The annual G8 meeting, which wrapped up last week, has  yielded pledges of $20 billion over three years to feed the hungry and mobilize a comprehensive strategy focused on sustainable agriculture development that would ensure global food security.

By helping the world’s hungry, who now number one billion, the international community can also secure a more peaceful and stable future for all, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations Friday in L’Aquila, Italy.

In Michigan, Grand Blanc Township may follow in the footsteps of West coast communities in installing charging stations for electric cars for about $3,000 each.

“Money is actually making it from the federal government to the local level,” said Township Engineer Roger Buell, regarding a $143,000 Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant through the U.S. Department of Energy.

While this is a relatively new idea in the Midwest, Oregon has been developing a pilot program to build electric car infrastructure.

Recharging normally costs about 50 cents per hour for the electrical charge and the stations provide peace of mind for drivers of all-electric cars.

(Read more from Grand Blanc News) 

The Philippine government and the main communist rebel group agreed to resume peace talks stalled since 2005, hoping to sit down next month in Norway, officials from both sides said on Wednesday.

The government will be suspending arrest warrants against rebel leaders who take part in the talks.

The 40 years of a Maoist-led insurgency has killed more than 40,000 people and scared potential investments in the poor.

(Read more from Reuters)

The United Nations Children’s Fund yesterday welcomed the release of nearly 200 child soldiers by a Central African rebel group.

The People’s Army for the Restoration of Democracy (APRD) has released 166 boys and 16 girls aged between 10 and 17 since April, and nearly all those child soldiers have since been reunited with their families, UNICEF said in a statement.

The release of the child soldiers follows the rebels’ signature of a peace agreement last year and a visit to the Central African Republic (CAR) by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict.

The mayor of Washington, DC signed a bill this week that will establish a 5 cent fee charged to the consumer for every plastic bag used at a grocery store, or other retailer. The nickel fee will go into effect January 1 and will pay for cleaning up the Anacostia River (with a penny of it going to the retailer).

Mayor Adrian Fenty described the change as a simple step and said in a statement, “Disposable bags are a menace to our waterways, and dramatically cutting down on their use will have a measurable impact almost immediately.”