Tokyo , July 8 : Leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) nations on Tuesday reconfirmed the significance of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), saying here that it provided the most comprehensive assessment of the science and that there was need to encourage the continuation of this science-based approach for climate protection efforts.

Tokyo - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has risked causing a minor diplomatic incident with Japan by not holding a bilateral meeting with the country's prime minister during the Group of Eight sum

Tokyo - A magnitude-6 earthquake hit the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa and Amami Tuesday, the Japanese Meteorological Agency said. 

Tokyo - Japanese media called the outcome of Tuesday's climate change discussion among the world's seven largest economies and Russia "a big step forward." 

Toyako, Japan - Environmentalist groups slammed Tuesday's Group of Eight (G8) agreement to at least halve global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, saying the deal was too little too late. 

"The G8 have failed the world again. While the Artic is melting, the G8 are postponing action. Instead of climate protection, the world got nothing but flowery words. If this is a step forward, we will never prevent climate chaos in time," said Daniel Mittler, a climate expert at Greenpeace. 

Oxfam International said that the G8's '50 by 50' climate goal left the world with a "50/50 chance of a climate meltdown." 

Toyako (Japan), July 8: In a bid to tackle global warming, leaders of the Group of Eight nations have agreed to set a global target of cutting carbon emissions by at least 50 per cent by 2050.