G8 Protesters Call for Action

ANCHOR:
The G8 summit kicks off today in Northern Japan. Leaders from the world's most industrialized democracies will meet to discuss global challenges. Meanwhile, protesters and advocacy groups have already been on the streets for days. Some are protesting against the summit itself, while others are trying to raise awareness of global issues, including AIDS, poverty, and climate change. Here's more:
STORY:
Campaigners for the NGO "Global Call to Action Against Poverty," wore masks of G8 leaders and posed among balloons -- each inscribed with an issue they want G8 leaders to address.
The NGO said it collected over one million wishes from people around the world for urgent action on climate change and food crises, free health services, better education, and aid.
[Kumi Naidoo, Co-chairman, "Global Call to Action Against Poverty"]:
"The reality is, in Africa, every single day 6,000 people die from HIV/AIDS alone, another 7,000 people die from malaria, another two or three thousand die from tuberculosis. If those numbers of deaths were happening in Europe or North America, we are convinced the G8 will long time ago have found the money to address these issues. So we want to see the same kind of urgency."
The performance was displayed in time for the start of an alternative summit where dozens of NGOs and aid groups are gathering in Sapporo.
Meanwhile, at nearby Lake Toya, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States will discuss soaring food and oil prices, along with climate change and African development starting today.

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News & Politics

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