G-8 Leaders Reach Compromise on Africa Aid
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer 

GLENEAGLES, Scotland - World leaders, shaken by deadly bombings in
London, shortened the final day of their economic summit on Friday to
allow British Prime Minister Tony Blair to rush back to chair a
government panel dealing with the attacks.

The Group of Eight leaders, struggling amid the attacks to keep to
their meeting's mission, put the finishing touches on a major aid
package for Africa. They failed to overcome stiff resistance from the
Bush administration to launching a more aggressive attack on global
warming.

On Thursday, Blair had left the summit for several hours to confer with
officials at Scotland Yard and calm a nation shocked by the worst
attacks on the capital since World War II. Though he later returned to
the meeting at this exclusive resort about 450 miles from London,
business was not proceeding as planned.

Blair's closing press conference was moved up by an hour so the British
leader could go to London for an emergency meeting of a government
committee that is dealing with the bombings. The nearly simultaneous,
deadly blasts rocked London's subway and tore open a double-decker bus
during Thursday's rush hour.

President Bush, who along with the other leaders gathered here had
expressed strong condemnation for the attacks, was leaving for
Washington earlier than scheduled. A few G-8 events also were canceled.

Also reflecting the London attacks, the series of communiques scheduled
to be issued as the Group of Eight summit drew to a close will include
a beefed-up section on terrorism. Aides to the leaders worked late into
the night on this document, which was described as a progress report on
what their countries are doing in the global war on terrorism.

Within hours of the London bombings, Bush and the other leaders issued
a special joint statement that was read by Blair with his summit
colleagues gathered somberly behind him. It condemned "these barbaric
acts" and vowed, "We are united in our resolve to confront and defeat
this terrorism that is not an attack on one nation, but on all nations
and on civilized people everywhere."

"We will not yield to these people," Bush said later in his own remarks
to reporters — a sentiment echoed by a chorus of other leaders.

"Our collective freedom has come under attack today by those who would
use violence and murder to force extremism upon the world," said
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Despite the changes to the summit schedule, all of the leaders stressed
that the terrorist attacks would not stop them from accomplishing what
they set out to do at the meeting.

Before the final joint statements were issued, the G-8 leaders were
meeting with the leaders of five African nations over ways to provide
greater support for the troubled continent.

The leaders were expected to pledge to double assistance by 2012 to
reduce poverty and fight disease in Africa, the world's poorest
continent.

That meets a key Blair objective, though the pledge doesn't mention the
British leader's hope of increasing aid from the current $25 billion to
$50 billion. Also left out of the pledge of support for Africa will be
Blair's other goal of getting all summit countries to commit to raising
foreign aid to an amount equivalent to 0.7 percent of each country's
economy by 2015.

The United States, which is now giving an amount equal to 0.16 percent
of its economy, objected to the setting a numerical target.

Even less progress was made on Blair's other summit goal — getting
America on board with the other countries to make major reductions in
emissions of the gases that some have blamed for global warming.

According to a draft communique on climate change obtained by The
Associated Press on Friday, the United States, the only G-8 country
that has not ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on global warming, was
successful in rejecting Blair's call for setting specific targets and a
timetable for reducing greenhouse emissions.

The communique was to acknowledge the split between the United States
and the other countries in a section that said "those of us who have
ratified the Kyoto Protocol, welcome its entry into force and will work
to make it a success." That was the document's only mention of the
treaty put into effect this February. Bush contends the Kyoto accord's
curbs on greenhouse emissions would wreck the U.S. economy.

Still, supporters of more aggressive action said that the United States
had agreed to a document that stated "while uncertainty remains in our
understanding of climate science, we know enough to act now." French
President Jacques Chirac called that compromise language a "visible,
real evolution" in the American position.

Environmental groups complained that the statement omitted Blair's
objectives of obtaining commitments to cut greenhouse emissions by
specified levels.