21 September 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: Richard Armitage
• Source: Daily Yomiuri

In July, world leaders met in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, for the 34th Group of Eight summit. In advance of this meeting, the foreign ministers of the participating countries met in Kyoto to discuss major regional issues, among them Afghanistan. The outcome of that discussion was a Foreign Ministers’ Statement that renewed the G-8’s commitment to stability and reconstruction in Afghanistan.

In diplomatic circles, this statement was not a groundbreaker, but it did reaffirm Afghanistan as a focus of the world’s industrialized nations, placing it among the most important challenges faced by the international community. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Terrorism, Regional Security

8 September 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Russia & CIS Military Newswire

MOSCOW. Sept 8 (Interfax-AVN) - Moscow is satisfied with the outcomes of a special UN session addressing Russia’s initiative on strengthening antiterrorist partnership between governments and businesses, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko told Interfax on Saturday.

The meeting addressing the presentation of results and plans for the development of an international initiative of antiterrorist partnership between governments and businesses, which Russia came up with while holding the rotating presidency of the G8 in 2006, took place on Friday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly review session dealing with the UN global counter-terrorist strategy, Yakovenko said. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Terrorism

16 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Xinhua News Agency

HAVANA (Xinhua) — Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro has censured the lack of more environmental compromise from the Group of Eight (G8) nations at their recent summit in Hokkaido, Japan.

At the summit, the world’s most industrialized countries pledged to halve greenhouse gas emissions worldwide by 2050. However, Castro expressed doubts on whether a 42-year plan would finally be realized. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Climate Change, Terrorism

14 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Bioterrorism Week

Research findings, ‘A multi-data source surveillance system to detect a bioterrorism attack during the G8 Summit in Scotland,’ are discussed in a new report. According to recent research published in the journal Epidemiology and Infection, “In 18 weeks, Health Protection Scotland (HPS) deployed a syndromic surveillance system to early-detect natural or intentional disease outbreaks during the G8 Summit 2005 at Gleneagles, Scotland. The system integrated clinical and non-clinical datasets.” (more…)

Filed by Sarah Cale under Terrorism

11 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Nikkei Report

During Tuesday’s working dinner at the Group of Eight summit at the Lake Toya resort in Hokkaido, which featured dishes prepared with fresh fish caught off Hokkaido as well as discussions on political issues, the leaders of the eight most powerful nations plunged into heated debate over the issue of nuclear proliferation. (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Climate Change, Energy and Nuclear Safety, Terrorism, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD

10 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Edmonton Journal

The G8 nations agree the Afghanistan war has reached a pivotal stage that will require a redoubling of efforts to improve security, governance and development over the next two years, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday.
(more…)

Filed by Anita Li under Development, Terrorism, Regional Security, Democratization and Human Rights

9 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

Toyako, Japan (Kyodo) - The following is the full text of the chair’s summary released Wednesday by Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda after the three-day Group of Eight summit was wrapped up.

Chair’s Summary Hokkaido Toyako, July 9, 2008 We met at Hokkaido Toyako to address key challenges we face today. We adopted the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Leaders Declaration and three independent statements on Global Food Security, Counter-Terrorism and Zimbabwe. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, Multilateral Trade, Development, Climate Change, Health and Infectious Disease, Terrorism, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD, Democratization and Human Rights

9 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: Wang Jingzhong and Bao Erwen
• Source: Xinhua News Agency

TOYAKO, Japan (Xinhua) — In spite of demonstrating their resolve to tackle the world’s most pressing issues by releasing a series of statements, the Group of Eight (G8) once again stopped short of pledging immediate and concrete action instead of words, to the disappointment of many.

While it is a positive sign the leaders are hammering home their determination to tackle the issues, the G8 nations, accounting for nearly 60 percent of the world economy, should turn their words into action, analysts say. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Global Financial Crises, Climate Change, Terrorism, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD

9 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: Miya Tanaka
• Source: Kyodo News

TOYAKO, Japan — Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Wednesday ruled out immediately lifting Japan’s sanctions against North Korea when he met Chinese President Hu Jintao, saying Pyongyang has not taken concrete actions to fulfill its promise to reinvestigate its past abductions of Japanese nationals, according to Japanese officials. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Terrorism, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD

9 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: All Africa

(allAfrica.com/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) — Russia is opposing efforts by the United States to get the United Nations Security Council to impose targeted sanctions against Zimbabwean leaders responsible for political violence.

Although the leaders of the industrial world - including Russia - issued a statement in Japan on Tuesday calling for “financial and other measures against those individuals responsible for violence,” the Russian permanent representative at the UN, Vitaly Churkin, told reporters in New York that “the statement… does not refer to the Security Council.” (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Terrorism, Regional Security, Democratization and Human Rights

8 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: States News Service

The following information was released by the White House:

We, the leaders of the G8, condemn in the strongest terms all acts of terrorism, and commit ourselves to take every possible measure to counter this threat to the international community. We have taken cooperative actions against terrorism, particularly in successive G8 Summits since 2001, including strengthening the role of the United Nations, improving information sharing, and combating the financing of terrorism, strengthening the security of land, sea, and air transport, undertaking measures for better control of Man-Portable Air Defense Systems, and launching the Secure and Facilitated International Travel Initiative. Still, terrorism remains one of the most serious threats affecting all countries and peoples in the world. (more…)

Filed by Ozlem Yucel under Terrorism

8 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Kyodo News

Leaders of the Group of Eight nations issued a statement Tuesday condemning all kinds of terrorism and reaffirmed their commitments to counter terrorist threats.

The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States also said they will step up measures to deal with what they call radicalized terrorists in the statement released on the second day of the G-8 summit in Hokkaido. (more…)

Filed by Ozlem Yucel under Terrorism

7 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Inter Press Service

TOYAKO, Japan, Jul. 5, 2008 (IPS/GIN) - When the leaders of seven western industrial democracies and Russia gather for their meetings July 7-9 in Toyako on the northern island of Hokkaido, a mountain of wishes from a multitude of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) around the world will have piled up before them. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Other, Global Financial Crises, Climate Change, Terrorism, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

7 July 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: Sheryl Gay Stolberg
• Source: International Herald Tribune

RUSUTSU, Japan — President George W. Bush arrived on the lush and mountainous northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on Sunday for a gathering of world leaders that is to focus on climate change, soaring oil and gas prices and aid to Africa. But first, he defended his decision to remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism - a decision that has touched a nerve here because of the North’s past abductions of Japanese citizens. (more…)

Filed by Sarah Cale under Other, Terrorism

27 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: Kiyomi Arai
• Source: Daily Yomiuri

KYOTO–Foreign ministers of the Group of Eight nations issued a joint statement here on Afghanistan on Thursday, pledging to increase aid and reform activities in areas near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which have seen surging violence by terrorist groups. (more…)

Filed by Sarah Cale under Terrorism, Regional Security, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

26 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Jiji Press English News Service

Kyoto, June 26 (Jiji Press)–The foreign ministers from the Group of Eight major nations on Thursday reconfirmed their cooperation in supporting the postwar reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is still halfway toward achieving long-term stability, the ministers said in a statement adopted at the first-day session of their two-day meeting in this western Japan city. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Terrorism, Arms Control, Proliferation and WMD, Regional Security

26 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Associated Press Newswires

KYOTO, Japan (AP) - Foreign ministers from wealthy nations urged Afghanistan’s neighbors Thursday to play “a constructive role” in stabilizing the war-wracked nation and help it overcome the challenges of terrorism, insecurity and drug production.

A joint statement on Afghanistan, issued after a dinner opening a two-day meeting of ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations, also pledged a long-term commitment to support Kabul and urged the government to assume greater responsibility for its own security. (more…)

Filed by Amadeus Domaradzki under Terrorism, Regional Security

20 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Business Times Singapore

IT WAS a long goodbye, complete with ceremonial smiles and handshakes, long speeches and even longer communiques hailing transatlantic friendship. (more…)

Filed by Sarah Cale under Multilateral Trade, Climate Change, Terrorism

16 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies

Japan and the other Group of Eight nations will aim to send a strong message when their foreign ministers meet in Kyoto next week for progress on Afghan reconstruction, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues, the Middle East peace process and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Monday.

‘’The G-8 foreign ministers’ meeting will be significant in that the ministers will have a frank exchange of opinions and send out a strong message on pressing regional issues that the international community should promptly address,'’ Komura said in a speech at a reception for the Group of Eight News Agencies Summit in Tokyo. (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Energy and Nuclear Safety, Terrorism, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

16 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Jiji Press English News Service

Foreign ministers from the Group of Eight developed countries will pledge to beef up aid to Afghanistan when they meet in Kyoto next week, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday.

The G-8 ministers will issue a statement on the topic when they get together for a two-day meeting starting June 26, the ministry said. (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Energy and Nuclear Safety, Terrorism, Regional Security

16 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: Janice Tang
• Source: Kyodo News

Japan and the other Group of Eight nations will aim to send a strong message when their foreign ministers meet in Kyoto next week for progress on Afghan reconstruction, the North Korean and Iranian nuclear issues, the Middle East peace process and the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Monday. (more…)

Filed by Marianne Madeline Lau under Energy and Nuclear Safety, Terrorism, Regional Security, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

13 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: BBC Monitoring Asia Pacific

Tokyo, June 12 - Japan’s public security chief Shinya Izumi called for increased cooperation as Group of Eight justice and home affairs ministers began full talks Thursday in Tokyo on security issues, including combating terrorism and crime involving the abuse of personal information.

The G-8 countries should “share a common understanding of the current situation and announce timely countermeasures” against international terrorism and transnational organized crime, the Japanese National Public Safety Commission chairman said in an opening speech. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Transnational Crime, Terrorism, Regional Security

13 June 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: Agence France Presse

Japan’s public security chief called on the world’s major powers Thursday to help developing countries plug legal “loopholes” benefiting international terrorism and organised crime.

“To shut loopholes in international terrorism and elsewhere, it is important to make a concrete approach to countries which lag behind in laying the groundwork for legal systems,” said Shinya Izumi, head of Japan’s National Public Safety Commission. (more…)

Filed by Vanmala Subramaniam under Transnational Crime, Terrorism, Regional Security, Conflict Prevention and Human Security

20 March 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Author: STEVEN LEE MYERS
• Source: The New York Times

President Bush used the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq on Wednesday to make the case for persevering in a conflict that could have many more anniversaries. Democrats accused him of lacking a strategy to win and withdraw.

Mr. Bush, speaking before members of the armed forces and defense officials at the Pentagon, said in his frankest acknowledgment yet that the costs of the war, in lives and money, had been higher and longer lasting than he had anticipated.

But he remained unwavering in his insistence that the invasion of Iraq, which began in March 2003, had made the world better and the United States safer.

(more…)

Filed by Tina Park under Terrorism

19 March 2008
For Personal Use Only

• Source: State News Service

Broad endorsement emerged in an open Security Council debate today of the revised organizational plan for the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) and renewal of its mandate, along with a deepening understanding that the most pressing need in combating terrorism was less to ensure that countries understood the challenge and more to ensure they had the capacity to carry out the fight. (more…)

Filed by Nicole Cargill under Terrorism