WORLD

Thousands of Chinese took to the streets of a southwestern town on Thursday, with some smashing police vehicles in the latest protest by citizens angered by the rough handling of local officials, according to news reports.

Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron promised Thursday to crack down on street gangs, saying "the fightback has well and truly begun" against those who rioted across Britain.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is seeking U.S. law enforcement advice on solving the gang violence as the country deals with violent unrest in its cities.

Thousands of residents of a town in southwest China took to the streets Thursday, smashing police vehicles in the latest protest by citizens angered by the rough handling of local officials, according to news reports.

Here is a look at some of the top donors to election campaigns for the 12 members of the U.S. Congress named to a deficit-fighting "super committee."

Syrian forces killed at least 19 people in raids near the Lebanon border and in the country's Sunni tribal heartland, activists said, pursuing a military campaign to crush street protests against President Bashar al-Assad.

President Barack Obama distanced himself from a deeply divided U.S. Congress on Thursday, pledging to deliver fresh ideas to create jobs and slamming lawmakers for "bickering" that gets in the way of recovery.

From shopkeepers and middle-class writers to Sikh communities and right-wing soccer "fans," Londoners are ready to take action to protect their homes and businesses from rioting.

Residents of a London housing estate laughed at a televised plea by police for parents to call their children and help rein in the youths who looted and burned swathes of the city.

Prime Minister David Cameron blamed the worst riots in Britain for decades on street gang members and opportunistic looters and denied government austerity measures or poverty caused the violence in London and other major English cities.

Eight Republican presidential hopefuls duked it out on Thursday night in a Fox News and Washington Examiner sponsored debate in Ames, Iowa.The debate ranged from the recent Standard & Poor's downgrade of long-term U.S. to illegal immigration. Here are the night's winners and losers:

Authorities have arrested at least 1,300 people, including over 900 people in London alone, for different charges including violence, rioting and looting across the country.

A Malaysian student whose videotaped mugging became one of the defining images of the London riots said Thursday he felt sorry for his attackers and would finish his studies in Britain.

Prime Minister David Cameron risks his government's austerity drive, particularly its plans to cut police funding, becoming the focus of Britons' fears about the future after the worst looting and rioting in decades hit English cities this week.

Prime Minister David Cameron risks his government's austerity drive, particularly its plans to cut police funding, becoming the focus of Britons' fears about the future after the worst looting and rioting in decades hit English cities this week.

China's second-biggest train maker will recall 54 bullet trains used on the new showcase Beijing-Shanghai line for safety reasons, the firm said on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the nation's scandal-plagued rail system.

Republicans Michele Bachmann and Tim Pawlenty clashed repeatedly over their records during a presidential debate on Thursday, two days before they vie for conservative support in a straw poll that could make or break their campaigns.

The leader of the Hand with Eyes gang has been apprehended by Mexican police in the capital.

The Pentagon on Thursday released a list of 30 U.S. soldiers killed on Aug. 6 when Taliban insurgents shot down their helicopter with a rapid-propelled grenade. The casualties include members of the secretive Navy SEALs special force, a group that was sent in on a May raid that resulted in the death of Osama Bin Laden. Officials have said none of the SEAL Team 6 members who died in the crash were a part of the team that carried out the Bin Laden raid.

Most Britons under 30 have probably never heard of Powell, or perhaps he was someone their parents and grandparents have mentioned.

Asian stocks edged up on Friday, as investors hunted for value after an intense week of volatility, though the festering European financial crisis may mean that havens like gold and the Swiss franc may still draw buyers.

Perry's spokesman Mark Miner told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Texas governor will be running for president and will make his intentions known on Saturday while visiting South Carolina and New Hampshire as most of his presidential rivals compete in a test vote in Iowa.

Erika Schallert fled East Berlin on August 15, 1961, with nothing but the clothes she was wearing and her half-finished wedding dress, determined that nothing was going to stop her getting married -- not even the Berlin Wall.

Texas Governor Rick Perry, a staunch conservative with a Washington outsider's resume, will seek the 2012 Republican nomination for U.S. president, his spokesman said on Thursday, adding a top contender to the party's field of hopefuls.

According to Perry's spokesperson, the governor is running for office

The Republican Party argues it's the party of job creation, but the statistics indicate otherwise, at least concerning U.S. presidential administrations. Democratic presidents have a higher annual job creation average, 1.647 million per year, than Republican presidents, 966,388 per year.

A roadside bomb killed five American troops in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, the U.S. military said, less than a week after American forces suffered their worst single loss of the Afghan war when Taliban insurgents shot down a helicopter.

The eyes of Texas, at the very least, seem to be upon Rick Perry, despite no formal entrance to the 2012 presidential race. But at long last, the Texas governor has put voice to his desire to make a run for it.

He faces the death penalty if convicted.