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NAIROBI (Reuters) - A group of young Kenyans supporting Barack Obama launched what they called a worldwide campaign on Friday to defend the likely U.S. Democratic presidential nominee from smears by opponents.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The sharp jump in the U.S. unemployment rate in May to its highest in 3-1/2 years is "too high for our liking" but represents slow growth, not a recession, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. carbon-capping bill aimed at curbing climate change died on Friday in the Senate but its supporters looked to the next president to enact a global warming law as early as 2009.

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told his Ukrainian counterpart on Friday that Ukraine could be in breach of a friendship treaty between the two countries if it joins NATO, Russia's foreign minister said.

KOLKATA, India (Reuters) - Protests and strikes over fuel price rises spread across India on Friday despite moves to take the sting out of the hikes, while anger fizzled out in Malaysia as the government stood firm after larger increases.

SEOUL (Reuters) - All nine top aides to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have tendered their resignations to share responsibility for a series of policy decisions that have sent his popularity plummeting, an official said on Friday.

KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan's foreign minister sought on Friday to allay Afghanistan's concerns that peace talks with Pakistani Taliban would lead to more militant attacks on the Afghan side of the border.

CHENGDU (Reuters) - China readied on Friday to ease pressure on a swollen "quake lake" threatening hundreds of thousands of people downstream in the southwestern province of Sichuan as the water level quickly rises toward a man-made sluice.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites looks "unavoidable" given the apparent failure of sanctions to deny Tehran technology with bomb-making potential, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies said on Friday.

New paragraphs 7-8 make clear U.S. Congress passed law in 1995 that said Jerusalem was capital of Israel and U.S. embassy should move there. But successive presidents, who set foreign policy, have refused to move embassy and U.S. diplomats say U.S. policy is aligned with other major powers in viewing status of Jerusalem as under negotiation between Israel and Palestinians.

DHAKA (Reuters) - A call for national unity by the party of detained former Bangladesh prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia was immediately rebuffed on Friday by its main rival in a sign the country's political cracks are as wide as ever.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan boosted security in the capital Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi on Friday where three vehicles laden with explosives were intercepted just days after a deadly attack on the Danish embassy.

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta attacked "unscrupulous" citizens and foreign media on Friday for presenting a false picture of the devastation left by Cyclone Nargis as experts began mapping the extent of the disaster.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party accused the country's top court on Friday of violating the constitution by overturning a government-led reform that lifted a ban on Muslim headscarves at universities.

CHENGDU (Reuters) - China readied on Friday to ease pressure on a swollen "quake lake" threatening hundreds of thousands of people downstream in the southwestern province of Sichuan as the water level quickly rises toward a man-made sluice.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Senate Banking Committee said on Thursday he hopes Congress will complete a housing rescue package and send it to President George W. Bush before lawmakers take a July 4 holiday break.

Hillary Clinton's candidacy may soon be a thing of the past but debate will rage over whether the first woman to make it so far in the U.S. presidential contest was a victim of sexism in the media and on the campaign trail.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Many Americans are marveling that an African-American has risen to become a major candidate for president in a country that has taken a slow, painful path to try to rid itself of racism.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean police detained opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday for the second time this week after blocking him from reaching a campaign rally for the June 27 presidential run-off vote.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Frustrated in defeat, Democrat Hillary Clinton is to endorse U.S. campaign rival Barack Obama on Saturday and party strategists said she needs to set aside any bad feelings and put on a convincing show of unity.