Putin stands up to G8 warmongers on Syria, reaffirming support for Assad govt

 

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/309760.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin can take credit for standing up to the G8 warmongers on Syria. Thanks to the feisty Russian leader’s political courage, an all-out war in Syria may have been averted - at least for now.

Only days ago, Western media were touting that Putin would be given a political drubbing at the G8 summit in Northern Ireland this week by the US, Britain and France - the three main NATO powers pushing for regime change in Syria.

The arrogance and spite awaiting Putin was summed up by Washington’s Canadian puppet prime minister, Stephen Harper, when he accused, through media channels, the Russian president of supporting “thugs in Syria”.

Harper said: “I don't think we should fool ourselves. This is G7 plus one. We in the West have a very different perspective on this situation. Mr Putin and his government are supporting the thugs of the Assad regime.”

When the conference opened, Putin didn’t waste time on a minion like Harper. He had bigger fish to fry. During the summit, Putin told Obama, Cameron and Hollande face-to-face that Russia was standing firm in its support for the government of President Bashar al Assad in Damascus. He warned that any plans by the Western powers to openly supply weapons to anti-government militants in Syria was against international law and would destabilize the region; and Putin refused to revoke a deal by Russia to deliver anti-aircraft defence missiles to Syria, pointing out that the transaction was a legal bilateral agreement between sovereign countries.

In one fell swoop, Putin used the auspices of the annual G8 forum to debunk Western lies and propaganda on Syria and to reiterate the facts of international relations, namely, that Syria is a sovereign country with a sovereign government.

Earlier, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who hosted the two-day summit in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, was betting along with US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande that the G8 meeting would cause Putin to wilt under their combined pressure.

Far from wilting, the Russian leader stood his ground and ended up tying his pusillanimous adversaries up in knots. Putin showed the courage of conviction; the others had the courage of conmen.

Last week, the Americans, British and French tried to pile the pressure on Putin with lurid claims that the Syrian government had used chemical weapons of mass destruction. Those claims were of course bogus, but they were aimed at creating a red line pretext for the NATO powers to openly begin sending weapons to their proxy mercenaries fighting in Syria to bring down Assad.

Washington duly followed last week with official approval for supplying weapons, at least in principle, just as the British and French had done in preceding weeks. The gang of three also mulled the setting up of “no-fly zones” on Syria’s southern flank over the border from Jordan. News that the Americans were leaving F-16 fighter jets, Osprey troop-carrying planes and Patriot missiles inside Jordan following recent war exercises may also be seen as a calculated threat of NATO intervention in Syria.

So, as the leaders of the G8 countries gathered in Northern Ireland at the start of this week, the pressure was on Putin to give ground on policy towards Russia’s ally, Syria. In particular, the objective of the US, Britain and France was to get the Russian leader to throw Syria’s Assad to the wolves.

The ousting of Assad has been the top foreign political priority of the Western regimes for more than two years. Under the cynical guise of supporting a “pro-democracy uprising”, Washington and the two former colonial powers have plunged Syria into a maelstrom of violence that has resulted in more than 90,000 deaths. The NATO brigands have in effect been holding a gun to the Syrian people’s head in a bid to enforce their criminal scheme of regime change.

Last weekend, former French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas confirmed this criminal conspiracy. Dumas told French media how British officials had briefed him on a secret plan for sabotaging Syria - more than two years before conflict in that country flared up in March 2011.

We also know from the American neocon Project for a New American Century and separate disclosures by former US NATO General Wesley Clark that Washington was working on a similar pernicious plot against Syria more than 10 years ago.

The Russians fell for the NATO charade on Libya, with the much-vaunted “no-fly zone” and “responsibility to protect” turning into a murderous blitzkrieg to topple Muammar Gaddafi.

But Moscow seems now to have rumbled NATO’s rolling plan across the Middle East. Russia knows that this regime change is predicated on permanent war that won’t stop at Syria. It is an agenda for total domination across the oil- and gas-rich region that is also targeting Moscow’s other ally, Iran, and will eventually target Russia itself.

At the G8 meeting, British Prime Minister David Cameron did his best to sound consensual. “We have overcome our fundamental differences,” he said with fake tones of fraternity. Cameron was probably still wincing from the rhetorical slap in the face he received from Putin before the G8 summit began, when the Russian leader effectively accused Britain at a press conference in Downing Street of wanting to support organ-eaters and cannibals in Syria.

The G8 summit ended this week with a vaguely stated commitment to end the violence in Syria. That commitment is not worth the paper that it is written on given the underlying criminal intent of Washington, London and Paris. But, importantly, the final G8 communiqué had the glaring omission of calling for President Assad’s ouster. Officially, at least, that American, British and French demand has been given short shrift under G8 terms.

The Western regime-change plan in Syria - already suffering major military defeats on the ground - just received another blow from President Putin who defiantly resisted NATO pressure for betrayal.

Putin stood up to the NATO bullies, showed them to be non-entities, and he drew his own red line on Syria. His courage on display in Northern Ireland this week may just be enough to avert the all-out war that the Western imperialist states have been recklessly driving towards.

 

G8 nations reach consensus on need for keeping Greece in eurozone

Leaders of the G8 nations at the US presidential country retreat of Camp David following the G8 Summit 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/20/242130/g8-nations-reach-consensus-on-greece/

The Group of Eight (G8) leaders have wrapped up their summit in the US, reaching consensus on the need to keep financially-crippled Greece in the eurozone.

They also agreed to ignite growth and slash the debt that has hugely spoiled the European economies.

The joint declaration issued on Saturday by the leaders of the world’s major economies, however, did not mention any specific recommendations on how to tackle the enduring financial troubles of Europe.

The G8 leaders appeared unanimous in their resolve to make sure that Greece, which also faces a political gridlock, stays within the 17-member euro currency zone.

The G8 declaration of support for maintaining Greece in the eurozone points to unforeseen damage to the global economy that may emerge from a Greek departure of the eurozone. The move follows a week of rising speculation that the country may not be able to keep up with its debt payments. This is while the European crisis has already left its marks on Wall Street.

“The global economic recovery show sign[s] of promise, but significant headwinds persist,” read the joint statement of the G8 leaders.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama seized the opportunity as the host of the summit to direct the discussions towards issues favorable to his own re-election campaign, outlining on the closing day of the summit the steps he would take to improve the US economy and elaborating on his economic vision for his potential second term.

Meanwhile, the Fitch ratings agency downgraded the rating of Greece last Thursday to the lowest possible grade for a country that is not in default. The agency announced that the departure of Greece from the eurozone was “probable” in case the month’s elections in the country do not reverse the political trends that have brought in politicians opposed to Europe’s bailout terms.

From G8 to NATO: ‘Russia and China may be on the same side’

Vladimir Putin (L) and Hu Jintao (AFP Photo / Pool / Takuro Yabe)

Source: Russia Today
http://www.rt.com/news/obama-putin-g8-summit-669/

With Putin opting not to attend the ongoing G8 summit at Camp David and Obama passing on an upcoming APEC summit in Vladivostok, much has been made of the bilateral snub. But Russian expert Martin McCauley told RT critics have missed the plot.

As President Obama greeted leaders of seven other major world economies for a working dinner at the start of the G8 summit Friday night, President Putin was not among them. The Russian president said domestic affairs and cabinet appointments had led him to send Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in his place.

With the summit concluding on Saturday, Obama will immediately return to his hometown of Chicago for a NATO summit this Sunday.

Obama likewise announced he would miss the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting this September, since it closely tails the Democratic National Convention; a peak time in his reelection bid.

However, with both leaders set to meet on the sidelines of a G20 summit set to be held in Mexico next month, Martin McCauley, Russia expert from the University of London, told RT critics were too quick to dismiss the leaders’ domestic concerns.

He also said one key player was conspicuously absent at both the G8 and NATO summit, making the G20 a much more fitting format for both Moscow and Washington to hammer out their mutual concerns: China.

RT: Do you think Putin’s refusal to attend would have been a shock to the US?

Martin McCauley: It would have surprised President Obama because the G8 Summit was to originally convene in Chicago and he moved it to Camp David, away from the Windy City, and a NATO meeting just after the G8 summit. Obama thought Camp David would be a more placid place to meet President Vladimir Putin, but President Putin decided to give it a miss this time.



The G20 really doesn’t talk about human rights and democracy, because there are dictatorships, for instance, Saudi Arabia.

RT: Now with Putin giving it a miss this time as you say, do you think the absence of Russia's leader will alter the effectiveness of this meeting?

MM: No, because the key question would be the Greek exit from the euro. It has to be an orderly withdrawal. Anything else would be disaster. So therefore Russia is on the outside of that; the Russian economy is okay. At present the oil price is over $100 a barrel, so therefore Russia feels [it is] in a strong position.

President Putin couldn’t really contribute anything to a solution. He could say, “Right, you have to solve your debt problem, Germany should in fact extend more loans to weak members of the European Union,” and so on. But basically he would be a bystander and most of the discussions will be economic and affect the vital interests of the European Union and also President Obama, because Obama has realized that if there is a euro fallout in Europe, it will affect his chances in America – it will affect the US economy.

So therefore he wants the problem solved, and basically everyone will gang up on Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, and tell her that she should relax her austerity plans, that she should take a softer line towards Greece, and a softer line towards paying back bills.

RT: So as you said, a lot of the focus going on at the G8 summit is that of the euro crisis, also with Barack Obama’s reelection campaign and his hope to get in for another four year term. There are some that say that President Putin decided not to go to the G8 because the G20 summit is more important. What would you read into that?

MM: I think that the G8 summit of course is only…the heavily industrialized nations. But also remember that President Hu Jintao is not there as well. Therefore, the G20 is arguably more important. The G8 basically talks a lot about human rights, democracy, and so on. The G20 really doesn’t talk about human rights and democracy, because there are dictatorships, for instance, Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the G20 format is easier for Russia and they can have more influence there.

The interesting thing is…the Russian press is adopting the Chinese view that the shield is really geared against China – it’s not really about Iran or North Korea – it’s really China.

RT: President Obama now says he won't attend a major summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Russia in September, because it coincides with his party National Convention. Both sides deny there's any tit-for-tat involved, there’s no rift between America-Russia relations. Can we read anything into this here, or is it just nonsense?

MM: If Obama says he’s going to stay in America, it means he’s very concerned about reelection. One of the arguments about President Putin staying in Russia is that he’s concerned about the security situation – he wants to stay there on the spot if demonstrations get out of hand – he wants to be the man giving orders. That’s one argument. You can apply the same argument to America, that President Obama wants to be in America at a very vital time. September, October, November – there’s only two months before the presidential election. He can’t really afford to be out of the country. If something goes wrong it could reflect badly on his chances and so on. So maybe Obama is saying, “the presidential race to me is more important than a meeting of Asia-Pacific nations.”

RT:Vladimir Putin is not going to the NATO summit in Chicago that’s due to begin on Sunday. Would he have been expected to attend that too? When you’ve talked about for quite some time now, the whole American and European missile defense that’s been a bone of contention, with Moscow repeatedly calling for it to be a joint missile system between America and Russia, Do you think Putin should be attending that NATO summit in Chicago?

MM: Well, technically he could be invited, but I doubt he will go there, because relations at present are, shall we say, not exactly friendly [regarding the] anti-missile shield. The interesting thing is, in the last week, the Russian press is adopting the Chinese view that the shield is really geared against China – it’s not really about Iran or North Korea, it’s really China. So therefore Russia’s bringing into play the fact that Russia and China may be on the same side opposing the shield, and that they have a common defense interest in restricting American power.

The Chinese don’t like the US navy penetrating Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean. The conflict over the islands, the conflict with Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia, the Americans coming in with Vietnam having some type of understanding with the United States Navy. All of that in fact makes relations between China and Washington rather tense, so therefore Russia can gain from this. They can say to the Chinese, ‘basically we’re on the same side, and we have to restrict America, so if Putin decided to go to Chicago, which I doubt he will, he may actually in fact say some of those things.

EU, US leaders at Camp David for G8 Summit

US President Barack Obama (R) welcomes French President Francois Hollande at the G8 summit in Camp David

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/241945/g8-summit-kicks-off-in-us/

US President Barack Obama has greeted leaders of the Group of Eight industrialized nations at the 38th G8 Summit at Camp David in the US state of Maryland.

The summit officially began on Friday, with the Greek and eurozone crises being at the top of the list of topics to be discussed by G8 leaders during the closed-door summit.

Rising oil prices in world markets are also on the agenda for the leaders of the world’s biggest economies.

Meanwhile, Obama and several other leaders have expressed support for newly elected French President Francois Hollande’s calls for turning to growth as a resolution to the ongoing economic crisis rather than imposing further austerity measures, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pushed for.

Former French head of state Nicolas Sarkozy also supported austerity.

The G8 leaders are trying to come up with ways to keep Greece within the eurozone.

This is while growing political and economic turmoil in Greece has led to mounting concerns among eurozone financial ministers that Athens would not comply with the austerity measures it agreed to with its European neighbors in exchange for endorsement of a second financial bailout, and would finally have to leave the bloc.

Latest statistics show that the Greek economy has lost 6.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Greece could go bankrupt by the end of June if international lenders refuse to prop the country up with a EUR-130-billion bailout fund to keep it afloat and inside the eurozone.

The Group of Eight includes the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US.

Canada's Brewing Insurgency

By: Jon Elmer
Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/06/20106238405246236.html

As leaders of the richest nations gather in Toronto for the annual G8 and G20 summits, Canada has mounted an unprecedented security operation that stands to go down as the largest in the country's history.

The local and federal governments have resorted to significant measures: barricading the downtown core behind a massive galvanized perimeter fence, erecting checkpoints with x-rays, uprooting trees that police say could be used by demonstrators, and converting a sound stage into a massive temporary detention facility in preparation for mass arrests of protesters.

But with Canadian soldiers, snipers, commandos and police tactical units representing the sharp end of a security budget that is poised to top $1bn, the most significant threat to business as usual for the summit may turn out to be far-flung rural blockades enacted by Canada's long suffering native communities.

"It's a very dangerous situation," said Douglas Bland, a retired Canadian forces lieutenant-colonel who is now the chair of defence management studies at Queen's University.

In recent years in particular, Canada's indigenous communities have shown the will and potential to grind the country's economic lifelines to a halt through strategically placed blockades on the major highways and rail lines that run through native reserves well outside of Canada's urban landscape.

"The Canadian economy is very vulnerable," said Bland.

"More than 25 per cent of our GDP comes from exports of raw materials, but especially oil, natural gas and electricity to the United States."

"It's undefended and undefendable infrastructure, the pipelines and power lines and so on, and it runs through great spaces of open countryside and they run through aboriginal territories.

"It would take a very small number of people very little time to bring [it] down," said Bland, who is the author of a "barely fictionalised" account of native insurgency in Canada, entitled Uprising.

Blockades

In 2007, the Mohawk community at Tyendinaga, 200 kilometres east of Toronto, blocked the trans-continental rail line and Canada's largest highway in protest at the government's failure to address land rights and basic issues of survival within First Nations - including safe drinking water, which the community lacked.

That episode was a hint of the leverage indigenous peoples in Canada possess, as hundreds of millions of dollars in cargo was stalled by simple barricades placed across a rural stretch of the Canadian National railway's mainline between Toronto and Montreal.

"The message resounded," said Shawn Brant, a high profile Mohawk activist involved in the 2007 blockades.

"We are not going to live in abject poverty, to have our children die, to have our women abducted, raped and murdered without any investigations. We are not going to live with the basic indignities that occur to us daily. We would bring them to an end."

In 2007, Brant characterised the blocking of the 401 highway and CN main rail line as a "good test run".

"We showed that we would meet the severity of what was happening to us with a reaction and a plan, a strategy that would be equally as severe," Brant said.

Last week, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network broadcast footage of Canadian intelligence agents threatening a native activist ahead of the G8 summit.

"I will tell you straight up," said an agent of the Canadian security and intelligence service to an indigenous activist, "there [are] other forces that are from other countries that will not put up with a blockade in front of their president".

The twin summits, held in Toronto and Huntsville, a rural community that lies 225 kilometres north of Toronto, are separated by a major highway that runs through large swathes of indigenous territory adjacent to the major travel arteries.

A determined blockade could wreak havoc on the summit and cast light on Canada's darkest shame.

Blockades, said Harrison Friesen, a spokesperson for native rights movement Red Power United, would be intended to show the world that "everything is not okay in Canada for native people".

Insurgency?

Bland argues that the situation within First Nations in Canada has all the attributes of an insurgency.

"These root causes, these abysmal conditions for some of the aboriginal people are serious."

There are more than 800 outstanding native land claims held against the Canadian government. And in many First Nations communities there is deep crisis, with poverty, unemployment and overcrowding the norm.

According to figures from the Assembly of First Nations, more than 118 First Nations lack safe drinking water and some 5,500 houses do not have sewage systems.

Almost one half of homes on native reserves are in need of "major repairs", compared with 7 per cent of non-native homes.

Natives suffer a violent crime rate that is more than 300 times higher than Canada's non-native population, while natives represent 18.5 per cent of the male prison population and one-quarter of the female population, although natives only constitute 4 per cent of the total population.

In some provinces, the incarceration rates are starker.

In Manitoba, 71 per cent of prisoners are native, although natives represent only 15 per cent of the province's population; in Saskatchewan, the number is even higher, with natives accounting for 80 per cent of prisoners but only 11 per cent of the population.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police recently characterised the prison system as "community colleges for [native] gangs".

These "gangs" are increasingly politicised and some of Canada's leading military planners are warning that a full-blown uprising is gathering.

The groups operate in what the military calls "ungoverned spaces" that are increasingly difficult to police.

They are also sophisticated, operating under the "Robin Hood" principle of robbing from the rich and giving to the poor, say military planners.

When combined with their tangible grievances, "you have the root causes which can be the fuel for an insurgency. It's entirely feasible," said Bland.

Counterinsurgency posture

In 2007, a draft edition of Canada's army counterinsurgency field manual highlighted the Mohawk Warrior Society as a case study insurgency.

But after the excerpt was made public by media reports, Gordon O'Connor, the then defence minister, issued a statement saying that the reference would be removed from the final draft, which was released in 2008.

"The withdrawal of the topic out of the counterinsurgency manual was typical of the reaction by government for fear of upsetting the precarious status quo of relations in the country right now," said Bland.

"It is an example of a trend in Canadian political leadership.

"There is a great reluctance to name, point to, suggest that we have an internal security problem in Canada based in either the aboriginal communities or in what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police call the aboriginal based criminal organisations.

"One of the difficulties of discussing the issue and more seriously acting against it," said Bland, "is that by acting against an individual native protest or activity, you might incite the entire community across the country".

Political leaders "fear baiting what they don't want to happen, so you see them backing off all the time".

Indeed, the threat of blockades by more than 40 First Nations communities this week forced the provincial government in Ontario to back down on a plan to enforce a new harmonised sales tax on native communities, in contravention of longstanding treaty agreements.

The message has been received, said Brant. "We've shown that, unified, we are capable of not just disruption, not just protest, but a willingness to use the economy as a tool in the arsenal to fight."

"The government ran its infrastructure through our land because no one else wanted it to run through theirs," said Brant.

"Now it serves as an incredibly power[ful] tool of influence that allows us now as a society to engage government in a dialogue, a relationship based on us having power."

In 2007, Chief Terrance Nelson of Manitoba's Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation made headlines when he told a television reporter that "there are only two ways of dealing with the white man ... either you pick up the gun or you stand between him and his money".

There is no shortage of examples of either tactic of native resistance in recent Canadian history.

In 1990, an historic armed standoff between Mohawks and the Canadian army near Oka, Quebec lasted more than two months when the provincial government tried to convert a native burial ground into a golf course.

Five years later, in 1995, the Canadian government used helicopters, armoured personnel carriers, improvised explosives and more than 77,000 rounds of ammunition during a three-month standoff over land title at Gustafsen Lake, in British Columbia.

Speaking at a senate hearing in May, Canada's top general in Afghanistan suggested that the country's counterinsurgency war in Kandahar and its "whole of government" strategy has helped prepare Canadian forces and its civilian partners for such eventualities.

"If Canada were having an issue of insurgency," said Brigadier-General Jonathan Vance, "there would be a multi-discipline, multi-department operation with the government managing and directing carefully what its military and police forces would do".

"We experienced a little of that ... with the events at Oka." But now, said Vance, "the government is engaged".

Bland agreed, saying that the counterinsurgency experience fighting the Taliban in Kandahar is "completely relevant to what might happen here, and to what happened at Oka".

That posture, Brant said, is a "grave mistake".

"Since Oka, we've evolved from being reactionary to instances that occur to having a strategy. We've become communities that have embraced the injustices of the past and combined them with the indignities of the present. We have been able to inspire all elements in our communities," said Brant.

"We've created a unity that they don't have the military or policing capabilities to confront."

G8 criticizes North Korea and Iran

Source: Al Jazeera
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/06/201062743613946222.html

The leaders of the world's eight richest nations have concluded their summit in Canada with tough words for North Korea and Iran over their nuclear programs.

The G8 focused on recovery from a global economic crisis in their two-day summit in the Canadian town of Huntsville but made note of other thorny issues in their final statement issued on Saturday.

In it, they singled out Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, Iran and North Korea for criticism.

The leaders said that the Gaza blockade was "not sustainable" and "must be changed".

The G statement welcomed the ease the blockade, and called for it to be put in place immediately.

The leaders urged the Israelis and Palestinians to create conditions conducive to direct peace talks.

"We urge full and effective implementation of this policy in order to address the needs of Gaza's population for humanitarian and commercial goods, civilian reconstruction and infrastructure, and legitimate economic activity," the final communiqué said.

Ship's sinking deplored

The leaders of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Britain, Italy, Japan and Russia issued their statement as they wrapped up meetings at a resort in Muskoka in the province of Ontario.

They strongly condemned the sinking of a South Korean navy ship blamed on North Korea.

"We deplore the attack on March 26 that caused the sinking of the Republic of Korea's naval vessel, the Cheonan, resulting in tragic loss of 46 lives," the G8 final communiqué said.

"Such an incident is a challenge to peace and security in the region and beyond.

"We condemn, in this context, the attack which led to the sinking of the Cheonan. We demand that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea refrain from committing any attacks or threatening hostilities against the Republic of Korea," the communiqué said.

The eight leaders expressed grave concerns for the nuclear ambitions of North Korea as well as Iran.

The G8 demanded North Korea "abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear and ballistic missile programs, as well as proliferation activities, in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner".

The communiqué called for Iran to hold a "transparent dialogue" over its controversial nuclear enrichment program.

"We are profoundly concerned by Iran's continued lack of transparency regarding its nuclear activities and its stated intention to continue and expand enriching uranium.

"Our goal is to persuade Iran's leaders to engage in a transparent dialogue about its nuclear activities and to meet Iran's international obligations," the leaders said.

The leaders also noted efforts by Turkey and Brazil to broker a deal with Iran over its nuclear program.

Afghanistan appeal

On Afghanistan, the G8 leaders said that Afghan government forces must make progress towards assuming more responsibility for the security of the country "within five years".

They also called on the Afghan government to "combat corruption, address illicit drug production and trafficking, improve human rights, improve provision of basic services and governance and make concrete progress to reinforce the formal justice system".

The leaders also praised the Russia that is intended to reduce nuclear weapons.

"We call upon all other states, in particular those possessing nuclear weapons, to join these disarmament efforts, in order to promote international stability and undiminished security for all," they said.

They addressed one more issue that they said undermined stability in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa: maritime piracy and growing links between criminal and "terrorist" networks.

The talks were held as protesters, who have become a hallmark of the global meetings, clashed with police in riot gear in downtown Toronto.

Police arrested at least 180 protesters on Saturday outside the G20 summit. In addition to at least 32 arrests made on Friday.

A small group of demonstrators broke away from a peaceful gathering and broke windows of several businesses, including a bank and a Starbucks, and set at least two police cars on fire.

Toronto police admit they struggled to contain the violence. No major injures have been reported.

G20 meeting

G8 leaders will now meet delegates from emerging economies including India, China and Brazil in a broader G20 summit in Toronto.

The G8 leaders also addressed the economic challenges facing the world, warning that the recovery was still fragile and that the economic crisis had compromised Millennium Development Goals set by the UN.

"The crisis has jeopardized advancement toward meeting some of the 2015 targets. Renewed mutual commitments are required," their communiqué said, warning that "both developed and developing countries must do more".

The Millennium Development Goals were agreed by UN member states as a list of human development targets due to be met by 2015, reducing poverty and hunger, boosting women and children's rights and improving education.

The statement came a day after the G8 pledged $5bn in aid over five years to reduce deaths among mothers and newborn children in Africa. That amount is nowhere near the ambitious promise from five years ago to double aid by up to $50 billion by 2010.

The G8 summit now morphs into a larger G20 meeting that will include leaders from the emerging economies.

Contentious issues

Discussions at the G20 summit are expected to be dominated by contentious economic issues, particularly over whether to cut or spend their way to economic recovery.

Al Jazeera's Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Toronto, said that economic divisions would dominate the meeting.

"What we can expect from this larger grouping is whether they can get past their divisions. When it comes to global finances we are seeing a big split, particularly between the US and Europe," he said.

The US supports continued economic stimulus spending to galvanize the recovery, but European countries are facing a sovereign debt crisis that is squeezing national budgets and prompting governments to make severe cuts in spending.

G8 says Gaza blockade not sustainable

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=132147&sectionid=351020202

The Group of Eight nations say Israel must lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow aid through to its impoverished Palestinian population.

"We urge all parties to work together to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860 and to ensure the flow of humanitarian and commercial goods and persons, to and from Gaza," the final communique said late Saturday.

At the end of the G8 summit in Canada, the leaders of the world's major industrialized nations said that the blockade of the Gaza Strip is "not sustainable" in the current form and must be changed.

"We urge full and effective implementation of this policy in order to address the needs of Gaza's population for humanitarian and commercial goods, civilian reconstruction and infrastructure, and legitimate economic activity," the statement said.

It added that they also "deeply regret the loss of life" in last month's Israeli attack on the aid ship that tried to breach the blockade of Gaza. The flotilla of six ships was carrying nearly 700 activists of 42 different nationalities as well as some 10,000 tons of relief supplies to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

Over 1.5 million Palestinians are living under a relentless Israeli siege that has now entered its fourth year.

Meanwhile, Palestinians girls in the Gaza City on Saturday night lit candles to protest against the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.