WORLD

A measure to give some 57 million elderly people, veterans and persons with disabilities a $250 check was rejected by the Senate on Wednesday, a setback for the powerful seniors' lobby.

Greece will need to take further action in 2011 and 2012 to repair its public finances, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said in an interview on Thursday.

The Obama administration is expected to send Congress legislative language on its proposal to clamp down on banks' risky activities.

Debt-burdened Greece launched a critical bond issue on Thursday and urged Germany and other EU partners to send a clear signal of confidence in Athens to financial markets that would allow it to borrow more cheaply.

The world has become far too hot for the aptly named Exit Glacier in Alaska.

The United States, France and other Western powers are preparing a plan for a fourth round of U.N. sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and hope to persuade Russia and China to back it.

Dutch anti-Islamist leader Geert Wilders scored major gains in local authority polls on Thursday, making him a serious challenger for power in a June national election, preliminary results showed.

Frightened by more heavy aftershocks, coastal residents in Chile camped out on hillsides on Thursday, five days after one of the strongest earthquakes in a century killed more than 800 people.

An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 shook Taiwan early on Thursday, injuring 11, stopping transport and causing minor damage and fires in the southern half of the island.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai must take significant steps to fight corruption, the U.S. military's top officer said on Wednesday, suggesting Washington was concerned inaction could undercut the campaign against the Taliban.

The two largest U.S. military shipyards warned on Wednesday that the U.S. Navy's 30-year shipbuilding plan funded 13 fewer surface ships in the near term, which would likely result in layoffs across the industry and higher shipbuilding costs.

Iceland has made a last-ditch compensation offer to Britain and the Netherlands in talks over $5 billion lost in Icesave accounts, ahead of a Saturday referendum which is expected to nullify the current deal.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton failed to win Brazil's support on Wednesday for more sanctions against Iran and said Tehran would not talk seriously about its nuclear program until the United Nations took new action.

The top House Republican is attempting to open the way for voters to see debates about U.S. finances and a key report recommending fixes for the budget deficit ahead of November's elections.

A top military official in Chile admitted Tuesday his team hesitated in providing information about a possible tsunami following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that hit the nation during pre-dawn hours Saturday.

Ukraine's parliament dismissed the government of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko Wednesday, giving her rival, the newly elected President Viktor Yanukovich, the difficult task of stitching together a new ruling coalition.

Suicide bombers struck Iraq Wednesday just days before a national election, killing 33 people and wounding 55 as the war-scarred nation seeks to cement its frail democracy before a U.S. troop pullout.

Italy has arrested seven people Wednesday on suspicion of trafficking arms to Iran -- two Iranians they believe are secret agents and five Italians, police said Wednesday.

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday it is time to pass his sweeping healthcare overhaul using only a slim Democratic majority in Congress if necessary, saying the issue is too important to be delayed by politics after a year of debate.

The following is a transcript of President Barack Obama's prepared statement for a speech on health insurance reform on Wednesday where he urges members of Congress to pass bill within the next few weeks after a year of debate.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday called for Congress to decide upon health insurance reforms with an up-or-down vote in the next few weeks, the clearest indication yet that he favors passing a bill through the reconciliation process.

Chilean officials estimating the damage of Chile's earthquake say that as of Tuesday, 796 people have died, roughly 2 million people have been affected and 500,000 homes have been damaged.

Republicans have called on President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats to scrap their legislation overhauling the U.S. healthcare system and start over with some Republican ideas.

Conservative incumbent Rick Perry rode strong anti-Washington rhetoric to a victory over a sitting U.S. senator for the Texas Republican gubernatorial nomination in a race that could be a model in this year's crucial U.S. mid-term congressional elections.

The Greek Government on Wednesday unveiled 4.8 billion euros worth of new austerity measures designed to meet European Union demands for extra savings and pave the way for any rescue from the threat of bankruptcy.

A key figure in the battle to revamp U.S. healthcare may soon be the U.S. Senate's little-known, mustachioed and highly respected umpire, Alan Frumin.

President Barack Obama is preparing a final push for a healthcare overhaul and is expected to announce a plan on Wednesday to move the ambitious legislation forward without support from opposition Republicans.

The president of the U.N. Security Council said on Tuesday it was ready to tackle proposals for new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, while U.S. diplomats worked to persuade China that action is needed.

Chilean rescue crews fanned out with sniffer dogs on Wednesday around quake-ravaged cities and villages, some still hoping to find survivors and others to begin the daunting task of recovering the bodies buried under mountains of rubble.