Powell flies in to face US critics

Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State, faces a barrage of criticism over American policies towards Iraq and global warming when he makes a belated appearance today at the Earth Summit in Johannesburg. Most delegates were preparing to go home as Mr Powell flew into South Africa yesterday.

On the sidelines of the gathering and on its last day, Mr Powell is expected to meet several world leaders, many of whom have voiced anger over his government's threats to attack Iraq, its reluctance to endorse many of the summit's goals and its continued refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

He will meet the UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, the Japanese Foreign Minister, Yoriko Kawaguchi, the Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, the South African President, Thabo Mbeki, and President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.

US opposition to setting goals at the summit, backed by the oil-producing countries of Opec, has come under fire for scuppering an EU plan for targets to increase the use of wind, wave and solar energy. Several leaders criticised the US attitude to Kyoto in their five-minute speeches to the gathering before Mr Powell's arrival.