World leaders including Barack Obama, the US president, will gather in London for final talks on the eve of a G20 summit dogged by divisions on how to tackle the economic crisis.

Obama’s stimulus approach to boost economic growth is facing stiff opposition from European and other governments.

Al Jazeera’s Matthew Moore reports.

Arab leaders have gathered in Qatar to attend the 21st summit of the Arab League.

Besides trying to ease regional rifts, leaders have placed the arrest warrant issued against Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, high on their agenda.

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra reports from Khartoum.

Syria has achieved a dramatic political come back over the past year on both an international and regional level.

Al Jazeera’s Rula Amin reports on how Arab leaders have been engaging with Damascus after years of shunning it in anger over what they see as its role in fueling regional troubles.

In a series of special reports, Al Jazeera is looking at towns around the world that are feeling the impact of the global economic downturn. In the US, Al Jazeera’s Cath Turner traveled to the town of Danville, Virginia, where the unemployment rate is more than twice the national average.

The US capital is suffering an epidemic of HIV and AIDS.

The city’s health department says three per cent of residents are living with AIDS, or HIV, a 22 per cent increase since 2006.

It means infections are spreading faster in Washington than in some cities in Africa.

Al Jazeera’s Monica Villamizar reports from Washington.

In the fourth part of Al Jazeera’s special series on Tibet, Al Jazeera’s Tony cheng looks at the attitudes of most Chinese towards the region and its future under Beijing’s rule.

Workers at the French arm of Sony prevented their chief executive from leaving the plant in the south west of the country, essentially locking him in overnight.

They then released him and other executives after apparently securing better redundancy terms.

Nazanine Moshiri reports

Trade ministers meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos have agreed to step up efforts to support international free trade talks and to guard against protectionism in a bid to counter the world economic crisis.

They vowed that completing the World Trade Organisation’s long-running Doha round to open up global trade was their top priority and pledged to resolve outstanding issues this year.

Matthew Moore reports from Davos.

North Korea’s nuclear programme and tensions on the Korean peninsula are high on the agenda of Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, as she begins her first visit to South Korea.

But as Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett discovers in Seoul, it is the global economic crisis that South Koreans are more concerned about.

A top US commander has warned US troops face a “resilient” Taliban “aided” by al-Qaeda, as the US plans to deploy 17,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan.
US General David McKiernan says concerted efforts, both military and civilian, are urgently needed to overcome Taliban fighters.
Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds reports.