MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A missile fired by a pilotless U.S. drone aircraft on Friday killed at least three militants traveling in a car in Pakistan's North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, security officials said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will seek on Monday to strike a balance between taming skyrocketing U.S. budget deficits and giving the economy a boost to ease the pain of double-digit unemployment.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of foreign troops Monday in southern Afghanistan, killing at least 2 Afghan civilians, a provincial official said.

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.

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - The U.S. government pushed energy giant BP to ramp up its efforts to avert an environmental disaster that could cost billions of dollars as a huge oil spill reached coastal Louisiana, imperiling fish and shrimp breeding grounds and wetlands teeming with wildlife.

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will meet with the leaders of a panel he created to probe the worst oil spill in U.S. history on Tuesday, as a giant slick from BP's blown-out Gulf of Mexico well poses a new threat to the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama.

VENICE, Louisiana (Reuters) - Hurricane Alex is slowing cleanup and oil containment efforts at the site of BP Plc's Gulf of Mexico oil spill even as a potential permanent fix for the leak remains weeks away.

JERUSALEM, Aug 1 (Reuters ) - Israeli aircraft bombed a smuggling tunnel and a militant training camp in the Gaza Strip on Sunday after a rocket was fired into Israel from the territory, the Israeli army and militants said.

AFP - The Obama administration geared up for a bold bid to relaunch direct Palestinian-Israeli peace talks and clinch a peace deal within a year as Middle East leaders gathered in Washington.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama predicted on Thursday his embattled Democrats would hold onto their congressional majorities in the November elections if they can rekindle enthusiasm among voters who helped sweep him into office.

Southern Kuriles/Northern Territories (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited an island claimed by Moscow and Tokyo on Monday, sparking a diplomatic row with Japan as it struggles to mend ties with rising rival China.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government said it expects to finalize an agreement with Russia on Wednesday to regulate adoptions after an American woman rejected her adopted son and sent him back to Russia alone in April.