NewsDaily: Top Headlines

Obama "absolutely confident" on Senate health bill (Reuters)

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:05:26 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8, 2009 (Reuters) -- President Barack Obama said on Saturday he was "absolutely confident" the Senate would follow the lead of the House of Representatives in passing legislation to overhaul the healthcare system. ... > read full story

U.S. House backs anti-abortion amendment (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:24:41 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Saturday to tighten a ban against using federal funds to finance abortions under the proposed Democratic healthcare reform legislation. ... > read full story

Obama wraps up Afghan review, eyes final options (Reuters)

Adam Entous — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 21:24:12 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is wrapping up deliberations on war strategy in Afghanistan and is considering final Pentagon options that include sending about 30,000 more troops, officials said on Saturday. ... > read full story

U.S. Army gunman's act "impossible": grandfather (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:55:10 EST

AL-BIREH, West Bank, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- The grandfather of a U.S. Army psychiatrist accused of shooting dead 13 people and wounding 30 others at a base in Texas said on Saturday he found it impossible to believe his grandson had committed the act. ... > read full story

Honduran election campaigns clouded by crisis (Reuters)

Sean Mattson — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:04:12 EST

TEGUCIGALPA, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- A bitter four-month dispute over who is president has left many Hondurans too jaded with politics to care about voting for their next leader. ... > read full story

Ida regroups into tropical storm off Mexico (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:13:43 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- Ida strengthened back into a tropical storm early on Saturday off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and was moving north toward the Cayman Islands, where the government issued a tropical storm warning. ... > read full story

7 Afghans killed during missing U.S. troops search (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:36:19 EST

KABUL, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- NATO forces mistakenly killed seven Afghan soldiers and police in an air strike during a battle while searching for two missing American soldiers in Afghanistan, the Afghan Defense Ministry said on Saturday. ... > read full story

Afghanistan hits back at U.N. and foreign criticism (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:42:45 EST

KABUL, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- Afghanistan accused the United Nations on Saturday of intervening in the formation of President Hamid Karzai's next cabinet, less than a week into his new term. ... > read full story

Russian military plane crashes in Pacific, 11 missing (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:42:22 EST

MOSCOW, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- A Russian military plane with 11 people on board crashed in the Pacific Ocean during a training flight late on Friday, the Defense Ministry said. ... > read full story

UK urges divided G20 to reach climate finance deal (Reuters)

Toni Vorobyova and Anna Willard — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:35:17 EST

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- British finance minister Alistair Darling urged his G20 counterparts on Saturday to work toward a $100 billion deal on tackling climate change as developing nations held firm they did not want to talk about it. ... > read full story

Iran says over 100 people detained at anti-U.S. rally (Reuters)

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:47:15 EST

TEHRAN, Nov. 7, 2009 (Reuters) -- Iranian police detained more than 100 people for "disturbing public order" during a rally this week to mark the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. embassy, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday. ... > read full story

Al Qaeda releases new bin Laden videotape: website (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:40:02 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Al Qaeda released a new videotape from its leader Osama bin Laden on Friday, said IntelCenter, a U.S.-based terrorism monitoring firm. ... > read full story

Lebanon's opposition agrees to join Hariri government (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:52:59 EST

BEIRUT, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Lebanon's opposition, including Iranian-backed Hezbollah, agreed on Friday to join a national unity government proposed by Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri, a senior opposition source said. ... > read full story

Two killed, six injured in Orlando shooting (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:40:12 EST

ORLANDO, Florida, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Two people were killed and six injured by a gunman who opened fire in a high-rise office building in Orlando, Florida on Friday, local media reported. ... > read full story

Two U.S. soldiers missing, Afghan Taliban say have bodies (Reuters)

Sharafuddin Sharafyar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:15:26 EST

HERAT, Afghanistan, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Two U.S. soldiers transporting supplies in Afghanistan were reported missing on Friday and the Taliban said they were holding the bodies of two drowned foreign soldiers. ... > read full story

Obama: don't jump to conclusion on Fort Hood shooting (Reuters)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:44:05 EST

WASHINGTON, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- U.S. President Barack Obama urged Americans on Friday not to jump to conclusions on the motive behind the mass shooting at the sprawling Fort Hood army base in Texas. ... > read full story

No takers for Abbas' Palestinian presidency (Reuters)

Mohammed Assadi and Douglas Hamilton — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:41:35 EST

RAMALLAH, West Bank, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- There were no bids by younger Palestinian leaders on Friday to step into the shoes of President Mahmoud Abbas, who says he does not want to run for re-election in January. ... > read full story

G20 finmins to pledge stimulus stays, look at growth (Reuters)

Sumeet Desai — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:28:00 EST

ST ANDREWS, Scotland, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- The Group of 20 leading nations will agree this weekend it is too early to pull the plug on emergency support for the global economy and launch a new system of checks to help rebalance world growth and prevent future crises. ... > read full story

China urges military cooperation ahead of Obama visit (Reuters)

Chris Buckley and Huang Yan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:14:59 EST

BEIJING, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- China urged more contact with the U.S. military on Friday while President Hu Jintao said his nation's plans for space were peaceful, striking a conciliatory tone ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit. ... > read full story

Okinawans split over U.S. military base's future (Reuters)

Isabel Reynolds — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:16:30 EST

GINOWAN, Japan, Nov. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- Idyllic beach resorts jostle for space with U.S. military bases on Japan's subtropical island of Okinawa, at the center of a feud that may cast a shadow over U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Japan next week. ... > read full story