Barack Obama flew into Britain last night ahead of the G20 summit to face demands that world leaders make significant progress on financial regulation.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, will throw down the gauntlet today by staging a joint press conference in London demanding the G20 summit usher in a new era of global regulation of banks, executive bonuses, hedge funds and offshore tax havens.
In what will be seen as a challenge to Obama, they will also insist nobody at the summit should discuss a fresh stimulus package, despite a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development that "world trade is now in freefall".
The protesters are out in force:
As world leaders flew into London last night, parts of the capital were being boarded up in preparation for demonstrations which leaders fear will overshadow diplomatic negotiations.
Marchers will take to the streets from 11am in an attempt to bring the Square Mile to a halt, raising concerns about the potential for violence on one side, and overly aggressive policing on the other.
Scotland Yard's Commander Bob Broadhurst and Chief Superintendent Ian Thomas, co-ordinating the security effort, held last-minute talks yesterday with the organisers of Climate Camp, the largest protest group. Its organisers say they plan to set up a "festival-like" camp at an undisclosed location in the City.
The whole world is mad as hell, leaders and citizens alike. Hard to imagine that The One is going to get much buy in to his plan to buy up business. How surreal is it to have Germany and France warning us away from our socialistic path!?
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