[ti:G20 Leaders Talk About Economy -- and Iran ] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:IN THE NEWS] [by:WWW.51VOA.COM] [00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS [00:05.06]in VOA Special English. [00:08.25]This week, [00:10.54]leaders of the top industrial [00:12.84]and developing economies gathered [00:16.08]in the eastern United States. [00:18.76]They met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, [00:21.81]for a summit on the world's financial future. [00:25.85]Leaders of the Group of Twenty have now [00:29.43]met three times in less than a year [00:32.41]to deal with the worst recession [00:35.30]since the nineteen thirties. [00:37.84]Many of their governments [00:40.24]have used spending programs [00:42.78]to inject five trillion dollars [00:46.16]into their economies. [00:48.10]These stimulus efforts have had some success. [00:52.73]Now, the question is how and when [00:56.51]to withdraw that support [00:58.70]without harming a recovery, [01:01.44]and how to avoid a repeat [01:04.18]of the financial crisis. [01:06.57]The leaders agreed to make the G20 the main group [01:11.90]for their international economic cooperation, [01:15.69]instead of the G8. [01:17.98]The G20 is nineteen countries [01:21.81]and the European Union. [01:24.20]It includes fast-growing economies [01:27.68]in the developing world like China, [01:30.77]India and Brazil. [01:33.51]Earlier this week, [01:35.75]world leaders attended [01:37.44]the United Nations General Assembly [01:40.22]in New York. [01:41.72]President Obama, in a speech on Wednesday, [01:45.44]sought to distance himself [01:48.18]from some of the policies of George W. Bush. [01:52.37]BARACK OBAMA: "Those who used to chastise America [01:54.31]for acting alone in the world [01:56.30]cannot now stand by and wait for American [01:58.80]to solve the world's problems alone. [02:01.24]We have sought in word and deed [02:06.47]for a new era of engagement with the world." [02:09.71]On Thursday, the Security Council [02:12.44]approved a resolution to increase efforts [02:15.74]toward a world without nuclear weapons. [02:19.12]All fifteen members voted [02:22.17]for the resolution proposed [02:24.16]by the United States. [02:25.90]The five permanent members [02:28.49]are the United States, [02:30.24]Britain, China, France and Russia. [02:33.87]Those five plus Germany have been preparing [02:38.35]to meet with Iranian negotiators [02:40.79]on October first to discuss [02:43.53]Iran's nuclear program. [02:46.12]On Friday, there were new demands [02:49.52]for Iran to follow Security Council resolutions [02:53.95]to halt nuclear enrichment. [02:57.28]The American, British and French leaders [03:01.18]announced that Iran has been secretly building [03:05.17]a second enrichment center for several years. [03:09.60]American officials say the information [03:13.40]was made public after Iran discovered [03:17.18]that Western intelligence agencies [03:20.11]knew about the facility. [03:22.95]Iran informed the International [03:26.09]Atomic Energy Agency [03:28.52]in Vienna earlier this week. [03:31.41]Enriched uranium can be used [03:34.40]as fuel for nuclear energy [03:37.63]-- as Iran says [03:39.17]-- or it can be used for nuclear bombs. [03:43.35]French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, [03:46.94]"If by December, [03:48.68]there is not an in-depth change [03:51.65]by the Iranian leaders, [03:53.79]sanctions will have to be taken." [03:56.62]In New York, [03:58.61]Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said [04:02.20]President Obama will regret saying [04:05.73]that Iran has been building a secret facility. [04:09.91]He said Iran met I.A.E.A. rules [04:15.09]by informing the agency early enough [04:18.18]that the facility was being built. [04:21.25]Russia and China both urged Iran [04:25.87]to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear agency [04:29.26]on any investigation. [04:31.95]And that's IN THE NEWS [04:35.70]in VOA Special English. [04:38.88]For more news from the G20 meeting, [04:42.07]go to 51voa.com. [04:46.05]I'm Steve Ember.