Top Stories - Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. shoppers may stretch tight budgets this year to reward loved ones after months of thrift, a softening of heart that store chains hope will erase the holiday season sales debacle of 2008. Full Story »

DUBAI/TOKYO (Reuters) - Investors recoiled from risky assets on Friday and dumped shares in Asian banks and builders, fearing a Dubai debt default could reignite the financial turmoil of the credit crisis. Full Story »

VIENNA (Reuters) - Six world powers are demanding Iran immediately mothball a uranium enrichment site it hid for years in a resolution to be voted on by U.N. nuclear agency governors, calling it a message to Tehran to change its ways. Full Story »

BERLIN (Reuters) - Allies of the United States must follow its lead and boost their troop levels in Afghanistan, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Thursday. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. debt that is topping $12 trillion is raising fresh questions about the cost of President Barack Obama's proposed healthcare overhaul, but those concerns are unlikely to sink the legislation. Full Story »

BERLIN (Reuters) - The head of Germany's armed forces and a senior Defense Ministry official were forced to resign on Thursday over reports the military withheld details about a September 4 air strike that killed civilians in Afghanistan. Full Story »

BEIJING (Reuters) - China unveiled its first firm target to curb greenhouse gas emissions on Thursday, a carbon intensity goal that Premier Wen Jiabao will take to a summit in Copenhagen next month hoping to aid a global climate deal. Full Story »

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine police filed murder charges on Thursday against the main suspect in the massacre of 57 people in the south of the country this week as authorities moved to dismantle his clan's control over the region. Full Story »

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel's foreign minister on Thursday shrugged off the Palestinian dismissal of a 10-month moratorium on some building in West Bank settlements, saying winning international support was more important. Full Story »

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Secret Service is investigating how an uninvited couple was admitted to U.S. President Barack Obama's White House state dinner, penetrating layers of security, a spokesman said on Wednesday. Full Story »