Official Visits

Large swaths of Iraq remain outside the control of the interim government, major highways are fraught with attackers, and interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi -- along with the U.S. Embassy and much of the international community -- must conduct business in fortified compounds guarded by tanks, blast walls and barbed wire. In Washington, Allawi gave Congress an upbeat assessment Thursday, but the situation in Iraq is more complicated.

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday told Mexican Catholics that renewed faith and a pure heart will help them stand up to "distressing times of human suffering" in a nation stalked by drug violence, crime and uncertainty. At a vast, sunbaked open-air Mass, with several hundred thousand people arrayed before him, the pope said Mexico faced "times of sorrow as well as hope" and he reiterated a call for the special protection of children. Of particular significance here, Benedict repeatedly invoked the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico and Latin America.

Park Chul Un, South Korea's first state minister for political affairs, on Friday disputed a network report that he secretly visited North Korea twice during June. "There is nothing to the report," Park told reporters when asked to comment on a news report by Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. Television. "Somebody is inventing and propagating the story."

Passengers who fly American Airlines out of Los Angeles International Airport may feel uneasy about the future of the Fort Worth carrier because it filed for bankruptcy a few months ago and announced plans to lay off 13,000 workers. But representatives of the nation's third-largest airline are touring the country trying to allay the fears of passengers and others by spreading the message that American will come out of bankruptcy stronger than ever. Top American officials visited Los Angeles last week to tell reporters that, once the airline emerges from bankruptcy, it plans to add up to 20% more flights from its five most important hubs: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth and Miami.

Today's summit between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India and President Obama is laden with symbols. It will be the first official visit that Obama hosts. There will be much language on the importance of the relationship and the links between the two major democracies. Beneath the surface, however, simmers some insecurity. India enjoyed excellent relations with the U.S. under the Bush administration and it still isn't quite sure where it stands with the new team. It feels a little taken for granted.

For Queen Elizabeth II, it's oysters and raw shellfish. If you're inviting her to dinner, keep them off the menu. "The Queen doesn't eat oysters or uncooked shellfish--it is something that can upset so many people," sniffs a spokeswoman at Buckingham Palace. For Yitzhak Shamir, prime minister of Israel, kosher dietary laws rule out pork and shellfish, as well as any meal that includes both meat and dairy products. And of course, as everyone now knows, President Bush isn't too fond of broccoli.

Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday told Mexican Catholics that renewed faith and a pure heart will help them stand up to "distressing times of human suffering" in a nation stalked by drug violence, crime and uncertainty. At a vast, sunbaked open-air Mass, with several hundred thousand people arrayed before him, the pope said Mexico faced "times of sorrow as well as hope" and he reiterated a call for the special protection of children. Of particular significance here, Benedict repeatedly invoked the Virgin of Guadalupe, patron saint of Mexico and Latin America.

President Daniel Arap Moi of Kenya is scheduled to leave today for official visits to West Germany and Britain, the official Voice of Kenya radio reported Sunday.

President Clinton departed the NATO summit in such haste Saturday that he left behind perhaps the most important piece of luggage in the world--the "nuclear football." The president's military aide, who constantly shadows Clinton and carries the briefcase containing U.S. nuclear launch codes, was mistakenly left at the International Trade Center when Clinton's motorcade sped off 45 minutes early and without notice. The aide walked the 4 1/2 blocks back to the White House without incident.

The White House's choice of Ghana as President Obama's only port of call in sub-Saharan Africa this week has triggered envy across the continent. The visit, his first to sub- Saharan Africa since becoming president, is also being interpreted as a snub to those African governments with records of corruption, poor administration and tainted elections. "It makes sense that Obama would want to go to Ghana.

A surprising visit by Albert Pujols is sending the message: The Miami Marlins will be a much different franchise from the Florida Marlins. Pujols began his free-agent tour Friday when he was courted in Miami by the Marlins, only hours before they officially changed their name during a ceremony at their new ballpark. Pujols had lunch with team officials, checked out the stadium and received a contract offer. The notoriously thrifty franchise, suddenly in the mood for a spending spree, declined to disclose details of the proposal.

Growing up poor in South Los Angeles, Lorenzo Perez never imagined he would one day dance for British royalty. "I didn't think there was still kings and queens," said Perez, 19, who got his chance on Sunday. "It's like a Disney movie. " On the last day of their whirlwind visit to the United States, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, saw a less glitzy side of Southern California, visiting a children's arts center in the heart of downtown Los Angeles' skid row and a job fair for military veterans and their families in Culver City.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took in a sweep of Southern California on their state visit Saturday, helicoptering up the coast to Carpinteria for a charity polo match and capping off their evening surrounded by Hollywood celebrities on the red carpet in downtown Los Angeles. The newlyweds took a break from their packed schedule to bring Californians a bit of British sport, participating in the polo match at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club. William -- naturally -- played on the winning team, and the thrilled onlookers cheered wildly whenever he made a goal.

First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in South Africa on Monday night as she launched an official visit that will see her embrace this nation's elders as she tries to inspire its young. Obama, who is spending the week in South Africa and neighboring Botswana, will give a keynote speech to young African female leaders Wednesday in Johannesburg. She is scheduled to meet with Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 79, but no meeting is currently scheduled with Nelson Mandela, 92, the country's first black president.

President Obama will publicly honor the German chancellor during an elaborate official visit to the White House on Tuesday, but behind closed doors he is expected to press her to step up Germany’s involvement in the international response to unrest in the Middle East and North Africa. Obama will present Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest honor for civilians, while First Lady Michelle Obama plans an event highlighting the importance of women in diplomacy.

The pomp is the same, but the circumstance is different. President Obama's state visit to Britain, which kicked into high gear Tuesday, is only the second by an American leader during the 59-year reign of his host, Queen Elizabeth II. The first took place in 2003, when she received President George W. Bush at Buckingham Palace. Back then, thousands of angry protesters greeted Bush and jeered at his close relationship with Prime Minister Tony Blair, because of their united stand over the invasion of Iraq.

Some rarely divulge details of the encounter. "I consider it more of a private matter than anything else," says Joseph Gonzalez, now 30. Others delight in talking about it. "Oh, gosh, I tell everybody," says Guido Nunez, also 30. "That's my highlight." It was on Sept. 16, 1987, that 21 children at Immaculate Conception grammar school in the Pico Union neighborhood -- sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders -- met and talked with Pope John Paul II during his visit to Los Angeles.

Mikhail S. Gorbachev's surprise decision to visit Minnesota next month has touched off frantic scrambling by Minnesotans eager to meet the Soviet president and extravagant speculation about the visit's significance to the heartland state. "There have been hundreds of phone calls," said David H. Speer, Minnesota commissioner for trade and economic development, who is helping to arrange the visit.

Lebanon's prime minister kicked off a three-day visit to Iran on Saturday meant to strengthen economic and political bonds between the United States' chief regional adversary and a nation Washington once upheld as a model for Western-leaning Arab democracy. The first official visit to Iran by Prime Minister Saad Hariri comes as sectarian tensions within Lebanon simmer. An international tribunal is expected to indict members of the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a Sunni Muslim.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon is expected to air strong objections to U.S. immigration policies during a two-day visit that opens Wednesday with a private Oval Office meeting with President Obama. Calderon will protest the strict new anti-immigration law enacted in Arizona. And he is likely to urge a far-reaching overhaul of the U.S. immigration system to give the estimated 11 million people living illegally in the United States a chance to gain legal status, officials said.