Thousands of anti-government protesters have marched in Beirut, calling for political reform. They are calling for an end to sectarian power sharing. Lebanon has been without a functioning government and Hezbollah and its allies toppled Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri in January. The country currently operates under a power-sharing deal between different religious sects.

 

Julia Gillard has arrived in Washington for her first visit there as Prime Minister. She’ll meet the US President Barack Obama tomorrow. An exit strategy for the Afghanistan war and the global economic recovery will be key topics for the talks.

 

Hundreds of people have marched through the streets of the Afghan capital Kabul demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops. The protest was prompted by the deaths of nine children who were killed in a NATO air raid in a remote part of the country. The United States has apologised for the incident, but Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai says the apology is not enough.

 

And the Federal Government admits it’s having trouble selling a carbon tax but denies it’s losing the debate. The Acting Prime Minister Wayne Swan has acknowledged there’s confusion about the plan. He says it’s the big polluters and not householders who’ll pay the tax.