Turmoil in China overshadows G8 summit

The heads of the world's industrialised powers gathered for their annual summit Wednesday with talks overshadowed by turmoil in China which prompted President Hu Jintao to hurry back to Beijing. The Group of Eight summit brought together leaders from the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and Italy. But in a sign of the shifting balance of power, much of the discussion will be expanded to include emerging powers India, China, Brazil and South Africa. The three day summit, being held in the Italian city of L'Aquila less than 100 days after it was devastated by an earthquake, was to begin at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT). While the focus is largely on the global economy, leaders will thrash out issues such as climate change, world trade and food security as well as North Korea's nuclear programme. German... [read full story]                    

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