American President Bill Clinton arrived in Seattle, Washington, today to scenes of devastation after huge protests.

Thousands of anti-trade demonstrators battled with police yesterday . The protesters have come to Seattle from all over the world. Hundreds of the protesters are Canadian.

The protesters are upset over a conference by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO members are talking about changing the rules for trading goods and services between countries.

The protesters believe that the rule changes will be bad for working people and poor countries, and good for only for corporations. Many WTO members disagree. They say that making trade easier between countries will help poor people and poor countries.

Laure Waridel is one of the protesters. She is from Montreal, Quebec. She is taking time away from her studies to go to Seattle. She says she wants to make sure that world leaders see that they cannot just make rules that are good for rich countries like Canada and the United States but are bad for poor countries in Latin America and Africa.

Yesterday Seattle police in riot gear sprayed tear gas and shot rubber pellets they called "stingers" to clear protesters who had clogged the streets and blocked access to the meeting site.

Most protesters were peaceful but some looted shops, set fire to trash cans and fought running battles with police. Police made about 60 arrests . Seventeen people suffered minor injuries .

Anti-trade events were also held elsewhere yesterday .

In Toronto, about 200 people marched through the business district. A similar demonstration in Britain turned violent when protesters clashed with police.

Along the West Coast of the United States, dock workers refused to move cargo to show support for labor activists in Seattle.

1. When did American President Bill Clinton arrive in Seattle, Washington, to scenes of devastation after huge protests?