In the end, the inaugural balls went off a little more smoothly than the oath of office. U.S. President Barack Obama, who fretted beforehand about the caliber of his dancing, avoided stepping on his wife's toes but he kept running into trouble with the train of her very long white gown through the evening's 10 balls.
U.S. President George W. Bush and Russia's Vladimir Putin failed to resolve their differences over missile defence at a farewell summit on Sunday but pledged to leave a positive legacy for their successors. The leaders signed a declaration which expressed their readiness to search for a compromise on the missile shield. Bush also had talks with Putin's protege Medvedev on whom he said he got positive first impressions. (UPDATED)