Greece's eurozone fate may now be in the hands of the 37-year-old political firebrand and his Syriza party"I don't believe in heroes or saviours," says Alexis Tsipras, "but I do believe in fighting for rights … no one has the right to reduce a proud people to such a state of wretchedness and indignity."The man who holds the fate of the euro in his hands - as the leader of the Greek party willing to tear up the country's €130bn (£100bn) bailout agreement - says Greece is on the frontline of a war that is engulfing Europe.A long bombardment of "neo-liberal shock" - draconian tax rises and remorseless spending cuts - has left immense collateral damage. "We have never been in such a bad place," he says, sleeves rolled up, staring hard into the middle distance, from behind the desk that he shares in his small parliamentary office. "After two and a half years of catastrophe Greeks, are on their knees. The social state has collapsed, one in two youngsters is out of work, there are people leaving en masse, the climate psychologically is one of pessimism, depression, mass suicides."But while exhausted and battle weary, the nation at the forefront of Europe's escalating debt crisis and teetering on the edge of bankruptcy is also hardened. And, increasingly, they are looking towards Tsipras to lead their fight."Defeat is the battle that isn't waged," says the young politician who almost overnight has seen his radical left coalition party, Syriza, jump from representing fewer than 5% of Greeks to enjoying ratings of more than 25% in polls."You ask me if I am afraid. I'd be afraid if we continued on this path, a path to social hell … when someone fights there is a big chance that he will win and we are fighting this to win."Before Greeks went to the polls on 6 May, neither Tsipras nor his party were a name to be reckoned with. If anything both were the butt of vague mockery: a former pony-tailed student communist leading a rag-tag band of ex-Trotskyists, Maoists, champagne socialists and greens. Tsipras's assistants - wielding Louis Vuitton bags and fashionable sunglasses - readily admit they are signed up "militants" mostly of the anti-globalisation cause.But today I am the third person to pass through Tsipras's second-floor parliamentary office. The others have been the German ambassador to Greece and the president of the European parliament, Martin Schulz. As Greeks prepare to head to the polls again on 17 June, Tsipras, the politician poised to win the greatest number of votes - after Syriza came in second place in this month's inconclusive election - is the man everyone wants to see. "He is not as dangerous as he appears on TV, but he does have some risky positions," says Schulz emerging form the talks."The [upcoming] vote in Greece will decide not just what happens here but what will happen internationally", adds the German before saying what he really wants to say. "If the memorandum [loan agreement] is cast in doubt, the payment [of rescue funds from the EU and IMF] to Greece is cast in doubt."Tsipras, who turns 38 in July, wants me to know that the war is not personal. The enemy is not Berlin, until now the biggest provider of the monumental rescue funds keeping the debt-stricken economy afloat. "It is not between nations and peoples," he says. "On the one side there are workers and a majority of people and on the other are global capitalists, bankers, profiteers on stock exchanges, the big funds. It's a war between peoples and capitalism … and as in each war what happens on the frontline defines the battle. It will be decisive for the war elsewhere."Greece, he says, has become a model for the rest of Europe because it was the first country to fall victim to the enforcement of hard-hitting "growth through austerity" policies pursued in the name of resolving the crisis."It was chosen as the experiment for the enforcement of neo-liberal shock [policies] and Greek people were the guinea pigs," he insists."If the experiment continues, it will be considered successful and the policies will be applied in other countries. That's why it is so important to stop the experiment. It will not just be a victory for Greece but for all of Europe."Under the current rescue plan, which has subjected the nation to relentless austerity - the average Greek's purchasing power has dropped by 35% - the international financial system, and especially banks, are gaining most, he says. "Who is surviving, tell me?" he asks. "Greeks aren't … The loans are going straight to interest payment and banks."The other point that Tsipras wants to make is that he is not against the euro or monetary union. Fears that the country is about to exit the eurozone are about terrorising people to keep the status quo, he claims. They are why the nation has seen "more then €75bn" of cash taken out of Greek banks since the outbreak of the crisis in Athens in December 2009.But Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, should know she has "a huge historical responsibility" - a point he will be making when he holds talks with representatives of the German government in Berlin next week."We are not against a unified Europe or monetary union," he insists. "We don't want to blackmail, we want to persuade our European partners that the way that has been chosen to confront Greece is totally counter-productive. It is like throwing money at a bottomless pit."Over the past two years, Athens had received two bumper bailouts from the EU and IMF: €110bn in May 2010 and then €130bn in March this year, but the stringent fiscal adjustment programmes demanded in return for the aid are clearly not working, he says.If the emphasis is not now put on re-energising Europe's most moribund economy through development and growth, "in six months we will be forced to discuss a third package and after that a fourth," he predicts,"European tax payers should know that if they are giving money to Greece, it should have an effect … it should go towards investments and underwriting growth so that the Greek debt problem can be confronted because with this recipe we are not confronting the debt problem, the real issue."All this sounds remarkably toned down from the fiery rhetoric Tsipras has come to be associated with - until, that is, the mention of rescue funds drying up if (as seems likely) his party emerges as the governing force in a hung parliament.The first thing Syriza will do in power is tear up the controversial "memorandum of understanding" Greece signed up to with creditors, which details the onerous conditions under which the country receives quarterly injections of cash.The agreement, he says, was reached without the Greek people ever being consulted. And now in the wake of the 6 May vote, when more than 70% of those opposing the policies voted for "anti-bailout" parties, it is clear it has lost all legitimacy, he insistsIt is a high stakes game but, he argues, Europe is holding the gun because ultimately, under European law, Greece can't be ejected from the 17-nation bloc."Europeans have to understand that we don't have any intention of pushing ahead with a unilateral move. We will [only] be forced to act if they act unilaterally and make the first move," he says. "If they don't pay us, if they stop the financing [of loans] then we will not be able to pay creditors. What I am saying is very simple."And if Athens stops paying its creditors, the problem then takes on a different hue. Greece is in a much stronger position than most think."Keynes said it many years ago. It's not just the person who borrows but the person who lends who can find himself in a difficult position. If you owe £5,000 to the bank, it's your problem but if you owe £500,000, it's the bank's problem," he said. "This is a common problem. It's our problem. Its Merkel's problem. It's a European problem. Its a world problem."With his good looks, raven black hair and propensity for rousing oratory, Tsipras comes across more as a pin-up (which is how many in Greece see him) than a saviour, which is how a great deal of others see him.His aides add in passing that one of his heroes is Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, with whom he shares the same birthday. Nor does he believe in political tags "at this time of crisis".But though he appears to be preparing for power and moderating his tone, he says the war will continue.

Attacks were beyond our abilities, says rebel leader, as officers who fled describe regime plots before blastsMilitary defectors in northern Syria have denounced claims that al-Qaida was behind a series of deadly bombings in Damascus, contradicting the UN secretary general's assessment that the terror group is taking a lead in the insurgency.The defectors were speaking before Ban Ki-moon's claim on Thursday that al-Qaida was responsible for a deadly blast outside one of Syria's top intelligence services on 10 May, which reportedly killed 55 people and wounded 372."A few days ago there was a huge, serious, massive terrorist attack. I believe that there must be al-Qaida behind it," Ban said at the UN headquarters in New York. "This has created again very serious problems."The defectors, interviewed by the Guardian in villages in the Jisr al-Shughour and Jabal al-Zawiya areas this week, alleged that Syrian security forces had caused many of the blasts.Nine defectors, some of them officers who had fled recently, relayed first-hand accounts of plots they had witnessed being planned or executed that were later blamed on "armed gangs" or al-Qaida.All have provided details of the plots they say took place and are willing to provide testimonies to international investigators. They say they are reluctant to put their names to their allegations, fearing reprisals against their families.Another man, who was serving in the destroyed intelligence headquarters known as the Palestinian branch, and who was injured in the 10 May blast, gave an account of regime compliance to his family and friends. The man, a guard at the headquarters' prison, had returned to his village two days earlier after receiving treatment."He told us that three days before the bomb the Alawite officers started disappearing and so too did all of the important prisoners," the man's brother said. "The cameras were also taken down and the important files were removed. The only people left in the building when the explosion happened were Sunni officers and guards or some prisoners."The injured guard initially agreed to discuss with the Guardian his version of what took place, but promptly left the interview trembling and weeping."He knows the price we will all pay if he speaks out," the brother said.A non-commissioned officer who fled the feared air force intelligence on Tuesday said he had been responsible for the removal of cameras from the street outside the Palestinian branch a week before the explosion."This was the most secure part of Damascus," he said in Jabal al-Zawiya village the following night. "Nothing can happen there without someone knowing."He said that despite removing the cameras, he had had no prior knowledge of a blast. He did claim to have witnessed an irregular mass transfer of staff from another security building that was blown up in late December, the first of the alleged al-Qaida attacks on the capital."I was working very near that area that morning," he said. "They put an emergency car with a flashing light out the front of the building and there was a prisoner inside [the car]. It was impossible to get near the area for two hours before the explosion."Another officer, who defected in February, said he witnessed a van being loaded with explosives in al-Mustama military camp in northern Syria. "They then put prisoners in it and took it into town and exploded it," the officer said. "For five days before, we knew [the explosion] was going to happen. But when I heard that they had killed the prisoners too, I left."A fourth officer, who served in the air force intelligence branch in Damascus and fled in January, said he had seen a car loaded with explosives being driven from his building by guards who were transporting prisoners."They told me to go to a checkpoint near Midan [a suburb of the capital]. They said the car would come to the checkpoint and I was to intercept it. The guards got out of the car around 400 metres from the checkpoint and 200 metres later we stopped the car and arrested the men inside."I left the military after that," he said. "I could not take it any more."Across the swath of northern Syria visited by the Guardian this week, anger at the idea of al-Qaida being responsible was evident among the Free Syria Army and locals. "Show me one man from al-Qaida and I will buy you lunch," said Firas Abu Hamza, a rebel commander in Jabal al-Zawiya. "There are no [Gulf] Arabs here helping us and there are no weapons coming in."This is our fight and our fight alone," Abu Hamza said. "We will accept weapons, but we will not accept al-Qaida. It is totally impossible in this community for them to be there without us knowing."Have you seen those explosions in Damascus? They are massive, sophisticated, beyond our capabilities," he said. "We tried to blow up a tank near a bridge last week with urea and sugar and barely damaged the tank. It is clear that a state is behind this."

Cruise ship will be pulled upright by cranes on to platform, refloated and towed to Italian mainland for breaking upThe firms charged with raising the wreck of the Costa Concordia have set out in detail how they will refloat the ship in what is described as the largest maritime salvage operation ever undertaken.The 114,500 tonne vessel, which capsized four months ago and is sitting on its side in shallow water yards off the tiny Tuscan island of Giglio, will be pulled upright by cranes on to a submerged platform, refloated and towed to the Italian mainland for breaking up. The operation is due to start within days."This is the largest refloat in history," said Captain Richard Habib, head of US salvage firm Titan Salvage, which has teamed with Italian company Micoperi to mount the operation, set to cost more than $300m (£190m) according to the ship's operator Costa Crociere."It's not impossible but it is unprecedented," said Habib. "The technique is standard but the next largest vessel with which we have attempted this type of salvage was a 35,000 tonne ship in Alaska," added Guidotti Alvaro, an assistant project manager with the salvage team.While attempting to steer close to Giglio on the night of 13 January, the Costa Concordia's captain, Francesco Schettino, struck submerged rocks which tore a long hole in the port side, allowing water to rush into lower decks.As the vessel listed, Schettino steered the ship on to shallow rocks, where it grounded and tilted slowly on to its starboard side, frustrating efforts to lower lifeboats.During a confused evacuation, 32 of the 4,200 passengers and crew died, many wearing life jackets and trapped in waiting areas which filled suddenly with water as the vessel listed. The bodies of two passengers, an Indian and an Italian, have yet to be found."We hope to complete our sad search during the recovery of the vessel," said Franco Gabrielli, the head of Italy's civil protection agency, at a press conference in Rome during which the salvage plan was outlined.Within days, the team will start building a 40m square undersea platform on the seaward side of the ship where the rock shelf slips away to deeper water. A massive panel of empty metal boxes will then be soldered to the ripped, exposed, port side of the ship.Two cranes fixed to the platform will be used to roll the vessel into an upright position on the platform.As the metal boxes tilt into the water, water will be pumped into them to help the ship's movement, while cables attached to the land will ensure the ship does not slide off the platform."The rolling of the vessel and the subsequent refloating will be the most risky moments of the operation," said Habib. Asked if he had a plan B should the scheme fail, he replied: "We think it is going to work."Once upright, the team will attach another panel of metal boxes to the starboard side. Water will then be pumped from the boxes, prompting the ship to float. It will then be towed to an unnamed Italian port to be demolished."We aim to get it upright at the start of this winter and refloat in early 2013," said Habib.The ship is punctured by the collision as well as by holes blown by divers searching for bodies. But the team will not attempt to patch those holes or drain the ship."We don't need to seal the ship since the boxes give it sufficient buoyancy," said Alvaro. "It's just like a cargo ship except the cargo is water," he added. The team will however remove the large chunk of torn-off rock which became embedded in the hull at the moment of the collision.Habib said the team would monitor the waters around the vessel for signs that detergents and decomposed foods on board were leaking out. "So far, testing has shown the waters around the vessel are clean," he said.A Dutch salvage company has pumped out the fuel tanks of the Costa Concordia, averting fears of a spill into the surrounding protected marine park.After the removal of the 60 poles set to be fixed in the seabed for the platform, the team will replant marine fauna. "We will clean up the seabed," said Gianni Onorato, president of Costa Crociere.He said 64% of the passengers who fled the ship have accepted the firm's compensation package of between €10,000 and €17,000 (£13,700). Six per cent had instead filed lawsuits, he added.Captain Schettino is under house arrest, accused of causing the collision, multiple manslaughter and abandoning ship before all passengers were evacuated. The next hearing in his trial is scheduled for 21 July.Onorato said sailing close to shore was "part of the package to help passengers see where they are", but added that Costa Crociere was using new software to check captains were not straying too close. Bookings, he added, were up year on year.

Former Oxford University student who became Burmese pro-democracy leader to make first trip abroad in 24 yearsAung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace prize winner, is to visit Britain next month in her first trip outside the south Asian state for 24 years. She will address both houses of parliament as a guest of the British government, as well as receiving an honorary degree at Oxford University, where she studied in the 1960s.She will also visit her sons and grandchildren, whom she has rarely seen.The visit follows David Cameron's trip to Burma last month and represents a possible sign of a rapid shift to democracy in the country. Aung San Suu Kyi is also expected to visit Ireland and Norway in week-long visit starting on 18 June that is likely to be a celebration of her personal courage and the shift away from repression in Burma.Western governments will want to hear from her directly on how they can best foster the shift to democracy, and whether the military government is willing to follow reform to its logical conclusions.She has not travelled abroad partly due to having been under house arrest for 15 of the past 22 years and partly due to her fear that if she left the country, the Burmese military authorities would not let her back in. She remained in Burma even when her husband, Michael Aris, was terminally ill with cancer, fearing she might not be readmitted. Aris died in 1999.Aung San Suu Kyi, whose father negotiated Burmese independence from Britain, was released from house arrest in November 2010 and was elected to parliament. Her UK-based sons have travelled to Burma recently to see her.Invited to Britain by the prime minister on his visit to Rangoon, she replied: "Two years ago, I would have said thank you for the invitation, but sorry. Now I am able to say 'perhaps' and that is great progress."Aung San Suu Kyi gained a degree in PPE in 1969 from St Hugh's College, Oxford, where she is an honorary fellow. Cameron said he would be honoured to welcome her back to her "beloved Oxford" for the first time since she left the city in 1988.He met her in Burma in the house where she was held under arrest for 15 years. He was the first British prime minister to visit the country since it became independent in 1948.The American government followed the European Union this week by announcing it was suspending sanctions against Burma. On Friday night, Cameron, at a meeting of the G8 at Camp David, urged world leaders to make a commitment to ensuring that aid and trade benefit all the Burmese people.Britain is the world's largest bilateral aid donor to Burma, but Cameron made clear that Britain would continue its policy of not giving aid directly to the Burmese government until further progress was made on reform. He will urge G8 leaders to make the same commitment in their final communique, and said he would promise to be held accountable for this commitment next year when Britain chairs the G8.Acting on the advice of the Burmese opposition, he also proposed a new Commission for Responsible Investment in Burma. The advisory body would establish business principles when trading or investing in Burma.The commission would bring together representatives from the World Bank and the OECD, companies and key figures who have campaigned on human rights.A No 10 spokesman said: "For decades, Burma has suffered under a brutal dictatorship. It is desperately poor, but it does not have to be this way. There is a government there that has started down the road to reform. The G8 needs to encourage that process so that we do not lose the opportunity for change in Burma."The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, lifted sanctions against Burma on Thursday when its foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin, paid his first official visit to Washington in decades.In a country of 60m people, experts claim there will be many investment opportunities covering energy, mining, infrastructure and tourism. The country has large gas resources, but little infrastructure to extract energy.The International Monetary Fund has estimated Burma's GDP at a little over $50bn. Neighbouring Thailand, with a population of about 67 million, has a GDP of $348bn.Some human rights activists have said the west is going too far in lifting sanctions, but there is also a desire to win western investment and prevent the country from becoming a client state of China.

The Guinness Book of Records is considering calling in a soil chemist to arbitrate in a dispute over results of the world worm-charming championshipThe Guinness Book of Records said yesterday that it would consider calling in a soil chemist to act as independent arbitrator in a learned dispute which has so far debarred results of the World Worm-Charming Championship from gracing its columns. The news was welcomed at Willaston School, Nantwich, Cheshire, where the fifth annual championship is being held at today's spring fete after two days of promisingly moist and overcast weather.The contest is thought to be the only one of its kind staged under strict judges' rules. The 100 entrants are each allotted a patch of field exactly three metres square. They are required to "insert an ordinary garden fork into the soil and vibrate it manually" for half an hour and then see how many worms they can produce. No prior watering of patches is allowed. Neither is machinery. Competitors have been disqualified for breaking the turf by vibrating their forks too violently. The neighbourhood still talks in tones of hushed horror about a past entrant who was caught in the act of tearing his worms in two to double his score. Regulations stipulate that worms must be thrown back into the soil alive and intact after each catch has been counted.The record-holder is Mr Tom Shufflebotham, who excited 511 worms to the surface at the first contest in 1980. Thereafter the winning scores have been 302, 340 and 248 respectively. But Mr Shufflebotham is the first to concede that his pre-eminence is not solely a matter of virtuosity. It is thought to have more to do with the fact that the 1980 contest was held in July. This was found to be too close for parents to the Crewe railway works and Rolls-Royce annual holidays. So the date was changed to May which has proved a less active month for worms.The Guinness Book's objection so far has, according to the headmaster, been "that it is almost impossible to standardise conditions for this type of competition across the country. What you can do here in the Cheshire agrarian landscape might not be possible on the slopes of the Pennines."This year, however, Mr Farr is submitting the counter-argument that pasture land across the country has become so standardised and deforested in modern times that it should all possess similar worm content, "even if it was originally reclaimed from a different ecosystem. This year we're really going to bend their arms to get included." Mr Colin Smith, the Guinness Book's correspondents editor, said, "The fact that we have not been able to put the school in so far does not detract from the worth of the record. We'll be happy to think about it again and call in an expert."

• Tight security as G8 leaders arrive at Camp David
• Protests planned in Thurmont and Frederick, Maryland
• Demonstrations against Nato in Chicago
• Follow me on Twitter @AdamGabbatt
• All times CT6pm: Two days before Chicago hosts a summit of NATO leaders, the city's mayor Rahm Emanuel has said the wide-ranging security measures and months of preparations that went into the event are already starting to pay off.AP reports that Emanuel said in an interview that the president of Latvia had recently joined him to discuss a possible deal in the transportation industry - "an example, he explained, of the kind of partnership that might happen between Chicago and other countries whose leaders are spending the weekend here".

"Do I have a contract signed today? No. Did the conversation about a possibility of that happen? Yes," the former White House chief of staff said in an interview. "Many of those conversations happen around these conferences."The mayor acknowledged the possibility that "some situations" surrounding the summit could be disruptive, apparently referring to potentially large protests. But, he added, "I wouldn't do this if I didn't think this was a great opportunity for the city."Emanuel has made it clear that he intends to keep the peace, sometimes in ways that raised concerns among members of the City Council. He pushed, for example, to dramatically increase fines for resisting arrest, explaining that the fines were long overdue to be raised.He backed down after some aldermen worried that the fines might suggest Chicago was intent on curbing First Amendment expression.If protesters "do it right, they'll get heard. If they do it wrong, nobody will hear it," Emanuel said. "We are going to do our job to allow them to express themselves but not lose control of the public safety."

In talks at the White House, only hours before the Camp David summit, Obama met the new French president François Hollande for a one-to-one conversation in which he explored the possibility of a new approach to the eurozone crisis based on a pro-growth, stimulus strategy. Obama has been pressing for such a strategy for the last three years and has a potential ally in Hollande."Much of our discussion centred on the situation in the eurozone," Obama said. "And President Hollande and I agree that this is an issue of extraordinary importance, not only to the people of Europe, but also to the world economy."And we're looking forward to a fruitful discussion later this evening and tomorrow with the other G8 leaders about how we can manage a responsible approach to fiscal consolidation that is coupled with a strong growth agenda."[...]After meeting Obama, Hollande was scheduled to meet David Cameron in Washington before flying to Camp David.However on arriving in the US, Cameron said: "On the financial transactions tax I'm very clear, we are not going to get growth in Europe or Britain by introducing a new tax that would actually hit people as well as financial institutions. I don't think it is a sensible measure I will not support it."

A few dozen activists protesting the G8 are sitting under a large tree in Frederick, Maryland conducting a general assembly as I write this update. Folk singer Ryan Harvey just entertained the crowd with a set social justice-oriented tunes. The vibe is lighthearted and laid back. While the headline of the local paper, the Frederick News Post, reads "County gears up for G-8 deluge", the town is far from overwhelmed. There have been no arrests, no broken windows and no signs of a mob intent on reeking havoc. It seems the Obama administration's decision to move the summit to Camp David, may turn out exactly as hoped, with small protests taking place far from the eyes and ears of the world's most powerful leaders.Tomorrow, however, is another day. Activists here are counting on the weekend to swell their numbers. More demonstrations are planned, including a "block party" here in Frederick and a march through Thurmont, the tiny mountain community just four miles from Camp David."At noon we expect our crescendo," said 74 year-old Richard Ochs, an organizer of the actions here. He feels today's demonstrations have been a success. "I wish there would have been more protesters but we couldn't ask for a better reception from the press and the townspeople," Ochs said. "I think we made some inroads in this conservative little town."

.@ryanharveysongs does his thing at the #G8 protest in Frederick. twitter.com/RDevro/status/…- Ryan Devereaux (@RDevro) May 18, 2012

Thousands of nurses and other protesters gathered Friday at a downtown Chicago plaza for a noisy but largely peaceful demonstration demanding a "Robin Hood" tax on banks' financial transactions, before a smaller but more raucous crowd broke away and began marching through city streets.The marchers chanted slogans and taunted police, who followed on bicycles and on foot. Police horses blocked some intersections as the breakaway groups wound through the city.Members of National Nurses United, the nation's largest nurses union, were joined by members of the Occupy movement, unions and veterans. City officials have said the event could draw more than 5,000 because of a performance by former Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, an activist who has played at many Occupy events. Early crowds did not appear to be that large.The nurses and their supporters dressed in red shirts and wore green felt Robin Hood caps with red feathers. There were few problems at the rally, though police arrested at least one demonstrator as the gathering broke up.About a dozen police officers, some wearing riot gear, surrounded the protester, who was dressed entirely in black. Police handcuffed him and walked him away from the rally.

"Chase, chase, you're a disgrace" #nato twitter.com/AdamGabbatt/st…- Adam Gabbatt (@AdamGabbatt) May 18, 2012

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill huddled there with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1943 to pore over plans for the invasion of Normandy.The peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was forged at Camp David under the guidance of President Jimmy Carter. And it was there, too, that President Bill Clinton unsuccessfully tried to broker a deal between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.President Barack Obama, an infrequent visitor, is putting the presidential hideaway on full display for this weekend's summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations, the largest gathering of foreign leaders ever to assemble there. Arriving Friday, the leaders will stroll the camp's leafy paths and bed down in the 11 residential cabins. Four African leaders will join them for lunch Saturday.More than 50 heads of state have visited Camp David over the past seven decades. But this weekend's G-8 meeting represents the first time more than two foreign leaders have gathered there.

Cpd tackle and arrest one demonstrator, standing on him. Riot gear om the scene yfrog.com/odp5orzj- aaroncynic (@aaroncynic) May 18, 2012

About 80 people marching through the street chanting, "f*** cops, we don't need 'em, all we want is total freedom." #G8 twitter.com/RDevro/status/…- Ryan Devereaux (@RDevro) May 18, 2012

March now taking place from Daley Place following #NNU demo. Can't see any nurses #nato twitter.com/AdamGabbatt/st…- Adam Gabbatt (@AdamGabbatt) May 18, 2012

At the White House, Hollande insisted he was standing by his pledge to have all French combat troops out by the end of this year, but left the door open for a compromise. He said he was committed to providing assistance on Afghanistan security, but in a different way, and that this would be discussed at the Nato summit, being held in Chicago on Sunday and Monday.The White House is sympathetic to Hollande, knowing it would be political suicide for him to renege on his pledge less than a week after being sworn in as president. But Tom Donilon, the White House national security adviser, in a briefing on Thursday, suggested one area for a compromise could be the French taking on a different role, shifting from combat to training.

National Nurses United rally at Daley Plaza. Note "Robin Hood" headgear #nato twitter.com/AdamGabbatt/st…- Adam Gabbatt (@AdamGabbatt) May 18, 2012

Hollande offers the US a useful ally in Europe, one in favour of a pro-growth, stimulus approach to the eurozone crisis. They are also discussing a compromise on Hollande's election pledge to withdraw French troops from Afghanistan at the end of the year. The US is pushing for these troops to be switched to a training role. At the end of their meeting, the two are to make brief statements to the press but are not scheduled to take questions. Hollande then heads for lunch with secretary of state Hillary Clinton and then on to a meeting at the British residency with David Cameron.

The National Lawyers Guild refutes claims by the Chicago Police Department that Molotov cocktails were recovered in last night's house raid in Bridgeport. Police confiscated home brewing equipment - not Molotov cocktails - and are falsely claiming that Occupy activists were involved in criminal activity.

I spent the night elsewhere and spent the whole day [Thursday] in terror. I thought I could host people, and this is what happened.

Russians have most respected the US when it leaders demonstrated strength and clarity of purpose. To be respected, leaders must be tough. And it's doubtful that Obama's "hot mic" comments to then-President Dmitry Medvedev that he'll have "more flexibility" on US missile defense after the elections inspires much fear or respect in Moscow.

The intro reads: "Chicago-area voters strongly support two of the Obama administration's major foreign policy priorities", but then the Sun Times's own poll - on which the article is based - says the exact opposite. The figures suggest Obama's policy in Afghanistan is seen as something of a dud. The president plans to keep troops in Afghanistan until 2014. Only 33% support that. 42% want the troops removed immediately. And 20% want them to stay longer. How is a policy a hit when 62% of people don't support it?

Aid agencies are likely to react with mixed feelings to the pledge to find funding from the private sector, with charitable groups sceptical funding from the business world can replace the kind of funding governments traditionally provide to the world's poorest countries.But given the present austerity measures in Europe and in the US these appear to be drying up and instead Obama is putting the focus on the private sector.