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Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL)(L) holds a joint news conference with France's President Nicolas Sarkozy at Elysee Palace in Paris July 25, 2008. (Jim Young/Reuters)

Obama: Iran should not wait for next U.S. president

Fri Jul 25, 2:18 PM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Friday Iran should not wait for the next administration to halt its uranium enrichment program.

  • Gasoline pumps are seen at a closed-down Alliance gas station in Ventura, California June 19, 2008. (Joshua Lott/Reuters)
    Worst over for drivers as pump prices slide: AAA Fri Jul 25, 2:09 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline prices have fallen more than 10 cents per gallon in a week and could fall another 25 cents by the end of summer, a sign the worst is over for U.S. motorists this vacation season.

  • U.S. Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain (R-AZ) meets with the Dalai Lama in Aspen, Colorado, July 25, 2008. (Jordan Curet/Reuters)
    McCain meets Dalai Lama, presses China on rights 36 minutes ago

    ASPEN, Colo. (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain urged China on Friday to address human rights concerns and free Tibetan prisoners after he met with the Dalai Lama in Colorado.

  • European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson adjusts his glasses before the start of an informal session of the Trade Negotiation Committee at the World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters in Geneva July 21, 2008. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)
    Hopes of reaching world trade deal revive at WTO 2 hours, 17 minutes ago

    GENEVA (Reuters) - Ministers hailed an emerging trade deal on Friday, as compromise proposals revitalized deadlocked talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

  • A sketch by a courtroom artist shows Osama bin Laden's driver Salim Hamdan (L) at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base July 24, 2008, as FBI agent Craig Donnachie (R) testifies about his interrogations of Hamdan regarding a picture of disguised U.S. agents. (Courtroom Drawing by Janet Hamlin/Reuters)
    French fries helped calm bin Laden driver: witnesses 17 minutes ago

    GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - Hot McDonald's french fries and a call home encouraged Salim Hamdan to cooperate under interrogation but Osama bin Laden's driver did not like cold fries and isolation upset him, witnesses said at his Guantanamo war crimes trial on Friday.

  • Housing developments lie unfinished on the outskirts of Sacramento July 22, 2008. (Max Whittaker/Reuters)
    U.S. house prices overvalued by up to 20 percent: IMF paper 1 hour, 2 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The downward spiral of U.S. housing prices still has a way to go and homes were overvalued by between 8 percent to 20 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to research by an International Monetary Fund economist published on Friday.

  • The Pentagon is seen in this aerial view in Washington in this June 15, 2005 file photo. (Jason Reed/Files/Reuters)
    Pentagon auditors request probe after criticism 29 minutes ago

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The agency that audits Pentagon contracts said on Friday it had asked for an investigation into allegations that its supervisors pressured employees to alter audits in favor of contractors.

  • A boy holds a sign as he walks during a May Day immigration and labor march and rally in downtown Los Angeles May 1, 2008. (Danny Moloshok/Reuters)
    U.S. firms push back against immigration sanctions 1 hour, 33 minutes ago

    PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona steel fabricator Sheridan Bailey was frustrated by a state law that punished employers who hire illegal immigrants so he joined local employers and business owners to change it.

  • Oil rigs are seen in Midland, Texas May 9, 2008. (Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters)
    Senate energy speculation bill fails key vote Fri Jul 25, 1:50 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation to rein in excessive energy speculation failed a key procedural vote on Friday to move forward in the Senate, and now lawmakers will set aside the bill to consider other legislation.

  • Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe waits to welcome his South African counterpart Thabo Mbeki before signing a framework deal committing his party and Morgan Tsvangirai's main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party to talks, in Harare's Rainbow Towers Hotel July 21, 2008. (Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters)
    U.S. expands sanctions against Mugabe's government Fri Jul 25, 2:17 PM ET

    HARARE (Reuters) - The United States expanded sanctions against President Robert Mugabe's government on Friday, increasing pressure on the Zimbabwean leader as his party discusses a power-sharing deal with the opposition.

  • Forensic experts inspect evidence at a site at the Madivala bus stand where a woman reportedly died in a bomb blast in Bangalore July 25, 2008. (Stringer/Reuters)
    Eight small blasts hit Indian IT city of Bangalore Fri Jul 25, 10:23 AM ET

    BANGALORE, India (Reuters) - Eight small bombs exploded in quick succession across the south Indian IT city of Bangalore on Friday, killing a woman and wounding at least 15 people, police said.

  • Australian pilot Captain John Francis Barters (R) looks at the damage to a Qantas Airways plane after it made an emergency landing at the Manila International airport July 25, 2008. (Handout/Reuters)
    Holed Qantas plane in emergency landing at Manila Fri Jul 25, 4:45 AM ET

    MANILA (Reuters) - A Qantas Airways plane made an emergency landing in Manila on Friday after part of its undercarriage blew off, triggering a loss in cabin pressure during a flight from Hong Kong to Melbourne.

  • Vacuum cleaners stand on display at a store in Santa Monica, California, May 28, 2008. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
    Consumers, home sales paint less gloomy picture Fri Jul 25, 11:24 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment rebounded in July from a 28-year low and business investment rose unexpectedly last month, according to data on Friday that showed rare signs of resilience for the U.S. economy.

  • Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki speaks during the opening ceremony of a new airport in Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad, July 20, 2008. (Ali Abu Shish/Reuters)
    Iraqi PM says troop withdrawal must satisfy all Fri Jul 25, 7:19 AM ET

    CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Friday that any U.S. troop withdrawal would have to satisfy both parties and protect Iraq's sovereignty.

  • Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivers a keynote speech during the Labour Party National Policy Forum in Coventry, central England July 25, 2008. (Darren Staples/Reuters)
    Bitter blow for UK's Brown in local election loss Fri Jul 25, 2:01 PM ET

    GLASGOW (Reuters) - Britain's ruling Labour Party lost one of its safest parliamentary seats on Friday, deepening doubts in its own ranks about Prime Minister Gordon Brown's ability to win the next election.

  • Iran's former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani greets worshipers during Tehran's Friday prayers July 25, 2008. (Raheb Homavandi/Reuters)
    Iran cleric says ultimatum won't help atom talks Fri Jul 25, 7:13 AM ET

    TEHRAN (Reuters) - An influential Iranian cleric told the West on Friday an ultimatum would not help talks with Iran over its nuclear plans, after Washington told Tehran it had two weeks to respond to a package of nuclear incentives.

  • Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama arrives for his speech at the victory column (Siegessaeule) in Berlin July 24, 2008. (Michael Dalder/Reuters)
    Obama says his foreign tour will reassure Americans Fri Jul 25, 3:10 AM ET

    BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama hopes his visit to Europe and the Middle East will show U.S. voters that he is a safe pair of hands, the Democrat said in an interview on Friday.

  • Paramilitary soldiers patrol near Bara, a town in the Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border, June 28, 2008. (Mohammad Shahkar/Reuters)
    Pakistani PM expected to hear price of U.S. support Fri Jul 25, 5:02 AM ET

    ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - New Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani can expect U.S. demands for action against militants in tribal lands on the Afghan border, along with usual statements of support, when he visits Washington next week.

  • EU's Mandelson says WTO deal could be possible Fri Jul 25, 11:41 AM ET

    GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade talks have made progress and a deal might be possible, European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said on Friday.

  • World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Pascal Lamy smiles before an informal session of the Trade Negociation Committee at the WTO headquarters in Geneva July 21, 2008. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)
    Trade talks continue amid "encouraging signs": WTO Fri Jul 25, 11:19 AM ET

    GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade talks which had appeared on the brink of collapse were advancing amid "encouraging signs of progress" on Friday afternoon, World Trade Organization spokesman Keith Rockwell said.