This week's London Summit brings together the leaders of the world's 20 largest economic powers, known as the Group of 20, to discuss the global financial crisis and decide new measures to set the world on a more stable economic footing. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who hosts Thursday's talks, has set a bold agenda for this year's summit, calling on governments to sign up to a "global deal" to haul the world out of the crisis triggered by the ...

The Czech prime minister, whose country holds the rotating European Union presidency, said Wednesday the U.S. economic recovery plan is "a way to hell." The huge financial injections into the economy are a repetition of mistakes from the Depression era of the 1930s, Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek told the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, the official Czech news agency reported. He said "panic" surged in the European Union because of some of the U.S. measures, the news agency reported. ...

The Czech government lost a confidence vote in parliament Tuesday, forcing the prime minister and his Cabinet to resign, Czech media reported.

The Czech prime minister canceled a vote to allow the United States to put a key part of its planned missile defense system in the Central European country, the government announced late Tuesday. Prime Minister Miroslav Topolanek said he called off the vote for fear his government would lose but added he could still put the two treaties up for a vote in parliament at a later date. U.S. plans to put components of the planned missile defense system in ...

As the economic tsunami continues to rage across the planet, the near universal refrain has been that joint action is needed to pull us out of the crisis. But when it comes to stimulus spending, the United States and Europe have taken different paths, jeopardizing hopes of a united front to combat the downturn. President Barack Obama this week urged the world's top economies to adopt aggressive, American-sized spending programs. "It's very important to make sure that other ...

Brian Adkins, a newly assigned American diplomat in Ethiopia, was found dead last weekend at his home in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, an embassy spokesman and a senior State Department official told CNN. Terry J. Sedlacek was charged with fatally shooting Fred Winters, the pastor of First Baptist Church. Winters was shot during Sunday morning services. Prosecutors also charged Sedlacek with two counts of aggravated battery in the alleged stabbings of parishioners Terry Bullard and Keith Melton. Their injuries ...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's announcement that Iran would be invited to a summit on Afghanistan has been greeted as a possible icebreaker in the tense relationship between Washington and Tehran. Iran is weighing whether to accept the invitation, its foreign minister said Friday, and will deliver its response next month. The overture should be consistent with the new Washington ethos: seeking Iran's cooperation on stabilizing Afghanistan — a goal both sides desire — can help end the nuclear standoff between ...

The Obama administration has been talking about "pressing the reset button" with Russia after relations "crashed" when Russia invaded Georgia last August. When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton greeted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday before sitting down to their working dinner, she presented him a small green box with a ribbon. Insclide was a red button with the Russian word "peregruzka" printed on it. "I would like to present you with a little gift that represents ...

Iran poses a threat to Europe and Russia, both from Tehran's direct efforts and its support of terrorist groups, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Wednesday. The Tehran government is intent on interfering in the Middle East, she told reporters aboard her flight to Brussels from the region. "There is a great deal of concern about Iran from the entire region," she said. "I heard it over and over and over again in Sharm el Sheikh, in Israel, in Ramallah. ...

President Obama has told Russia that the United States might not proceed with a missile defense system in eastern Europe if Iran drops plans for producing nuclear weapons, senior administration officials said Tuesday. Obama raised the possibility in a letter to Russia seeking help in trying to end Iran's nuclear program, a senior administration official said. Contrary to news reports, it was not a secret letter, the official said. Obama told Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the letter that the ...