President Barack Obama took a surprise detour from his tour of Europe, and flew to Iraq today. He landed just hours after a car bomb exploded in a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad. The White House has mad no advance announcements of Obama's visit due to security concerns.

His surprise visit came at the end of an eight-day long overseas trip that included NATO and economic summits in Europe. Obama had spent the past two days in Turkey, where he flew out of this morning.

Today's trip to Iraq was Obama's third to the country of Iraq, and his first since taking office in January. Having been in office for 11 weeks now, Obama has announced plans to withdraw most US combat troups from Iraq on a 19-month timetable. As many as 50,000 soldiers may remain in the country at the end of the 19 months to perform counterterrorism duties.

While President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were said to have brushed up on their cultural etiquette while on board the trans-Atlanic flight from the U.S. to Europe, it appears that the Obamas didn't study quite as hard as they should have. First there was the gaffe where Michelle broke protocol and hugged the Queen of England - a big no-no in England - and most recently the President rejected a customary kiss on the cheek from French President Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

France's first couple warmly greeted President Obama and his First Lady in Strasbourg, and on the red carpet outside the Rohan Palace, Carla gave Michelle the traditional French kiss-kiss on each cheek. Sarkozy and Obama patted eachother on the back. Then, when they changed places, Sarkozy gave each of Michelle's cheeks kisses. Carla leaned towards Obama's cheek, but the President did not comply. Unsure of what to do, Carla quickly pulled back and instead offered her right hand. So while Sarkozy and Michelle were embracing, as it is traditional to do, Obama and Carla settled on a handshake.

Selling out more shows than I can count on my two hands in literally just minutes, Michael Jackson is clearly still loved in London, despite the controversy that has surrounded his life over the past decade. After such a display of affection for the so-called "King of Pop", Jackson has decided to forgo living out of a hotel for six months and will instead take up residence in a three-story mansion in a sheltered street in the upmarket area of Chislehurst in Bromley.

According to the Daily Mail, Jackson has shelled out £1 million to rent the mansion, where he will live from just before his London residency begins in July, until his final shows in February 2010.

The Bromley Times indicates that Jackson's new abode includes a music room, indoor swimming pool, private wood, and an underground cinema. Built in the 1800's, the house also has quarters for 20 staff and has a state-of-the-art CCTV.

Jackson is expected to move in ahead of his 50-date sold-out residency at the O2 Arena in London.

After dialing the toll-free number given to them by the White House, reporters seeking to talk foreign policy with Obama administration officials live at the G-20 meetings in London this week were instead connected to a phone sex line. The White House accidentally listed a sex line number for journalists seeking an "on the record briefing call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Adviser Jim Jones to discuss the NATO summit."

After dialing the number, journalists were greeted by a soft-voiced female that was clearly not Hillary Clinton, asking them for a credit card number if they felt "like getting nasty."

But after dialing, a soft-voiced female recording that was clearly not Clinton asked for a credit card number if you "feel like getting nasty."

After reporters called the White House to report that they were not able to dial into the conference call, the White House issued a corrected press release listing the international line for reporters abroad to dial. However, by the time this was released, the conference call was already under way.

The White House was asked by FOX News to comment on the mistake, and Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton responded:

If you found a note on your desk today or received a voicemail message instructing you to call Mr. Lyon, Mr. Katz, Mr. Fox, Sally Mander, Ana Conda, Al Gator, or even Jim Panze, you were the unwitting participant in an April Fool's Day prank that dates back over 100 years. After dutifully dialing the requested number and asking for the given name, you probably soon realized that you were connected to a local zoo. Or, perhaps if you were instructed to call Mr. Fish, an aquarium.

Pranksters love this April Fool's Day classic, and zoos, well they mostly despise it. Most major zoos phone lines are clogged up all day with requests for such individuals. Most callers are quick to realize that they've called a zoo, but some become increasingly persistent in their request to speak with Mr. Lyon when they are told he's not available. Zoo and aquarium phone operators typically either inform the caller that the requested party is not available, or, more comically reply that "Mr. Lyon is locked up in his cage."

A week and a half after the death of actress Natasha Richardson, who died after sustaining a fatal head injury while skiing, Canada's Globe and Mail has released transcripts of the 911 calls made from the Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec where the accident occurred.

According to these transcripts, on Monday, March 16 at 1pm, a medic responding to the 911 call radioed back to hospital staff with the code "10-17". This means he had arrived at the destination. He then said "Uhh, we're still waiting for the patient." 11 minutes later, the medic radioed again saying, "There's a [ski] patroller who just went by, who tells me it's a 10-3." This means that the job was cancelled. Richardson initially declined treatment.

At 2:59pm, another call was made. This time the case was classified as "dangerous" and they said, "Priority 1, Mont Tremblant...17-Delta-1."

The actress was then rushed to the local hospital, the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Sainte-Agathe. Minutes before 4pm, the on-duty medic described her as "verbal". This meant she responded when spoken to, but otherwise drifted off. The medic indicated her orientation rating was 0, indicating that she didn't know what day it was, where she was, or what happened to her.

A British charity is urging Madonna to reconsider her rumored plans to adopt another child from the African nation of Malawi. Save the Children UK spokesman Dominic Nutt asked her to "please think twice" before going through with the adoption.

Nutt said that he cannot directly comment on the recently divorced singer's plans, but said that adoptions in such contexts are often inappropriate and unnecessary. He also says that children are best cared for by their extended families.

Speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the case, a person involved in Malawian adoption proceedings told the AP on Friday that Madonna has plans to adopt a girl from the impoverished nation.

Madonna first adopted a boy, David Banda, from Malawi in 2006. After much controversy, Malawi courts finally approved the adoption in 2008.

As many as 15,000 protesters have already begun gathering in London for the first in a series of demonstrations to be held ahead of the G20 summit on Thursday in the nation's capital. Today, campaigners waving flags and and armed with signs braved the rainy weather to take part in the "Put People First" march, which has been organized amid the anger at the $27 million cost of arranging the conference in a time of severe economic downturn.

The "Put People First" march features an alliance of 150 groups. Included are various unions, charities, faith organizations, and environmental campaigners. The theme of the protest march is "jobs, justice and climate."

Organizers of the protest have stressed that the events will not turn violent, but nevertheless, a massive police operation has been launched as London officers warned of an "unprecedented" threat posted by the protests.

Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London, said that the event's atmosphere was "positive", noting that it would be a "tragedy" if events were to turn violent.

The G20 Summit begins this coming Thursday in London, and will be hosted by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown. A number of heads of state will be present, including US President Barack Obama, and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev.

Barack Obama: Finger Lickin Good?

One German company's supposedly good intentions and attempt to capitalize on the success of President Barack Obama has been met with outrage on this side of the Atlantic. The company, Sprehe, recently began marketing a new fried chicken product called "Obama Fingers".

NYC Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn) is mad and is calling for a boycott:

"It's racist and inappropriate. We should do all that we can to see to it that no [company] disrespects the first black President."

Todd Shaw, assistant professor of political science and African-American studies at the University of South Carolina, says that the stereotype is blatant and "broadly offensive" to African-Americans. "This sends a shiver down the spines of Germans and Americans, given our interesting histories of race and racism," he added.

Sprehe sales manager Judity Witting said that the connection between Obama and fried chicken - a stereotype that has long been associated with blacks in the U.S. - never even occurred to her:

"It was supposed to be a homage to the American lifestyle and the new U.S. President.

Tensions over the handling of the global economic crisis intensified today as the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which also holds the European Union presidency, make the comment that U.S. stimulus measures are the "way to hell.". Speaking before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, PM Mirek Topolanek argued that President Barack Obama's fiscal package and financial bailout "will undermine the stability of the global financial market."

Topolanek's statements come just one week before a meeting in London of the Group of 20 that brings together the leaders of the world's biggest economies. The EU presidency rotates every six months, and the country holding the position is expected to speak on behalf of the whole 27-nation bloc.

Obama is preparing to travel to Prague in less than two weeks for a summit which is intended to boost transatlantic relations and show that the US and Europe are united over economic policy. However, Topolanek's statement underlines potential ideological strains between the two, and suggests that all of Europe perhaps isn't as on-board as Obama believes.

Others in the EU are critical of Topolanek, stating that his comments reflect that unlike other Eastern European countries, the Czech economy has proved resilient: