WORLD

South Dakota Democratic Senator Tim Johnson, a champion of community banks and credit card companies, is expected to take over the chairmanship of the influential U.S. Senate Banking Committee in 2011.

National security has jumped to the top of U.S. President Barack Obama's agenda, but it is unlikely to distract him from overhauling healthcare and tackling double-digit unemployment over the long term.

Senate veteran Chris Dodd, 65, of Connecticut is set to make a 'major announcement' today, and is expected to announce his retirement, as a prominent state politician readies to be his replacement.

Police in south China have detained three people for spreading rumours that a group of ethnic Uighurs had been beaten up in a case that has shades of an incident which set off rioting in Xinjiang last summer.

Two former cabinet ministers on Wednesday called for a secret ballot of MPs to decide if Prime Minister Gordon Brown should lead the Labour Party into an election due by June.

How Senator Christopher Dodd handles his final months in office is suddenly the big question surrounding U.S. efforts to tighten bank and capital market regulation as part of a worldwide push for reforms.

France's interior minister wants to add 23 countries to a list of places whose air travelers face tighter security measures, in response to the botched bombing of a U.S.-bound airliner last month.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has met members of parliament in the hope of persuading them to confirm a cabinet in time for an international conference at the end of the month, a spokesman said on Wednesday.

Japan's prime minister chose his deputy, Naoto Kan, as finance minister on Wednesday after the elderly holder of the post resigned amid worries about whether the government could rein in spending in the face of a frail economy and ballooning debt.

Yemen has stepped up a campaign to root out al Qaeda militants after the group's Yemen-based wing said it was behind a December 25 attempt to bomb a U.S. airliner.

Yemeni forces surrounded a suspected al Qaeda regional leader in a house near the capital after earlier arresting three militants wounded in a raid, security sources said, as the country cracked down on militancy.

The attempted Christmas Day bombing of a U.S. airliner was a potentially disastrous screw up by the intelligence community, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday as he vowed urgent action to tighten air security.

President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that U.S. intelligence agencies had enough information to possibly thwart an attempt to destroy a jet bound for Detroit on Christmas day.

The Nigerian man accused of trying to blow up a flight from Amsterdam to Detroit on Christmas acted alone and probably smuggled the explosives from Nigeria, the Dutch public prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Yemen has launched an offensive against al Qaeda and the U.S. embassy in Sanaa reopened on Tuesday after security forces staged a raid just outside the capital that dealt with an imminent security threat

A final push to deliver a sweeping healthcare overhaul to President Barack Obama begins this week as House of Representatives Democratic leaders prepare for difficult negotiations with the Senate.

Japan's aged finance minister is to quit due to poor health after weeks of exhausting wrangling over the budget, the Nikkei news agency said on Tuesday, a fresh blow for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama as he struggles with a frail economy and huge public debt.

The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has finally been vaccinated against H1N1 flu, a virus expected to infect more people in coming months, the U.N. agency said on Tuesday.

A European Union warship rescued a Pakistan-flagged fishing vessel Somali pirates had seized last month and used to hijack another ship, EU naval force Navfor said in a statement.

Iran's interior minister warned opposition activists on Tuesday they risk execution as enemies of God if they continue anti-government demonstrations, and the foreign ministry said arrested foreigners face punishment.

The mayor of a small Philippine town, the main suspect in the November massacre of 57 people in the country's troubled south, pleaded not guilty to murder charges on Tuesday.

The American embassy in Yemen reopened on Tuesday after a raid near Sanaa that killed two al Qaeda militants addressed specific security concerns that had forced U.S. and European missions to close, the embassy said.

Britain said it wanted Iceland to rapidly resolve the issue of compensation for the failure of Icelandic bank Icesave, after the North Atlantic island's President Omar Grimsson refused on Tuesday to sign a bill authorising this.

Now that the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives have passed their versions of healthcare reform, the two chambers must work out their differences before legislation can be delivered to President Barack Obama for his signature.

A final push to deliver a sweeping U.S. healthcare overhaul to President Barack Obama begins this week as House of Representatives Democratic leaders prepare for difficult negotiations with the Senate.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday plans to unveil reforms aimed at thwarting future attacks like the attempted Christmas Day airliner bombing, as he seeks to limit political fallout from the incident.

The United Nations, criticized over fraud in Afghanistan's presidential elections last year, cannot back future polls without reforms to the voting process, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said in a new report.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said instability in Yemen posed a global threat and pledged on Monday to plug any holes in U.S. security procedures after a Christmas Day airline bombing attempt.

A third uninvited guest made it into a White House state dinner in honour of the Indian prime minister, but there is no evidence the person had contact with the president or first lady, the Secret Service said on Monday.