Obama moves G8 summit

Barack Obama will host the G8 summit at his Camp David presidential retreat in the Maryland countryside instead of Chicago as first scheduled, the White House said.

“To facilitate a free-flowing discussion with our close G8 partners, the president is inviting his fellow G8 leaders to Camp David on May 18-19,” the White House said in a statement.

The G8 — which consists of France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan, the United States, Russia, and Britain — has attracted violent street protests in the past from groups who view it as a rich club that does not do enough to help the poor.