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G8 LEADERS THREW their weight behind calls for a peace conference on Syria to be held in Geneva “as soon as possible”, after a summit dominated by the country’s civil war.
At the end of two days of talks in Northern Ireland, the leaders also called for agreement on a transitional government in Syria “with full executive powers, formed by mutual consent”.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, the summit host, said it was “unthinkable” that President Bashar al-Assad could play a role in a transitional administration, but the G8 communique pointedly made no reference to him, in an apparent concession to Syria’s ally Russia.
After talks which at times pitted Russian President Vladimir Putin against his fellow G8 leaders, the final communique said the Syrian military and security services “must be preserved and restored” in a future set-up.
The leaders did not suggest a date for the proposed Syria talks, which were supposed to take place this month but have already been delayed.
Gathered on the picturesque banks of Lough Erne, they agreed to stamp out the payment of ransoms for hostages kidnapped by “terrorists”, and called on companies to follow their lead in refusing to pay for the release of their employees.
The summit was dominated by the conflict in Syria, which has cost more than 90,000 lives since it broke out in March 2011.
The G8 nations pledged almost €1.1 billion in humanitarian aid for refugees inside and outside Syria, including $300 million from the United States and €200 million from Germany.
After Washington said it would arm the Syrian rebels and the EU mulled the issue, the G8 said it was deeply concerned at the growing extremism and “terrorism” in Syria.
The world leaders called on the regime and the opposition to “commit to destroying and expelling from Syria all organisations and individuals affiliated to Al-Qaeda, and any other non-state actors linked to terrorism”.
Putin’s sharp differences with US President Barack Obama over Syria were laid bare in icy face-to-face talks on Monday.
In his end-of-summit press conference, Putin said defiantly that Russia could not rule out sending fresh shipments of weapons to the Syrian regime.
The Russian president also accused the United States of “destabilising” the situation in Syria with its allegations that the regime has used nerve gas on a limited scale.
The G8 brings together Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
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governments need to implement legislation on the reduction of plastic. nearly every food item we buy is wrapped in plastic, there is no need for most of it. one example is coffee cup lids can be made of corn starch. there is so much that can be done yet our governments do nothing. Shame on them
@Leitrim303: yes it has gotten pretty ridiculous at this stage but the plastic bag levy at least was a success. We need more legislation like this.
@Leitrim303: I was given reusable cup with lid. Best gift.
They just won’t make plastic from hemp. It’s biodegradeable. Hemp would go a long way in doing something positive about the plastic polution of the seas, deforestation and more.
But it grows in abundance, is cheap to process. So there’s no interest in it.
@Dave Doyle: stop talking sense. They don’t like when you talk sense.
@Dave Doyle: the authorit-eyes fear sense, logic and reason
Not just turtles.
@Fiona deFreyne: But turtles have nice smiley faces and feature in kids movies. SInce when did anyone want to watch Finding Mickey the Monkfish? Plastic is killing most sea life and if turtles can draw attention to it then that’s fine. We are a despicable species.
Man kind is killing the Planet
@j4VEpUO8: man unkind.
100,000s of birds and marine mammals die every year. You can create knowledge to educate society by mapping and opening up data on plastic pollution anywhere @ openlittermap.com. It’s like Pokémon Go for tidy towns. Get paid Littercoin for mapping and opening up data on plastic pollution anywhere
Die from plastic pollution every year *
There is a campaign running that we can all do easily enough. Every time you go to the beach or sea remove 3 pieces of plastic and take it away with you. I intend to do this and we all can and should. It can make a difference right here and now.
@Catherine Sims: but the focus of attention needs to go to the corporations that can make the most difference and impact – Coca Cola P+G etc , they are the ones who design and sell the plastic packaging , this is another example of not focusing the real pressures and attention correctly – I dont get the option to buy a glass bottle of coke ? They are best positioned to actually address a real global problem and they are best positioned to impact and they actually CAN fix this problem – but THEY need to be pressurised by people power – no point to whining at the general public if the corporations supplying the products dont change as it wont make any difference imo
And still the Irish Government drags its heels on deposits for PET bottles…
One of several problems in tge oceans
Plastic is causing sterility and cancer but who cares about that as its cheap and nasty?
Plastic packaging should be banned, regardless of the packaging industries and the Lobby Group Repack’s lobbying .
have your say