There will be no monster Montana commute for U.S. President George W. Bush. Speculation had been buzzing that security concerns would prevent the U.S. leader from bunking out with the rest of the Group of Eight leaders at the Delta Lodge at Kananaskis. Thousands of police and soldiers, along with fighter patrols, helicopters, anti-aircraft missiles and armoured vehicles have evidently eased security worries.
Calgary's famously sunny weather gave a boost to a Greenpeace publicity stunt in demonstrations downtown yesterday. At the head of the march was Rolling Sunlight, an Isuzu truck outfitted with 23 square metres of solar panels. Solar energy powers only the radio and a fan on the truck, however -- Rolling Sunlight burns soy-based diesel fuel.
G8 demonstrators have published a list of major corporations in downtown Calgary they consider "targets" during the summit. A group calling itself Anti-Capitalist Kananaskis has posted a pamphlet on the Internet that lists the names and locations of "particularly nasty" firms. The pamphlet encourages readers to do further research and concludes: "What you do with this information is your business." Many owners of office towers are restricting access to their buildings, and some have contingency plans up to and including evacuation. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will not attend the G8 summit this week because of the Middle East crisis, the country's Foreign Minister, Ahmed Maher, said yesterday.
Mr. Mubarak was invited last month, along with the leaders of four other African states -- Senegal, Nigeria, South Africa and Algeria -- which, with Egypt, are the main players in the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development.
NEPAD is an African initiative that calls for massive investment in the continent and for greater dedication there to democracy and good governance.
The development of Africa will be one of the main G8 topics.
The industrialized nations are also expected to discuss the Arab-Israeli conflict and plans to convene a U.S.-brokered Middle East peace conference.
Radio station Rock 97 normally boasts that it has Calgary's only traffic helicopter, giving drivers hints on avoiding the city's comparatively minor commuting snarls. But drivers are on their own for much of this week -- the helicopter is grounded because of the no-fly zone that extends for 150 kilometres around Kananaskis.
A nationwide referendum on the Kyoto Protocol could break the logjam for Canadian ratification of the pollution-control treaty, environmental activists suggested yesterday during the Group of Six Billion People's Summit in Calgary. Representatives from Greenpeace Canada and Alberta's Pembina Institute at the people's summit -- the activists' counterweight to the G8 meeting in Kananaskis -- mused that a referendum could collapse the Alberta government's resistance to ratification, if the provincial population gave a strong endorsement. But they acknowledged that educating the public about the details of the agreement would be daunting.
Ottawa city police have turned an empty downtown warehouse into a makeshift jail for up to 250 prisoners, as they prepare for stormy protests. More than 12 cage-like cells were set up on Friday, a local newspaper reported on the weekend. Organizers of protests planned in Ottawa for Wednesday and Thursday said they fear police may be preparing for mass arrests.
The G8 nail special has split. A Calgary salon, Phamtastic Nails, advertised a discount on manicures for much of last week, but took down the sign in its window on Friday, because of worries that it might draw the attention of street protesters. The salon has a history of using news events as a springboard for advertising: during a labour dispute that shut down public buses and trains, Phamtastic touted its "Transit Special" pedicure for commuters forced to hoof it. Staff, wires
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