OBAMA-EUROPE: U.S. President Barack Obama leaves Tuesday on his first visit to Europe as president.
He will travel first to London for a summit of the G-20 industrialized
and developing nations, which will focus on the global economic crisis.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Saturday that the president and
the United States are going to listen in London, as well as lead.
Mr. Obama also has plans to meet on the sidelines of the summit with a
host of world leaders, including the British and Indian prime
ministers, the presidents of China and Russia, and the king of Saudi
Arabia.
LONDON G20 PROTESTS: Tens of thousands of people held protests across Europe Saturday,
demanding action on poverty, jobs, and climate change ahead of the
Group of 20 economic summit in Britain.
In London, about 35,000 protesters marched through the city, united in
their belief that the current global economic system is not working and
sweeping changes are urgently needed. The march concluded at Speaker's
Corner in Hyde Park.
Organizers of the "Put People First March" included trade unions, religious organizations and environmental groups.
Similar protests also were held in the German capital, Berlin, and the
city of Frankfurt, as well in the capitals of Austria and France,
Vienna and Paris. Police say demonstrations were, for the most part,
peaceful.
AFGHANISTAN VIOLENCE: The U.S. military said Sunday that a roadside bomb in eastern
Afghanistan has killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded four others.
A military statement said the soldiers' vehicle struck a bomb Saturday while on patrol in Paktia province. The military says six people have been detained in connection with the attack.
Militants in Afghanistan rely heavily on roadside bombs in their campaign against foreign and government forces.
Violence in the country has surged in recent years due to the Taliban's
regrouping after U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan ousted their regime in
2001.
CHINA COMPUTER ESPIONAGE: Canadian researchers say they have discovered a large China-based
electronic spying operation that infiltrated computers and stole
information from government and private offices around the world,
including the Dalai Lama.
The New York Times and the Associated Press quote researchers at the
University of Toronto as saying close to 1,300 computers in 103
countries were affected.
The article says embassies, foreign ministries, government offices and
Tibetan exile centers in several countries were affected, but that
there is no evidence that U.S. government offices were breached.
TURKEY-ELECTION: Turkey is holding in local elections that will test the popularity of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Voters around the country on Sunday are electing nearly 3,000 mayors, as well as members of local councils and provincial assemblies. Most pre-election opinion surveys predicted a solid victory for Mr. Erdogan's moderate Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party, known by its Turkish initials AKP. But voters are heading to the polls amid record-high unemployment and a global financial crisis. The severe blows to Turkey's economy could hurt the party's showing.
