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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes a promise by Pakistan not to let militants use its territory to attack Afghanistan will lead to a crackdown on the fighters by Islamabad, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

Finbarr O'Reilly, Reuters chief photographer for West and Central Africa, was born in Swansea, Wales in 1971 and started as an Arts correspondent. He joined Reuters in 2001, turning to photography in 2005 and winning the World Press Photo Award for picture of the year in 2006. In the following story, he describes a recent encounter with rebels in eastern Chad.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Thursday rejected opposition and said liability protection for telecommunication companies that participated in its warrantless spying program was vital to guard against another September 11-like attack.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican police chief and his bodyguard were shot to death as they ate lunch in Mexico City on Thursday, the latest police slaying in a drug war that has killed more than 1,600 people this year.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain will travel to Colombia and Mexico next week to highlight his support of free trade with both countries, his campaign confirmed on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday rejected legislation that would have required energy companies to develop oil and natural gas supplies on federal leases they have held for years or be denied future drilling access on government acres.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic bill requiring oil, natural gas and mining companies to report payments to foreign countries where they do business would give investors more information about corporate risk, lobbyists and industry experts told lawmakers on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives on Thursday overwhelmingly approved legislation that directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority, including the agency's emergency powers, to "curb immediately" the role of excessive speculation in energy futures markets.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican effort to force a vote on opening up more land to drilling on Thursday threatened to bring the annual appropriations process in the U.S. House of Representatives to a halt.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Members of the U.S. Senate sought on Thursday to pass bipartisan legislation to more than triple funds to fight AIDS in Africa and other countries, but some Republican foes vowed to block it because of its cost.

PITTSBURGH (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday pushed a plan for $60 billion fund for road construction, bridge repair, high-speed rail and other projects, saying such spending was crucial to the economy.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States hopes a promise by Pakistan not to let militants use its territory to attack Afghanistan will lead to a crackdown on the fighters by Islamabad, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.

MADRID (Reuters) - Prostitutes held colorful fashion parades in central Madrid on Thursday to demonstrate against plans by property developers to buy up premises in which they have long plied their trade.

CARACAS (Reuters) - The United States Embassy in Venezuela received a bomb threat on Thursday, an embassy spokeswoman said, though the embassy has only closed the parking lot and not the embassy itself.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a July 15 hearing in connection with a federal auditor's recommendation the Air Force hold a new bidding competition for a $35 billion tanker refueling contract.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in four battleground states, according to a survey released on Thursday that pollsters said could point to a broad Obama victory in November.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The largest U.S. labor federation endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Thursday and promised to launch a huge effort to get union voters to the polls on his behalf in November.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Narcotics supplies have increased sharply in parts of Afghanistan and Colombia where insurgents are in control, helping them fund their activities, the United Nations said on Thursday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Conservative Anglican leaders meeting at a rebel summit expressed frustration with the church's leadership on Thursday but indicated that an outright schism might be avoided.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on Thursday on legislation that directs the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to use all its authority, including the agency's emergency powers, to "curb immediately" the role of excessive speculation in energy futures markets.