BARACK OBAMA

Navies from the rival Koreas exchanged gunfire for the first time in seven years on Tuesday, damaging vessels on both sides and raising tension just days before President Barack Obama travels to Asia.

Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.

China on Tuesday restated its long-standing policy to maintain the basic stability of the yuan at a reasonable and balanced level, after U.S. President Barack Obama said he would discuss the currency when he visits Beijing.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd will unveil long-awaited draft legislation on financial regulation reform on Tuesday, his office said on Monday.

Poor nations battered by record food prices last year need international help to raise agricultural output given conditions are still ripe for another food crisis, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation's chief said.

Health insurers, drugmakers and other companies expect U.S. Senate lawmakers to soften the blow from health reform legislation narrowly passed by the House of Representatives that calls for a greater government role in the industry.

President Barack Obama will delay the start of his visit to Asia this week to attend a memorial service for soldiers killed in a mass shooting at a U.S. military base, an administration official said on Sunday.

China on Monday praised a U.S. trade panel's decision to reject an investigation into imports of Chinese steel fasteners, saying it was the correct judgment.

After a landmark win in the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform faces a difficult path in the Senate amid divisions in his own Democratic Party on how to proceed.

President Barack Obama was due to hold talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington on Monday amid floundering U.S. efforts to jump-start stalled Middle East peace talks.

The House of Representatives voted on Saturday to tighten a ban against using federal funds to finance abortions under the proposed Democratic healthcare reform legislation.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in an interview airing Monday he is taking steps to root out corruption in his government, but he also said foreign money was making the problem worse.

After a landmark win in the House of Representatives, President Barack Obama's push for healthcare reform faces a difficult path in the Senate amid divisions in his own Democratic Party on how to proceed.

The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

The Obama administration would be willing to hold bilateral talks with North Korea but only if certain conditions were met, the president's top adviser on Asia said on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday listed a range of fresh options being considered by the White House to spur growth after sobering news that unemployment spiked to a 26 1/2-year peak last month.

The U.S. jobless rate unexpectedly jumped to 10.2 percent last month, a 26-1/2-year high, adding to pressure on the Obama administration to do more to tackle unemployment even as signs of recovery mount.

U.S. President Barack Obama will seek to reinforce the U.S. desire for more balanced global growth during his trip to Asia this month, administration officials said on Friday.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday listed a range of fresh options being considered by the White House to spur growth after sobering news that unemployment spiked to a 26 1/2-year peak last month.

President Barack Obama said on Friday the jump in the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent in October was a sobering figure that underscored the economic challenges ahead.

South Korea must do more to open its market to U.S. cars before President Barack Obama will send a free trade agreement signed in June 2007 to Congress for a vote, the chief U.S. trade negotiator said on Thursday.