TOKYO, July 6 (UPI) -- World leaders headed for the Group of Eight summit in Japan knowing there is little they can do about the world economy, a leading economist said.

Tim Condon, chief Asia economist for ING Financial Markets in Singapore, told the Los Angeles Times the relative importance of the countries in the G8 is shrinking and the meeting's relevance is "questionable."

"This is going to be one of those events that shift people's thinking about the world," he said.

Shi Yinghong, director for American Studies at People's University in Beijing, agreed.

"Honestly, there's no one who can give a global solution," Shi said. "Many countries don't even have a solution for their own domestic problems."

The G8 leaders, including U.S. President George W. Bush, have played down expectations for the meeting, which is scheduled to get under way Monday on Hokkaido.

Thousands of protesters are expected and plans call for tight security.

Bush gets airborne birthday suprise party

HOKKAIDO, Japan, July 6 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush was treated to a surprise 62nd birthday party aboard Air Force One en route to the Group of Eight summit in Japan.

Bush and his contingent were nearing Japan when First Lady Laura Bush and senior White House staff gathered in the plane's conference room. There, a steward put a single candle on a coconut cake, the lights were dimmed, and when Bush entered the room, the group yelled, "Surprise," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

"He dutifully pretended to be surprised," she added.

Staff presented Bush a simple wooden box made from a giant oak tree that fell on the White House lawn in 2007, which had been planted by President Benjamin Harrison's daughter in 1892.

Some of the wood was sent to Texas to be fashioned into a small box that was filled with notes and cards from members of his senior staff.

Obama 'puzzled' by Iraq media frenzy

ST. LOUIS, July 6 (UPI) -- Likely Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Barack Obama says he's "puzzled" by the media frenzy surrounding statements he made about the Iraq war.

Sen. Obama, D-Ill., told reporters Saturday while flying from Montana to St. Louis that he's been consistent on his plan for a 16-month phased withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq.

"I am surprised at how… the press… I'm not trying to dump on you guys, but I'm surprised at how finely calibrated every single word was measured," CNN quoted Obama as saying. "I wasn't saying anything that I hadn't said before. That I didn't say a year ago. Or when I was a U.S. senator. If you look at our position, it's been very consistent."

The flap began last week in North Dakota when Obama said he might change his Iraq plan if conditions on the ground called for it. He placed some of the blame for the confusion on the campaign of his likely GOP presidential opponent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., telling CNN the McCain's campaign "primed the pump with the press to suggest that somehow we were changing our policy when we hadn't."

Heat wave coming to scorched California

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 6 (UPI) -- California firefighters braced for record or near-record heat as they battle hundreds of stubborn wildfires, weather forecasters said Sunday.

With more than 20,000 firefighters battling 300 fires, Sunday was considered a critical day for efforts against the two biggest fires, one near Santa Barbara and another near Big Sur, the Los Angeles Times reported. But firefighters won't be getting any help from the weather, with temperatures as high as 105 degrees were expected Monday.

Near Santa Barbara, crews were coping overnight wind gusts that reached as high as 50 mph, the Times said.

"(Sunday) is going to be a critical day for us," Incident Cmdr. James Smith told fire crews. "We want to be vigilant, we want to stay persistent and put a good amount of effort in the (east) today… so we can seal it up … so we can focus on the (west) tomorrow."

Further north at Big Sur, the Gap fire was only 5 percent contained after burning nearly 69,000 acres and shutting down the area's popular tourist destinations, the newspaper said.