The Observer (United Kingdom)

The G20 summit in London is almost upon us, and the British press are preparing for it with lead articles and features, and also in cartoon form. The left-wing British Sunday paper The Observer portrays British Prime Minister and occasional superman Gordon Brown landing for the G20 summit. His words upon arrival are “Washington one week, Brazil the next, my mission to save the world has got me all pumped up.” This is a reference to Brown’s lapsus in parliament when he announced he had saved the world, meaning the banks. Waiting for him, ready to burst his bubble, is Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England, and very much a symbol of Brown’s economic woes at home.

The Independent (United Kingdom)

The left-to-centre leaning Independent on Sunday also treats the upcoming G20 summit in cartoon form. Here, the British Prime Minister wants to extend a warm welcome to world leaders attending the meeting in London. The likes of US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are denied this welcome though. Gordon Brown finds himself up to his neck in his very own domestic trouble. According to The Independent, Brown is “not waving but drowning.”

The New York Times (United States)
“Obama will face a defiant world on foreign visit”

Another world leader with his own problems is US President Barack Obama. The G20 summit in London will be the US president’s first trip overseas and, according to The New York Times, he will be “facing challenges to American power”. Writer Helene Cooper goes on to say that “despite his immense popularity around the world, Obama will confront resentment over American-style capitalism.”

A Bola (Portugal)
“Sem golos não há milagres”
“No miracles without goals”

A night of international football has left the European giants of the game with contrasting fortunes. Qualifying for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa is reaching a crucial stage, and some teams are already staring failure in the face. After Portugal’s goalless draw with Sweden, Portuguese sports daily A Bola headlines that there will be “no miracles without goals.” The Portuguese national team, led by world footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, has now gone 270 minutes without scoring and finds itself a very long way away from the World Cup in South Africa.

Marca (Spain)
“Una España de récord mundial”
“A Spanish team of world record proportions”

Collective euphoria on the cover of Spain’s biggest-selling daily, the sports paper Marca. Spain’s victory over Turkey in Madrid leaves the European champions with a record of 30 matches without defeat and 10 wins in a row. Marca says on its front page that now “nobody can beat us.” One thing is for sure: this victory leaves Spain very close to the World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

ABC (Spain)
"Los vecinos de Manzanares votan contra las corridas de toros en las fiestas"
"The neighbours of Manzanares vote against the annual bullfighting festival"

Manzanares el Real, a small town in central Spain, held an important referendum this weekend. The annual bullfighting festival, held in August every year, was going to take up a large part of the town hall’s budget. The people of Manzanares have now voted, with 53% saying they prefer their town to spend its money on other things.