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• Obama on the defensive on spending, debt
• CIA remembers those lost in covert operations
• FACT CHECK: Obama off on thrifty spending claim
• Mali Tuaregs, Islamist rebels agree to merge, create new state
• U.N. says over 92 killed in Syria, 32 of them children
• Eurovision final kicks off in Azerbaijan
• French back Hollande's first days in power: poll
• Two separate attacks wound five in north east Kenya
• Obama on the defensive on spending, debt
• Greek pro-bailout conservatives regain lead: polls
• Islamist and ex-PM vie for mantle of Egypt's revolt
• Biden says end to wars gives US new flexibility
• Islamists walk out of Algeria parliament in protest
• Serbian tells Putin he will not trade Kosovo for EU
• Putin puts Medvedev in charge of Russia's ruling party
• CIA remembers those lost in covert operations
• PKK says it carried out Turkey suicide car bomb
• Alan Simpson Tells Seniors Battling Social Security Cuts 'Why Don't You Help Me?'
• Egypt's Brotherhood would keep Israel treaty: Carter
• Ethiopia detains, quizzes U.S. journalist: VOA
• Warning signs for Obama on path to electoral votes
• Final polls show Irish set to pass referendum
• At West Point Commencement, Joe Biden Focuses on Future Challenges
• Four EU leaders set June 22 crisis talks
• No need to wait for November to know election outcome
• CIA remembers losses in covert operations
• Brother of blind Chinese activist returns home: lawyer
• Muslims buried in Bosnia town, Serb veterans march
• Paolo Gabriele: from papal butler to accused traitor
• Israeli settler shoots Palestinian in West Bank
• Swiss working on emergency euro plan: minister
• Egypt candidate to seek election suspension-lawyer
• Warning signs for Obama on tight path to 270

Obama on the defensive on spending, debt Posted: 26 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT Government spending and debt are emerging as a campaign tug-of-war, with Mitt Romney blaming President Barack Obama for a "prairie fire of debt" and Obama calling the charge a "cowpie of distortion." House Speaker John Boehner is talking about a debt ceiling that is still more than eight months away.

CIA remembers those lost in covert operations Posted: 26 May 2012 11:19 AM PDT The CIA is remembering those lost in the hidden, often dangerous world of espionage, adding a new star to the intelligence agency's memorial wall and more than a dozen names to its hallowed Book of Honor.

FACT CHECK: Obama off on thrifty spending claim Posted: 26 May 2012 05:36 AM PDT The White House is aggressively pushing the idea that, contrary to widespread belief, President Barack Obama is tightfisted with taxpayer dollars. To back it up, the administration cites a media report that claims federal spending is rising at the slowest pace since the Eisenhower years.

Mali Tuaregs, Islamist rebels agree to merge, create new state Posted: 26 May 2012 02:58 PM PDT Bamako (Reuters) - Mali's Tuareg rebel MNLA and Ansar Dine Islamist militants have agreed to merge and create an independent Islamic state in the north of the country, a rebel spokesman said on Saturday. The deal between MNLA, which has said it wants an independent secular state in the north, and the al Qaeda-linked Salafist Ansar Dine, which had wanted to impose Sharia across Mali, may complicate international efforts to stabilize Mali after a March coup that plunged the country into chaos. ...

U.N. says over 92 killed in Syria, 32 of them children Posted: 26 May 2012 02:15 PM PDT BEIRUT (Reuters) - The United Nations said on Saturday that more than 92 people were killed in what activists described as an artillery barrage by government forces in the worst violence since the start of a U.N. peace plan to slow the flow of blood in Syria's uprising. The bloodied bodies of children, some with their skulls split open, were shown in footage posted to YouTube purporting to show the victims of the shelling in the central town of Houla on Friday. The sound of wailing filled the room. ...

Eurovision final kicks off in Azerbaijan Posted: 26 May 2012 02:12 PM PDT BAKU (Reuters) - Millions of television viewers tuned into Europe's annual pop contest in Azerbaijan on Saturday, but a row over human rights in the former Soviet republic has overshadowed the government's planned showcase for its rapid progress fuelled by oil riches. The Eurovision Song Contest draws more than 100 million viewers almost every year and Azerbaijan spent $60 million on a facelift for its capital Baku and an undisclosed amount on the glitzy 23,000-seat Crystal Hall on the shores of the Caspian Sea to host the event. ...

French back Hollande's first days in power: poll Posted: 26 May 2012 01:29 PM PDT PARIS (Reuters) - Close to two thirds of French people approve of President Francois Hollande's actions in his first days in power, a poll showed on Saturday, giving him a strong foundation to face a parliamentary election and the challenges of the euro crisis. Hollande took on the top job on May 15 at a time of stagnating economic growth and high unemployment in France and heightened anxiety over Greece's ability to remain in the euro zone. ...

Two separate attacks wound five in north east Kenya Posted: 26 May 2012 01:06 PM PDT ISIOLO, Kenya (Reuters) - Suspected grenade attacks at a hotel and a refugee camp in northeastern Kenya wounded at least five people on Saturday, police said, days after a similar strike in the same region. Grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in Kenya have become more frequent since it sent troops to Somalia to pursue al Shabaab insurgents it blames for a wave of kidnappings last year. Police said four builders at a primary school in the Ifo refugee camp in Garissa, and one person at a hotel in Wajir were wounded in the attacks. ...

Obama on the defensive on spending, debt Posted: 26 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT Government spending and debt are emerging as a campaign tug-of-war, with Mitt Romney blaming President Barack Obama for a "prairie fire of debt" and Obama calling the charge a "cowpie of distortion." House Speaker John Boehner is talking about a debt ceiling that is still more than eight months away.

Greek pro-bailout conservatives regain lead: polls Posted: 26 May 2012 12:27 PM PDT ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's conservatives have regained an opinion poll lead that would allow the formation of a pro-bailout government committed to keeping the country in the euro zone, a batch of new surveys showed on Saturday. Greece was forced to call repeat elections for June 17 after a May 6 vote left parliament divided evenly between groups of parties that support and oppose the austerity conditions attached to a 130 billion euro bailout agreed with the European Union and International Monetary Fund in March. ...

Islamist and ex-PM vie for mantle of Egypt's revolt Posted: 26 May 2012 12:26 PM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood and a military man close to ousted leader Hosni Mubarak courted defeated first-round candidates in Egypt's presidential election on Saturday, each trying to claim the mantle of the uprising before a run-off next month. State television said the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi led this week's vote with 26.4 percent, against 23 percent for ex-air force chief Ahmed Shafiq, according to preliminary results. Hamdeen Sabahy, a secular leftist came a close third with 21.5 percent, followed by independent Islamist Abdel Moneim Abol Fotouh. ...

Biden says end to wars gives US new flexibility Posted: 26 May 2012 11:40 AM PDT Vice President Joe Biden said Saturday that the United States can now focus on new global challenges after a long decade of war in an election-year commencement address to jubilant graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Islamists walk out of Algeria parliament in protest Posted: 26 May 2012 11:36 AM PDT ALGIERS (Reuters) - Islamist lawmakers walked out of the inaugural session of Algeria's parliament on Saturday to protest against an election they say was rigged to hand a majority to the ruling elite's party. Algeria, supplier of about a fifth of Europe's imported gas, is the only country in north Africa left largely untouched by last year's "Arab Spring" revolts, but some analysts predict unrest if the establishment does not loosen its grip on power. ...

Serbian tells Putin he will not trade Kosovo for EU Posted: 26 May 2012 11:27 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - Serbia is on a "long and uncertain" road to joining the European Union but will not give up its claim to Kosovo for the sake of membership, President-elect Tomislav Nikolic told Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. It was Nikolic's first foreign trip since he was elected president on May 20. The election of the former leader of the ultranationalist Radical Party triggered speculation the country might abandon its pro-Western path steered since the overthrow of late Serb strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. ...

Putin puts Medvedev in charge of Russia's ruling party Posted: 26 May 2012 11:27 AM PDT MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin steered Dmitry Medvedev into the chairmanship of Russia's ruling party on Saturday and demanded reforms to the flagging organization he will rely on to keep his grip on the country's far-flung regions. At Putin's behest, delegates at a United Russia congress elected Medvedev chairman with a unanimous show of hands, the final step in a choreographed role reversal the longtime leader hopes will preserve his rule against growing opposition. After four years of playing No. ...

CIA remembers those lost in covert operations Posted: 26 May 2012 11:19 AM PDT The CIA is remembering those lost in the hidden, often dangerous world of espionage, adding a new star to the intelligence agency's memorial wall and more than a dozen names to its hallowed Book of Honor.

PKK says it carried out Turkey suicide car bomb Posted: 26 May 2012 11:17 AM PDT ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) claimed responsibility on Saturday for a suicide car bomb attack in central Turkey that killed one policeman, and media reports said the bombers had entered Turkey from Syria. Four suspects have been detained in connection with the attack, Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin told reporters. Two militants set off a bomb inside their car near a police station at Pinarbasi in Turkey's central Kayseri province on Friday, killing themselves and one policeman and wounding 18 others. ...

Alan Simpson Tells Seniors Battling Social Security Cuts 'Why Don't You Help Me?' Posted: 26 May 2012 10:50 AM PDT Former Wyoming senator and Bowles-Simpson deficit commission co-chairman Alan Simpson took his war of words with the head of a senior's group to a new level, defending his advice to cut Social Security as a way to tackle the long-term debt in an angry, expletive-laden...

Egypt's Brotherhood would keep Israel treaty: Carter Posted: 26 May 2012 10:44 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - The Muslim Brotherhood may seek to modify, but will not destroy, Egypt's 33-year-old peace treaty with Israel, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said on Saturday. Carter, 87, was speaking after initial vote tallies put the Brotherhood's candidate ahead in the first round of Egypt's presidential election, which his Carter Center helped monitor. The U.S. ...

Ethiopia detains, quizzes U.S. journalist: VOA Posted: 26 May 2012 10:37 AM PDT ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian authorities briefly detained a journalist for Voice of America (VOA) and his translator as he covered a dispute between Muslims and the government in the capital Addis Ababa, the U.S. broadcaster said on Saturday. Peter Heinlein and translator Simegineh Yekoye were arrested after leaving a meeting about the dispute at a mosque on Friday afternoon and released without charge the following morning, VOA said. "We were interrogated by a police officer who told us that we had engaged in illegal reporting. ...

Warning signs for Obama on path to electoral votes Posted: 26 May 2012 10:36 AM PDT President Barack Obama faces new warning signs in a once-promising Southern state and typically Democratic-voting Midwestern states roughly five months before the election even as he benefits nationally from encouraging economic news.

Final polls show Irish set to pass referendum Posted: 26 May 2012 10:36 AM PDT DUBLIN (Reuters) - Final opinion polls show that Irish voters are likely to give the green light to the European Union's new fiscal treaty, with the 'Yes' campaign leading comfortably ahead of the referendum on Thursday. Ireland will hold what is likely to be the only popular vote on the so-called "fiscal compact", a German-inspired pact for stricter budget discipline. The 'Yes' campaign, supported by the three largest political parties who have warned a rejection would undermine the country's position in the euro zone, has been ahead in the polls since the vote was called three months ago. ...

At West Point Commencement, Joe Biden Focuses on Future Challenges Posted: 26 May 2012 10:26 AM PDT Vice President Joe Biden told a graduating class of army cadets today that their entrance into the service had come at time of rapid change for the nation's military. Delivering the commencement address to roughly a thousand students of the U.S. Military Academy at West...

Four EU leaders set June 22 crisis talks Posted: 26 May 2012 10:11 AM PDT PARIS/MADRID (Reuters) - The leaders of France, Germany, Spain and Italy will meet on June 22 to discuss the euro zone crisis, said a spokeswoman for the Spanish prime minister's office. "They've just confirmed the date," she said. Earlier, Le Figaro newspaper had reported the summit would take place in Rome, citing Italian sources. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti had suggested a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, but there was difficulty setting a date. ...

No need to wait for November to know election outcome Posted: 26 May 2012 09:33 AM PDT NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Many folks may fret themselves into a frenzy over the November U.S. elections and whether the world will come to an end on December 21, but for about 1,500 people gathered in New Orleans for the United Astrologers Conference, all will be revealed this week. "Some of the world's top astrologers are here to answer questions about the election, the global economy and perhaps even the Super Bowl," said Madalyn Hillis-Dineen, a 30-year practitioner of astrology and a coordinator of the conference that occurs every four years. ...

CIA remembers losses in covert operations Posted: 26 May 2012 09:29 AM PDT The CIA is remembering those lost in covert operations, adding a new star to the intelligence agency's memorial wall and more than a dozen names to its Book of Honor.

Brother of blind Chinese activist returns home: lawyer Posted: 26 May 2012 09:27 AM PDT The brother of blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng who was reported to have gone missing has returned to his village in northeastern China, a lawyer said on Saturday. The short disappearance of Chen Guangfu had sparked concerns he was the latest target of government reprisals against the family of the activist, who escaped from his village in late April after 19 months of detention at home. Shandong-based lawyer Liu Weiguo told Reuters Chen Guangfu had returned to Dongshigu village. ...

Muslims buried in Bosnia town, Serb veterans march Posted: 26 May 2012 09:26 AM PDT VISEGRAD, Bosnia (Reuters) - The bodies of 66 Bosnian Muslims, murdered and dumped in the Drina river 20 years ago, were buried in Visegrad in eastern Bosnia on Saturday, hours after a march through the town by Serb veterans of the 1992-95 war. Nestled in the river valley, Visegrad is indicative of Bosnia's unhealed wounds. Muslims made up two-thirds of the town's 21,000 population before the war, but were driven out by Bosnian Serb forces. Just a few hundred have returned to live. ...

Paolo Gabriele: from papal butler to accused traitor Posted: 26 May 2012 09:04 AM PDT VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Paolo Gabriele was always a reserved, almost shy man, as his position required. He had access to the most private rooms in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace - Pope Benedict's apartment. But what could have prompted the pope's butler, who was formally charged by Vatican magistrates on Saturday with illegal possession of secret documents, to betray the man who trusted him? Was it money? Probably not. ...

Israeli settler shoots Palestinian in West Bank Posted: 26 May 2012 08:27 AM PDT NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - An Israeli settler shot and wounded a Palestinian man on Saturday in a clash that began when a group of settlers set fire to fields belonging to a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank, officials said. Residents said about 25 settlers, some of them carrying guns, set fire to wheat fields in the village of Orif, which is near the northern West Bank city of Nablus. Some villagers came out to extinguish the fire and clashed with the settlers, said Nablus official Kassan Daglas. ...

Swiss working on emergency euro plan: minister Posted: 26 May 2012 08:20 AM PDT ZURICH (Reuters) - The Swiss government has set up a working group to consider how to support the economy in the case of an escalation of the euro zone crisis, Economy Minister Johann Schneider-Amman was quoted as saying on Saturday. He told Swiss radio the working group was drawing up plans on how the government could intervene to support financial and labor markets if the economy was hit in a worst-case scenario. ...

Egypt candidate to seek election suspension-lawyer Posted: 26 May 2012 08:11 AM PDT CAIRO (Reuters) - Leftist candidate Hamdeen Sabahy will file an appeal for Egypt's presidential election to be suspended because of alleged voting irregularities and a pending case over former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq's right to stand, Sabahy's lawyer said on Saturday. "We will present an appeal on behalf of candidate Hamdeen Sabahy ... to the presidential electoral committee, citing a series of irregularities ... that have affected the outcome of the first round," lawyer Essam El-Islamboly told Reuters. ...

Warning signs for Obama on tight path to 270 Posted: 26 May 2012 08:02 AM PDT President Barack Obama faces new warning signs in a once-promising Southern state and typically Democratic-voting Midwestern states roughly five months before the election even as he benefits nationally from encouraging economic news.

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