Italy prepares for G8 summit today

US President Barack Obama will attend the summit along with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The two men have just agreed a framework for new nuclear weapons cuts in Moscow. The leaders of Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Canada and Japan will also attend, along with EU representatives. But Hu Jintao, China's president, has cancelled plans to attend the summit and address G8 leaders, instead flying back to Beijing amid continuing unrest in China's western province of Xinjiang.

Italy, which currently holds the rotating G8 presidency, has invited a total of 40 nations and international organizations to the G8 summit.

The global economy, climate change, trade, African development and food safety are on top of the meeting's agenda.

For the first time, the G8 will also issue a joint statement on sustainable growth with the Group of Five (G5), which consists of China, Mexico, India, Brazil and South Africa, as well as Egypt.

According to the summit's program outline, the G8 leaders will meet with leaders of the G5 plus Egypt on Thursday. On Friday, they will also meet with leaders from eight African countries.

Police in Rome arrested 38 people Tuesday demonstrating against the summit. Italy is deploying thousands of police for the event, seeking to avoid the violence that marred the 2001 summit in Genoa, where one protester was killed and more than 200 injured.

With the world's most powerful leaders gathering in L'Aquila just three months after a devastating earthquake, security officials have prepared an evacuation plan to airlift the leaders to safety in case of another tremor. The summit was moved from Sardinia to L'Aquila to boost reconstruction efforts.