Obama leaves Britain heading for G8 summit

US President Barack Obama left Britain on Thursday at the end of a three-day state visit and headed for a G8 summit in the French resort of Deauville. Obama boarded his Air Force One plane at Stansted Airport near London after rounding off his visit by hosting a dinner at the US embassy in the British capital for Queen Elizabeth. The highlight of his British trip was a speech on Wednesday to both houses of parliament in which he stressed the enduring importance of the transatlantic alliance in the face of the emerging world's rapid rise. Obama is joining the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia at the summit, which represents their first proper opportunity to debate the uprisings across the Arab world.