Nicolas Sarkozy, seen below with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, relished his role as host of 43 nations from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, launching his new Mediterranean Union. At the culmination of the meeting held in Paris yesterday, the nations' leaders condemned "terrorism in all forms" and agreed to "pursue a mutually and effectively verifiable Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction."
Sarkozy's brainstorm has achieved the bold initiative of bringing together warring and impoverished nations alongside wealthy and industrialized nations to form the Mediterranean Union.
The G-8 Summit gets underway in Hakkaido, Japan today; a three-day meeting of the leaders of the eight countries invited, plus a representative of the European Union.
Grown from the concept of a forum of the major industrialized democracies after the 1973 oil crisis, more have been invited until 1997 when the last member, Russia, was invited at the initiative of then US President Bill Clinton.
The guest list is at the
edge of controversy this year, as major climate issues are at hand, and two of the worst polluters (China and India) aren't invited.
The French military
accidentally used real bullets instead of blanks, during a demonstration this weekend, injuring 17 people, including three children.
The demonstration, intended to showcase hostage-freeing techniques, left a 3-year-old child in critical condition. Chief Bernard Lemaire said the soldier who fired the real bullets has been detained, as the apparent accident has not been ruled out as a criminal act.
Though his visit
ended amid panic, France's Nicolas Sarkozy's first presidential visit to Israel this week made quite an impression. Sarkozy
called on the country to stop settlement in the occupied West Bank, saying Mideast peace depends on Israel dropping its refusal to surrender sovereignty over parts of Jerusalem claimed by the Palestinians. As compensation, he assured Israel that it could count on France's support in halting Iran's nuclear program.
Israeli Police Officer Kills Himself at Airport
An Israeli police officer fatally shot himself Tuesday at an airport departure ceremony for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, sparking fear of an assassination attempt and prompting bodyguards to whisk away Sarkozy and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, officials said.
Dark-suited men quickly ushered Sarkozy and his wife up the stairs of their plane. At the same time, security guards with guns drawn rushed Olmert and Israeli President Shimon Peres toward their cars.
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