In This EditionUS officials say the Group of Eight leaders are committed to keeping global oil markets supplied as sanctions on Iran's crude supply take force.

Afghanistan expects US and NATO pledge of annual 4 billion dollars to support its security forces for another decade after NATO's withdrawal in 2014.

Egypt is inviting international monitors to the country's first presidential elections since the fall of Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago.

And Chinese companies begin to stress more on social factors for long term growth.

Hot Issue ReportsG8 Seeks to Ensure Oil Supply as Iran Oil Embargo BitesUS officials say the Group of Eight leaders are committed to keeping global oil markets supplied as sanctions on Iran's crude supply take force.

Senior White House aide Michael Froman made the comment during a summit of G8 leaders, taking place in the US presidential retreat of Camp David.

"There has been increasing disruption in the supply of oil to the global markets over the past several months which poses a substantial risk to global economic growth. Looking ahead to the likely further disruption in oil sales and the expected increase demand over the coming months, we are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to call upon the International Energy Agency to take appropriate action to insure that the market is fully and timely supplied."He said a joint energy statement released by the G8 reflected unity on the issue, although the leaders fell short of discussing a specific trigger that would prompt action.

Meanwhile, Ben Rhodes, another senior advisor at the White House, said Iran is likely to face increased pressure from the world's richest nations for its continued defiance.

"I think there is a message we sent last night to Iran about the fact that they need to demonstrate concrete actions that build the confidence of the international community and we also made clear to the Iranians that, in absence of these steps, they are going to be faced with increased pressure from sanctions, most notably with the oil embargo that will be going into force this Spring."The G8 meeting came just days before the next round of international talks on Iran's nuclear program, to be held in Baghdad.

Afghanistan Expecting Promise of 4 Billion US Dollars Fulfilled at Upcoming NATO SummitAfghanistan is expecting the United States and NATO to pledge over 4 billion US dollars annually at the upcoming NATO summit, to support its security forces for another decade after NATO's withdrawal in 2014.

Fawzia Kofi, Vice President of Afghanistan's National Assembly, believes that the most important thing for his country is to find support for the police and troops after NATO's withdrawal.

"The Chicago conference is important in a way that actually attracts donor attention on supporting our security forces, especially the police and army by 2014. Because Afghanistan has police and army, and security forces of almost 300 thousand. Most of the support now depends on foreign aid".

The NATO summit will be held in Chicago on Sunday and Monday.

For more on the summit, our Washington correspondent Xiaohong:

Afghan Issue to Top the Chicago SummitOn top of the Chicago Summit agenda is NATO's plan for military operations in Afghanistan up to and beyond 2014.

The Afghan forces are expected to take a leading role in its security operations throughout the country by the end of 2014. Meanwhile, the International Security Assistance Force, formed by troops from the U.S. and its NATO allies as well as other 22 global partners, is expected to withdraw combat forces and assign trainers. That was agreed upon by NATO countries during their last summit in Lisbon, Portugal, two years ago.

So, the Chicago summit will provide the stakeholders the opportunity to draw details of the transition between now and 2014 and even beyond.

A senior US official, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, who is the Special Assistant to President Obama, says such details will ensure the transition to be carried out on time.

"In order to ensure responsible transition of security, we have judged that it's necessary to develop milestones along the way and it's our intention to do that in Chicago. As transition progresses, and as we commit to contributions that sustain the ISAF stay there after that transition is completed, we have to look beyond the end of our combat mission in 2014, and together with our Afghan partners further define the long term relationship between NATO and Afghanistan."Earlier this month, US President Barack Obama paid an unexpected visit to Afghanistan and signed the US-Afghan strategic partnership agreement with his Afghan counterpart Hamid Karzai. Under the deal, the U.S. will continue to deploy a small amount of troops after 2014 to help train Afghan forces.

The U.S. has estimated the cost at four billion US dollars a year. However, in the face of a slow and fragile economic recovery and a huge federal deficit, the U.S. would only be able to contribute 1.3 billion dollars a year, about one third of the estimated fund. Britain, Australia and Germany in recent days had promised to chip in a total of over 400 million US dollars. But that is still short from half of the money needed. More contributions are expected at the Chicago Summit. But Bruce Riedel, a senior researcher at the Brookings Institution, is not very optimistic of the outcome.

"I think a lot of conversation in Chicago will be about trying to make people pledge future contributions to this. I suspect that there will be a lot of promises. But I don't think there will be many checks in the mail so far."The deepening Euro zone crisis had no doubt cast a shadow over the prospect of raising enough funds for US operation in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

With a final withdrawal in the sight, some countries had called for an early pullout. But, the U.S. says the principle is "in together, out together".

Xiaohong, CRI News, Chicago.

Protests Break out as Chicago Prepares to Host NATO SummitOver 2,000 people have attended a rally in downtown Chicago to protest the policies of G8 and NATO as the US hosts two parallel summits this weekend.

The demonstration came on the first day of the G8 summit in Camp David, and a day before a NATO summit on Afghanistan due to be held in Chicago.

Protestors have accused the international organizations concerned of placing wealth and war before the economic hardships currently faced by ordinary people.

"I don't think that there is any point at time, at which a military group can bring peace. I don't think that military is ever a way to bring peace to anywhere.""Always when you find war, you take away something from the rights of the people. They have healthcare, education, and things like that, jobs."Chicago police said between 2,400 and 2,800 demonstrators assembled in Chicago's Daley Plaza for a rally hosted by the group National Nurses United.

Egypt Inviting Organizations to Monitor its First Presidential ElectionEgypt's Higher Presidential Elections Commission is inviting regional and foreign bodies to monitor the first presidential elections since the overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak 15 months ago.

Hatem Begato is the commission's Secretary General.

"For the first time in the history of Egypt's elections, we do not have anything to hide. (And thus) we have invited the Arab League, the African Union, and the European Commission and told them to send us as many monitors as they would like."Some 50 million voters are expected to cast their ballot.

The first round of elections are to take place on Wednesday.

Bomb Attack in Italy's Brindisi CondemnedItalian Prime minister Mario Monti has condemned the Brindisi bombing which left a 16-year-old girl dead and 10 other people wounded.

The bomb exploded in front of a school in the southern Italian city.

Monti, speaking at the G8 summit at Camp David, sent his thoughts to the victims' families.

"I'd just like to say a couple of things... the first is to express my indignation and my condolences to the family after this very serious criminal act in Brindisi. All my thoughts and affection goes to Melissa's family for their tragic loss and I'm sending my best wishes to the families involved in this unprecedented uncivilised act."Demonstrators have gathered outside the Pantheon in Rome to show their solidarity to the victims of the blast and to protest against the mafia, linked to the attack.

Officials initially suggested a local mafia group was the main suspect. But investigators later said the rudimentary nature of the bomb and the targeting of an all-girls secondary school did not point toward organised crime.

There is so far no claim of responsibility.

Filipinos Protest against Lady Gaga ConcertAround 200 Filipinos have marched through Manila to protest against U.S. singer Lady Gaga ahead of her concert in the country.

Protesters marched along the main avenue leading to the concert hall carrying placards and chanting "Stop Lady Gaga concert!"Anti-riot police prevented protesters from reaching the concert hall.

Benny Abante, founder of the Christian group, Bible Mode Youth Philippines, called on the singer to "tone down" her concert.

"We're hoping that if they will continue the concert, they should tone it down. For example, she should not sing songs that could offend our spiritual senses or wear two-piece bikinis in front of the crowd."Lady Gaga, who is on her "Born This Way" world tour, has witnessed a number of protests by conservative Christian and Muslim groups in Asia directed at her.

She has been criticized for the sexual content of her songs, and for the "twisting" of religious iconography in her music and videos.

Metropolitan Bible Baptist church preacher John Lamela said the singer should respect the conservative religious values of Filipino Christian groups.

"We don't hate Lady Gaga, actually we believe that she is an artist and we respect that. What we are just asking is for her not to put disrespect and not to malign our faith. We, as Filipinos, we are a Christian country and we believe in our values."Lady Gaga is expected to open her two day concert in Manila on May 21.

The singer has already been refused by the Indonesian government to perform in Jakarta on June 3, due to pressure from Islamic groups there.

Expert Believes Chinese Economy Is Achieving a Soft-landingA leading Chinese economics expert is now suggesting the latest stats here in China are pointing to this country's economy coming in for a 'soft landing.'

CRI's Wei Tong has more.

The Chinese government is targeting whole-year GDP growth of 7.5 percent, an unemployment rate of around 4 percent, and an inflation rate of between 3.5 to 4 percent.

China's consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, has been on a downward trend in the first four months of this year, rising by only 3.4 percent in April.

Chen Fengying with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations says he believes the drop in the inflation rate is a clear sign of an economic soft-landing.

"The April figure demonstrates what the government has been achieving since last year: moderate inflation, moderate growth, and an economic restructuring driven by domestic demand, all for the purpose of realizing a relatively stable environment for the economy."A number of observers have expressed concerns about the direction China's growth is heading, noting the 8.1-percent rise in GDP is the slowest pace of growth China has seen since April of 2009, when the world was caught in the worst of the global economic downturn.

However, Chen Fengying is suggesting that isn't something to be overly concerned about.

"The macro economic indicators are overall not that bad, considering the worsening external environment, and the fact that China is undergoing a transformation of its growth model. Moreover, we have increased spending on social welfare. So it is not based on fact to say China is in for a hard-landing."Chen Fengying IS predicting a slowdown in growth in this current quarter.

However, he says he sees the Chinese economy gradually picking back up in the 2nd half of the year.

For CRI, I'm Wei Tong.

Chinese Companies Stress more on Social Factors for Long Term GrowthWith China's rapid economic growth in recent years, analysts argue Chinese businesses have become only focused on maximising profits and boosting growth.

But the situation looks to be changing, as a growing trend towards better business practices and embracing fresh innovation, pushes companies to alter their business strategies.

The release of China's first 'Health Index' for Chinese enterprises has now revealed how companies are no longer looking at profit as the only parameter of success, but also the social, legal and moral factors needed to achieve long-term growth.

Rob Costelloe tells us more.

The first China Business Health Index was jointly released by Zhejiang University and Consulting Group Horizon.

Comprised from surveys taken from over three hundred independent and private businesses, the index aims to explore the current health of Chinese enterprises in areas such as corporate social responsibility, legal frameworks and entrepreneurship.

The President of Shanghai Aroma Fashion Company, Diwu Birong, sees the benefit the index could provide for the longevity of Chinese enterprises and strategy development:

"The index is valuable in the sense of helping the Chinese enterprises to grow in a sustainable way. We used to pay close attention to profits only. At the same time, it provides many detailed indicators of how healthy your business is. We can use these indicators to evaluate our own businesses, find out the problems and then improve."But the chairman of Horizon Consulting, Victor Yuan, sees the health of Chinese enterprises as more about personal conduct and moral requirements:

"For most individuals and individual entrepreneurs, health means their better personal behaviour. It's not just an excuse to talk about, people like to talk about policy, government policy and maybe some over-strong government interference. I think the healthy situation would be if as a business person, you know what your boundary for responsibility is and what is your responsible behaviour to doing business".

The index has revealed China's current business strengths lie with entrepreneurial spirit and responsibility to society, but lags behind in terms of regulation adherence and marketing.

The dean of the School of Management at Zhejiang University Professor Wu Xiaobo, also believes more intangible assistance is required from the government to ensure the free movement of markets and company performance.

"The registration systems are very important and keeping the fair play is important. And one thing is the government plays the role as the father in China, take care of all their boys. Some boys are good, some boys are bad so we see all those governments changing regulation to try and look after their old companies. But actually there're some companies that should have failed and been eliminated from the market."As China's economy tries to shift from one based on manufacturing and exports to a services and domestic consumer oriented economy, the health index will offer guidance for businesses on how to ensure continued innovation.

It will also act as a pro-active social and moral compass for companies to achieve long-term sustainability.

For CRI, I'm Rob Costelloe.

Respite for RethinkingFishing moratoriums have proven to be instrumental in curbing over-fishing and rehabilitating marine resources worldwide.

The annual summer fishing moratorium imposed by China in the South China Sea, a move which the foreign ministry says is not related to the current maritime territorial dispute, will certainly contribute to easing tensions in the area as it covers most parts of the South China Sea, including Huangyan Island.

An editorial in the China Daily believes that the Philippines should seize this chance to peacefully solve the dispute with Beijing, stating that China has the legal and moral grounds for the use of more aggressive means to defend its maritime territory.

The article states that China has consistently sought to resolve the dispute through diplomatic negotiations, fulfilling its role as a responsible country committed to peace and stability within the region and beyond.

Regrettably, Manila has consistently rejected Beijing's friendly overtures and insists on testing Beijing's resolve by repeatedly inflaming tensions and stirring up nationalist sentiment at home.

However, the article notes that Philippine President Benigno Aquino seems to have realized the folly of such an approach.

According to Philippine media, Aquino said the Huangyan Island dispute might soon be resolved as discussions with China had taken a clearer direction. Aquino also implied that the Philippines might no longer push for international arbitration.

The article points out that the fishing moratorium means the troubled waters near the island can now enjoy a moment of peace. Aquino should take this opportunity to work with China in order to address the situation through consultations, as a peaceful South China Sea caters to the interests of both sides.

***************************Xinhua: UN Reform should be Based on Comprehensive ConsiderationsEarlier this week, a group of five countries headed by Switzerland sought to put forward a proposal on the reform of the UN Security Council.

The proposal called for the restriction of the permanent members' right to veto resolutions in the case of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.

However, Switzerland's UN ambassador withdrew the text at the last minute in order to avoid legal arguments over the definitions of such cases.

The proposal, despite not having been put forward officially, once again brought attention to the topic of reform within the United Nations; one which has been hotly debated in recent years.

China's Xinhua News Agency carried a commentary related to the topic, stating that any UN reform plan should be based on comprehensive considerations.

The article states that reform of the UN, especially with regards to its powerful security council, now seems inevitable and necessary, more than six decades after its establishment.

It notes that China, as a veto-wielding permanent member of the Security Council, supports a package of solutions that could simultaneously introduce effective changes to the UN.

Xinhua notes that a practical reform plan should tackle such issues as membership, veto powers, seat distribution, working methods, as well as the relationship between the council and the General Assembly.

The commentary argues that the text put forward by Switzerland only attempts to reform the current working mechanism within the council. It points out that such a proposal would not be successful unless other aspects could be properly reformed in advance.

Meanwhile, Xinhua says a proposed package should also be based on broad and democratic consultation among member states and should accommodate the interests and concerns of all parties concerned.

The news agency also agrees with China's official stance that developing nations should enjoy an expanded representation in the council and be more involved in its decision-making process.

Xinhua admits that a number of disagreements remain among UN members concerning core issues such as the enlargement of the Security Council and the use of veto powers.

However, the commentary states that all relevant parties should continue to hold dialogues and work together to bring effective reforms to the UN so that it can better serve world peace and prosperity.