Obama postpones Aussie visit

SEE YOU LATER: President Obama, pictured with Rudd and Berlusconi at the G8 summit, has postponed his visit to Australia.

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US President Barack Obama is postponing his trip to Australia and Asia until June so he can stay in Washington for a possible Sunday vote on his health care overhaul plan.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs says Obama has called the leaders of Australia and Indonesia to express his regret that he will not be able to visit their nations.

Obama had already pushed the trip back once, delaying his orginally scheduled March 18 departure until Sunday so he could help Democrats on Capitol Hill rally last-minute votes for the plan. 

House Democrats say they are on track to vote on Sunday on a US$940 billion health care bill that will expand coverage to millions of Americans.

- AP