U.S. President Barack Obama is in London, where he will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron and be honored by Queen Elizabeth at a state dinner Tuesday. The president left Dublin half a day early because of ash drifting from a volcano in Iceland.
President Obama arrived in London late Monday night, instead of Tuesday morning as had been planned. As a result, he and first lady Michelle Obama spent their first night in the British capital at the home of the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom. They will stay at Buckingham Palace Tuesday night, as scheduled.
This is not President Obama's first visit to Britain, but it is his first formal state visit here. Britain's Queen Elizabeth will hold a state dinner in the president's honor.
Obama will meet with British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday. They will certainly discuss economic issues as they both prepare for the Group of 8 economic summit, later in the week in France.
Security issues will also be a major focus for the two leaders. The British Charge d'Affaires in the United States, Philip Barton, recently told a forum at The Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based research group, Obama and Cameron will concentrate on the changes in the Middle East and North Africa.
"They will be talking about the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. I am sure they will also discuss how best we can work together to respond to the Arab Spring and support countries like Egypt and Tunisia as they go through transition," said Barton.
In addition to Mr. Cameron, President Obama will meet with Britain's opposition leader, Ed Miliband, and he will speak to both houses of Parliament.
It is widely believed that another priority for Obama in this visit is to bolster the U.S.-British relationship, itself. What the late British prime minister Winston Churchill dubbed the "special relationship" has shown some signs of neglect in recent years.
Obama's first press secretary, Robert Gibbs, declined to describe it as a "special relationship," but rather as a "partnership." And, administration statements referring to the energy company BP by its former name, British Petroleum, during the Gulf of Mexico oil spill angered some people in Britain.
However, the British Charge d'Affaires, Philip Barton, says the bond between Britain and America remains as strong as ever.
"For the United Kingdom, the United States is our closest ally," said Barton. "So the state visit has both symbolic and substantive importance."
A column in Tuesday's Times of London, under Obama's and Cameron's bylines, proclaims that the relationship is not just special, but essential.
The importance of that longtime alliance will be on very conspicuous display in the British capital this week.
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Ash from a volcano erupting in Iceland has caused some airlines to cancel flights over parts of Europe.
The European air traffic agency Eurocontrol said Tuesday about 250 flights have been cancelled, as the ash cloud from Iceland's Grimsvotn volcano moves across British airspace.
The ash has disrupted flights to Scotland and northern Britain on several carriers, including British Airways, Dutch carrier KLM, Easyjet and several regional airlines.
Norway's airport operator said Tuesday it has halted traffic at two airports after the ash cloud reached the southwestern part of the country.
The Icelandic Meteorological Office said the volcano, which lies beneath the island's largest glacier, continued to shoot plumes of smoke up to nine kilometers into the air. Officials said the eruption has eased since it first began on Saturday.
Forecasters are uncertain of the path of the ash cloud as it drifts across the continent, but they say the cloud could travel as far as Scandinavia, western France and Spain by later this week.
But experts say the impact of the eruption will be far less severe than last year's eruption of Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano.
The eruption of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano in April 2010 produced an ash cloud that winds blew toward northern Europe, causing airports in the region to ground all planes for several days as a safety precaution. Around 100,000 flights were cancelled, and at least 8 million passengers were stranded worldwide.
Grimsvotn last erupted in 2004.
Iceland reopened its airports late Monday, after they were closed Sunday because of ash concerns.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to AIPAC - America's largest pro-Israel organization - just three days after meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. After that meeting, both sides agreed that there are many differences still remaining on the path to peace.
Netanyahu took the podium Monday night and praised the United States for continuing support and partnership.
"Thank you for defending Israel's right to defend itself. Thank you for standing by Israel as it seeks a secure peace," he said.
The prime minister's remarks came after a turbulent few days between him and his U.S. counterpart, President Barack Obama. Obama Sunday spoke to the same powerful pro-Israel organization to clarify his call, last week. for a return to 1967 border as a basis for peace negotiations. Netanyahu told AIPAC Monday that a return to the borders of 44 years ago is not an option.
"We can only make peace with the Palestinians if they are prepared to make peace with the Jewish state ... It must leave Israel with security and, therefore, Israel must not return to the indefensible 1967 lines," he said.
David Aaron is a senior fellow at the Rand Corporation and has served as its director of it Center for Middle East Public Policy. Aaron is not surprised at the discord between Obama and Netanyahu.
"I don't really think that Prime Minister Netanyahu came here to have a sweet and light discussion. I think he feels that it might be in his interest to have a more conflictual relationship with President Obama," said Aaron. "The Israeli government, this particular government feels more comfortable if the Republicans were in the White House, so I think part of this has something to do with that kind of strategic calculation."
Obama is up for re-election in 2012.
Obama and Netanyahu say this week's public pronouncements amount to disagreements among friends.
The prime minister Monday spoke of changes in the Middle East - what many are calling the Arab Spring - and how that plays on Israel.
"Now, more than ever, what we need is clarity ... Events in our region are opening people's eyes to a simple truth," he said. "The problems of the region are not rooted in Israel."
Aaron says evolving Middle Eastern countries want to look ahead to their own political structure, not how the Israeli-Palestinian issue has affected them in the past.
"They want to go on and do different things with their countries," he said. "They want to change their political societies and culture. They want to create new democratic institutions. They're not interested in fighting the '48 war [Israel's war of independence]."
Netanyahu speaks before a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. There, he promises to provide details on Israel's vision of peace.
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An American team, led by a U.S. ambassador, has arrived in Pyongyang to assess the food situation in North Korea.
Pyongyang is allowing, for the first time, an American envoy whose portfolio is the North Korean human rights issue, to visit the country.
Ambassador Robert King is leading a five-person team on a trip that is mainly to evaluate whether the United States should resume giving food to the impoverished communist state.
The ambassador is scheduled to be there through Saturday, but U.S. officials say some team members may stay longer to assess the situation in remote parts of the country.
North Korean diplomats, in recent months, have made urgent appeals for food. The World Food Program of the United Nations says more than six million North Koreans are short of food.
Daniel Pinkston, the senior analyst in Seoul for the International Crisis Group, says there is little doubt that North Korea cannot feed its own people.
"The debate right now is the severity and if, in fact, this year is worse or significantly worse than last year or previous years. I think that's what the assessment team will try to find out. They'll try to confirm some of the fact-finding and the assessment of the WFP team. And then, of course, it will be a political decision on how to go forward," said Pinkston.
In both the United States and South Korea there is a divide about the ramifications of providing such aid to the reclusive communist country.
Those favoring food aid say it could encourage an opening of the country or prompt concessions from Pyongyang on nuclear or humanitarian issues. Those opposed contend that denying the assistance to such a repressive country could help hasten the government's collapse.
ICG analyst Pinkston doubts either option would prove to be a catalyst.
"I don't think food aid, withholding it or providing it, is really going to change the situation. This really has no traction or leverage on the political polices in Pyongyang," he said.
Four prominent U.S. senators, in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are calling for a cautious approach and say they have questions about the conclusion of the World Food Program report. The politicians say Pyongyang may be using food aid as a political weapon and any resumption of American assistance should only come after consultations with Washington's allies in Seoul and Tokyo.
U.S. food aid to North Korea was suspended more than two years ago after Pyongyang would not allow an increase in the number of Korean-speaking monitors. They were meant to ensure the food was reaching those most in need rather than being diverted to the military or the elite.
South Korea has severely restricted aid to the North for the past year. That was prompted by the sinking of a South Korean warship in the Yellow Sea, which Washington, Seoul and others concluded was caused by a North Korean torpedo.
A spokesman at South Korea's foreign ministry, Cho Byung-je, says Seoul has not changed its stance about resuming food aid to Pyongyang.
Cho says an accurate gauge of the actual consumption of food in North Korea is needed, as well as making sure the food gets delivered to where it is needed.
South Korea stopped its annual aid of 400,000 tons of rice in 2008 after a conservative government came into office here. But it has allowed civic groups to send smaller quantities of humanitarian and medical assistance
Some leaders of South Korean civic and religious groups are calling for the government to give permission for that aid to be expanded.
The United States and Britain are planning to form a joint national security council, designed to allow the two allies close cooperation in dealing with security challenges.
The two are expected to officially announce the creation of the new National Security Strategy Board during U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to London this week.
Mr. Obama's national security adviser, Tom Donilon, and his British counterpart, Peter Ricketts, will head the group, which is to share information and deal with long-term security challenges.
Officials say the board also will discuss responses to recent developments in the Middle East and will examine rogue states.
The U.S. and Britain already have long-standing cooperation on a wide range of security issues, from terrorism to the war in Afghanistan. But officials say the new body also will address future challenges, not just immediate concerns.
Mr. Obama and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron reaffirmed their countries' close ties in a joint article published by The Times of London. They wrote that the U.S.-British relationship is not just special, but also essential to the two countries and to the world.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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While visiting Dublin, President Barack Obama said Monday the United States and Ireland share a "blood link" that goes beyond strategic interests or foreign policy. As our correspondent reports from the Irish capital, the president also visited a small town where his family heritage extends back more than a century and a half.
President Obama and his wife Michelle received an enthusiastic welcome from Ireland's leaders and its people.
The highlight of the day was the frenzied greeting the first couple received in the small town of Moneygall, where one of Mr. Obama's ancestors lived generations ago.
The village of about 300 people had eagerly anticipated Mr. Obama's visit. The president and Mrs. Obama walked up and down Moneygall's main street and shook hands with people in a crowd many times the size of the town's population.
They stopped into the president's ancestral home and an Irish craft shop before visiting a pub.
The president and his wife chatted with the bartender and local residents while drinking a Guinness beer, which he said tastes better in Ireland than in the United States.
"But what I realized was that you guys are keeping all the best stuff here," said President Obama.
Mr. Obama's great-great-great-grandfather, a shoemaker named Falmouth Kearney, is said to have left Moneygall for America in 1850, during the worst of Ireland's potato famine. The Irish connection was discovered during Mr. Obama's 2008 campaign for the presidency.
About 37 million Americans claim Irish ancestry, more than eight times the population of Ireland. President Obama told several thousand people at a concert in Dublin that Irish history is intertwined with American history.
Prime Minister Enda Kenny said the Irish excitement about the president's visit was palpable. Ireland's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Collins, referred to the occasion as "a golden moment" for Ireland.
After arriving in Dublin, Mr. Obama, with Irish President Mary McAleese, planted a tree near where Britain's Queen Elizabeth had planted one the previous week.
A short time later, Mr. Obama met with Prime Minister Kenny, who welcomed the president and told him the Irish government is dealing with its economic crisis in a serious way.
Last November, Ireland accepted a financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. One condition of the help is that the Irish government must cut about 25,000 jobs.
Mr. Obama acknowledged the tough steps Ireland is taking to address its economic problems. He said the American people are rooting for Ireland to succeed, and he pledged that the U.S. government will help in any way possible.
"We are glad to see that progress is being made in stabilizing the economic situation here," said Obama. "I know it is a hard road, but it is one that the Irish people are more than up to the task in achieving."
Mr. Obama also said progress toward peace in Northern Ireland is an inspration, demonstrating how people in "longstanding struggles can re-imagine their relationships."
In addition, the president and Mr. Kenny talked about the NATO military operation in Libya, and about U.S. immigration policy.
And Mr. Obama said Ireland "punches above its weight," contributing disproportionately to international projects from peacekeeping to food security to human rights.
The president next visits Britain, where he will try to reinforce what has long been called the "special relationship" between the two countries.
Later in the week, Mr. Obama will attend the G8 economic summit in the French resort city of Deauville. He will conclude his trip with a visit to Warsaw, where he will meet with Central European leaders.
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Authorities in the midwestern U.S. state of Missouri now say at least 116 people are dead after a powerful tornado ripped through the city of Joplin, reducing much of the area to rubble.
Weather officials say the twister may have been the deadliest single tornado in the United States in nearly 60 years. The powerful weather system that spawned it struck the Joplin area Sunday evening, crushing cars in its path, uprooting trees and ripping apart homes and businesses.
Sirens gave city residents a 24-minute warning to seek safety before the twister touched down. The tornado also damaged a hospital, which was evacuated, and left a helicopter crushed on its side in the hospital parking lot.
Tornadoes at a Glance
Formation: Rotating thunderstorms or supercells cause the most destructive and deadly tornadoes.
Many supercells never produce a tornado. They can produce damaging hail, extreme winds, frequent lightning, flash floods and can last for many hours.
Duration: Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour. Most last less than 10 minutes.
Damage: The new, Enhanced F-scale is becoming the standard for assessing tornado damage.
Even with engineering guidelines, tornado wind speeds are based on calculations.
Frequency: About 1,300 tornadoes strike the U.S. each year.
The true average is not known due to recording mistakes, erroneous classification or under reporting.
Path: Most tornadoes move from southwest to northeast, or west to east. Some change direction or even backtrack.
Prediction: One or two days in advance, forecasters look for temperature and wind flow patterns which can cause enough moisture, instability, lift and wind shear for tornadic thunderstorms.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Search crews in Joplin labored Monday to find tornado victims, but their effort was made more difficult by a thunderstorm and driving rain in the area. Officials estimate the tornado damage covers at least 25 percent of Joplin, a city of about 50,000 people. Its wind speed was reported at 265 kilometers per hour.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon Monday went to the areas hit by the storm to survey the damage and meet with emergency personnel. A statement issued by his office says the Federal Emergency Management Agency has extended disaster assistance to individuals and families in the counties that bore the brunt of the storm.
U.S. President Barack Obama called the governor to express condolences and pledge federal government support for recovery efforts.
Separately, another tornado in the northern state of Minnesota killed one person and injured nearly 30 others. The strong line of storms swept across states stretching from Wisconsin to Oklahoma.
Last month, tornadoes and violent thunderstorms killed more than 300 people across the southern United States. Alabama bore the brunt of the fatalities, with more than 200 dead.
In the southern state of Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard has reopened a stretch of the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge after the section was closed when three barges sank amid high water and fast currents. Officials are allowing the barges to move north through that section of the river.
Earlier this month, U.S. Army engineers opened a spillway north of Baton Rouge in an effort to save that city and New Orleans from the flood waters of the Mississippi. The flooding was caused by snow melt and heavy rains in northern states, and it was carried south by the Mississippi and its tributaries.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
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Pakistani commandos have regained control of a naval base after more than 17 hours of fighting with Taliban gunmen, in an attack that raised questions about Pakistan's ability to defend itself from militants.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Monday that 10 security personnel were killed and 14 others were wounded in the brazen attack on the base in the southern port city of Karachi.
Malik said four to six heavily armed militants dressed in black used ladders to climb into the base late Sunday, setting off intense gunbattles and several explosions. Malik said four attackers were killed but two may have escaped.
A Taliban spokesman said the attack was launched to avenge the death of al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, who was killed by U.S. special forces in a raid on May 2 in Pakistan.
Interior Minister Malik said six Americans and 11 Chinese contractors were on the base at the time of the attack and had been evacuated safely.
Pakistani officials say two maritime surveillance airplanes were destroyed. The planes were recently given to Pakistan by the United States.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack as "cowardly" and said it would not deter Pakistan's government or its people from fighting terrorism.
The United States and Britain also condemned the attack, which officials said underscored the threat Pakistan faces from violent extremists.
Elsewhere, Pakistani officials say a U.S. drone strike killed at least seven suspected militants in the militant stronghold of North Waziristan, along the Afghan border.
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At least six people died as gun battles broke out Monday between Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's security forces and members of a key tribe aligned with the opposition.
The clashes happened in the capital, Sana'a, near the house of tribal leader Sheik Sadeq al-Ahmar. Al-Ahmar in March joined the opposition movement that is demanding Mr. Saleh's immediate resignation. At least 25 others were wounded in Monday's clashes.
"[T]eetering on the edge of something extremely dangerous," – is how Robert Powell of The Economist Intelligence Unit described the situation in Yemen in an interview with Susan Yackee:
The clashes come amid international pressure on Mr. Saleh to provide a peaceful transition ending his more than three decades of autocratic rule.
A council of Arab states suspended its mediation efforts on Sunday after Mr. Saleh refused to sign a deal for him to leave office.
The Gulf Cooperation Council made the decision when Mr. Saleh backed out of the deal after Yemen's opposition signed the pact on Saturday with the understanding that the president would sign it on Sunday.
It was the third time the Yemeni leader has refused to sign the deal.
U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday the United States believes Mr. Saleh can still sign the agreement to break the political "deadlock" that has plagued the Arab country and "urged him to take action."
The agreement offered Mr. Saleh immunity from prosecution if he transfers power to a deputy within 30 days of signing.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the United States is "deeply disappointed" by Mr. Saleh's refusal to sign the deal. In a statement late Sunday, she also said Mr. Saleh is turning his back on his commitments and disregarding the aspirations of the Yemeni people.`
In a speech Saturday, the president denounced the U.S.-backed proposal as a "coup" and warned that his departure could allow al-Qaida to take over parts of Yemen.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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Nigeria is preparing to inaugurate President Goodluck Jonathan on Sunday. But challengers in last month's election are in court contesting the result and alleging vote fraud.
Nigeria's electoral commission says Jonathan won more than 22 million votes, finishing well ahead of former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari's 12 million votes.
But Buhari says the vote was rigged with electoral commission computers that deflated his share of the vote in northern states and inflated Jonathan's share of the vote in southern states.
Lawyers for Buhari's political party are in court asking the Independent National Electoral Commission - or INEC - to hand over materials that they say will allow them to prove scientifically that the vote was stolen. Abubakar Malami is an attorney for Buhari's party.
"We want to now use the data that has been generated by INEC in relation to the fingerprint vis a vis the fingerprint impression on the ballot papers to cross-match and ascertain whether indeed truly the voters who were registered at various polling units were indeed the people who had actually voted for the purpose of that election," said Malami.
Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party has won every presidential election since Nigeria's return to civilian rule in 1999. Ruling-party attorney Joe Kyari Gadzama says he is confident the president's election will be upheld. "It is our hope that this journey will be a smooth one because, in the past, we have participated in similar proceedings and all went on well," Gadzama stated.
Following the vote, Human Rights Watch says at least 800 people were killed during violence by both mostly-Muslim Buhari supporters and mostly-Christian Jonathan supporters.
Gadzama says it is far better for Nigerians to resolve their political differences in court.
"The judiciary is the last hope of the common man. The judiciary is the stabilizer of our polity in this country. Nigerians, particularly the politicians, have recognized the need to continually come back to the court for the resolution and determination of all electoral and political matters. And, that is how it should be," he said.
Past electoral challenges have taken months for Nigerian courts to decide. Buhari lawyer Malami says it is not about doing this quickly, it is about ensuring that the outcome of the presidential election reflects the will of the voters.
'The length of time is not an issue, but the fundamental consideration is the truth associated with the election, for us to establish the truth," he said. "It has been acclaimed to be a free and fair election, and that contradicts our perception of the election."
Jonathan begins a week of activities leading up to his inauguration in a meeting with private sector leaders chaired by Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary General Jeffrey Sachs.
Jonathan is promising to move quickly to improve public infrastructure, power supply, education, health care, and job creation. Sachs says Nigeria's successful elections give it the opportunity to consolidate democracy and rapidly develop its economy.
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United Nations peacekeepers in Sudan say the contested town of Abyei is being burned and looted two days after government troops seized control, forcing residents to flee. Our correspondent filed this report from the southern Sudanese capital, Juba, where he is traveling with the UN Security Council.
Demonstrators chanting "We'll never, never give up Abyei" greeted a visiting delegation of Security Council ambassadors on Monday as they arrived in Juba for talks with South Sudanese leader Salva Kiir, who is due to become president of the newly independent nation of Southern Sudan on July 9.
High on the Security Council's agenda for the talks was how to settle the status of Abyei - the oil-producing region at the heart of a north-south territorial dispute. Northern troops overran the town of Abyei on Saturday, driving out southern forces and prompting nearly all of its estimated 20,000 people to flee.
As the Security Council arrived, the U.N. mission in Sudan issued a statement condemning the looting and burning in Abyei. Spokesman Hua Jiang said the statement calls on the northern army to maintain law and order in areas under their control.
"For the second day running, there has been sporadic fighting and looting and burnings, and the United Nations has not been able to conduct its usual routine patrols," said Hua. "But from what we can see from the watching towers, we can see smoke coming from different quarters of the town and certainly gunshots heard all over the place."
The statement blames unspecified "armed elements" for the looting and burning. But the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping mission, General Moses Obi, said the only "armed elements" in Abyei after Saturday's fighting are Sudanese government armed forces and allied militias.
"The town is right now abandoned; it is clear of civilian population," said Obi. "There was dotted burning of structures far and wide, there was presence of militia elements who obviously are moving alongside SAF [the Sudanese Armed Forces]"
After spending Sunday meeting with officials in Khartoum to hear the north's side of the Abyei dispute, the Security Council spent Monday touring the south.
At the town of Wau, 26-year-old Abyei resident Julia Arual told U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice that her family was scattered when they fled Abyei two days earlier. They communicated through a translator.
ARUAL: "We don't know where to take our children. They are killing us."
RICE: "Who's killing you?"
ARUAL: "The northern Sudanese are killing them. What is the international community going to do about this situation?"
RICE: "We are working on helping to resolve the conflict in Abyei. We were in Khartoum yesterday, we will be in Juba this afternoon and we're very focused on Abyei."
U.N. Security Council members met with chiefs of the Dinka tribes who live in and around Abyei. Paramount Dinka chief Kuol Deng says he told the ambassadors that the United Nations must act because it is the only entity with the authority to protect people in conflict zones.
"People are being killed," said Deng. "Everything is burning and we want this thing to be stopped. We want also there should be disarmament. Let us make it an area guarded by the Security Council. They should bring in international troops."
Security Council members say they are considering ways of establishing a new peacekeeping operation that would take over from the U.N. Mission in Sudan when its mandate expires on July 9 - the day the south becomes independent. One ambassador speaking privately said the council might defer to a proposed solution being drafted by the African Union's point man on Sudan, former South African President Thabo Mbeki.
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Several strong explosions have shaken Tripoli early Tuesday as NATO warplanes repeatedly bombed targets around the Libyan capital.
Correspondents on the scene describe it as one of the most intense series of airstrikes since NATO's air campaign against the forces of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi began. More than a dozen explosions were heard in the first hour of the raids.
A government spokesman reported casualties, but that could not be confirmed.
Britain and France have decided to deploy attack helicopters to join the NATO air campaign. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe Monday said the deployment falls within the United Nations mandate to protect Libyan civilians. He said it will take place as soon as possible.
NATO has about 200 aircraft at its disposal for the operations in Libya, but it has not used any helicopters to conduct its core mission of hitting Gadhafi forces threatening civilians.
A high-ranking U.S. diplomat is on a three-day visit to the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi in what the State Department calls "another signal" of America's support for the rebels' Transitional National Council. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman is the most senior U.S. official to visit Libya since the uprising against Moammar Gadhafi began in February.
A State Department statement called the NTC "a legitimate and credible interlocutor for the Libyan people."
On Sunday, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, opened an EU office in Benghazi.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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Chinese officials say the reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is visiting their country for help with improving economic development in his destitute nation. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao told Asian leaders meeting in Japan that Kim wants to learn how to replicate China's booming economy and fast-paced development.
Reports of Kim's unannounced visit to China began last Friday when he crossed into the country on in his private train. Since then, Chinese and international media have been trying to track where the leader is visiting.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao confirmed that the shy and eccentric leader is in China on a fact-finding mission - the third such trip in a little more than a year. Wen told South Korea's president that Kim is seeking to boost economic ties.
The trip comes as leaders from Japan, China and South Korea are meeting in Tokyo to discuss cooperation in trade, security and nuclear safety issues. Officials agreed North Korea must become more trustworthy and show sincerity before the stalled six-nation talks on its nuclear program can resume.
The deputy director of the Center for Korean Studies at Fudan University, Cai Jian, says Kim also wants to smooth diplomatic ties with China after upsetting its closest ally last year with its deadly provocations with South Korea.
Cai says he believes the most important reasons for the visit are politics and diplomacy, and that Kim is seeking Beijing's continued backing.
Cai says at the same time the Chinese government also wants North Korea to adopt its mix of capitalist and authoritarian reform to make improvements in living conditions for North Koreans.
But Cai says the real question is whether the autocratic leader is willing to embark on such a fundamental change to North Korea's state-directed economy. He says there is still division between the communist governments of Pyongyang and Beijing over how far to embrace Western-style economic reforms.
Chinese media say Kim visited southern China by train after a trip to China's northeast to discuss an economic development zone project. Some media claim his son and heir-apparent, Kim Jong-un, is with him, and they were both invited by China for the "educational" trip.
China fears a North Korean economic collapse could lead to refugees flooding across their shared northeast border.
North Korea is short of power, food and vital raw materials and under U.N. sanctions over its nuclear program.
Pyongyang relies heavily on aid and the central government has admitted it faces severe food shortages this year. Last month the U.N. World Food Program said it would launch emergency operations to feed an estimated three-and-a-half million people after a harsh winter.
The U.S. envoy for North Korean Human Rights heads to Pyongyang later this week to discuss food security.
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A U.N. envoy for human rights in Burma says the new government is failing to address the widespread abuse of ethnic-minority groups.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintan, says the new government is doing little to prevent military abuses against ethnic minorities living along the border with Thailand.
The military has been fighting for decades against ethnic rebel groups wanting autonomy and has cited the internal conflict as a reason it needs to maintain a significant degree of power.
In November, Burma held its first election in two decades, saying it was a final step in its move from a military government to civilian rule. The election was widely criticized as neither free nor fair but merely a way for the military to maintain power.
Despite the installation of a civilian government, Quintana say nothing has been done to address the ongoing violence.
"Systematic militarization contributes to human-rights abuses," he said. "These abuses include land confiscation, forced labor, internal displacement, extrajudicial killings, and sexual violence. They are widespread. They continue today. And, they remain essentially unaddressed by the authorities."
Quintana said a U.N. commission of inquiry may be needed to help with national reconciliation and accountability. He said in some cases, such as forced labor, the abuses are clearly state-sponsored.
"Myanmar may be the only or one of the only countries in the world where forced labor is being implemented by the state not private actors," added Quintana.
Nonetheless, Quintana said there were some positive signs such as lawmakers raising questions about human rights and the treatment of ethnic groups.
"The questions included the possibility of a cease-fire in Kayin State," he said. "Also, the issue of citizenship status of Rohingyas, and whether amnesty would be granted to Shan political prisoners."
Quintana spoke to reporters in Bangkok after a one-week visit to Thailand that included meetings with activists, experts, and officials about the situation in Burma.
The U.N. representative was not able to visit Burma because authorities refused to give him a visa, but he met with Burma's ambassador to Thailand. He also spoke by phone with Burma's democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who he says supports the idea of a U.N. commission.
Quintana said national reconciliation required the participation of all stakeholders and needed to start with the release of more than 2,000 political prisoners jailed in Burma.
His comments echoed those of U.N. Special Envoy to Burma Vijay Nambiar, who was allowed to visit the country earlier this month.
Last week, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Joseph Yun was also allowed in. He said the United States is willing to improve bilateral relations with Burma, but steps are needed toward democratic governance, respect for human rights, and the release of all political prisoners. He also conveyed U.S. concerns about Burma's military relationship with North Korea.
Yun was the first U.S. official to visit Burma since the government was installed.
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European foreign ministers have agreed to impose sanctions against Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in a toughening response to Damascus' crackdown against popular protests. The ministers also agreed to extend sanctions against Iran.
The latest European sanctions against Syria and Iran respond to the fast-paced developments in the Middle East, which include the turmoil in Libya and the Middle East peace process.
European Union foreign ministers agreed to slap an assets freeze and visa ban against President Bashar al-Assad and nine other members of his government. They also imposed asset freezes and travel bans against about 100 Iranian officials and companies with links to Iran's nuclear program.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague hailed both moves.
"I think it is very important that the European Union is taking this stand and taking it in such a united way," he said. "And I also particularly want to welcome the intensified sanctions against Iran. It is important not to forget while so many things are happening and changing in the Middle East, that Iran continues with its nuclear program."
European and other world powers fear Iran is trying to build a nuclear bomb. Tehran claims its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
The E.U. sanctions against Assad follow a similar move last week by Washington, as Syria continues to violently repress anti-government protests. In a keynote speech on the Middle East, President Barack Obama called for Assad to either allow a political transition to democracy or to step aside.
E.U. foreign ministers also discussed toughening their response to another restive Arab country, Libya. Hague said there was a need to intensify military, economic and diplomatic pressure against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
"I think that intensification of pressure is making progress, is steadily working, although we do not know how long that will take," Hague said.
On Sunday, the European Union also opened a diplomatic office in Libya's rebel stronghold in Benghazi. The move strengthens the rebels' profile, but falls short of formal, diplomatic recognition.
The ministers also welcomed Obama's call for a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians to be based on 1967 borders. E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton spoke to reporters on the matter.
"We believe that is a good place to begin the negotiations," she said. "Most importantly, we believe it is in Israel's real interest for the people of Israel, for the people of Palestine to get those negotiations moving now."
The Middle East also is expected to be high on the agenda later this week, when leaders from the G8 group of nations meet in the French city of Deauville.
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Indian leaders are promising to build new infrastructure and focus on economic development in insurgency-wracked Jammu and Kashmir State. The commitment came at the start of a project to build a new bridge in the Himalayan region, where despite a waning separatist insurgency, clashes continue.
A large crowd looked on in the remote hill town of Basholi as Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi inaugurated a project Monday to build a 592-meter-long bridge over the Ravi River.
The bridge will improve connectivity between the northern Jammu and Kashmir state and the neighboring states of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. This is aimed at boosting tourism, which is an economic mainstay of the scenic Himalayan region.
Defense Minister A.K. Antony, who attended the ceremony, says Jammu and Kashmir, also known as J and K, will be the government's "undivided priority". "The development of infrastructure will ensure accelerated economic progress not only for state of J and K, but also our nation," said Antony.
Gandhi commended the large turnout by Kashmiris in ongoing local elections that are being held in phases, calling it a vote for democracy, peace and development.
She also announced a plan to improve employment opportunities for young Kashmiris.
Gandhi says the government will provide training facilities to 100,000 young people over the next three to five years. She says this will improve their prospects of finding jobs throughout the country.
Local authorities in Kashmir have been asking the federal government to focus on economic development in the region, which witnessed violent protests last year led by stone-pelting Kashmiri youth. The street violence was blamed on popular anger at alleged abuses by Indian troops, and frustration at a lack of economic opportunities.
Although a two-decade-long violent separatist insurgency led by Islamic militant groups has waned, Kashmir continues to be a restive region, and is guarded by tens of thousands of soldiers.
Gandhi says the federal government will not compromise with terrorism, but has kept the doors open to explore peace with Pakistan.
India's tensions with Pakistan have been fueled by their conflicting claims over Kashmir, which is divided between them.
The heavily-guarded Kashmir border has been relatively calm in recent years, but sporadic incidents are still reported. Earlier this month, an Indian soldier was reportedly killed in a cross border firing incident between Indian and Pakistani troops.
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U.S. President Barack Obama has begun a visit to Ireland by praising its efforts to bring peace to the British province of Northern Ireland as an inspiration to the United States.
After meeting Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny in Dublin Monday, Obama said "progress" toward peace in Northern Ireland demonstrates how people in "longstanding struggles can re-imagine their relationships."
The president also said Queen Elizabeth of Britain's landmark visit to Ireland last week helped bring about "mutual warmth and healing" that sends a "ripple of hope" through both nations and around the world. The queen's trip was the first by a British monarch to Ireland in about a century.
As part of his four-nation European tour, Obama will also make a state visit to Britain, attend a Group of Eight nations summit in France, and visit Poland for talks with Central European leaders.
The president told Irish Prime Minister Kenny that the friendship between the United States and Ireland is not just a matter of strategic interest and foreign policy, but also carries a "blood link."
Obama said millions of Americans with Irish roots regard Ireland as the "homeland" of what he called their "extraordinary traditions." The blood link extends to the president himself, whose great-great-great grandfather on his mother's side was born in Ireland in 1830 and emigrated to the U.S. 20 years later.
Obama also welcomed Ireland's progress in stabilizing its heavily indebted economy, a process that he said will be a "hard road." Ireland was forced to accept a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund last November. The emergency loans came with stringent terms requiring Ireland to cut thousands of government jobs.
In one of the highlights of Obama's stay in Ireland, he began a brief visit to his ancestor's birthplace in the Irish hamlet of Moneygall on Monday. Residents of the village in Ireland's County Offaly were eagerly anticipating the president's pilgrimage.
Prior to meeting the Irish prime minister, Obama met his Irish counterpart, Mary McAleese, at her official residence in Dublin. The U.S. president also participated in a tree-planting ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement that put Northern Ireland on the road to peace.
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