London, Mar. 31 : When US President Barack Obama touches down in London tonight, he will be cruising the British capital''s streets in the limo dubbed "The Beast".

According to Sky News, "The Beast", a 250,000 pound vehicle, is equipped with rocket-propelled grenades, a night-vision camera and pump-action shotguns to destroy would-be attackers.

"The Beast''s" titanium superstructure is capable of shielding the president from a chemical weapons attack. Its sealed interior forms an impregnable "panic room" if the vehicle is attacked.

Washington - Barack Obama's newly named special envoy for Sudan, retired Air Force major general Scott Gration, met the US president, Sudan human-rights advocates and members of Congress Monday before travelling this week to the region.

"I can't think of somebody who is better equipped to travel to Africa, the continent where he grew up, and communicate to Sudan a couple of important points," said Obama, who has pledged to keep pressure on Khartoum to end the conflict in the Sudanese region of Darfur, describing the humanitarian crisis there as "urgent."

Washington  - President Barack Obama on Monday approved a sweeping expansion of government land protections, safeguarding about 800,000 new hectares of parks, rivers, forests and mountains across the United States.

The legislation, which is a collection of about 150 smaller bills that had been in the works for years, was approved earlier this month with broad bipartisan support by both chambers of Congress.

The bill designates new wilderness areas across nine US states, including mountains in California, Virginia and Colorado, protecting those regions from any kind of commercial development.

Washington - The struggling US car industry will be given one last chance to restructure operations or lose the government's support, President Barack Obama announced Monday, declaring that General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC had so far failed to prove that they can survive.

In a dramatic government intervention in the industry, Obama called for a series of changes to the car industry and forced out long-time GM chief executive Rick Wagoner, who will be replaced by the company's president Fritz Henderson.

London - This week's summit of Group of 20 (G20) nations in London must "deliver a strong message of unity in the face of crisis," US President Barack Obama said in an interview published Monday.

The US president, who was due to arrive in Britain late Tuesday, said each participating country would have to take steps to promote growth and trade with what he called a "robust approach to stimulus" as well as fighting off protectionism.

Washington, Mar.30 : Former Republican presidential candidate and Arizona Senator John McCain has welcomed President Barack Obama's strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"I think the outlines of this proposal are good. The best way to get out of Afghanistan fast is people to think we're staying," Politico quoted McCain, as saying.