[In the News]:Group of Eight Conference


31 Jul 2001, 13:48 UTC

This is Bob Doughtywith the VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS.

Last week, the heads of government of the Group of Eight held athree-day meeting in Genoa, Italy. The members are the leadingindustrial nations --the United States, Japan, Germany, France,Britain, Italy, Canada--and also Russia.

The leaders met to discuss world trade and economic development.They also discussed disease prevention, debt reduction, and otherissues. Officials from several developing countries includingNigeria, Mali, Bangladesh and El Salvador were invited to take partin the conference for the first time.

During the talks, about one-hundred-thousand protestersdemonstrated outside the historic palace in Genoa where the meetingwas held. They gathered there to express their anger about worldtrade.

One person was killed during the protests. The Italian InteriorMinistry says the demonstrator was shot in an act of self-defense bya member of Italy's national police force.

Many protesters condemned the deadly use of force by the Italianpolice. The Group of Eight leaders expressed sorrow for the deathand urged demonstrators to reject violence.

The protesters represented trade unions, environmental groups,farmers, and the unemployed. Most shared a concern about the effectsof international trade. Many of the protesters believe world tradeharms the people of poor countries. They say major internationalcompanies are becoming wealthy while harming the poor and theenvironment.

Opponents of world trade want wealthy nations to reduce debt indeveloping countries. They also called for better education in poorcountries and more money to treat diseases in Africa.

The Group of Eight leaders said world trade helps all people.They promised to work to bring the poorest countries into the worldeconomy. And they promised to continue to deal with issues importantto all areas of the world.

The leaders also discussed the worldwide AIDS crisis and otherdeadly diseases. They agreed to provide more thanone-thousand-million dollars to support efforts to prevent and treatAIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. These preventable diseases killmillions of people each year. Most of the victims live in poorcountries.

One of the most disputed issues at the G-Eight meeting was theKyoto treaty to halt the warming of the Earth's atmosphere.President Bush continues to reject the treaty. He says it would harmthe American economy. Other leaders said they would work to put thetreaty into effect.

At the end of the conference, President Bush and RussianPresident Vladimir Putin announced they would hold new arms talks.They said they want to link talks about reducing nuclear weaponswith American plans to build a missile defense system.

This VOA Special English program, IN THE NEWS, was written byCynthia Kirk. This is Bob Doughty.

品牌培训机构展示

该专题下最近更新的节目

专题广播资料索引