The G8 is a club of eight rich countries. The leaders, and the ministers who look after money, meet from time to time to talk — mostly about trade, jobs, banks, and other big money problems, though they also touch war, health, and the planet. The eight in the old list are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, and Russia. Though actually, that list is a photograph from one period, not a law of nature. For years the club was the G7, with no Russia. Russia was invited later, and people started saying G8. After 2014 the others stopped asking Russia to the table, so the meetings went back to seven, and almost every newspaper now says G7. Some older books, and some people who learned the name years ago, still say G8. The group cannot pass world laws. It is a room where powerful countries try to line up their plans. The European Union often sits in on talks too, even though the name still counts countries, not the EU. You will also hear G20: that is a bigger table, with more countries, including ones that are growing fast.