Russia Sidelined from G8: Does It Matter?

Mar. 25, 2014 - 4:33 - Moscow shrugs off summit snub after Crimea takeover

G8 stellen Russland aufs Abstellgleis

Klare Worte Richtung Moskau: Merkel sieht Russland gegenwärtig nicht mehr im Kreis der Top-Wirtschaftsnationen. Die sieben westlichen Industriestaaten dürften bald über einen Ausschluss entscheiden.

Obama and Putin: The Best of Friends

Source: The Daily Telegraph »

G8 Warns Syria of 'Serious International Response' Over Chemical Weapons
G8 foreign ministers warned Syria that using chemical weapons would trigger a global response and declared they were appalled by the humanitarian toll of the conflict.

Italy: Arab Spring Shows Democracy Compatible with Islam Says Berlusconi

ADN KRONOS INTERNATIONAL: Deauville - The unrest that has shaken the Arab world over the past six months and ousted two of the region's autocratic leaders shows that Islam is compatible with democracy, Italy's prime minister Silvio Berlusconi told said on Friday.

"The principle has been established that democracy is not only compatible with western countries and their civilisations, and I believe this is very important," Berlusconi told journalists at the Group of Eight summit in Deauville, France.

The stirrings of democracy seen in the popular revolts that have taken place in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, Yemen and other Arab countries are the latest in an "extraordinary period of history" that has unfolded over the past 25 years, he said. » | AKI | Friday, May 27, 2011

How on earth can Berlusconi come to this ridiculous conclusion from the ‘Arab Spring’? The ‘Arab Spring’ shows that the Arabs yearn for freedom of expression, yearn for a different governance, another way of life, another way of being ruled. Precisely what the uprisings do not show is that Islam and democracy are compatible. First of all, we have yet to observe what the outcome of these revolutions will be? Secondly, the sine qua non of democracy is that there be a separation of church and state. In the case of Muslims, that would mean a separation of mosque and state. This is absolutely forbidden in Islam. There is no concept in Islam of such a separation. In fact, there is no concept in Islam of the secular. In Islam, life is meant to be one coherent whole, the 'secular' and the religious and the political all meld into one. So clearly, Silvio Berlusconi needs to go away and do some serious homework. And not of the bunga bunga variety, either! Something rather more profound, something rather more taxing (mentally), and something rather more intellectual.

Ruhollah Khomeini said: "In Islam, the legislative power and competence to establish laws belong exclusively to God Almighty." In a democracy, the opposite is true. Further…

“Secularism cannot be a solution for countries with a Muslim majority or even a sizeable minority, for it requires people to replace their God-given beliefs with an entirely different set of man-made beliefs. Separation of religion and state is not an option for Muslims because is requires us to abandon Allah's decree for that of a man['s].” [Source: Islaam.com: Separation of Church and State] | Dr. Ja`far Sheikh Idris ]

– © Mark

Mark Zuckerberg déçoit à l'e-G8

LE POINT: L'intervention du patron de Facebook devait être le bouquet final du forum. Il n'a pas dévié d'un pouce de son discours marketing.

Il fallait s'y attendre. Si certains espéraient un discours visionnaire de Mark Zuckerberg pour clore le forum e-G8, le fondateur de Facebook n'est pas sorti des clous du marketing. Le patron du réseau social aux 600 millions de membres a vanté les mérites de son entreprise et rappelé une énième fois l'"extraordinaire" histoire de Facebook et les raisons de son succès.

Interrogé sur les révolutions arabes, il s'est contenté de ne pas s'en attribuer tout le crédit. "Il serait particulièrement arrogant pour une entreprise de technologie de revendiquer un rôle dans les mouvements de protestation", a-t-il expliqué. Mais de son avis personnel sur la liberté d'expression et le pouvoir des réseaux sociaux, on ne saura rien : il ne faudrait pas blesser tel ou tel gouvernement. Même topo pour le respect de la vie privée. La star du forum s'est contentée de répéter les communiqués de Facebook : "Chacun doit fixer ses limites", a-t-il simplement affirmé. » | Guerric Poncet | Mercredi 25 Mai 2011

Inside Story - Who Will Come Out On Top at the E-G8?
World leaders are meeting in France this week for the G8 summit. The Arab Awakening is set to be top of the agenda, but the innovations that helped to mobilise that awakening will also be discussed. Mark Zuckerburg, the Facebook CEO, was welcomed to Paris by Nicolas Zarkozy [sic], the French president. Zuckerburg was in France with other web and media executives for the first ever so-called E-G8 summit - a discussion on internet governance. It is a nod to the ever-growing power of the internet. But some of the biggest names in the online industry have offered a stark warning to world leaders: Over-regulate and we will bypass you. Inside Story asks what impact this meeting will have and who will come out on top.

Merkel sagt arabischen Reformstaaten Hilfe zu
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: In einer Regierungserklärung zum G-8-Gipfel im französischen Deauville sagt Bundeskanzlerin Merkel Ländern wie Ägypten und Tunesien Unterstützung zu. Für SPD-Fraktionschef Steinmeier fehlen der Regierung eigene Antworten auf die „Arabellion“.

Angesichts der politischen Umwälzungen in Nordafrika hat Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) den Ländern konkrete und schnelle Hilfe versprochen und einen Schuldenverzicht angekündigt. Die ersten politischen Erfolge dürften nicht durch wirtschaftliche Instabilität gefährdet werden, sagte die Kanzlerin am Donnerstag in einer Regierungserklärung im Bundestag zum G-8-Gipfel im französischen Deauville.

Die Hilfe solle schnell in Gang kommen, „denn Zeit zählt in dieser Region“. Merkel nannte es eine „historische europäische Verpflichtung“, den Menschen, die in Nordafrika und Teilen der arabischen Welt für Freiheit und Menschenrechte auf die Straße gehen, zur Seite zu stehen. Die Entwicklungen seien für alle „eine historische Chance“. In Deauville solle auch darüber gesprochen werden, wie zusammen mit den internationalen Finanzinstitutionen ein „bedeutendes Maßnahmenpaket“ geschnürt werden könne. » | FAZ.NET mit dpa/AFP | Donnerstag, 26. Mai 2011

Merkel will nordafrikanische Länder unterstützen

Frankreich wird zum Schauplatz der Mächtigen

Face-to-Face: Cameron Talks with Obama

Come Join the Party! We’re Having Lots of Fun
THE TELEGRAPH: The G8 leaders said it was important to accelerate efforts to make sure the Afghanistan's own security forces can "assume increasing responsibility within five years."

The Prime Minister and the President are expected to discuss BP and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Photo: The Telegraph
The leaders of the world's eight top industrial democracies also condemned the alleged sinking by North Korea of a South Korean warship and calling on Iran to do more to respect human rights.

The countries — the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia — added that current tensions in Gaza were "unsustainable."

But the joint statement by the so-called Group of Eight powers did not go as far as some nations, including the United States and Japan, wanted.

The joint statement was released at the end of a meeting in Canada of the eight powers and before a larger group of 20 nations convenes that also includes fast-growing economies like China.

The leaders turned to foreign policy matters after finding themselves at odds on how to continue to spur world economic growth in the aftermath of the worst recession since the 1930s. The countries were divided over whether to continue government stimulus spending, as the United States wants, or to cut mushrooming deficits, as Europe and Japan want. G8 sketch out a five-year exit strategy on Afghanistan >>> | Saturday, June 26, 2010

Gouvernance : Le sommet de Toronto coûtera jusqu’à 1,2 milliard
Photo : Le Temps
LE TEMPS: Précédé par le G8, le G20 commence ce samedi. Les Européens font pression pour une taxe bancaire

La ville est déjà morte. Malgré la température estivale, Toronto semble désertée par ses habitants. La presse canadienne l’explique par le périmètre de sécurité dressé autour de l’Exhibition Center, au bord du lac Ontario, qui accueille dès ce soir la quatrième réunion du G20. De multiples restrictions de circulation paralysent une partie du centre ville. Des commerçants, qui redoutent aussi les manifestations, chiffrent déjà la perte à quelque 15% de leur chiffre d’affaires mensuel. «Moi, j’ai loué toutes mes chambres, alors j’aimerais un G20 tous les week-ends!», plaisante un hôtelier interrogé par Le Temps. >>> Frédéric Lelièvre, Toronto | Vendredi 25 Juin 2010

Cameron Risks Conflict with US Over Pace of Spending Cuts
David Cameron arrives in Toronto where he will attend the G8 and G20 summits. Photo: The Times
THE TIMES: David Cameron will risk a trans-Atlantic rift over his Budget today by insisting that Britain is right to slash spending despite American warnings that deep cuts could derail the global recovery.

Tim Geithner, President Obama’s Treasury Secretary, said it was paramount for European leaders to concentrate on growth, and that they could not rely on America to drive the recovery.

His comments reflect concern in Washington that European governments - Germany in particular - have cut their budgets too hard and too fast, and that the risk to growth could drag the world economy back towards recession.

Mr Cameron, who holds face-to-face talks with Mr Obama tomorrow in Toronto, will insist that he had no choice because the Greek crisis showed the dangers to governments of failing to deal with vast debts.

“For countries with big fiscal deficits, that path to recovery requires us to deal decisively with the deficit problem,” said the Prime Minister’s official spokesman.

“It is perfectly consistent to have strong position on fiscal consolidation and be pro growth.” Read on and comment >>> Roland Watson, Toronto | Friday, June 25, 2010

Surprise Announcement That G20 Will Supplant G8

Affaire Kadhafi: Kadhafi veut rayer la Suisse de la carte
Mouammar Kadhafi. Crédits photo: Le Temps
LE TEMPS: La Suisse doit être démantelée et ses régions linguistiques réparties entre ses voisins. Mouammar Kadhafi va soumettre cette requête devant l’assemblée générale de l’ONU qui débute le 15 septembre. Il l’avait déjà formulée lors du sommet du G8 en Italie en juillet.

«La Libye a déposé cette requête», a déclaré mercredi soir la vice-présidente de la Commission de politique extérieure du National Christa Markwalder (PLR/BE) dans l’émission «10 vor 10» de la TV alémanique. Le chef d’Etat libyen demande que figure à l’ordre du jour la division du territoire suisse et sa répartition entre les pays voisins, a ajouté Mme Markwalder.

Début juillet lors du G8, Mouammar Kadhafi avait déclaré que la Suisse «est une mafia mondiale et non un Etat». Et d’ajouter qu’elle «est formée d’une communauté italienne qui doit retourner en Italie, d’une autre communauté allemande qui doit retourner en Allemagne et une troisième communauté française qui doit retourner en France».

La Libye assume pour un an la présidence de l’assemblée générale de l’ONU. Mme Markwalder craint qu’elle n’utilise cette fonction pour nuire à l’image et à la réputation de la Suisse. Selon elle, la diplomatie suisse va devoir se retrousser les manches pour éviter un scandale devant l’ONU. >>> ATS | Jeudi 03 Septembre 2009

Qadhafi verlangt von der Uno die Auflösung der Schweiz
BERNER ZEITUNG: Der libysche Staatschef hat bei den Uno einen Antrag gestellt: Sie sollen in der Herbstsession die Schweiz von der Landkarte streichen und unter den Nachbarn aufteilen.

Was Libyens Staatschef Moammar al-Qadhafi bereits im Juli am G8-Gipfel in Italien forderte, hat er nun als formellen Antrag an die Uno-Vollversammlung gestellt. Dies berichtete die Berner Nationalrätin Christa Markwalder, Vizepräsidentin der Aussenpolitischen Kommission (APK) des Nationalrates, heute in der Sendung «10vor10» des Schweizer Fernsehens.

«Libyen hat den Antrag gestellt, dass an der Uno-Vollversammlung, die am 15. September beginnt, auch das Traktandum diskutiert werden soll, dass das schweizerische Staatsterritorium aufgeteilt und an die Nachbarländer verteilt werden soll», sagte Markwalder. «Dem Image der Schweiz abträglich» >>> oku/sda | Donnerstag, 03. September 2009

Doyle McManus: The End of Obamamania
LOS ANGELES TIMES: On his overseas trip, the president was met with a lot less cheering and a lot more tough talk.

Barack Obama has fallen back to Earth.

When he ran for president, Obama said his election would be "the moment the rise of the oceans began to slow." And when he made his first big foreign trip in April, he was hailed by adoring crowds -- and almost-as-adoring politicians -- in Britain, Germany, France and the Czech Republic.

But last week, in Russia and Italy, Obamania was little more than a pleasant memory. Yes, his international polling numbers are still high, but the president encountered hardly any adulation in the streets of Moscow or anywhere else. Instead, Russian strongman Vladimir Putin reportedly gave him a tongue-lashing over a two-hour breakfast, and the tent-bound refugees from Italy's April earthquake mostly wanted to know whether he could rebuild their homes. ("Yes, we camp," their banner said, pointedly.)

And the oceans are still rising too. At the Group of 8 summit, the developing countries said no to a timetable to stop global warming, the reason for the waters' rise.

That's not to say the trip was a bust; it wasn't. But it was far from a triumph, and that's a new experience for Obama's foreign policy team.

The hard reality of international affairs is that, just as the United States has interests, so do other countries. And when those interests conflict, all the charm and charisma in the world can't resolve the differences.

At the G-8 summit, the United States, Britain and France had hoped for a tough statement on Iran's nuclear ambitions. The closest they got to a warning was this: "We sincerely hope that Iran will seize this opportunity to give diplomacy a chance."

The summit's other accomplishments were mostly worthy half-measures. The developing countries wouldn't sign on, but the eight big economies agreed to try to for deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, 41 years from now. After a personal appeal from Obama, member nations promised $20 billion to help poor countries grow more food, but much of the money turned out to be old pledges under a new name.

Obama went to Moscow to "reset" U.S.-Russian relations, which under George W. Bush had veered from unrealistic enthusiasm to bitter recriminations. He succeeded in changing the tone, but the concrete results were modest. The two nuclear powers agreed on a framework for reducing their atomic arsenals, but since both sides went into the talks wanting to cut, the nuclear issue was the easy part.

More difficult were the issues each country sees as its top priority: for the United States, the problem of Iran; for Russia, the desire of its onetime possessions Ukraine and Georgia to escape from Moscow's orbit. >>> Doyle McManus | Sunday, July 12, 2009

G8: Carla Bruni Under Fire for 'Snobbery'
THE TELEGRAPH: Carla Bruni, the wife of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, has been criticised by the Italian press for snobbery verging on 'boorishness' for snubbing the summit's official programme.

"Someone tell the first lady that snobbery to the nth degree where we come from is called boorishness," the paper Il Giornale said as the G8 was wrapping up in L'Aquila, central Italy.

On Thursday, the other G8 first ladies including Michelle Obama toured the city devastated by an April 6 earthquake, while Miss Bruni planned to visit the disaster zone on Friday.

Miss Bruni, who arrived in Italy late Thursday, also stayed away from the wives' audience with Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday. >>> | Friday, July 10, 2009

A Relaxed Sarkozy, Cigar in Hand, Brushes Off Speculation About His Marriage and About His G8 Appearance Allegedly 'Under the Influence of Alcohol'
THE TELEGRAPH: The relationship between the French president and his wife Cécilia, who have separated before, has been under intense scrutiny.

But speaking to French journalists at the Elysée palace, a relaxed Mr Sarkozy, cigar and chocolates in hand, said: "Cécilia and I are judged on the basis of people's fantasies and not on what we are. So we just stay quiet."

His comments came ahead of his first televised interview since he took office in May. Addressing the French people last night, he vowed to push through his policies, no matter how unpopular some labour and tax reforms might prove. Sarkozy bats away talk of split from wife (more) By Henry Samuel in Paris

Mark Alexander

”Je ne bois pas une goutte d'alcool,” dit Sarkozy
LE FIGARO: Le chef de l’Etat précise qu’il n’était pas ivre mais essoufflé après avoir monté les escaliers quatre à quatre.

Pour la première fois depuis la fameuse conférence de presse du G8 sur laquelle il apparaissait très perturbé, Nicolas Sarkozy s'est expliqué dans le journal Le Parisien-Aujourd’hui en France de mercredi. "J'étais en retard, j'ai donc monté les escaliers quatre à quatre. Je n'avais rien de particulier à dire. J'ai donc demandé s'il y avait des questions. Je ne bois pas une goutte d'alcool. Je n'ai pas de mérite : je n'aime pas cela", explique-t-il dans les colonnes du quotidien. Vidéo du G8 : Sarkozy s’explique (suivant)

Mark Alexander

US in “Fundamental Opposition” to Germany on Climate Change
BBC: The US appears to have rejected draft proposals by Germany for G8 members to agree tough measures in greenhouse gas emissions, leaked documents have shown.

Wide-ranging US amendments to a draft communique prepared ahead of June's G8 in Germany summit cite a "fundamental opposition" to the proposals.

Germany wants all G8 members to agree timetables and targets for major cuts. US ’opposes’ G8 climate proposals (more)

Mark Alexander