World leaders announced a US$50 billion boost in development aid yesterday, declaring the deal was a message of hope that countered the hatred behind the London bomb attacks.
"We speak today in the shadow of terrorism but it will not obscure what we came here to achieve," British Prime Minister Tony Blair declared, flanked by fellow leaders of the G8 states and seven of their African counterparts.
Blair, who skipped much of Thursday's session to handle the aftermath of the bombs in London, did not give a timetable for reaching the aid target.
Campaigners said they understood the deal was to double overall aid to some US$100 billion by 2010, with about half of that destined for Africa. They had pressed for the boost immediately, saying a delay would cost millions of lives.
"There is no hope in terrorism or any future in it worth living and it is hope that is the alternative to this hatred," Blair said on the steps of the Gleneagles hotel.
"We offer today this contrast with the politics of terror," he said.
"It isn't all everyone wanted but it is progress, real and achievable progress," he said. "It isn't the end of poverty in Africa, but it is the hope that it can be ended."
They agreed to start a dialogue on Nov. 1 with the major emerging economies on how to slow down and later reverse the rise in greenhouse gases which cause global warming.
Environmental groups have criticized their accord as too vague to pose a serious challenge to climate change.
The leaders pledged to end farm-export aid but set no deadline. They also called for renewed efforts to conclude a new phase of world trade liberalization by the end of next year.
Blair had been determined that his twin priorities of action on global warming and African poverty would not be wrecked by the London bombings.
But he brought forward his closing news conference by one hour yesterday to allow him to head back to London in the early afternoon and take charge of the crisis.
Blair also announced a US$3 billion aid deal for the Palestinian Authority -- a pledge he said would allow "two states, Israel and Palestine, two peoples and two religions [to] live side by side in peace."
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
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