Special Report: President Hu attends outreach session of G8 Summit, visits Sweden

    HEILIGENDAMM, Germany, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations on Friday agreed on an aid package of 60 billion U.S. dollars to help fight AIDS and other diseases in Africa.

    About 30 billion dollars from the aid package has been pledged by the United States to fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in Africa, according to the German news agency DPA.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel will announce the deal later on Friday after meeting the heads of six African nations, the report said.

    Leaders of the G8 nations agreed two years ago to raise development aid for Africa by 50 billion dollars by 2010, but critics say those nations fall short of delivering their promises.

    Merkel, hoping the G8 summit could generate a new boost in the aid package for Africa, announced previously that Germany would increase its aid by 3 billion euros (about 4 billion dollars) between 2008 and 2011.