Agence France-Presse: The environment ministers of rich and emerging nations were looking Wednesday to Washington for new leadership at talks in Sicily on combatting global warming. “We are all encouraged by the new position of the United States,” Italian host Stefania Prestigiacamo said as the three-day meeting kicked off. “It is an important signal on the issues of the environment and technology.” The start of the talks coincided with Earth Day, an occasion US President Barack Obama used to launch …