WHITE HOUSE - President Bush has formally endorsed Senator John McCain’s bid for the presidency. They appeared together at the White House, one day after McCain secured enough delegates to win the Republican nomination at the party’s convention in September. 
They were once political rivals. But now, President Bush is backing John McCain for president.
“John showed […]

HOUSTON - Hillary Clinton made a stunning comeback in Tuesday’s primaries and caucuses, winning decisively in Ohio and Rhode Island and coming out on top of a close race in Texas. John McCain won all four states, to clinch the Republican nomination, putting him in position to begin organizing for the November election, while his […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The Bush administration Tuesday denied a published report that it covertly sought to oust Hamas from power after the radical group won Palestinian elections in 2006, triggering a Palestinian civil conflict a year later. The State Department says Hamas itself provoked the fighting that left it in control of Gaza. 
Officials here are […]

JERUSALEM - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, trying to get the moderate Palestinian leader to return to peace talks with Israel. Reports from the Gaza Strip say Israeli forces backed by helicopters exchanged gunfire with Hamas militants late Tuesday. An infant was killed in the […]

WHITE HOUSE - President Bush says he remains optimistic an Israeli-Palestinian deal can be reached before he leaves office next January, despite an increase in tensions in the region.
President Bush says he is convinced there can be an Israeli-Palestinian agreement during the remaining months of his presidency.
“Ten months is a long time,” he said. “It […]

MIAMI - Ecuador’s government has cut all diplomatic ties with Colombia after a military attack on Colombian rebels inside Ecuador, which killed 21 people. The Colombian attack also has raised tensions with Venezuela.
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa explained his government’s decision in a speech late Monday, saying he felt betrayed by Colombia’s government for ordering the […]

WASHINGTON - A Pentagon report released Monday asserts that China is continuing its steady military buildup. The annual assessment to Congress also says Beijing’s reluctance to share information about its military intentions, spending and capabilities poses a risk to stability.
Every year, the Pentagon is required by Congress to submit a comprehensive assessment of China’s military […]

NEW YORK - Top corporate leaders from around the world gathered in New York Monday to unveil new strategies to fight worldwide piracy and counterfeiting. The business leaders say an epidemic of intellectual property theft undermines creativity, jeopardizes investments and creates consumer health risks.
In 2004, the International Chamber of Commerce launched BASCAP, Business Action to […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - The United States Monday appealed for a diplomatic solution of the dispute between Colombia and Ecuador spurred by Colombia’s cross-border attack against FARC rebels inside Ecuador. The State Department called on Venezuela to stay out of the affair.
State Department officials say they hope Colombia and Ecuador can resolve the dispute bilaterally or […]

UNITED NATIONS - The United Nations Security Council has passed a resolution imposing a third round of sanctions on Iran for its controversial nuclear program.
Indonesia was the sole hold out among the council’s 15 members. Ambassador Marty Natalegawa told his colleagues that his country is not convinced that more sanctions are the most sensible […]

STATE DEPARTMENT - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way to the Middle East on a mission aimed at putting Israeli-Palestinian peace talks back on track after the latest burst of Gaza violence. She begins the trip in Egypt.
Israel was ending its incursion into Gaza as Rice left Washington for the region. […]

WASHINGTON - At least two U.S. missiles have struck a home in southern Somalia, in what the U.S. military is calling an attack against “known terrorists.”
U.S. military officials say Monday’s attack in the town of Dobley was a deliberate, precision airstrike on a building where the terrorist suspects were believed to be staying. 
Witnesses say the missiles […]

LONDON - Speaking for the first time since flying back to Britain, Prince Harry says he is no hero. The third in line to the throne, known in the army as Lieutenant Windsor, was 10 weeks into a three-month deployment in turbulent Helmand Province when news about his duty was leaked on the Internet.
Looking a […]

JERUSALEM - Israeli soldiers pulled out of the northern Gaza Strip on Monday after several days of heavy fighting that left two Israeli soldiers and more than 100 Palestinians dead. Israeli air strikes continued against targets in Gaza and Palestinian militants continued their rocket attacks on Monday, repeatedly striking the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon. 
Israeli […]

WASHINGTON - Amid a weakening U.S. economy, America’s foreign-trade policy has become a contentious issue in the presidential race. Both major Democratic Party candidates say free-trade pacts have harmed American workers, while the presumed Republican nominee - as well as President Bush - are defending trade as necessary and economically beneficial.
America’s economy has undergone a […]

IRBIL - The presidents of Iraq and Iran have declared a new chapter in friendly relations, despite accusations of Iran interfering in Iraq. During the Iranian president’s first visit to Iraq, the neighboring country leaders have said their renewed ties were an example for other nations in the region to follow. 
Iraq’s President Jalal Talabani welcomed […]

JERUSALEM - Israel is expanding a military offensive in Gaza as the Palestinian death toll continues to climb. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has suspended Mideast peace talks to protest Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has rejected international criticism.
Israeli aircraft fired missiles at the office of Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza City, […]

LONDON - With his deployment in Afghanistan no longer secret, Prince Harry, 23, has flown back to Britain. The third in line to the throne was greeted at Brize Norton air base by his father Prince Charles and older brother Prince William.  
When details of Prince Harry’s tour of duty were disclosed in the media, it […]

SEOUL - The United States and South Korea have begun a robust week-long series of annual military exercises aimed at ensuring the two allies can deter and defeat any incursion by North Korea. As it has often done in the past, Pyongyang is condemning the exercises, calling them a rehearsal for aggression against the North.
Sunday’s […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says Iraq needs a long-term security agreement with the United States to ensure the success of its democracy. After talks Saturday with Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Mr. Bush also said more NATO troops are needed in Afghanistan.
Speaking to reporters at his ranch in Texas, Mr. Bush said he understands […]

JERUSALEM - At least 46 Palestinians have been killed in escalating Israeli raids in the Gaza Strip.  Palestinian hospital officials say a number of the Palestinians killed were civilians.  The others are believed to be Palestinian militants.  The attacks, which have brought sharp condemnation from Palestinian officials, are casting a shadow over peace efforts. 
There was […]

JERUSALEM - An intense Israeli military operation Saturday in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has killed 33 Palestinians in Israel’s deadliest raid on the territory in more than a year.
Israeli troops backed by tanks and warplanes fought fierce battles with Palestinian militants near the northern Gaza towns of Beit Hanoun and Jebaliya in an effort to […]

WASHINGTON - Syria is criticizing the deployment of U.S. warships off the Lebanese coast.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem told reporters in Damascus Saturday that Washington is trying to derail a potential solution to the political stalemate in Beirut.
Lebanon’s parliament has been deadlocked since November over its inability to elect a new president. Voting was delayed […]

WHITE HOUSE - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer says the trans-Atlantic alliance is winning the war in Afghanistan and is a force for peace in an independent Kosovo. The NATO leader met with President Bush Friday for talks ahead of April’s NATO summit in Romania.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, President Bush said […]