Bush due in Sydney for APEC amid anti-war protests

SYDNEY, Sep 4 (Reuters) After a lightning visit to Iraq, US President George W. Bush arrives in Australia today where he can expect anti-Iraq war protests as he attends an Asia-Pacific leaders' summit in Sydney.

A ''Stop Bush 2007'' rally in front of the city's main railway station is planned for just a few hours before Bush lands in Sydney under the nation's biggest ever security operation.

Several protests are planned for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (APEC) meetings this week, culminating in a major march by the ''Stop Bush Coalition'' on Saturday, when the 21 Asia-Pacific leaders hold a summit at the Sydney Opera House.

''We are here today on the eve of APEC to tell George Bush that he is not welcome, wherever he and his architects of death may travel,'' said U.S. Iraq veteran Matt Howard in Sydney.

Protesters also plan to demonstrate against global warming, human rights abuses in China and nuclear proliferation.

Members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement staged a candle-lit protest when Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in the outback mining state of Western Australia yesterday.

''We'll be following him during his stay in Australia,'' Lucy Zhao, a Falun Gong campaign organiser said at a small rally.

Hu presided over the signing of a 20-year energy pact between Chinese and Australian firms today, which will see the sale of billions of dollars worth of liquefied natural gas off the Australian coast. Energy security is one of the main issues expected at APEC, along with climate change and trade.

The United States is pushing for a strong statement from APEC towards a world trade pact and a draft of the leaders' statement obtained by Reuters said they will pledge to ensure that the Doha round of global trade talks ''enter their final phase this year''.

World Trade Organisation talks resumed yesterday in Geneva to discuss draft texts aimed at breaking the deadlock between developed and developing nations in global trade talks.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has made climate change a major issue at APEC, but has said there will be no binding greenhouse gas emission targets. Green groups have said APEC will be a failure if the leaders do not set greenhouse targets.

COURT ACTION Police took court action today to stop the main APEC protest march.

The court adjourned the case until tomorrow.

Police said they are not opposed to a march but reject the protesters' planned route, which passes the US Consulate in Sydney, but is several city blocks from the summit venue.

''Our intelligence tells us there is an intent to act violently,'' said local police commissioner Andrew Scipione.

Authorities have erected a 5-km security fence across the central business district to isolate the leaders in the Sydney Opera House and nearby hotels. A total of 5,000 police and troops are patrolling the city centre.

An opinion poll released today and commissioned by the Medical Association for the Prevention of War found 52 percent of Australians believed Bush was the worst president in US history.

Just 32 per cent said he was not.

''There is a clear majority of Australians who believe George Bush is the worst ... and that is based primarily on his Iraq war policy,'' said association spokesman Robert Marr.

GLOBAL WARMING The Asia-Pacific's growing dependence on cheap coal to power rapid economic growth is a worrying trend and could undermine efforts to reduce global emissions, said a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) report released in Sydney today.

''The Asia Pacific region is at a critical moment with regard to coal use, and is grappling with the difficult question of how to balance burgeoning energy needs with the well-being of the planet and local communities,'' said WWF.

Coal, the most abundant conventional fossil fuel, is responsible for a quarter of the world's total carbon emissions.

Between 2001 and 2006, coal use around the world grew by an unprecedented 30 per cent, with Asia -- underpinned by China -- accounting for almost 90 per cent of the growth, said WWF.

The WWF urged APEC countries, which account for about 60 per cent of the world's economy, to set binding targets on emission reductions in a post-2012 climate treaty.

REUTERS NC RAI1301