This Day in History: February 4, 2005
Top finance officials from seven of the world's richest countries, the G7 (now Group of 8 after the inclusion of Russia), opened a two-day meeting in London that, while unlikely to yield any major changes in exchange rate policies, offers fresh hope for a bold move to combat poverty in Africa. Diplomatic sources said former president Nelson Mandela was to hold a private meeting with finance ministers ahead of the official G7 talks in a bid to win commitments from them.