ME and Ophelia

G8: 50 BILLION DOLLARS FOR AID FOR AFRICA
3 billion dollars for the Palestinian authority

At the moment it is one o'clock Friday afternoon here in England and I am watching television news broadcast live from Gleneagles.

Surrounded by everyone attending the G8 summit, Tony Blair, president of the G8, is standing at a podium giving a press statement.

Part of the big announcement is 3 billion dollars to help the Palestinian authority live side by side in peace plus a 50 billion dollar uplift in aid for Africa along with a plan of action for Africa, in partnership with Africa. On the environment the G8 agreed a plan of action that will initiate global dialogue November 1st with the first meeting set to take place in Britain.
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LONDON BOMBING
Desperate hunt for clues to capture the killers

News reports say Britain's most intensive manhunt - on an international scale - is underway, the largest in British criminal history. Forensics are doing a painstaking search for clues in order to capture the killers.

So far there are 50 fatalities. 24 hours after the blast, emergency services are still trying to recover bodies at Russell Square station, one of the deepest tunnels on the London Underground. As many as 20 bodies could be retrieved. A makeshift morgue has been set up nearby.

Rescuers are reporting extreme difficulties getting to the front carriage. The complex operation could take time to complete because the train just fits inside the tunnel, without any space surrounding. The train is 400 yards into the tunnel and part of the tunnel has collapsed. The tiniest of fragments might lead to what, and who, caused this. Even a SIM card from a mobile phone could, like the Madrid bombings, lead to the killers. Hours of CCTV footage might show someone entering a station with a bag and leaving without one. Investigators are checking through mobile phone records to see if the bombers made calls upon entering the stations. Reports say a bomb weighing less than 10 pounds was left inside the front doors of the front carriage. Prince Charles and Camilla were just interviewed visiting some of the victims.

An official interviewed on TV said: "We assume it's over. It may not be. The people who did this, are still out there."

Most Londoners remain defiant and refuse to be cowed. People interviewed say they are getting on with their lives, putting their heads down and cracking on with things. Schools are closed. Some people are working from home but most businesses have given people the day off work as police advice was to stay away from London. Rail services are pretty much back to normal and running on time. City workers who made the journey into London this morning by public transport admit it was a nervous journey. Business is back to normal on the Stock Exchange. Share prices have recovered. Kings Cross mainline station is now open. Madrid sent heartwarming messages of sympathy and solidarity. Consensus among commenters seems to be that common sense and calmness are strong British characteristics. Terrorists will never achieve their aims - what do they want? does anybody know?



Photo: Police officers raise a British flag in front of the State Department in Washington, D.C., Thursday, July 7, 2005, in remembrance of those killed in the London bombings. It was the first time a foreign flag has been raised at the State Department.

(AP Photo/Yuri Gripas) via Publius Pundit via Instapundit who links to TigerHawk's post on Sir Rudy's BBC interview in London.

Boing Boing has updates and photos related to London bombings, blog coverage and Wikipedia.



Thank you to Eric at http://passionofthepresent.org in America for his message of sympathy and condolence and link to Beliefnet which has a major prayer circle going on for the victims of Thursday's bombings in London.

Tags: Tony Blair Jihadists Iraq Gleneagles George W Bush London bombings Paris New York Madrid bombing Scotland Channel 4 Al Queda Al Qaeda London explosion Rudy Giuliani