Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) speaks during a Senate homeland security and governmental affairs investigations subcommittee hearing on offshore profit shifting and the U.S. tax code related to Apple, on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed

Months into Obama term, GOP seeks 2016 leader

CONCORD, New Hampshire - With no clear presidential front-runner in their party, Republicans are shopping for candidate to unite the party's religious right, moderates and Tea Partiers in a way that Mitt Romney, could not do.  Full Article 

Exclusive: NY attorney general says more evidence banks violated mortgage pact 1:19pm EDT

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said there is mounting evidence that Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo and Co and other banks violated the terms of a settlement designed to end mortgage servicing abuses.

An Afghan policeman takes up a position after explosions in Kabul May 24, 2013. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani

Taliban attack U.N. compound in Afghan capital

KABUL - Taliban militants launched a coordinated attack on a U.N. compound in the center of the Afghan capital, Kabul, setting off explosions and battling the security forces.  Full Article 

Chickens sit inside cages after a New Taipei City Department of Environmental Protection worker sprayed sterilizing anti-H7N9 virus disinfectant around chicken stalls in a market in New Taipei City April 8, 2013. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang

New bird flu may spread among humans: study

HONG KONG - The new H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted between mammals not only via direct contact but also in airborne droplets, and may be capable of spreading from person to person, Chinese and American researchers have found.  Full Article 

Family members of murdered soldier Lee Rigby (L-R) his mother and stepfather Lyn and Ian Rigby, his wife Rebecca Rigby and her mother Susan Metcalfe, react as his stepfather reads a statement at a news conference at the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers headquarters in Manchester May 24, 2013. REUTERS/Dave Thompson/POOL

British security services in focus after attack

LONDON - Britain's security services faced questions over whether they could have done more to prevent the murder of a soldier hacked to death in a busy London street after it emerged that his suspected killers were known to intelligence officers.  Full Article | Video 

A man looks at a computer screen showing logos of Russian social network VKontakte in an office in Moscow May 24, 2013. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

'Mistake' bans Russia's leading social network

MOSCOW - Russia's leading online social network was briefly banned, in a move dismissed as a "mistake" but which follows intensifying official pressure on the company as President Vladimir Putin consolidates his power.  Full Article 

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech at a dinner during the 19th International Conference on "The Future of Asia" in Tokyo May 23, 2013. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

The deeper agenda behind 'Abenomics'

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is riding a wave of popularity, spurred by voters' hopes that his prescription for fixing Japan's economy will end two decades of stagnation. But "Abenomics" was a late addition to his platform.   Full Article 

A man walks by the Thomas Pink store on Wall St. in New York, March 18, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Luxury brands position for U.S. boom

PARIS/NEW YORK - The growing appeal of luxury goods to men and increased confidence among affluent spenders have boosted sales and encouraged luxury brands to step up their investments in the United States.  Full Article 

Reihan Salam

Obama's legacy could be moral, not political

Lately Obama seems like he's playing defense. One possible alternative, hinted at in a recent speech, is that Obama might take advantage of his prestige and moral authority to make the case for stronger American families.  Commentary 

David Rohde

Changing Assad’s calculus

Even as the international community discusses 'grand strategy,' Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is taking decisive action.  Commentary 

Chrystia Freeland

Some cracks in the technocrat cult

We are living in the age of the technocrats, but there are sound reasons why not to rely mechanically on technocratic solutions. That’s why it is worth reading a new paper by Daron Acemoglu of MIT and James Robinson of Harvard University.  Commentary 

Nicholas Wapshott

Lessons of the London butchers

The cases of the butchers of London and the Boston bombers raise an even more fundamental question: What exactly is terrorism? Since 9/11, the central management of al Qaeda’s operation has been defeated and the duty to continue the Islamist fight has passed to individual jihadists.  Commentary 

Anatole Kaletsky

The many interpretations of Ben Bernanke

The reaction to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's tediously familiar statement, and release of the equally repetitive minutes of the last Fed meeting, was some of the wildest gyrations seen in the world’s financial markets for months.  Commentary 

Michael O'Hanlon and Sean Zeigler

Civil wars and Syria: lessons from history

Removing Assad would no more end the Syrian conflict than overthrowing Saddam Hussein in 2003 brought stability to Iraq. The U.S. must create a more integrated overall strategy, argue Michael O'Hanlon and Sean Zeigler.  Commentary