AS TONY BLAIR MOURNS, G-8 DOUBLES AID TO AFRICA

The Chairman of the African Union (AU), President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria is glad and grateful as he holds hands and rubs shoulders with President George W. Bush of the United States of America at the end of the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.

AS TONY BLAIR MOURNS, G-8 DOUBLES AID TO AFRICA.

Tony Blair is a great leader and one of the best Prime Ministers of Britain since Sir Winston Churchill.

He was having a glorious time as the host of the crucial meeting of the G-8 in Gleneagles, Scotland, and for the historic achievement of London beating archrivals Paris and New York to win the bid to host the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. He was all smiles until...suddenly the most unexpected turn of events in the history of London since the World War Two struck him full blast in the face as catastrophic bomb explosions shook London! The terrorists have attacked the capital of Britain!

The shocking news echoed all over the world. The breaking news made headlines on the CNN, BBC, SKY and on other TV channels, newspapers, magazines, web sites and other media. The joy of Londoners who were celebrating their Olympic hosting triumph was turned to grief. Tony Blair rushed from Gleneagles to London to face the tragedy and to address the nation, to comfort the bereaved and the survivors and to make sure that the perpetrators of this horrible and terrible crime are found and brought to justice. He was shuddered, but was not defeated by the enemies of progress who wanted to truncate the G-8 Summit and batter the international image of Great Britain; to make the whole world fear that London will not be safe for the 2012 Summer Olympics. But, they failed to reckon with the brave heart of Tony Blair and the heroic spirit of Great Britain that Hitler and his Nazis couldn't defeat, even when they bombed the whole of London in the blitz?

Tony Blair raised up his head and with his chin up, he returned to Gleneagles and continued with the leadership of the G-8 to secure their resolution for debt relief and debt cancellation for Africa and also to double their Aid to Africa. No doubt, Tony Blair is the heroic stuff great leaders are made of.

Below is the Washington Post report on the success of the G-8 Summit that favoured Africa more than ever before.

African Aid Is Doubled By G-8


Anti-Terror Solidarity Helps Blair Win Deal


By Jim VandeHei and Paul Blustein
Washington Post Staff WritersSaturday, July 9, 2005; Page A01


GLENEAGLES, Scotland, July 8 -- President Bush and the leaders of seven other major industrialized nations pledged Friday to double the amount of aid for Africa in five years and substantially raise it for other poor countries, capping a summit conducted in what British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the "shadow of terrorism."
Blair failed to convince Bush to embrace mandatory caps on greenhouse gas emissions, and the summit issued instead a watered-down pledge to take other steps to combat global warming, such as the development of new technologies. World leaders will meet Nov. 1 to discuss new ways to reduce the pollutants blamed for slowly rising temperatures, Blair announced. The aid accord was a victory for Blair, the summit's host, who has made helping Africa a priority of his government. Some activists complained that the plan to increase aid for Africa to $50 billion a year by 2010 was too slow, but Blair won praise from the Irish rock star Bono and other celebrities who staged concerts in 10 cities around the world last weekend to pressure summit participants on behalf of the world's poor.

The summit, which brought together leaders of the Group of Eight countries and other heads of government, ended shortly before noon Friday so that Blair could return to London, where bomb attacks killed at least 49 people Thursday.
Before leaving, Blair declared that the "hope" and "humanity" behind the aid deal sent a powerful and timely message. "The clear signal we have sent on Africa," he said, "stands in stark contrast to the politics of terror."

The attacks created a spirit of solidarity among the G-8 leaders that encouraged compromise on aid for Africa and on how to promote peace in the Middle East.
The group, which is made up of the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia promised to spend up to $3 billion a year for the next three years to help build an independent Palestinian state.

For completing the Africa package, they were thanked by Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who attended Friday. He hailed "their resolve not to be diverted by these terrorist acts."

The leaders portrayed their pledges of new aid as both humanitarian and anti-terrorist, because the assistance would help prevent the rise of groups like al Qaeda in impoverished nations. They promised that by 2010, overall aid to poor nations, now about $80 billion a year, would rise by $50 billion a year, with half of the increase going to Africa.

Although much of that increase consisted of pledges made in earlier initiatives, it got an unexpected boost from Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who promised $10 billion in new funding over five years.

In addition, the leaders endorsed a deal struck by their finance ministers last month to forgive the debts owed to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank by 18 poor countries, 14 of them African.

They also pledged to set a date for ending the billions in subsidies for agricultural exports, reiterating a commitment previously made at World Trade Organization meetings. Such subsidies are widely blamed for lowering the prices of products sold by poor countries on world markets.

"It is in the nature of politics that you do not achieve absolutely everything you want to achieve," said Blair, who acknowledged that he had wanted the G-8 to set a date for ending farm subsidies rather than just promising to do so. "We do not simply by this communiqué make poverty history," he said. "But we do show how it can be done. And we do signify the political will to do it."

Blair noted that the rich countries now had to ensure that the money pledged was actually disbursed, and that Africans had to use the funds wisely: "In the end it is only vibrant African leadership, capable of giving good governance to its people, that will ultimately make the difference." Some aid advocates criticized the accords as too modest. "If the $50 billion increase had kicked in immediately, it could have lifted 300 million people out of poverty in the next five years," said Jo Lead beater, of Oxfam. Kumi Naidoo of Global Call to Action Against Poverty agreed: "The promise to deliver by 2010 is like waiting five years before responding to the tsunami."

But Bono and fellow Irish activist musician, Bob Geldof, the organizer of the “Live 8” concerts, rejected such criticism.
"Doubling aid to Africa has not been easy. I'm very proud to report that these figures are extremely meaningful," Bono told reporters. Thanks to additional funding for malaria prevention, he said, "six hundred thousand Africans, mostly children, will remember this summit at Gleneagles -- because they'll be around to remember it."
"Today, celebrate," Geldof, said, noting that as many as 8 million lives may be saved by the G-8's additional commitment to provide funding for treating all HIV/AIDS victims by 2010.

The U.S. share of the increases promised Friday was about $4.5 billion. Although the Bush administration has also pledged to double aid to Africa, most of that money represents commitments previously made. Washington did not add new money at Gleneagles. The U.S. contribution comes to about 20 percent of the pledged increase in aid for Africa and a smaller proportion of total aid for the continent.

Global warming emerged as the most contentious issue of the three-day talks. Bush made it clear before, during and after the summit that the United States was opposed to the caps on greenhouse gas emissions contained in the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, which was ratified by all G-8 countries except the United States.

That forced Blair and others to fight instead for agreement that the earth is warming, humans are partly to blame and that the United States must cooperate with the rest of the world to reduce the pollution believed to contribute to global warming.
While the final climate statement was much more tentative than earlier drafts, American and European officials hailed the fact the leaders agreed on the need for action. James L. Connaughton, Bush's top environment adviser, said the joint communiqué showed that the major industrialized nations had "agreed to the basic portfolio of what we need to do . . .. We have found a way to strike common ground."
A British official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that as recently as June the Europeans despaired of reaching an agreement with the Americans. "We think we advanced our objective of getting the Americans and the Europeans back on the same page in terms of climate," the official said, adding that coming months would show whether cuts in gas emissions actually occurred.

Nicole St. Clair, a spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, described the communiqué as "a stalemate" on climate change. But she said it established an important baseline for future negotiations. "It's clear that the administration can no longer turn back the clock on the science or slow the desire for real action to stop the pollution," she said.

Staff writer Juliet Eilperin in Washington contributed to this report.

SCARLET TEARS FLOW IN LONDON

One of the fortunate survivors weeps.

Scarlet Tears Flow in London

The breaking news is heart breaking.
Millions of Londoners are mourning.
They will continue to harrow in sorrow till tomorrow.
The Queen of England is in sorrow.
Who will comfort the mother who has lost over forty of her children?
Who will comfort the bereaved brethren?

The shocking news of the bomb explosions tore the hearts of millions all over the world as the bad news spread throughout the news channels from the UK to the rest of the world.

The death toll has risen to over 40 people dead and over 700 others are injured and many of them are in critical conditions of emergency. Scores have suffered severe burns from the blasts on the bus and in the subway commuters trains. Condolences are being sent in from all over the world and only God knows how the bereaved are feeling right now. Will they be able to sleep tonight? And will the survivors be able to live without having the nightmares of the horrors of the tragedy?

How could the perpetrators of these horrific acts of terrorism be so ruthless to wreck the lives of innocent commuters? What could have provoked them to cause such a catastrophic havoc in London at such a time as this when there was overwhelming excitement in London as the Londoners were overjoyed since they heard the good news of winning the hosting rights to the 2012 Olympic Games that was only announced less than twenty-four hours ago by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Singapore. And just as the Prime Minister, Tony Blair was doing his best as the host of the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland. How could these harbingers of doom be so callous and diabolical?

They are warning us that London will not be safe for the 2012 Olympic Games? That our lives are in danger of their sudden destructive attacks? And that the G-8 cannot help or save us from their own evil agenda?

But, will they escape from the long arms of justice or from the wrath of nemesis? Surely, the blood-thirsty perpetrators of these crimes against humanity will not go unpunished.

The notoriety and monstrosity of terrorism have become the worst nightmares of our generation. And we all live in fear and trembling with our hearts in our mouths, gaping and gasping for breath as we now live with the recurrent horrors of these terrors of the earth. Because, it is now very precarious to live in the cities and towns of America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and even down under in Australia. Nowhere is safe as we live like condemned people in uncertainty in a perpetual state of insecurity. Living in fear of tomorrow.

AS THE G-8 BRAINSTORM IN SCOTLAND, LONDON EXPLODES!

As The G-8 brainstorm in Scotland, London explodes.

Tony Blair was busy hosting his fellow world leaders and power brokers at the G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, when six catastrophic explosions just rocked London this morning with some deaths and scores of wounded people. And I saw Tony Blair looking traumatized and downcast as he made his first public address on the sudden tragedy of unexpected terrorist attacks in his capital. When millions of Londoners are still elated in the euphoria of their Olympic triumph as only yesterday London beat archrivals Paris and New York to win the hosting rights to the 2012 Olympic Games. And Londoners were still celebrating and jubilating in ecstasy before the explosions erupted on one of the double-decker buses and also underground at five different places in the tube. Millions of Londoners are gaping, moping and gasping for breath in the trauma of the explosions. Most of them are in fear and trembling. Because, the gory scenes they see happening in Iraq and the Middle East everyday as they are shown on TV and published in the newsreports are now happening to them before their very eyes! Once the nightmares of terrorist attacks begin, nobody knows when it will end. Tony Blair already pointed accusing fingers at the terrorists and an 'Al-Qaeda' group has claimed responsibility for the London attacks

The explosions have caused the disruptions of communications and transportations in London and the rest of the UK. And these would definitely affect the other major cities in the world as flights to and from London are now disrupted and the security alert that residents of London should not move about outdoors until further notice will do collateral damages to commercial activates and have adverse impact on the London Stock Exchange and related economies. Billions of pounds would have been lost as at present.

Already, the tragedy has diverted the attention of the G-8. So, the emergency at hand is what they will be discussing. Prime Minister Tony Blair has returned to Number 10, Downing Street to deal with the emergency and address the nation.

AS AFRICA PRICKS THE HEART OF G-8, LONDON EXPLODES

chichi316 - 8:05 AM ET July 7, 2005 (#3476 of 3476)

I JUST GOT TIRED OF TOO MUCH TALK ON AFRICA

Yes. I just got tired of too much talk on Africa. We have been through this road before. I

saw President Obasanjo of Nigeria on the CNN yesterday, speaking on the G-8, DEBT RELIEF AND ALL THE POLITICS OF WESTERN ECONOMICS. And there is nothing new on the agenda of the G-8.

As the leaders of the G-8 were busy brainstorming over the critical issues on their agenda, on increasing Aid to Africa and global industrial hazards, and also probably planning to play golf later, six catastrophic explosions just rocked London this morning with some deaths and scores of wounded people. When millions of Londoners are still elated in their Olympic Games' euphoria as London was still jubilating over beating Paris and other leading capitals in the world to win the rights to host the 2012 Olympic Games and millions of Londoners are still celebrating the Live 8 concerts launched by their celebrated rock music icon, Sir Bob Geldof, the crusader of humanitarian love for Africa. Then, suddenly, the unexpected happened as these shocking explosions erupted in their faces, before their very eyes and they are now gaping, moping and gasping for breath in fear and trembling. And I know that millions of people in Africa will not sleep well tonight, because the Western Union they have expected to be sent from their relatives in London today would be delayed, because of the disruptions in means of communications and transportations in London and the rest of the UK. Hundreds of other Africans will be cursing, gnashing their teeth and swearing at Osama Bin Laden and his fringe elements of terrorists and extremists for daring to jeopardize their dreams to migrate to London and the rest of the UK, as the flights to Heathrow could be delayed or suspended until further notice and the various offices of the British High Commission in different countries in Africa would probably be closed to all the thousands of the British Visa applicants.

Already, the tragedy has diverted the attention of the G-8. So, the emergency at hand is what they will be facing. Tony Blair has already pointed accusing fingers at the primary suspects, the terrorists and extremists. And he has left the venue of the G-8 meeting in Scotland and returned to London to address the emergency. Africa can wait. And I agree with them.

If African leaders still want to be spoon-fed by the G-8 and other leading nations, Africa will never grow up.

Our leaders make Africans look like a retarded people.
Who says Africa is at risk?
The poorest places on earth are not even in Africa and I challenge anyone to find out. The poorest places on earth are in Asia and not in Africa. We must reject this stigma of Africa as a poor, pathetic and miserable continent and remove the toga of poverty they have put on Africa and decide today to take up the mantle of a new Africa rising from the horizon of the new dawn.

Africa will no longer bear the stigma of the accursed.
Africa will now be known a the continent of the blessed and favoured.

THE MOST WANTED TERRORIST IN AFRICA IS IN NIGERIA

This criminal in dark goggles is wanted for his horrible and terrible crimes against humanity.


Why is President Olusegun Obasanjo protecting the most wanted terrorist in Africa, Charles Taylor of Liberia?

President Obasanjo must give up Charles Taylor to face trial for his crimes against humanity.

The criminal is even unrepentant.


Bloody past is catching up with Liberian despot

By David Blair in Calabar
(Filed: 02/07/2005)

After impoverishing his country, killing thousands and stealing a fortune, Africa's most notorious fallen tyrant is facing a rising clamour for him to face justice.
Charles Taylor, the deposed president of Liberia, benefits from asylum in Nigeria despite being the subject of an Interpol arrest warrant and an indictment on 17 counts of war crimes.

Charles Taylor: Africa's most prominent fugitive
A life steeped in bloodshed has not prevented Taylor from enjoying Nigeria's official hospitality and a grace-and-favour residence in a government lodge in the city of Calabar.

Yet his immunity may be about to end. Yesterday, 300 human rights groups, including Amnesty International, urged Nigeria to surrender Taylor for a war crimes trial.

Kolawole Olaniyan, the director of Amnesty's Africa programme, said this would "not only bring justice to the countless victims of Charles Taylor and their families" but combat the "disastrous cycle of impunity in West Africa".
Nigeria's government prizes its reputation. President Olusegun Obasanjo will address the G8 summit in Gleneagles next week, one of a few African leaders granted this favour.

Unless he surrenders Taylor, Mr Obasanjo will find himself pledging "good governance" while harbouring Africa's most prominent fugitive.

Taylor, a lay preacher, led a brutal guerrilla army that plunged Liberia into bloody turmoil. When a BBC interviewer suggested he was a murderer, he replied: "Jesus Christ was accused of being a murderer in his time."

Taylor was elected president in 1997 after telling Liberians that if he lost the poll, he would go back to war and resume the killing. His rallies echoed to the chant: "He killed my Ma, he killed my Pa, he gets my vote."

Taylor stays in a crumbling lodge with security service agents loitering outside.
"When you meet Taylor, he does not come across as a man who has done all these bad things," said one agent. "But he must be pleasant because of his situation here."
When Mr Obasanjo granted asylum, he was trying to avoid the bloodshed that would have resulted from a full-scale rebel assault on Liberia's capital, Monrovia. But asylum came on condition that he avoided politics.

Taylor, 57, appears to have broken this deal and is accused of "training and arming a small but potent force that poses a significant threat to West African stability".
Last week, the UN Security Council passed a British-sponsored resolution saying he was "undermining peace and stability in Liberia".

Sir Emyr Jones Parry, Britain's UN Ambassador, said: "Taylor cannot avoid coming to justice and his impunity will have to end. The only question is how we do it."