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G8 pledges $20 billion in food aid

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 (UPI) -- Group of Eight leaders meeting in Italy said Friday they would commit $20 billion to help the world's poorest countries in agricultural development.

"(We) have committed to investing $20 billion in food security -- agricultural development programs to help fight world hunger," U.S. President Barack Obama said during a news conference at L'Aquila, site of the summit. "This is in addition to the emergency humanitarian aid that we provide."

Obama said the pledged $20 billion exceeded an already agreed-to $15 billion, representing "an additional $5 billion of hard commitments."

"We do not view this assistance as an end in itself," he said. "We believe that the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed -- to help people become self-sufficient, provide for their families and lift their standards of living."

Obama said G8 participants endorsed a U.S. approach to food security that provides "a coordinated effort to support comprehensive plans created by the countries themselves, with help from multilateral institutions ... along with significant and sustained financial commitments from our nations."

Non-government organizations have expressed skepticism about new funding, saying they feared it may be previously pledged money dressed up in a new package, the EUobserver reported.

"Aid figures are notoriously opaque but latest intelligence suggests so far only the U.S. and Spain are coming up with serious new money," said Helen Palmer, a spokeswoman for One, led by singer-activist Bob Geldof and U2's Bono.

In a statement issued by the White House, the administration said the United States would seek to increase its annual investment and provide at least $3.5 billion over the next three years.

France's Bruni pledges earthquake help

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 (UPI) -- France's first lady says her country will share with Italy the cost of repairing the historic Anime Santa church in L'Aquila damaged during April's earthquake.

Carla Bruni toured the center of the quake-damaged city Friday while her husband, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, was in town for the Group of Eight summit, Italy's ANSA news agency reported.

She pledged France would pay half of the cost of restoring the 17th century landmark.

In addition to viewing the damage to the church, Bruni also visited the city's San Salvatore hospital that had to be evacuated after its walls cracked during the quake.

"I'll come back on my own after the summit," Bruni said. "I'll come back to see the work on the hospital and that of all these people who have shown so much courage."

Bruni arrived in L'Aquila Wednesday evening and missed the tour taken by the other G8 spouses earlier in the day.

GM sells assets, vows focus on customers

NEW YORK, July 10 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. vowed it would focus on customers after selling a majority of the company to the U.S. government Friday morning.

Papers were signed at 6:30 a.m. at the offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges that give the government 61 percent of the company with lesser portions owned by the Canadian government and the United Auto Workers union. Bondholders will also own a share, The New York Times reported.

At a press conference, Chief Executive Officer Frederick "Fritz" Henderson said, "the last 100 days has shown everyone ... (GM) can indeed move very fast."

In the past 40 days, the company zipped through bankruptcy, following Chrysler, which recently sold most of its assets to Fiat.

The new GM will be temporarily named the Vehicle Acquisition Co., then renamed General Motors Co.

The plan for the company includes significant shrinkage. GM will no longer produce Saturn, Hummer, Opel or Pontiac brands. The assets that remain include Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC.

Plans include closing factories and laying off 21,000 union workers.

Touting a new focus on customers, Henderson promised an online suggestion box called "Tell Fritz" to increase public discourse.

The company's new Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. said, "I know most Americans want this company to succeed."

Mubarak:Gilad Shalit to be set free soon

JERUSALEM, July 10 (UPI) -- Kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is in good condition and will be set free soon, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said.

In an exclusive interview with Yedioth Aharonoth published Friday, Mubarak also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

A deal for Shalit's return was on the brink four or five months ago but Israel changed its position and the deal collapsed, Mubarak told the Tel Aviv, Israel, newspaper.

Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mubarak said meetings are under way between Israeli and Egyptian officials.

The main obstacles to peace are Jerusalem and the right of return for Palestinian refugees, he said. The correct solution for Jerusalem is what was agreed upon by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the late Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat, he said: East Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state and West Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Jerusalem's sovereignty must be decided, the Egyptian president said. The refugee issue is mainly psychological, he said, noting a Palestinian who studied, married and raised a family in the United States has no reason to return.

Israel's insistence that it remain a Jewish state is a serious mistake that will only harm it and turn it into a terrorists' target, Mubarak warned.

U.S. H1N1 vaccinations to begin in fall

WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- School students are among the first in line for H1N1 flu vaccinations when the U.S. campaign against the pandemic begins in the fall, federal officials said.

The federal government should get about 100 million doses of vaccine by mid-October, if the production schedule by five companies goes as planned, The Washington Post reported.

However, enough vaccine for broader use by the 120 million people considered particularly vulnerable the strain of H1N1 flu virus -- formerly called swine flu -- won't be available until later in the fall, officials said.

The vaccination schedule and the target populations were among the announcements made by administration officials during its flu preparedness summit Thursday at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., About 500 state, territorial, city and tribal health officials attended.

Among groups targeted for initial vaccination are children, pregnant women, adults with chronic illnesses and healthcare workers, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said.

Federal officials said vaccination campaigns would be overseen by local governments.

To help them develop specific plans to combat the pandemic, Sebelius said the federal government will provide $350 million by the end of July. About $260 million will go to states and territories, with the remaining $90 million to hospitals, she said.

The H1N1 virus emerged in April in Mexico and Southern California, the Post said. The latest count from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated there have been 37,246 confirmed cases in the United States, of which 211 were fatal. Worldwide, the World Health Organization has confirmed 94,512 cases, of which 429 were fatal.