George Clooney Meets With Prime Minister Brown About Darfur

LONDON — George Clooney took a break from promoting his latest film Tuesday to meet with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as he continued pressing governments to speak out about China's foreign policy in Sudan. The two met as the Olympic torch arrived in San Francisco for the only North American stop in the Beijing Olympic torch relay, which has been dogged by human rights protesters in London, Paris and Istanbul. The protests have been fueled by anger over China's human rights record, its grip on Tibet and China's support for Sudan despite years of bloodshed in the country's western Darfur region. "I think the protests are good. They've been warned for a while that there was going to be some protests," Clooney told reporters on the red carpet for the British premiere of his new film, "Leatherheads." Brown praised the 46-year-old actor's role in drawing attention to violence in Darfur. Only 9,200 troops and police of the 26,000 authorized are on the ground in Darfur, ... (link)