BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union says it finally has the answer to a question long attributed to former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: Who do I call if I want to call Europe?

President Barack Obama will have scant time to rest up from his eight-day Asia trip.

Tough decisions, showdown votes await Obama on health care, Afghanistan, jobs, banks. President Barack Obama will have scant time to rest up from his eight-day Asia trip. On Saturday, two days after his return to Washington, the Senate plans a make-or-break vote on his hard-fought plan to overhaul the nation's health care system. Obama also confronts a difficult choice on strategy and troop levels in Afghanistan, which will be criticized no matter what he decides.

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Influential US lawmakers on Thursday called for levying a new income tax to pay for the war in Afghanistan, warning its costs pose a mortal threat to efforts like a sweeping health care overhaul.

US President Barack Obama welcomed the appointment of the EU's first president Thursday, saying it would make Europe an "even stronger partner" for the United States.

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:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Progress toward tighter U.S. financial regulation faltered in the U.S. Congress on Thursday as a House committee postponed a pivotal vote and Republicans on a Senate committee aired stubborn opposition.

SAN ANTONIO, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan soldiers on Thursday blew up two makeshift foot bridges that stretched across the border to Colombia in the latest incident to stoke a diplomatic dispute between the Andean neighbors.

NJ dad trying to get son back from Brazil to testify before congressional human rights panel. A New Jersey man who's been battling in Brazilian courts to get custody of his 9-year-old son is scheduled to testify before a congressional human rights panel in Washington.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - A special committee of the U.N. General Assembly condemned North Korea and Myanmar on Thursday for what it said were widespread human rights violations in the two Asian countries.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Progress toward tighter U.S. financial regulation faltered in the U.S. Congress on Thursday as a House committee postponed a pivotal vote and Republicans on a Senate committee aired stubborn opposition.

A US government report has warned that China is sharply stepping up espionage against the United States as the rising Asian power invests in cyber warfare and grows more sophisticated in recruiting spies.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) - Honduras's de facto leader said he may give up his presidential duties for a week so voters can focus on an election that Washington hopes will help end a five-month-old political crisis.

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said he planned to step down briefly over November 29 elections in an apparent bid to boost their international legitimacy.

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti said Thursday that he planned to step down briefly during November 29 elections in an apparent bid to boost its international legitimacy.

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.

House votes to block Medicare cuts to doctors, Republicans see a payoff to the AMA. The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff.

The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to add more than $200 billion to the deficit to prevent steep Medicare payment cuts to doctors, a move Republicans denounced as a political payoff.

Vladimir Putin on Friday delivered one of his most searing attacks yet against the Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili, saying it may not be safe to wear ties around him.