G8 leaders 'fiddling' says Oxfam (Reuters)

Jul 06 - G8 leaders who will meet in Italy are fiddling like the ancient Roman emperor Nero while Africa is 'burning', global development group Oxfam says.

Activists dressed in togas with caricature heads of the G8 leaders posed as ancient Romans by the old Circus Maximus hippodrome to push their viewpoint.

Oxfam fears that millions of people will die of malnutrition in Africa if aid money the G8 has promised is not delivered.

The Group of Eight rich nations is expected to back a U.S. proposal for a more co-ordinated approach to food aid and development, a top U.S. official said on Friday.

The G8 summit will take place from Wednesday (July 8) to Friday (July 10) in L'Aquila, the town hit by an earthquake last April.

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News & Politics

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• G8
• Italy
• 2009
• L'Aquila