Rising food and oil costs, an uncertain global economy, climate change and Zimbabwe's political Mbeki in Harare for crisis talks ...
Botswana denounces Mugabe victory ...
EU Foreign Policy Chief Calls Zimbabwean Vote a "Parody" ...
President Bush wraps up Britain farewell tour ...
On Farewell Tour, Conciliatory Bush Praises US-Europe Ties ... crisis face the G8 leaders who are gathering in Japan.

The summit is being held at a secluded resort on the northern island of Hokkaido guarded by some 20,000 police.

Protesters have been gathering ahead of the three-day forum starting on Monday.

A US official said the gathering was likely to "strongly condemn" Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe over a disputed presidential election run-off vote.

The Group of Eight (G8) consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
Leaders begin arriving on Sunday. US President George W Bush arrived in time to celebrate his 62nd birthday in Japan.

China, India and South Africa will be among other key nations attending.

Japan has spent a record sum of money and deployed about 20,000 police to seal off the summit at the remote lakeside resort of Toyako.

Several thousand demonstrators marched through Sapporo, the city closest to the venue, on Saturday, demanding that G8 leaders take action on global warming, poverty and rising food prices.

Four people were arrested in minor scuffles with police.

Violent anti-globalisation marches have marred past G8 meetings.

Food reserve system

Last year, Japanese officials said this summit would be about climate change and reaching agreement on a post-Kyoto Accord framework to cut greenhouse gas emissions, says the BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda had said he would like to get agreement on 50% overall reductions in greenhouse gases by 2050.

But the rising food and oil prices and their effect on the global economy and the world's poorest nations have moved up the agenda and to address them, China, India and several African nations have been invited to attend.

Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported that the G8 countries wanted to create a system of food reserves that would act to stabilise prices.

There has been a number of food riots in a range of countries over prices that the World Bank says have doubled in the past three years.

Another key issue will be North Korea's nuclear programme.

Mr Bush will meet Mr Fukuda amid Japanese concern that the North's recent declaration of its nuclear activities has led the US to signal removing Pyongyang from a terror blacklist.

Zimbabwe violence

South African President Thabo Mbeki will attend, fresh from crisis discussions in Zimbabwe on Saturday with President Robert Mugabe about last month's disputed election.

He has been the chief regional negotiator on the Zimbabwe crisis, and has been trying to persuade Mr Mugabe to form a government of national unity.

The main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, pulled out of last month's second round presidential election vote, citing campaign violence.

On the way to Japan, a White House official said that the G8 would "strongly condemn what Mugabe has done".

A small group of African states has joined the European Union, the US and other Western nations in criticising the way the election was run.

(BBC)

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