World in brief: G-8 leaders pledge billions to Africa

The world’s leading industrialized nations Friday pledged $60 billion to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, mainly in Africa, a gesture that drew criticism from human rights groups who termed it an insufficient commitment and part of a pattern of unfulfilled promises.

The agreement on African aid, half of which would be provided by the United States, came as the Group of Eight’s three-day summit concluded at this Baltic Sea resort. The money is part of a series of measures to reduce disease and spur economic growth on a continent racked by poverty and corruption, where more than 2 million people die each year of AIDS.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel characterized the pledge to Africa as the latest milestone in a summit that also calmed tensions between President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin over Washington’s proposed missile defense system in Eastern Europe and led to a compromise between G-8 members on reversing global warming.

Baghdad, Iraq

Police chief’s family attacked

Stumbling efforts to establish law and order in one of Iraq’s most violent regions suffered another blow Friday when dozens of gunmen raided the home of Baqouba’s police chief and killed his wife, two brothers and 11 guards. Four of his children were kidnapped, police said.

The attacks came the same day that explosions in the country’s north and south killed 23 people.

Police Chief Col. Ali Jorani, who was not at home during the attack, is regarded by U.S. forces as a key ally in the effort to gain residents’ confidence in law enforcement in Diyala province.

But al-Qaida in Iraq and its affiliates have undermined local security forces, especially in Baqouba, the provincial capital, by killing some policemen and almost entirely forcing police out of some sectors of the city.

Beijing

Health officials reject U.S. imports

Turning the tables on the United States amid growing worries over dangerous Chinese products, Beijing said Friday some health supplements and raisins imported from the U.S. failed to meet China’s safety standards and have been returned or destroyed.

In Washington, a top U.S. food safety official said the Food and Drug Administration was seeking more information from its Chinese counterparts, including whether they are “bona fide, science-based findings” or in retaliation for U.S. actions.

U.S. inspectors recently have banned or turned away a growing number of Chinese exports, including monkfish containing life-threatening levels of puffer fish toxins, drug-laced frozen eel and juice made with unsafe color additives. The FDA has also stopped all imports of Chinese toothpaste to test for a potentially deadly chemical reportedly found in tubes sold in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.