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Liberation (France)
« G8, un club privé d’efficacité »
"G8, a club denied effectiveness"
The G8 is in crisis, in a world in crisis, says left wing daily Liberation. As leaders of the world’s richest countries try to resolve the globe’s food, economic, energy and climate problems, the article questions how much this elite club can really achieve.
The G8 is depicted as the diplomatic equivalent of France’s Minitel system, which preceded the web - implying it is outdated and ineffective. Meanwhile, Liberation’s editorial suggests the G8 has lost its way and can no longer achieve what it was set up to do.
The Independent (UK)
"Japan creates fortress for G8"
British daily the Independent focuses on the logistics of the G8 summit. It’s one of Japan’s largest ever security operations. Around 21,000 police have been deployed to Hokkaido where the leaders will be meeting and a no fly zone has been imposed over the resort.
The Independent questions whether all these efforts are really worth it. The exclusion of India and China – now the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases – considerably constrains the G8’s influence and effectiveness. Indeed, Washington has already refused to sign up to a long term climate change deal without agreement from developing countries like China and India.
The Guardian (UK)
"UK is wasting far too much food"
As food prices continue to soar around the globe, the front page of British daily The Guardian focuses on the amount of food that goes to waste in the UK. According to Cabinet Office figures published in the Guardian, more than 4 million tonnes of edible goods are binned every year, at a cost of roughly 420 pounds per household.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown believes the amount of waste is pushing up food prices and is urging Britons to make saving food as important as saving energy.
The Guardian (UK)
Sticking to the topic of food, The Guardian also features an interesting article about how rising prices have even impacted on one of France’s national delicacies – snails.
Despite being a firm favorite throughout the country, 99 percent of the snails consumed by the French come from elsewhere, mainly Eastern Europe. But as the number of people prepared to collect snails for a living dwindles, the subsequent shortfall is pushing up the cost of the delicacy, prompting fears it could soon become as rare as caviar. Needless to say, the worrying news has cast a shadow over France’s summer season of rural snail festivals.
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