London  - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy threw down the gauntlet Wednesday and challenged the Group of 20 (G20) big economic powers to agree to tough new reforms for global financial markets.

"We don't want results that won't have a practical effect," said an unusually combative Merkel at a joint press conference with Sarkozy ahead of Thursday's summit in London of the leading industrialized nations and emerging economies.

London  - Violent anti-globalization protests Wednesday overshadowed the Group of 20 (G20) summit in London as campaigners vandalized banks and clashed with heavily-armed riot police.

Some 4,000 protestors, shouting "hang a banker" and "storm the banks" converged on the Bank of England and later vandalized the London headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

London  - US President Barack Obama and Chinese Prime Minister Hu Jintao moved Wednesday to lay aside a recent round of tensions between Washington and Beijing by committing themselves to working together to combat the global recession.

The relationship between China and the United States said Obama following his meeting with Hu "is not only important for the citizens of both our countries, but will help to set the stage for how the world deals with a whole host of challenges in the years to come."

London  - Barack and Michelle Obama went to Buckingham Palace to have tea with Queen Elizabeth II Wednesday after the US President declared himself to be a fan of the 82-year-old monarch.

"There is one thing I should mention that I love about Great Britain and that's the queen," said the 47-year-old President hours before his armour-plated limousine pulled up at the palace.

"I think in the imagination of people throughout America, what the queen stands for, her decency and her civility and what she represents is very important."

London - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy threw down the gauntlet Wednesday and challenged the Group of 20 (G20) big economic powers to agree to tough new reforms for global financial markets.

"The foundations for the new financial architecture is now," said an unusually combative Merkel at a joint press conference with Sarkozy ahead of Thursday's summit in London of the leading industrialized nations and emerging economies.