WASHINGTON, May 17- President Barack Obama on Friday trimmed his funding request for the war in Afghanistan and other overseas operations by 10 percent, reflecting his plans to wind down the U.S. presence in that country.
Attorney General Eric Holder was likely to face a storm of questions on Tuesday over the Justice Department's controversial decision to seize telephone records of the Associated Press, a move denounced by critics as a gross intrusion into freedom of the press.
MOSCOW, May 7- Here are events and news stories that could move Russian markets on Tuesday. MOSCOW- US Secretary of State John Kerry visits Moscow. MOSCOW- Monthly car sales data from the Association of European Businesses.
OSLO, May 6- The Arctic ecosystem, already under pressure from record ice melts, faces another potential threat in the form of rapid acidification of the ocean, according to an international study published on Monday. Cold water absorbs carbon dioxide more readily than warm water, making the Arctic especially vulnerable.
NEW YORK, May 3- Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng called on the United States on Friday to ensure his family in China would be treated fairly, saying his imprisoned nephew was not receiving proper medical care from Chinese authorities, whom he accused of "hooligan tactics."
Secretary of State John Kerry has appointed veteran U.S. diplomat James Dobbins as Washington's new special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said on Friday.
*White House seeks biggest change in aid since Cold War.
SHANGHAI, April 27- China's central bank has been talking tough on currency reform while it has also intensified market intervention, highlighting the fine line it must walk in trying to liberalise the yuan.
*China could widen trading band in next 72 hours- UBS. SHANGHAI, April 19- Comments by Chinese central bank officials this week have raised expectations internationally that authorities might soon widen the yuan's trading band, but domestic investors are sceptical any change is imminent.
WASHINGTON, April 18- The United States has already made "tremendous progress" in expanding weapons sales to India since 2008, and U.S. companies could see "billions of dollars" in additional sales in coming years, a senior U.S. State Department official said Thursday.
NABLUS, West Bank, April 17- Nestled in a basin in the northern West Bank, the city of Nablus was for millennia a Palestinian cultural and commercial hub, attracting traders to its souk in the heart of the old town.
Secretary of State John Kerry, but Kerry has since left China and yet the People's Bank of China continues to signal permission for the spot yuan to scale fresh heights. Some traders theorized that the strong midpoint settings are intended as a gesture at recent pessimistic moves by foreign ratings agencies questioning China's management of its local debt.
SHANGHAI, April 16- The yuan set yet another record high against the dollar for the third straight day on Tuesday after the central bank set an unusually high midpoint, in defiance of a dollar index that also rose in overnight trade.
SHANGHAI, April 15- The Chinese yuan set yet another record against the dollar on Monday, overturning Friday's all-time high, as the greenback continued to back off from a peak struck in mid-March. Secretary of State John Kerry to China.
MOSCOW- Moscow said on Saturday that Washington had dealt a severe blow to relations by barring 18 Russians from the United States over alleged human rights abuses, and in retaliation it banned 18 Americans from entering Russia.
SHANGHAI, April 15- The Chinese yuan set yet another record against the dollar on Monday, overturning Friday's all-time high, as the greenback continued to back off from a peak struck in mid-March. Secretary of State John Kerry to China.
TOKYO, April 15- The dollar got off to a weaker start against the yen on Monday, well below last week's four-year high after the United States explicitly said it would watch to ensure Japan's policies were not aimed at weakening its currency.
The so-called U.S.- China strategic and economic dialogue, an annual high-level forum, will be held in the week of July 8-12 in Washington, the Treasury Department said. Kerry has been meeting with China's leaders in Beijing this week, and the two countries agreed to make a joint effort to push for the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.