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Calm on second day of G20 summit

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- The Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh enjoyed relative peace and quiet Friday as protest organizers said they are attempting to prevent violent demonstrations.

Thomas Merton Center President Peter Shell, whose group held a downtown rally against the summit on Friday, told The New York Times his center's protest would differ from the violent clashes of Thursday.

"Up to now there was so much fear -- people were told that it would be dangerous and violent," Shell said.

"We have a permit," he added. "We confront the policies of the G20, not the police. We're a different kind of protest."

Clashes between protesters and police Thursday resulted in at least five people needing medical attention and nearly 16 businesses being damaged. A total of 66 people were arrested and officials locked down Pittsburgh's business district and brought in police helicopters and gunboats to help preserve the peace.

Canada to host first 2010 G20 summit

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced in Pittsburgh Friday his country will host the first of two Group of 20 summits next year.

While attending the G20 summit, Harper and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met and agreed on the two summits, the first of which will occur in Huntsville, Ontario, a two-hour drive north of Toronto in late June.

The leaders said a second summit would be held in Seoul in November, a release from Harper's office said.

Canada was already scheduled to host a Group of Eight industrialized nations summit in June, although various news reports said the timing of the two meetings wasn't immediately clear.

Harper, speaking at a news conference, reiterated how Canada has weathered the recession better than most nations because of its financial and banking regulatory policies.

"Canada has been a strong participant at these summits because our country brings a strong economic record to the table," he said.

Europe focus of bin Laden message

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Fugitive al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden reportedly said in an online message Friday that Europeans should distance themselves from the United States.

CNN said the message purportedly from bin Laden on radical Islamic Web sites claims U.S. forces are losing in Afghanistan while also conducting military operations that result in the deaths of innocent civilians.

"It won't be long until the dust of war clears in Afghanistan, at which point you won't find a trace of any American," bin Laden said in Arabic in the brief message.

"You are aware that oppression topples those who commit it and injustice has unhealthy consequences for the unjust, and that one of the greatest forms of injustice is to kill people without right, yet this is exactly what your governments and soldiers are committing under the umbrella of the NATO alliance in Afghanistan," the al-Qaida leader said in the message, subtitled in English and German.

German Interior Ministry spokesman Stefan Paris told CNN his government is reviewing the new message, whose authenticity has yet to be established.

Biden: Ga. counties added to disaster list

MARIETTA, Ga., Sept. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Friday two more Georgia counties have been added to the disaster list following heavy flooding in the region.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Biden announced that Stephens and Chattooga counties were added to the list because they had been affected by the major floods that struck northern Georgia this week, causing at least $250 million in damage.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Thursday Georgia's Carroll, Cherokee, Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties were placed on the list.

Being named to the disaster list allows those counties to seek aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Small Business Administration.

Biden toured the Red Cross shelter at the Cobb Civic Center in Marietta, Ga., Friday and met with people displaced by the flood waters.

Deandra Moses, who is staying at the center with her two children, said her family escaped the flood waters with only some clothes.

"Everything else is gone," she told the Journal-Constitution.

Gadhafi wants improved U.S. relations

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 (UPI) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says the release of Pan Am Flight 103 bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrah will allow U.S.-Libyan relations to move forward.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in New York, where he addressed the U.N. General Assembly this week, Gadhafi said he understands Americans' anger toward him but wants to rebuild diplomatic relations with the United States during the administration of President Barack Obama. The Libyan strongman said he wanted to consign his country's long-running disputes with the United States to the past.

Gadhafi denied his government intentionally fanned the hero's welcome home afforded al-Megrahi, who was convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, the Journal said. Al-Megrahi, who has cancer, was released by Scottish authorities last month on compassionate grounds over U.S. objections.

Gadhafi said al-Megrahi's release came through proper legal channels

"As a case, the Lockerbie question: I would say it's come to an end, legally, politically, financially, it is all over," Gadhafi said. "I would say, thank Allah that this problem has been solved to the satisfaction of all parties. We all feel the pain for such a tragedy."