GEORGE, South Africa -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair was slamming tennis balls on the courts half an hour after more than 40 heads of state arrived Saturday in this South African resort for the second part of a Commonwealth summit that has focused on trade and democracy.
Flying in two planes from Durban, where the gathering began Friday, the leaders from England and her former colonies came to the town of George to continue discussions in a relaxed atmosphere.They will be staying in the $280-a-night Fancourt golf resort, where pink rose bushes and lily ponds dot mountain foothills.
A fog lifted by the time the planes carrying Blair, South African President Thabo Mbeki and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and other leaders landed in George.
The concentration of so many world leaders in just two aircraft made some people nervous. Vusi Mavimbela, Mbeki's top security official, could not be reached for comment.
The heads of state are trying to reach consensus on an approach to upcoming World Trade Organization talks, and to promote democratic reforms by widening the scope of the Commonwealth's watchdog committee.
Some leaders -- like Kenya's Daniel Arap Moi and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe -- lead virtual one-party states that suppress dissent.
Blair and other leaders have proposed that the watchdog committee, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, crack down on member nations that constrain opposition parties and the media. That expanded role was approved by heads of state Friday.
Still, there are differences about what should be on the agenda of the WTO meeting, which begins in Seattle on Nov. 30, Commonwealth summit spokesman Kaye Whiteman said.
Queen Elizabeth II, who as head of the Commonwealth opened the summit, spent Saturday morning holding private audiences at her Durban hotel, while her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, went to visit an Anglo-Boer War battle site.
The exact number of leaders present in George was not clear, and the leaders of Zambia and Seychelles were in Durban but did not attend the retreat.
The Commonwealth has 54 members. Pakistan is suspended for last month's military coup, and several other countries sent lower level delegates.