CHICAGO (Reuters) - NATO leaders charting a path out of Afghanistan sought on Sunday to dispel fears of a rush for the exits in the unpopular war even as France's new president vowed to stick by his pledge to withdraw French troops by year's end. President Barack Obama, who once called the Afghan conflict a "war of necessity" but is now looking for an orderly way out, hosted the NATO summit in his home town, Chicago, a day after major industrialized nations tackled a European debt crisis that threatens the global economy. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters carried their anti-war message to world leaders at a NATO summit on a steamy Sunday, in a mostly peaceful march led by a group of Iraq War veterans who symbolically gave back their military medals. During the march, a group of black-clad demonstrators darted toward police lines along the route, and some threw water bottles at officers who pushed back and yelled at them to move along, but there were no major incidents. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters carried their anti-war message to world leaders at a NATO summit on a steamy Sunday, in a mostly peaceful march led by a group of Iraq War veterans who symbolically gave back their military medals. During the march, a group of black-clad demonstrators darted toward police lines along the route, and some threw water bottles at officers who pushed back and yelled at them to move along, but there were no major incidents. ...

WASHINGTON/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will unveil a government dominated by loyalists on Monday, leaving Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev limited scope to pursue his reform agenda and entrenching the Kremlin's grip over the economy's commanding heights. Medvedev, 46, named premier after Putin returned to the Kremlin on May 7, has pledged to launch pro-growth policies and a privatization drive to wean Russia's $1.7 billion economy off its dependence on oil. ...

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - Having the president of the United States speak at commencement would normally be the most memorable day in the life of a high school senior. But not in Joplin, Missouri, where President Barack Obama's commencement address on Monday will come one year after the deadliest tornado in the United States in six decades killed 161 people. "I'm pretty sure we will remember the tornado more than Obama's speech," said graduating senior Ethan Ritschel. ...

JOPLIN, Mo (Reuters) - Having the president of the United States speak at commencement would normally be the most memorable day in the life of a high school senior. But not in Joplin, Missouri, where President Barack Obama's commencement address on Monday will come one year after the deadliest tornado in the United States in six decades killed 161 people. "I'm pretty sure we will remember the tornado more than Obama's speech," said graduating senior Ethan Ritschel. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron savoured Chelsea's win over German club Bayern Munich in the Champions League final on Sunday after watching the deciding penalty shootout with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a summit in the United States. "It's not often you get the opportunity to watch a penalty shootout between an English team and a German team and watch the English team win," Cameron told reporters in Chicago before a NATO summit. ...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire whipped up by winds and dry conditions threatened to trigger more evacuations on Sunday, just as firefighters were nearly done battling the biggest of four blazes in the state. Fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have forced the evacuation of several small towns and torched more than 65 square miles (168 square km) of forest, brush and grass in the U.S. Southwest. ...

PHOENIX (Reuters) - An Arizona wildfire whipped up by winds and dry conditions threatened to trigger more evacuations on Sunday, just as firefighters were nearly done battling the biggest of four blazes in the state. Fires in Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado have forced the evacuation of several small towns and torched more than 65 square miles (168 square km) of forest, brush and grass in the U.S. Southwest. ...

(Reuters) - Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when "Chihuly Garden and Glass" opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever. Spanning one and a half acres in the shadow of the Space Needle, the show includes an exhibition hall, a garden and a "Glass House" structure by Chihuly, inspired by his two favorite buildings, Paris' Sainte-Chapelle and London's Crystal Palace. ...

(Reuters) - Pioneering glass artist Dale Chihuly, whose work has been shown in over 200 museums worldwide, will be honored in his home city Seattle when "Chihuly Garden and Glass" opens on Monday, offering the most comprehensive collection of his work ever. Spanning one and a half acres in the shadow of the Space Needle, the show includes an exhibition hall, a garden and a "Glass House" structure by Chihuly, inspired by his two favorite buildings, Paris' Sainte-Chapelle and London's Crystal Palace. ...

CAMP ROUND MEADOW, Maryland (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron urged countries on Saturday to put in place strong contingency plans to deal with fallout from the euro zone debt crisis as fears grow that Greece could be forced out of the European single currency. Cameron, speaking at a summit of the Group of Eight major economies, also appeared to hint that the European Central Bank should follow the example of the Bank of England by embarking on an asset purchase program to try to boost the economy. ...

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao vowed proactive policies to make growth a bigger priority, as the world's second largest economy showed signs of weakness, state press said on Sunday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Normally a big decline would set up Wall Street for a technical rebound. But that may not be the case this week, even after the market posted its worst weekly loss for the year and the S&P fell for six straight sessions. With the corporate earnings season drawing to an end and recent U.S. economic data raising doubts about the pace of growth, the S&P 500, which is down 7.3 percent so far in May, could decline further this week as concerns about the financial health of Europe persist. ...

Spain's "indignant" protest movement against economic inequality and spending cuts continues to enjoy widespread support a year after it was launched, a poll published on Sunday showed.

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - From his lagoon-side allotment in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, Moussa Yanda has a ringside seat to watch the foundations of a $290-million toll bridge slowly rise up from the shore. "I love watching it," enthused the softly-spoken 45-year-old as he packed up his garden tools for the day. "When things are developing, we realize we're going to make it through this." Little over a year ago such optimism was scarce. ...

Confronting an economic crisis that threatens them all, President Barack Obama and leaders of other world powers on Saturday declared that their governments must both spark growth and cut the debt that has crippled the European continent and put investors worldwide on edge.

Newly-inaugurated President Vladimir Putin has set hugely ambitious targets to catapult the Russian economy into the modern era but their realism remains in doubt despite a benign short-term outlook.

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis. A summit of the G8 leading industrialized nations came down solidly in favor of a push to balance European austerity - an approach long driven by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - with a new dose of U.S.-style stimulus seen as vital to healing ailing euro-zone economies. But it was clear that divisions remained. ...

CAMP DAVID, Maryland (Reuters) - World leaders backed keeping Greece in the euro zone on Saturday and vowed to take all steps necessary to combat financial turmoil while revitalizing a global economy increasingly threatened by Europe's debt crisis. A summit of the G8 leading industrialized nations came down solidly in favor of a push to balance European austerity - an approach long driven by German Chancellor Angela Merkel - with a new dose of U.S.-style stimulus seen as vital to healing ailing euro-zone economies. But it was clear that divisions remained. ...

Around 500 demonstrators gathered outside the home of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Saturday to protest the recent closure of mental health clinics as part of a series of rallies and marches timed to coincide with a NATO summit here. But the protest was much smaller than one attended by an estimated 2,500 people at a downtown plaza on Friday. The biggest rally is expected to be on Sunday near the convention center where world leaders will gather. ...