G8 leaders, usually sealed off from their peers at summits, found themselves living side by side at the gathering that ended on Friday — and the change of surroundings served as an icebreaker.
In the absence of any upmarket hotels around the town of L’Aquila, which was devastated by an April earthquake, the leaders found themselves billeted in police barracks and some even had to share accommodation.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev for example took up digs in the same block as his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. The Kremlin chief occupied the first two floors, while Sarkozy’s delegation was on the two upper levels.
“It’s been a good chance for the two to get to know each other before the president goes to France next spring,” said a source in the Russian delegation.
Medvedev himself appeared full of bonhomie at the summit, referring to US President Barack Obama by his first name.
A member of the British delegation said that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown felt as if he were back in a university dormitory while he shared a block with the Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso.
“It was very basic, like a hall of residence,” the source said.
Brown, criticized for his often dour exterior, appeared to be in high spirits throughout much of the last three days and was often seen laughing and joking with his counterparts.
Their host, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, had been at the center of increasingly lurid headlines in the lead-up to the summit.
But Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the 72-year-old had been in great form and had been a generous host.
“As you know, he is in his 70s, I think. You wouldn’t know it and he is remarkably energetic and a wonderful host,” he said. “The only problem I have with Prime Minister Berlusconi is the gifts he gave me are enough to get me into a serious problem with the ethics commissioner so I’m going to make sure I report them all.”
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS