Swan to take international stage at G20

Who needs Canada when Canberra calls
Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaks with Defence Chief Angus Houston. Photo: Glen McCurtayne WHILE Julia Gillard was bunkered down in Canberra yesterday on day three of her Prime ministership, Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan was half a world away, preparing to stand in for his boss at the G20. Ms Gillard was briefed by Defence Force chief Angus Houston at Parliament House about Australia's overseas deployments as Mr Swan was settling into Toronto, where the leaders of the world's...

Correction: G20 countries to tame debt at their own pace
Toronto (Reuters) - World leaders moved away on Saturday from lockstep policy pledges to secure Economic Recovery, leaving countries leeway to chart their own courses in taming Government Debt and clamping down on banks to prevent another Financial Crisis. The Group of 20 leaders of the World's richest and emerging nations, holding a two-day summit in Toronto, neared Agreement on broad principles to halve their Budget Deficits within three years and toughen bank capital requirements, according...

G-20 summit starts amid concerns over tighter fiscal conditions+
Toronto, June 26 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Leaders from the Group of 20 advanced and major developing economies started their two-day meeting Saturday in Toronto amid growing concerns over how they could achieve a balance between Economic Stimulus and fiscal discipline. The G-20 leaders are likely to confirm that the global Economic Recovery is still fragile, with some members asking others not to withdraw prematurely the emergency policies introduced since the Financial Crisis in 2008. But...

World leaders seek common ground on crises
Toronto (AP) - At odds over how to strengthen the Global Recovery, top world leaders found common ground on Foreign Policy Saturday, condmening North Korea for the alleged sinking of a South Korean warship and endorsing a five-year exit timetable for Afghanistan In a joint statement, the leading eight industrial democracies also criticized both Iran and North Korea for continuing their nuclear march and called on both to heed existing United Nations resolutions. The statement on the March...

U.S. seeks China's support over N. Korea's ship sinking+
Toronto, June 26 (AP) - (Kyodo)—U.S. President Barack Obama asked for China's support over the sinking of a South Korean warship, for which North Korea has been blamed, when he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Toronto. Obama called for China's cooperation in seeking a resolution denouncing North Korea at the U.N. Security Council, U.S. officials said. China, one of the five Veto-holding permanent members in the Security...

U.S. seeks China's support over N. Korea's ship sinking+
Toronto, June 26 (AP) - (Kyodo)—U.S. President Barack Obama asked for China's support over the sinking of a South Korean warship, for which North Korea has been blamed, when he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao on Saturday on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Toronto. Obama called for China's cooperation in seeking a resolution denouncing North Korea at the U.N. Security Council, U.S. officials said. China, one of the five Veto-holding permanent members in the Security...

Leaders blast North Korea on warship sinking (AP)
Toronto – Briefly putting aside deep Economic differences, top world leaders on Saturday condemned North Korea for the alleged sinking of a South Korean warship , set a five-year exit timeline for Afghanistan and said the standoff in Gaza was "not sustainable and must be changed." In a joint statement, the leading eight industrial democracies also criticized both Iran and North Korea for continuing their nuclear march and called on both to heed existing United Nations...

Violence At G20 Summit In Toronto
While world leaders met to discuss everything other than Global economics at the G20 Summit in Toronto, Protesters turned violent. The usual crowd of Marxists, Socialists, Communists and Progressives assaulted Police, trashed downtown stores and set Police cars on fire. Protesting against globalism, Climate Change, Capitalism and religion, rioters clashed with Police, often throwing firecrackers and other objects. One group wearing all black, including masks, broke off from the main body at...

Protests turn violent: storefronts smashed, police cars set ablaze
T housands of Protesters took over the streets of downtown Toronto on Saturday as isolated groups of demonstrators burned Police Cars, smashed windows and confronted Riot Police. Black-clad Protesters with bandanas covering their faces, mingling with many others in regular clothing, moved around the city centre, bringing it to a virtual standstill. Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told a news Conference Saturday evening that his officers fought back with Tear Gas and have arrested at least 103...

Newstalgia World Week - June 21-26, 2010
So much for Summer being the time of doldrums. While the Western Hemisphere (or at least the northern part of it) was preoccupied with the firing of Gen. McChrystal and the ongoing catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, the rest of the world was quietly going about their own dramas. The days long siege in Jamaica over the capture of Drug Lord Christopher Coke finally came to an end. Australia elected it's first Female Prime Minister. The G20 Summit got off to it's usual start (even though it's in...

2ND LD: Japan, S. Korea agree to work closely over N. Korea ship sinking+
sinking+ (AP) - Toronto, June 26 (Kyodo)—(EDS: RECASTING WITH NEW INFO) Japan and South Korea agreed Saturday to continue their cooperation in dealing with North Korea at the U.N. Security Council over the sinking of a South Korean warship, allegedly by a North Korea torpedo, when their leaders met on the fringes of a Group of 20 summit meeting, a Japanese official said. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak reached an agreement that Tokyo and...

2ND LD: Japan, S. Korea agree to work closely over N. Korea ship sinking+
sinking+ (AP) - Toronto, June 26 (Kyodo)—(EDS: RECASTING WITH NEW INFO) Japan and South Korea agreed Saturday to continue their cooperation in dealing with North Korea at the U.N. Security Council over the sinking of a South Korean warship, allegedly by a North Korea torpedo, when their leaders met on the fringes of a Group of 20 summit meeting, a Japanese official said. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak reached an agreement that Tokyo and...

Leaders blast North Korea on warship sinking
Toronto (AP) - Briefly putting aside deep Economic differences, top world leaders on Saturday condemned North Korea for the alleged sinking of a South Korean warship, set a five-year exit timeline for Afghanistan and said the standoff in Gaza was "not sustainable and must be changed." In a joint statement, the leading eight industrial democracies also criticized both Iran and North Korea for continuing their nuclear march and called on both to heed existing United Nations resolutions.F The...

Conference Call Briefing by Ben Rhodes, Mike Froman, Ambassador Jeff Bader, and Danny Russel
6:10 P.M. EDT        MR. HAMMER:   Thank you, everybody, for holding on.  I know that you’ve had to wait a little bit.  But we have with us for this briefing -- which will now be on the record.  Again, it’s on the record.  We have Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications; Mike Froman, Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics -- and of course, you all know him as our stellar...

China vows not to bow to outside pressure on currency reform
Toronto — China vowed Saturday not to bow to outside pressure to make more changes to its currency policy, which some U.S. officials and experts say is crucial to a global Economic Recovery. Senior Chinese officials warned at a summit of the Group of 20 leading economies that they will follow their own Economic needs in considering currency reform. The value of the yuan, or Renminbi, is a major irritant in Chinese relations with the United States. China's comments came ahead of a meeting...

Most G20 leaders want to cut deficits
Toronto, June 26 (UPI) -- Most leaders emphasized Deficit reduction as the Group of 20 summit opened Saturday in Toronto, while President Barack Obama pushed for Stimulus spending. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper proposed a resolution that would cut Deficits in half by 2013, The New York Times reported. He got enthusiastic support from his British counterpart, David Cameron . "Those countries that have big Deficit problems like ours have to take action in order to keep that level of...

Spectators in Body Armor
I may have to revise my old line about the British Police being " the most monumentally useless in the developed world ". For the G20 summit, the Toronto coppers ordered up a ton of new Body Armor, weaponry, gas masks, etc - and then stood around in their state-of-the-art riot gear watching as a bunch of Middle-class "Anarchists" trashed the city . Streetcars were left abandoned, and even Police cruisers were seized, vandalized and burned . But hey, it's the Taxpayers who pay for 'em, right?...

Left wing nuts smash windows, torch police cars at G20 summit in Toronto
Left Wing nuts smash windows, torch Police cars at G20 summit in Toronto Remember though, teaparty protestors are the violent ones, the Terrorists, etc. In a bit of irony, this is the same city that barred Ann Coulter from speaking because of their so called “Hate Speech Law.” Yet, when it comes to Left Wing nut Protesters torching cars, breaking windows not a word is said. Black-clad demonstrators broke off from a crowd of peaceful Protesters at the World Summit, torching Police...

Remarks by President Obama and President Hu Jintao of the People's Republic of China Before Bilateral Meeting
Intercontinental Downtown Hotel Toronto, Canada   4:45 P.M. EDT        PRESIDENT Hu:  (As translated.)  Your Excellency, Mr. President, I am very pleased to see you again.  If I remember correctly, this is our sixth meeting.    In April this year, you and I had a very good meeting in Washington, D.C., and reached important agreement on growing the China-U.S. relationship.  I'm happy to note that, thanks to the joint efforts of both...

Suiting Up for a Post-Dollar World
by John Browne The global Financial Crisis is playing out like a slow-moving, highly predicable stage play. In the current scene, Western governments are caught between the demands of entitled welfare beneficiaries and the anxiety of bondholders who fear they will be stuck with the bill. As the Crisis reaches an apex, Prime Ministers and presidents are forced into a Sophie's choice between social unrest and Bankruptcy. But with the "Club Med" economies set to fall like dominoes, the US...

Geithner urges growth at G20 meeting
Toronto, June 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Saturday said the G20 meetings in Toronto "must be fundamentally about Growth." Geithner said national economies are coming out of the Economic Crisis "at different speeds" and "the scars of this Crisis are still with us." "So this summit must be fundamentally about Growth, and our challenge as the G20 is to act together to strengthen the prospects for Growth," he said. "This will require different strategies in different...

Russia Pushing Global Leaders for Regulations to Prevent Future Oil Spills
The Gulf Coast Oil Spill that has plagued US wildlife and various industries is now having international effects. Famed environmental organization Greenpeace said Saturday that G-8 member Russia wants to add wording to the group's communique to protect international waters. Take a look at Fox Business Correspondent Peter Barnes' full story... By Peter Barnes With thousands of barrels of Oil still leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, Russia is pushing Global leaders meeting in Canada to endorse new...

Geithner urges growth at G20 meeting
Toronto, June 26 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner Saturday said the G20 meetings in Toronto "must be fundamentally about Growth." Geithner said national economies are coming out of the Economic Crisis "at different speeds" and "the scars of this Crisis are still with us." "So this summit must be fundamentally about Growth, and our challenge as the G20 is to act together to strengthen the prospects for Growth," he said. "This will require different strategies in different...

'Secret' law lets police arrest for failing to show ID near summit
Toronto - The Ontario government secretly passed Legislation giving Police sweeping new powers for the duration of the G8 and G20 summits. Police are now able to jail anyone who refuses to furnish identification and submit to a search while within five metres of a designated security zone in downtown Toronto. Critics reacted furiously to the new rules, which remained unpublicized until Thursday when a 32 year-old man was arrested in Toronto for refusing to show ID to Police. New Democrat MPP...

Keep going for growth
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The leaders of the Group of Eight global Economic powers pledged Saturday to continue working together as the world "begins a fragile Recovery from the greatest Economic Crisis in generations." In a statement concluding the two-day summit in Muskoka, Canada, the leaders said they were committed to open trade and that they would "resist protectionist pressures." In addition to the United States, the summit included Canada, France, Germany, Italy,...