LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The week after passing landmark healthcare reform and handing President Barack Obama an important victory, members of the U.S. Congress returned to their home districts for a recess to face constituents and justify their votes after the bruising legislative battle.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. non-farm payrolls, a key measure of the economy's health, probably rose in March for only the second time since recession struck in late 2007 as hiring for the 2010 U.S. Census added jobs.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters converged on Bangkok's shopping district on Saturday, forcing major retailers to close while accusing authorities of neglecting the poor on the 21st day of a mass rally seeking snap elections.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters defied orders to leave the Thai capital's main shopping district on Sunday despite threats of mass arrests, upping the ante on the fourth week of a bold street rally to press for fresh elections.

AP - Dozens of Chinese miners were pulled out alive after being trapped for more than a week in a flooded coal mine, sparking cheers among the hundreds of rescue workers who had raced to save them and almost given up hope.

MONTCOAL, West Virginia (Reuters) - Rescuers raced to find 10 coal miners missing deep underground after an explosion killed 12 of their colleagues on Monday at a West Virginia mine owned by Massey Energy.

MONTCOAL, West Virginia (Reuters) - Drills boring into a West Virginia coal mine on Wednesday carried hope for a 'miracle' rescue of four miners missing after a blast killed 25 people in the worst U.S. mine disaster in a quarter century.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Who will rise from the Republican Party to challenge President Barack Obama in 2012? The first blush of an answer could come this weekend in New Orleans.

BISHKEK (Reuters) - Vigilante groups organized by Kyrgyzstan's self-proclaimed government spent the night fighting looters to return calm to the Kyrgyz capital on Friday.

MONTCOAL, West Virginia (Reuters) - Four missing West Virginia coal miners were found dead early on Saturday, nearly five days after an explosion killed 25 others and trapped them deep underground at a Massey Energy mine.

AP - The crash of an aging Russian airliner ravaged the top levels of Poland's military, political and church elite Saturday, killing the Polish president and dozens of other dignitaries as they traveled to a ceremony commemorating a slaughter that has divided the two nations for seven decades.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will seek to build momentum with China in his push for sanctions on Iran as world leaders assemble in Washington on Monday for an unprecedented nuclear security summit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World leaders meet in Washington on Tuesday for the biggest summit hosted by the United States since 1945, and they will have just one item on the agenda -- stopping terrorists from getting a nuclear bomb.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake on Wednesday killed at least 67 people and trapped many others in collapsed houses in the mountainous Tibetan plateau in southwestern China.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The death toll from the earthquake in China's remote and mountainous Yushu county, Qinghai province, has risen to 617, Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai anti-government protest leaders staged a dramatic escape from police on Friday after the authorities vowed to crack down on what they termed 'terrorists' ahead of a planned speech by the prime minister.

LONDON (Reuters) - Large parts of Europe enforced no-fly rulings for a third day on Saturday because of a huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano that has caused the worst air travel chaos since the September 11 attacks.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's military vowed on Sunday to punish anti-government protesters if they marched on Bangkok's central business district, heightening fears of more violence after bloody clashes left 24 people dead a week ago.

LONDON (Reuters) - Officials hope to significantly increase flights at the start of Europe's new working week on Monday and EU ministers will hold talks as pressure builds for a solution to the 5-day-old air travel crisis.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama acknowledged on Monday that Democrats face a hard fight in holding on to their majorities in Congress in the November election because of uncertainty over the economy.

NEW YORK/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Paulson & Co, the hedge fund linked to civil fraud charges against Goldman Sachs Group Inc, moved to head off investor concerns about its role in a deal that has scarred the reputation of the Wall Street bank and overshadowed blow-out quarterly earnings.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will urge sweeping new rules for Wall Street on Thursday in a speech in New York that will seek to build on growing momentum for legislation to overhaul the U.S. regulatory structure.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - World finance leaders gather in Washington on Friday hoping to plot a course beyond the financial crisis but Greece's worsening debt woes served as a stark reminder the global economy remains vulnerable.

AP - Sarah Palin praised Republicans at a fundraising dinner in a liberal-leaning Oregon town for having the boldness to invite her to speak.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Bangkok braced on Sunday for more unrest a day after the Thai government rejected a peace overture from demonstrators offering to end increasingly violent protests in return for early polls.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama launches a new effort on Monday to build business and social ties to the Muslim world, but analysts say the need for progress on big issues like Middle East peace will overshadow the initiative.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Seeking to show he is serious about reining in soaring budget deficits, President Barack Obama on Tuesday will kick off the work of a panel he created to try to solve the nation's fiscal woes.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are steadily losing confidence in their ability to get healthcare and pay for it, despite the passage of healthcare reform legislation, according to a survey published on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters)- Iran and Egypt are gearing up for battle against the United States and its allies over Israel and developing countries' rights to atomic technology at a major meeting on the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economic growth probably slowed in the first quarter, data is expected to show on Friday, but resurgent consumer spending should offer evidence of a sustainable recovery.