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.

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.

Newly-appointed EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton rejected claims on Friday she lacks the experience to be the face of Europe abroad.

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.

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.

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.

'Rompuy-pumpy' and Cathy Who?: Critics underwhelmed by EU's choice for new top jobs. Catherine Ashton: International woman of mystery.

Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile Friday as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Incoming EU president Herman Van Rompuy kept a low profile Friday as the 27-nation bloc's leaders faced flak for picking him and a little-known British peer to lead a revamped Europe on the world stage.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip mark 62 years of marriage _ quietly. Buckingham Palace says the queen and her husband Prince Philip are celebrating 62 years of marriage quietly ? without the fanfare of two years ago, when they marked their diamond anniversary.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Afghan government would quickly be overthrown if NATO troops pulled out of the country now, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Friday.

Floods batter UK's Lake District, policeman dies, hundreds rescued; Ireland also hard hit. Raging floods engulfed northern England's picturesque Lake District on Friday following the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in Britain, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes.