Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd has acknowledged there have been no great breakthroughs on climate change at the G8 major economies meeting in Japan.

Leaders of the G8 group of industrial nations have ended three days of meetings in the German Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm with a compromise on global warming and renewed pledges for Africa.

German police say they have arrested more than 250 protesters Thursday near a security fence outside the Baltic sea resort hosting world leaders at the Group of Eight summit.

Leaders of the Group of Eight major industrialized economies are meeting in the German resort town of Heiligendamm for a second and final day of talks. That discussion followed an announcement the G8 had approved budgeting an additional $60 billion in assistance to Africa to combat the spread of tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered the United States to deploy a joint antimissile radar base in Azerbaijan. The surprise proposal, made on the sidelines of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany, could bring some warmth to the chill in ties over Washington's plans to build a missile-defense shield in Central Europe.

Climate change is one of the main agenda points on the first day of the Group of Eight (G8) summit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as host, has made "growth and responsibility" the theme of this year's summit. Speaking in Heiligendamm on June 6 as she greeted U.S. President George W. Bush, Merkel said that sense of responsibility should extend to global trade and foreign policy.

Hundreds of people from West Africa are gathering in Sikasso, Mali, this week, to bring attention to problems they say developed countries are ignoring. The anti-globalization and anti-poverty campaigners call their meeting a people's poverty forum that is intended to counter the G-8 summit of the world's wealthiest countries this week in Germany.

As police is concerned about keeping protesters from reaching the seaside resort where the meeting starts Wednesday, leader of Germany and the U.S. appeared optimistic about bridging the divide on climate change at this year's Group of Eight summit.

Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized economies are beginning a summit in Germany today amid tensions over the U.S. plan to deploy an antimissile system in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Teenagers from industrial and developing countries are hoping to make the Group of Eight leaders hear their concerns about poverty, climate change, AIDS and other issues at this week's summit in Germany.

The leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) most industrialized economies are gathering this week at a resort on Germany's Baltic coast for talks on climate change, development aid, and security.

German police said that 128 people were arrested after a violent demonstration on June 2 against the upcoming meeting of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized countries in Rostock.