Afghan men take cover during a dusty day in Kabul May 17, 2011Reuters
Afghan men take cover during a dusty day in Kabul May 17, 2011ReutersA group of weapons, ammunition and a hand grenade are displayed at a news conference at City Hall in New York, May 12, 2011, after they were confiscated during the arrest of two North African-born men in connection with a terror plot targeting New York City Synagogues.ReutersActivists from Jubilee South-Asia/Pacific Movement on Debt and Development (JSAPMDD) shout slogan near a banner during a demonstration in front of the United Nations building, the venue of climate talks, in Bangkok April 3, 2011, to protest against what they say was a domination of the talks by the U.S. and evading their responsibility for causing the climate crisis.ReutersMembers of the All India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) hold placards in New Delhi May 3, 2011, during a pro-U.S. rally as they celebrate the killing of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was killed in a U.S. special forces assault on a Pakistani compound, then quickly buried at sea, in a dramatic end to the long manhunt for the al Qaeda leader who had been the guiding star of global terrorism.ReutersA man gestures during a demonstration in Tahrir Square in Cairo May 20, 2011. Hundreds of Egyptians took to the streets on Friday to re-energize demands for reform that they say have not yet been fulfilled and to protest the delay of the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak and his relativesReutersFukushima meltdownjsparks debate in the United States over its own programmesReutersPower-generating windmill turbines form a wind farm on Backbone Mountain near Thomas, West Virginia August 28, 2006. While growth in ethanol use as an alternative fuel has had a big impact on rural America, wind power has also been growing steadily for the past three years, with wind farms like this one springing up all over the windy expanse of the Great Plains and beyond.reutersAfrica flags are blown in the wind as leaders arrive in Rwanda's capital, Kigali for the opening meeting for New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), February 13, 2004.Reuters
Created as part of a French initiative to address the first oil crisis in 1975, the G8 is an informal group of advanced economies, which meets once a year at a Summit of Heads of State and Government.
G8 members include France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada. Originally made up of six members at its creation, Canada was incorporated in 1976, and so was Russia in 1998. G8 members represent 15% of world population, 65% of GDP and two thirds of international trade.
The members of the G8 seek to identify measures they can take together, especially those concerning the political issues of security and globalisation. However, the G8 is not an international institution and does not take binding measures.
Over the past 30 years, G8 preoccupations have mainly focused on economy, development, peace and security, the environment and climate change. However in the last two years the G8 has been taking a new direction by deciding to focus on geopolitical and security issues, the partnership with Africa exploring political and economic dimensions, and on the subjects of common interest to the G8 countries facing specific challenges.
