, but others are from Chad, Yemen, Morocco and Mauritania. Only two militants on a previous list drawn up by Saudi authorities in December 2003 are still at large- all the others are believed killed or captured.The shoot-out came shortly after UK Prime Minister Tony Blair ended a short visit to the country, stopping over on his way to Singapore. A few days ago, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef had warned of the possibility of more attacks.
Mr. Ndayizeye's ruling Hutu party, Front for Democracy in Burundi, was a distant second, and a party of ethnic minority Tutsis, UPRONA, came in third. The new lawmakers will help select a president in August. The vote was just one of series of post-war elections created under a peace deal to end more than a decade of civil war between Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebels. African leaders hold pre-G8 summit
The 53-nation union reached consensus to press for two permanent seats on an expanded UN Security Council. But, much of the focus is likely to be on pressuring richer countries to help them fight poverty and diseases on the continent. Western leaders at the G8 summit at Gleneagles, starting last July 6, 2005, discussed trade, aid and debt relief for Africa. "Africa has got the will but does not have the means," Somali Foreign Minister Abdullahi Sheekh Ismail said. "The G8 has got the means and all the logistical supportive means. It is very important that the political will should be combined with the resources that the G8 can afford to provide [help] to Africa," he told Reuters news agency. Coming of age But Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told the BBC Africa was unlikely to be granted "a fairer trading environment" by the G8 - one of its key charges against the West.
Libya's leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, is hosting the African Union summit in his home town of Sirte. There is a real sense that the three-year-old union - which succeeded the Organisation of African Unity - is finally coming of age, says the BBC's Mike Donkin. The AU is looking to have its own ministries of foreign affairs, defence, trade and others. There has also been discussion of opening up borders between states with the creation of an African passport, but this is far from agreed. Africa is also keen to have its own standing army ready to go to trouble spots at a moment's notice. And it wants to set up its own financial fund so that aid and grants allocated by organisations like the World Bank or the European Union can be spent faster and not just sit in Western coffers, our correspondent says. G8’s Objectives With no headquarters, budget or permanent staff, the Group of Eight is an informal but exclusive body whose members set out to tackle global challenges through discussion and action. The G8 comprises seven of the world's leading industrialized nations, and Russia. The leaders of these countries meet face-to-face at an annual summit that has become a focus of media attention and protest action. Overview The G8's roots lie in the oil crisis and global economic recession of the early 1970s. In 1973, these challenges prompted the US to form the Library Group - an informal gathering of senior financial officials from Europe, Japan and the US. At the instigation of the French, the 1975 meeting drew in heads of government. The delegates agreed to meet annually. The six nations involved became known as the G6, and later the G7 and G8 after the respective entries of Canada (1976) and Russia (1998). Initially set up as a forum for economic and trade matters, politics crept onto the G7 agenda in the late 1970s. Issues under consideration at recent summits have included helping the developing world, global security, Middle East peace and Iraq reconstruction. G8 members can agree on policies and can set objectives, but compliance with these is voluntary. The G8 has clout in other world bodies by virtue of the economic and political muscle of its members. The workings of the G8 are very different from the "fireside chats" of the Library Group in the 1970s. Holed up behind fortress-like security, the delegates are accompanied by an army of officials. Elaborate preparations are made for their meetings, statements and photo-calls. Nevertheless, G8 leaders strive to keep at least some of their encounters free from bureaucracy and ceremony. On the second day of their summit, the leaders gather for an informal retreat, where they can talk without being encumbered by officials or the media. The European Union is represented at the G8 by the president of the European Commission and by the leader of the country, which holds the EU presidency. The EU does not take part in G8 political discussions. Facts
Issues
The G8's positive stance on globalisation has provoked a vigorous response from opponents, and riots have sometimes overshadowed summit agendas, most notably in Italy in 2001. The violence has encouraged a tightening of the security cordon that separates protesters and politicians, reinforcing the G8's closed-door image. In recent years, the G8 has launched drives to counter disease, including HIV-Aids, and has announced development programmes and debt-relief schemes. However, aid is often dependent on the respect for democracy and good governance in the recipient countries. Critics say that spending on such initiatives is inadequate. Basic disagreements sometimes emerge within the G8: Global warming was a sticking point at the 2001 Genoa summit, where US President George W Bush underlined his rejection of the Kyoto treaty on emissions. Rifts among G8 members have also been evident over the US-led war in Iraq. G8 PRESIDENCY 2001: Italy (Genoa summit) 2002: Canada (Kananaskis summit) 2003: France (Evian summit) 2004: UK (Gleneagles summit) 2006: Russia G8 Leaders Give Priority to Africa
Police placed a security cordon around an eco-camp housing 5,000 protesters in Stirling on Thursday morning, in a bid to prevent a fresh round of clashes. A series of demonstrations on Wednesday across Scotland resulted in more than 160 arrests. More than 100 arrests were made near the town of Auchterarder after demons-trators left the agreed route of a march and attempted to penetrate the security cordon around the Gleneagles Hotel. With up to 4,000 police on duty, the summit is at the centre of the biggest security operation in UK history. For many protesters and observers, the G8 summit is a defining moment in current world politics, amid increased calls for the world's richest countries to act now to help the worlds poorest. Climate divisions July 7, 2005 will see the leaders of the world's richest nations - the United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan and Canada - involved in back-to-back meetings, including a working lunch and dinner. The leaders of China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, the world's five emerging economies, will join the discussion on climate change while the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and World Bank will also be represented. Several countries, notably France, are expected to push for an agreement on an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has acknowledged international differences over the subject of global warming. But he has insisted he would push hard for a deal on climate change, which he believes is inextricably linked to boosting African countries' share of international trade. Strategy needed Speaking on July 6, 2005evening, Chancellor Gordon Brown said it was vital to develop a new strategy to tackle global warming which had the support of countries such as China and India as well as the US. This should focus on developing fuel-efficient techn-ology and exploring alternative sources of energy. "President Bush has made a statement saying he accepts global warming is a problem, he accepts that it is partly man-made," Mr Brown told ITV's News at Ten. "What I think will happen is that the World Bank will be asked to bring together not just America and Europe but the developing countries, particularly China and India." Trade concessions Another key area of discussion will be the state of the world economy, particularly efforts to reduce global trade barriers. Anti-poverty campaigners are hopeful the US may make some concessions in this area, curbing cotton and sugar subsidies, which critics claim, distort world prices and harm producers in developing countries.
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