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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged world leaders at the G8 summit to tackle three major crises in the world. Speaking at a resort in Hokkaido, Japan, he said: “The world faces three simultaneous crises; a food crisis, a climate crisis and a development crisis.” He added that “the three crises are deeply interconnected and need to be addressed as such”. The UN chief painted a rather gloomy picture of the task ahead for the developed nations. He said high food prices were "turning back the clock on development gains" and that “progress in many countries is off track, particularly in Africa”. It seems unclear how the leaders will agree on solutions to spiralling oil prices, food shortages, climate change and concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe.
President Bush, in his last G8 summit, got into the swing of things by placing a wish on a bamboo tree. Japan is celebrating the festival of Tanabata, whereby people write down their wishes for the future and tie them onto a special ‘wishing tree’. In a handwritten note, Mr Bush wrote: "I wish for a world free from tyranny: the tyranny of hunger, disease and tyrannical governments. I wish for a world in which the universal desire for liberty is realized. I wish for the advance of new technologies that will improve the human condition and protect our environment." Unlike most of us, Mr Bush has quite a bit of power to make his wishes come true. It remains to be seen whether he will try to realize them or simply repeat his trusted sound bites and smile for the photos.
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