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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The EU faced a new obstacle in its bid to salvage a reform treaty as leaders said on Friday Prague had a problem quickly ratifying it after Ireland's "No" vote.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama apologized on Thursday to two Muslim women who were barred from sitting behind the podium where Obama was speaking because they were wearing Islamic headscarves.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama said on Thursday he would reject public financing of his campaign against Republican John McCain, reversing an earlier stance and positioning himself to outspend McCain in the White House race.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved enough new money to wage wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for another year, while abandoning attempts to set deadlines opposed by President George W. Bush for withdrawing American combat troops.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and South Korea on Thursday concluded negotiations over a recent deal to reopen the Asian nation's market to U.S. beef exports, signaling they were close to a breakthrough.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will travel this month to Chengdu, China, the capital of Sichuan province that was struck by a massive earthquake in May, the State Department said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed compromise legislation embraced by the Bush administration to extend government benefits for the long-term unemployed.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council demanded on Thursday that warring governments and factions act to halt violence against women, saying rape was no longer just a by-product of war but a military tactic.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New estimates of war deaths in 13 nations including Vietnam, Ethiopia and Bangladesh show that previous counts vastly understated the lives lost to war in the past half century, researchers said on Thursday.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Fidel Castro met on Thursday with Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez in the third known meeting this week for the 81-year-old former Cuban leader who has been recovering following surgery almost two years ago.

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Quebec father has decided to appeal a decision by a judge who ruled he had no right to stop his 12-year-old daughter from going on a school trip, even though the girl has already gone on the outing.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Food shortages at Buenos Aires grocery stores deepened on Thursday as farmers kept up a protest over soy export taxes that has sparked a political crisis for President Cristina Fernandez.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives is expected to vote on Thursday on whether to provide as much as an additional $1.245 billion in emergency global food aid funding for this year and next.

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - The cattle are the stars at Brazil's 14th annual Feicorte International Beef Fair but these celebrities are actually admired for being pieces of meat.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Many Hollywood heavyweights who had supported Hillary Clinton are rallying behind Barack Obama, pledging money and star power to his U.S. presidential bid before a big fundraiser next week.

PARIS (Reuters) - France has renewed contact with the leaders of Colombian guerrillas holding Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt to try and secure her release after their main guerrilla contact was killed in March, presidency sources said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday and they agreed negotiations for a long-term security pact were going well, the White House said. Maliki last week had said the talks were stalled.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush spoke with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Thursday and they agreed negotiations for a long-term security pact were going well, the White House said. Maliki last week had said the talks were stalled.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. lawmakers are trying to pass legislation to remove former South African President Nelson Mandela from a U.S. list of terrorists by his 90th birthday next month, officials said on Thursday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union states agreed on Thursday to scrap sanctions against Cuba but will insist the Communist island improves its human rights record, EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said.