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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Obama set for warm German welcome | Obama set for warm German welcome |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| White House hopeful Barack Obama is heading to Berlin to begin the European leg of his international tour ahead of November's US presidential poll. | White House hopeful Barack Obama is heading to Berlin to begin the European leg of his international tour ahead of November's US presidential poll. |
| The Democratic senator will visit Chancellor Angela Merkel during a morning meeting, followed by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. | The Democratic senator will visit Chancellor Angela Merkel during a morning meeting, followed by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. |
| He is later due to give a speech on transatlantic ties that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people. | He is later due to give a speech on transatlantic ties that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people. |
| Mr Obama flew to Germany fresh from a visit to Israel and the West Bank. | Mr Obama flew to Germany fresh from a visit to Israel and the West Bank. |
| Hopefully [the speech] will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I'd like to see between the United States and Europe Barack Obama Diary: Barack Obama's world tourForeign policy positionsIraq still dominates US election | Hopefully [the speech] will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I'd like to see between the United States and Europe Barack Obama Diary: Barack Obama's world tourForeign policy positionsIraq still dominates US election |
| The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, in Berlin, says Mr Obama is very popular in Germany, where surveys suggest three-quarters of people want him to be the next US president. | The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, in Berlin, says Mr Obama is very popular in Germany, where surveys suggest three-quarters of people want him to be the next US president. |
| He says Mr Obama will be hoping that once TV pictures of him addressing cheering crowds of Berliners have been beamed back to America it will boost his image as an international statesman, and his chances of beating Republican rival John McCain this autumn. | He says Mr Obama will be hoping that once TV pictures of him addressing cheering crowds of Berliners have been beamed back to America it will boost his image as an international statesman, and his chances of beating Republican rival John McCain this autumn. |
| Before leaving Israel for Berlin, Mr Obama told reporters: "Hopefully [the speech] will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I'd like to see between the United States and Europe. | Before leaving Israel for Berlin, Mr Obama told reporters: "Hopefully [the speech] will be viewed as a substantive articulation of the relationship I'd like to see between the United States and Europe. |
| "I'm hoping to communicate across the Atlantic the value of that relationship and how we need to build on it." | "I'm hoping to communicate across the Atlantic the value of that relationship and how we need to build on it." |
| Big crowds are expected for the Illinois senator's evening speech at the Victory Column in central Berlin's Tiergarten Park. | Big crowds are expected for the Illinois senator's evening speech at the Victory Column in central Berlin's Tiergarten Park. |
| Ms Merkel reportedly blocked his campaign team's plans for him to deliver the address at the Brandenburg Gate, which stood behind the Berlin Wall for decades as a potent symbol of the Cold War. | |
| The Gate is where President Ronald Reagan famously urged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" in 1987. | The Gate is where President Ronald Reagan famously urged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to "tear down this wall" in 1987. |
| President John F Kennedy - with whom Mr Obama is sometimes compared - also visited the Gate in 1963, although his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech was delivered elsewhere in the city. | President John F Kennedy - with whom Mr Obama is sometimes compared - also visited the Gate in 1963, although his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech was delivered elsewhere in the city. |
| Mr Obama has also visited Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan on his foreign tour. | Mr Obama has also visited Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq and Jordan on his foreign tour. |
| Are you in Germany? What are your thoughts on Barack Obama's visit? Send us your comments using the form below. | Are you in Germany? What are your thoughts on Barack Obama's visit? Send us your comments using the form below. |