G8 condemns attack that caused sinking of S Korean naval vessel.

HUNTSVILLE, June 27 (Itar-Tass) -- The G8 condemns the attack which
led to the sinking of the Cheonan and urges the government of Iran to
respect the rule of law and freedom of expression, the draft summit
communique said.
"We deplore the attack on March 26 that caused the sinking of the
Republic of Korea's naval vessel, the Cheonan, resulting in tragic loss of
46 lives. Such an incident is a challenge to peace and security in the
region and beyond. We express our deep sympathy and condolences to the
victims and their families and to the people and Government of the
Republic of Korea, and call for appropriate measures to be taken against
those responsible for the attack in accordance with the UN Charter and all
other relevant provisions of international law. The Joint
Civilian-Military Investigation Group, led by the Republic of Korea with
the participation of foreign experts, concluded that the Democratic
Peoples' Republic of Korea was responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan.
We condemn, in this context, the attack which led to the sinking of the
Cheonan. We demand that the Democratic Peoples' Republic of Korea refrain
from committing any attacks or threatening hostilities against the
Republic of Korea. We support the Republic of Korea in its efforts to seek
accountability for the Cheonan incident, and we remain committed to
cooperating closely with all international parties in the pursuit of
regional peace and security," the document said.
"Recalling the concerns we expressed at the 2009 L'Aquila Summit, we
urge the Government of Iran to respect the rule of law and freedom of
expression, as outlined in the international treaties to which Iran is a
party."
"The Kabul Conference in July will be an important opportunity for the
Government of Afghanistan to present its detailed plans and show tangible
progress in implementing the commitments made in the January 2010 London
Conference Communique, including measures to combat corruption, address
illicit drug production and trafficking, improve human rights, improve
provision of basic services and governance, make concrete progress to
reinforce the formal justice system and expand the capacity of the Afghan
National Security Forces to assume increasing responsibility for security
within five years. To this end, we fully support the transition strategy
adopted by International Security Assistance Force contributors in April,
as well as the on-going efforts to establish an Afghan-led national
reconciliation and reintegration process. In this respect, the June Peace
Jirga was an important milestone. Clear steps by Afghanistan towards more
credible, inclusive and transparent parliamentary elections in September
will be an important step forward in the country's maturing democracy. We
reaffirm our commitment to support Afghanistan in this process of
transition and development."
"We welcome the Israeli Cabinet's announcement of a new policy
towards Gaza as a positive development. We urge full and effective
implementation of this policy in order to address the needs of Gaza's
population for humanitarian and commercial goods, civilian reconstruction
and infrastructure, and legitimate economic activity as well as the
legitimate security concerns of Israel that must continue to be
safeguarded."



G8 to mobilize $5 bln to reduce maternal, child death rates.




HUNTSVILLE, June 27 (Itar-Tass) -- The G8 will mobilize $5.0 billion
of additional funding in assistance for developing countries to reduce
maternal, newborn and child death rates.
"G8 members already contribute over US$4.1 billion annually in
international development assistance for maternal, newborn and under-five
child health (MNCH). Today, we, the Leaders of the G8, working with other
Governments, several Foundations and other entities engaged in promoting
maternal and child health internationally [1] endorse and launch the
Muskoka Initiative, a comprehensive and integrated approach to accelerate
progress towards MDGs 4 and 5 that will significantly reduce the number of
maternal, newborn and under five child deaths in developing countries."
"Our collective undertaking will support strengthened country-led
national health systems in developing countries, in order to enable
delivery on key interventions along the continuum of care, i.e.,
pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, childbirth, infancy and early childhood.
To this end, the G8 undertake to mobilize as of today $5.0 billion of
additional funding for disbursement over the next five years."
"We make our commitments with the objective of generating a greater
collective effort by bilateral and multilateral donors, developing
countries and other stakeholders to accelerate progress on MDGs 4 and 5.
We therefore welcome the decisions by other governments and foundations to
join the Muskoka Initiative. The Governments of the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Republic of Korea, Spain and Switzerland, subject to
their respective budgetary processes, and the Bill and Melinda Gates and
UN Foundations have now or have recently committed to additional funding
of $2.3 billion to be disbursed over the same period.
We fully anticipate that, over the period 2010-2015, subject to our
respective budgetary processes, the Muskoka Initiative will mobilize
significantly greater than $10 billion."
"As a consequence of the commitments made today towards the Muskoka
Initiative, this support, according to World Health Organization and World
Bank estimates, will assist developing countries to prevent 1.3 million
deaths of children under five years of age; prevent 64,000 maternal
deaths; and enable access to modern methods of family planning by an
additional 12 million couples. These results will be achieved cumulatively
between 2010-2015. We will track progress on delivering commitments
through our accountability reporting, which, in 2011, will focus on health
and food security. In line with the principle of mutual accountability, we
expect these joint commitments will encourage developing countries to
intensify their own efforts with regard to maternal and child health,
leading to the saving of many more millions of lives of women, newborn and
young children," the G8 declaration said.





.Medvedev, his wife come for official reception in Toronto.




TORONTO, June 27 (Itar-Tass) -- An official reception has begun in
Toronto's best hotel Royal York in honour of G20 summit participants.
Summit host Stephen Harper with his wife welcomed the guests.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his wife also arrived for the
reception.
The Russian leader expects the meeting already to begin to discuss
economic issues.
Meanwhile, clashes between demonstrators, who call themselves
anti-globalists, and police take place around the central part of the
city. A small group of masked persons has already set fire to three police
cars. Thus, almost a billion dollars allocated to ensure security of the
G8 and G20 summits have not guaranteed Toronto against incidents.
-0-pan


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