Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials in Newspapers in the US and Abroad. Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said it is too soon to set a timeline for shifting security duties from NATO-led troops to Afghan forces, as proposed by Britain.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said it is too soon to set a timeline for shifting security duties from NATO-led troops to Afghan forces, as proposed by Britain.

EU leaders on Thursday picked little known Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

EU leaders picked little known Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, an official said.

An MP, charged with probing expense claims of colleagues, quit his position as a newspaper Friday raised allegations about his own expenses worth thousands of pounds.

An MP, charged with probing expense claims of colleagues, quit his position as a newspaper on Friday raised allegations about his own expenses worth thousands of pounds.

Newspapers attacked on Friday the appointment of the European Union's first president and foreign policy chief, some calling them lightweights who could struggle on the world stage.

EU leaders picked little known Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as Europe's first president with a mission to give the continent a greater world profile.

Rescuers searching for a policeman missing in devastating floods in northwest England said they found a body on Friday.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders named Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy, who is little known outside his own country, as the bloc's first president on Thursday to lead efforts to make it more influential on the world stage.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck an Afghan town on Friday, killing 12 people in the deadliest attack since President Hamid Karzai got down to the business of a second term.

COCKERMOUTH, England (Reuters) - Lifeboats and military helicopters rescued hundreds of people overnight in northern England and a policeman was killed as torrential rain flooded homes, washed away bridges and closed roads.

European leaders chose a low-profile pair of Belgium's premier and a British peer to lead a revamped EU, triggering a storm of criticism on Friday for dropping plans to appoint diplomatic heavy hitters.

Bombers on Friday killed 18 people in Afghanistan, a deadly start to President Hamid Karzai's second term in office that underscored spiralling insecurity nine years into the US-led war.

Bombers on Friday killed 18 people in Afghanistan, a deadly start to President Hamid Karzai's second term in office that underscored spiralling insecurity nine years into the US-led war.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck an Afghan town on Friday, killing 12 people in the deadliest attack since President Hamid Karzai got down to the business of a second term.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in a town in southwestern Afghanistan on Friday, killing 12 people and wounding dozens more, local officials said.

A suicide bomber riding a motorcycle blew himself up in the heart of Afghanistan's southwestern town of Farah, killing six people and wounding 36 civilians, the provincial police chief said.