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The Guardian
The White House will use next week's G8 summit to seek international support for further intervention in Syria that may go beyond the limited military assistance announced on Thursday night, in an attempt to force the Assad regime and its Russian allies into meaningful peace talks.Discussions are under way between the US and key foreign allies over a range of options, including a no-fly zone, and are likely to come to a head during the G8, when Obama is also scheduled to have bilateral discussions with President Putin.
As apparent US plans to provide small arms to rebel forces met with a disappointed reaction among commanders on the ground, attention is shifting in Washington to building consensus for more radical options.
"This is a fluid situation so it is necessary for [Obama] to consult with leaders of the G8 about the types of support that we are providing for the opposition," the deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said in a press conference on Friday.
NPR
If economists were cheerleaders, their favorite shout-out might be: "What do we want? Growth! When do we want it? Now!"They won't actually shout those words, but they may be thinking them as global leaders meet this week for a G-8 summit. Economists are hoping that at the gathering in Northern Ireland, leaders of eight major economies will discuss expanding global trade and investment to spur job creation.
"The world needs growth," said Scott Miller, a trade policy expert for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a research gro
The Guardian
In the elaborate, etiquette-riddled role of world summit host, two things matter: first, that you can put on a good show for your fellow leaders, projecting something unique about your country's culture; and second, that you can demonstrate that you have a coherent and distinctive political agenda. The G8 as an institution, after all, is an anachronism – a body without legitimacy or power, in the words of David Miliband last week.So David Cameron's choice of the remote Lough Erne golf course in Northern Ireland to host the G8 seemed an unfortunate one. The resort hotel is extravagant, debt-ridden and in administration – arguably an accurate symbol of the British economy.
Such is the pared-down No 10 operation these days that members of Cameron's staff were up all night fixing last-minute hitches, such as transport for the leaders. Panic broke out when it seemed that low cloud would delay the helicopters taking world leaders from Belfast International to the site of the summit.
Yet in the end, David Cameron's first day hosting the summit can be counted a success, even if the final judgment will rest on what is agreed overnight.