Obama

WASHINGTON, May 24 (Xinhua) - California-based private company SpaceX announced Thursday that its Dragon spacecraft completed key on-orbit tests as part of a historic attempt to be the first commercial company to send a spacecraft to the International Space Station. Early Thursday morning, Dragon's thrusters fired, bringing the vehicle 2.4 kilometers below the station.

by Nadege Puljak | May 25, 2012 President Francois Hollande is on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking office earlier this month President Francois Hollande on Friday defended France's imminent exit from Afghanistan, saying 2,000 combat troops will leave in a coordinated withdrawal this year but vowing not to abandon the country. Hollande met French soldiers deployed in the volatile province of Kapisa

by Veronica Smith | May 26, 2012 The Obama administration on Friday rejected calls within Congress to brand China a currency manipulator, but said its "significantly undervalued" currency was a key brake on global growth. The US Treasury Department said China had not met the standards for manipulation of the yuan, also known as the renminbi, to gain an unfair competitive trade advantage.

Bob Egelko San Francisco Chronicle May 25, 2012 04:00 AM Friday, May 25, 2012 Congress violated constitutional standards on legalized bigotry when it denied federal benefits from same-sex spouses and excluded domestic partners of state employees from long-term health coverage, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The decision by U.S.

Lisa Bryant May 25, 2012 French President Francois Hollande has defended his plan to withdraw combat troops from Afghanistan by the year's end, during a surprise visit to the restive country Friday. During his brief visit to Afghanistan, President Francois Hollande met with his Afghan counterpart, Hamid Karzai, and French forces in the country's restive Kapisa province - many of whom will be heading home this year.