G8 leaders set to end summit with Africa pledge

By Madeline Chambers and Gernot Heller

HEILIGENDAMM, Germany (Reuters) - Leaders of the world's major powers will turn their attention to Africa on Friday and are widely expected to announce a $60 billion pledge to fight AIDS and other killer diseases.

The heads of six African nations will press the needs of the poorest continent when they join G8 leaders on the final day of their summit, which produced an agreement on Thursday to pursue "substantial" cuts in greenhouse gases to combat global warming.

"G8 leaders have just over 24 hours to restore faith in a promise that represents life or death for millions of people across the world," said Stop AIDS Campaign coordinator Steve Cockburn.

The G8 countries wrangled late into Thursday night about specifics on aid for Africa but were expected to broadly recommit themselves to pledges made at a 2005 summit in Scotland when they said they would double development funding by 2010.

Two sources in the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations said officials at the summit venue in the German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm were close to agreeing on a $60 billion pledge to combat AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

But campaigners for Africa said a $60 billion pledge would fall short of U.N. targets.

Two leading campaigners, rock stars Bono and Bob Geldof, put pressure on G8 summit host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and her fellow leaders from the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and Russia.

"The chancellor has asked us to trust her and we are tempted, but we cannot risk being let down by the G8 again," said Bono.

Officials were also tackling an impasse over Kosovo's future late on Thursday, with France pushing a plan to delay a U.N. vote on the majority ethnic Albanian province's independence in exchange for Russia agreeing not to veto the outcome.

Russia backs Serbia's insistence it should retain sovereignty over the province, which rebelled against Belgrade's rule in 1998-9. The West regards independence as inevitable and fears delay will stoke violence in the southern Serbian region.

IRAN

Officials were also discussing Iran and were likely to confirm plans to back "further measures" -- in other words more U.N. sanctions -- against Tehran if it continues to reject U.N. demands to halt uranium enrichment in its nuclear program.

The United States has accused Iran of having secret plans to build nuclear weapons. Tehran says its nuclear program is solely for power to benefit its economy.

On Thursday, G8 leaders agreed to pursue substantial but unspecified cuts in greenhouse gases and work with the United Nations to clinch a new deal to fight global warming by 2009.

The agreement binds the world's largest polluter, the United States, more closely into international efforts to curb the gases scientists say are causing dangerous changes to world weather patterns.