BARACK OBAMA

President Barack Obama will try on Monday to revive a stalled push for stricter oversight of Wall Street, using the anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse to argue for sweeping regulatory changes.

Chinese media and officials have heaped scorn on a U.S. decision to impose special duties on Chinese-made tires, extending Beijing's warnings that the move may fuel trade friction as global growth struggles to revive.

Stock index futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.63 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.7 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.7 percent.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden warned the American people over their government's close ties with Israel in an apparently new audio tape posted on an Islamist website on Monday.

Israeli President Shimon Peres was discharged from hospital on Sunday with a clean bill of health, a day after the 86-year-old Nobel peace laureate passed out briefly at a ceremony.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday there were still gaps to bridge in talks with a visiting U.S. envoy seeking a settlement freeze and the revival of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

President Barack Obama warned Americans on Saturday not to be tricked by scare tactics he accused his opponents of using as he went on the road to rally support for his drive to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.

U.S. environmental regulators said on Friday they will scrutinize 79 applications for mountaintop coal-mine permits in Appalachia to guard against damage to water supplies.

Rebel fighters killed 20 civilians in southern Afghanistan and 17 security police and security guards, officials said on Saturday, as the country awaited results from last month's disputed election.

President Barack Obama broadened his pitch for healthcare reform to Americans who have health insurance on Saturday, reminding them that they risk losing the coverage they have under the current system.

U.S. puts new duty on Chinese-made tyres - Additional 35 percent for first year - China denounces step as dangerous protectionism - China signals possible complaint to WTO - Dispute could spill over into G20 summit (Adds Chinese minister's comments and press comment in paragraphs 3-5, 9 and 25)

Former Pennsylvania coal miner Richard Trumka isn't president of America's biggest labor federation yet, but he's already cranking up rhetoric on issues from healthcare reform to making it easier to unionize.

The Obama administration is launching a broad push for action on financial regulatory reform, returning to a key legislative priority even as the debate over healthcare consumes the U.S. Congress.

The world's oldest person, Gertrude Baines, died Friday at the age of 115 in Los Angeles.

The world's oldest person, a woman who was born in 1894 and gained a measure of fame when she voted for Barack Obama for U.S. president, died on Friday at the age of 115.

A decision by General Motors Co to sell a controlling interest in its European unit, Opel, was the first major decision for GM's new board and an important test of the U.S. government's pledge to let the directors and management run the company.

Mourners of victims of the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center honored them in New York on Friday.

President Barack Obama attended the 8th anniversary of 9/11 on Friday with about 500 people under rain-filled skies at the Pentagon.

The U.S. Coast Guard set off a security scare on Friday with a routine training exercise in the heart of the U.S. capital on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

President Barack Obama sought to rally Americans behind the war in Afghanistan on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States as opinion polls show faltering public support for the conflict.

There is little support in Congress for sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives said on Thursday, indicating possible trouble ahead for President Barack Obama.