David Wu to Resign Amid Pressure

Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., announced Tuesday he would resign from Congress, following allegations of sexual misconduct with a teenage girl.

The resignation announcement came in the wake of a report last week that the teenage daughter of a longtime friend and campaign donor called the congressman's office earlier this year to accuse him of an unwanted sexual encounter over Thanksgiving.

Wu, 56, acknowledged the incident to his aides but said it was consensual, the Portland Oregonian reported.

On Monday, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, called for a formal ethics investigation. By Tuesday, Wu, a seven-term member of Congress, said he would resign his post, which he called "the greatest privilege of my life."

"I cannot care for my family the way I wish while serving in Congress and fighting these very serious allegations," Wu said in a statement. "The well-being of my children must come before anything else."

The accusations against David Wu are jarring and exceptionally serious. While he – like every American – deserves an opportunity to address those accusations and defend himself, our constituents in the first district of Oregon deserve a member in the House of Representatives whose main focus is fighting for their interests,” the senators said.

“This is a critical time for our state and our nation and Oregonians need every member of their Congressional delegation to be effective. While no one takes pleasure in asking a colleague to resign, we believe he can no longer be an effective representative for our shared constituents and should, in the best interest of Oregon, step down.”

On Monday, Wu confided in his close friend and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), who in his advice to Wu said, “Dave, you have to do what’s in the best interest of your young family, and yourself and then the institution, in that order.”

Larson also told Wu that “there are no good answers to this,” during their conversation.

Someone speaking on Wu’s behalf initially told reporters the 7-term Oregon Congressman would not resign, but would not seek reelection in 2012. Two Democrat elected officials had already announced their intentions to run against Wu before these recent allegations were made public.

The congressional district Wu has represented since 1999 is heavily Democratic and he previously won each of his previous races by double-digit margins.

Wu is the second House Democrat to resign over sexual indiscretions this year. In June, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) resigned after sending inappropriate messages and photographs to several women via Twitter.

When Wu’s resignation is effective and his seat has been officially vacated, Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber will call a special election.

Huntsman campaign focuses on N.H.

While Jon Huntsman was winding down his tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to China, a "campaign-in-waiting" was being carefully assembled, so that when he was free of his duties to the Obama White House, he could hit the ground running and get his 2012 candidacy in gear. Those first days of the Huntsman campaign were a model of effeiciency -- Huntsman got on the ground, met with state officials, laid out a plan of attack and -- with a little bit of web-video whimsy -- they got the media to devote lots of time covering the lead-up to his official announcement in front of the Statue of Liberty.

And that announcement? Well, it was kind of a bust! Republican voters, as it turned out, liked him less the more they got to know him. And since then, the campaign has gotten stranger.

Huntsman, in his speech, called for a “more skeptical’’ view of America’s foreign entanglements.

“I look at Libya. There’s no defined goal, no defined national security interest, no exit strategy. I say why do we want to be involved?’’ Huntsman said.

On Afghanistan, Huntsman said, “It’s time for us to come home,’’ citing several achievements there including free elections.

Turning to Pakistan, Huntsman said, “We can’t do a damn thing about Pakistan. Only Pakistan can save Pakistan. . . . We can’t wish for stability in a nation state more than they do.’’

The appearance came as Huntsman is building his presence in New Hampshire, with more than 20 paid staff and several offices opening this summer. Huntsman plans to return the first week in August. He will need to build up his name recognition. Recent polling put him in the low single digits in New Hampshire, and voters tend to know little about him.

Behind the scenes, Huntsman has been attacking former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who is ahead in polls here. A recent e-mail from Huntsman’s campaign was headlined, “The Romney-Obama Budget Plan: Raise Taxes.

Jared Lee Loughner: 'I Want to Die, Give Me the Injection, Kill Me Now

Jared Lee Loughner, who is accused of killing six people and injuring 13 others in Tucson Arizona, including Gabrielle Giffords, is being forcibly medicated as he is a danger to himself.

Court papers have revealed that Loughner, who has been deemed not fit enough to stand trial, is depressed and has "regret for the circumstances that led to his arrest. He also reported that the radio was talking to him and inserting thoughts into his mind."

While under suicide watch, Loughner "began pacing quickly in circles near his cell door" and was heard "screaming loudly and seen crying for hours at a time," according to court documents. "He was observed rocking back and forth in the showers."

One doctor reported that Loughner was often viewed as "inconsolable, uncooperative and unresponsive" and "also displayed hypersexed behavior." He talked about the "killings" and the possibility of receiving the death penalty and sobbed uncontrollably for 55 minutes. At one point Loughner said, "I want to die. Give me the injection, kill me now."

A federal appeals court is set to hear arguments regarding Loughner's forced medication in August after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night denied an emergency motion by defense lawyers to keep prison officials from forcibly medicating Loughner with a psychotropic drug.

Loughner, 22, has pleaded not guilty in the Jan. 8 shooting in Tucson that killed six and left 13 others wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. Loughner was declared mentally unfit to contribute to his defense by a federal judge and is being held in Springfield, Mo.

Credit hit worries Obama, Congress more than default

US debt crisis has escalated after Republicans were forced to rewrite their proposal to lift the debt ceiling, because they miscalculated how much the original plan would cut spending.

In an embarrassing development for John Boehner, the Republican Congress speaker, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) ruled on Tuesday night that his bill would have only cut spending by $850bn over the next decade, not the $1.2tr he had aimed for. Republicans are now racing to rewrite the legislation, and have pushed back a Congressional vote on the plan from Wednesday to Thursday at the earliest.

Although Boehner was already struggling to find support for his package, the delay increases the risk that Washington will fail to agree a deal to raise the debt ceiling before 2 August, when the federal government is expected to run out of money.

The dollar dropped against other currencies on Wednesday morning as investors faced the possibility that America could default. Several economists believe the country will lose its AAA credit rating within months, which would push up its borrowing costs, even if the $14.3tr debt ceiling is increased in time.

The White House said on Tuesday it was working with Congress to devise a "Plan B" that might attract enough support. The two sides have been deeply divided for weeks, with Republicans demanding deep spending cuts and Democrats anxious to include tax rises as a major part of the deal.

Threat of a downgrade “is very damaging to all of us, and that would be a product of the dysfunction of Congress” said Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who led a faction of House Democrats who argued for a “clean” debt-limit increase early in the process, only to watch escalating chatter about the “Armageddon” of a missed deal feed scrutiny of the nation’s fiscal health.

S&P raised the threat of a downgrade July 14 by declaring that raising the debt limit alone might not be enough. It wanted to see an enforceable agreement to cut $4 trillion over 10 years to affirm the triple-A rating.

Administration officials were shocked by the move. They suggested privately that it did not seem to square with prior S&P reports, which said the nation’s larger budget problems could be dealt with over several years. Some administration officials dismissed the S&P report as little more than amateur political prognostication by people with limited understanding of how Washington works.

But the White House’s statements in the past week show a downgrade is now top of mind. Obama himself invoked the country’s triple-A rating in a rare prime-time address Monday as he outlined the consequences of default.

“For the first time in history, our country’s triple-A credit rating would be downgraded, leaving investors around the world to wonder whether the United States is still a good bet,” Obama said. “Interest rates would skyrocket on credit cards, on mortgages and on car loans, which amounts to a huge tax hike on the American people. We would risk sparking a deep economic crisis — this one caused almost entirely by Washington.”

Nearly every debt-limit conversation on Capitol Hill is infused with debate over the potential for either a downgrade, a default, or both. Democrats have embraced the argument of the White House: A short-term plan could result in a debilitating downgrade even if default is avoided.

Republicans are moving forward with their two-phase plan, but they’ve shown some concern about the possibility of ratings agencies scarring America’s creditworthiness. There’s significant disagreement in the GOP about the prospects of default and downgrade, and some lawmakers believe the administration and congressional leaders have created a false panic to box them into voting to raise the debt ceiling.

Norway suspect's claim of allies in doubt

OSLO, Norway — The leader of Norway's Delta Force says the breakdown of the team's boat didn't cause any significant delay in its efforts to reach the island where Anders Behring Breivik's shooting rampage killed 68 people.

Anders Snortheimsmoen told reporters Wednesday that even though the assigned boat quickly broke down, the team immediately jumped into another, better boat. He says his team arrived by the harbor at the same time as local police and that the boat mishap caused "no delay."

At the same news conference, Justice Minister Knut Storberget praised the team, saying it helped "limit the tragedy" on Utoya island and the bombing in the city center. Friday's twin terrorist acts claimed at least 76 lives.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

OSLO, Norway — A spokesman for the Norwegian Railway Authority says parts of Oslo's central station have been evacuated as police investigate an abandoned suitcase.

Olav Nordli says the suitcase was found in the area where buses depart for Oslo's airport. Police have sealed off the area and are examining the abaondoned luggage.

The city is on high alert in the wake of Friday's bombing and youth camp shooting that killed 68 people.

The first Cabinet ministers were to return to their offices Wednesday after a car bomb exploded in the government district of the Norwegian capital.

On Wednesday, police detonated an unknown quantity of explosives found on a farm owned by Breivik north of Oslo in a controlled blast.

CBS News partner network Sky News reports that Breivik posed for years as a farmer in order to purchase large amounts of synthetic fertilizer, some of which he obtained online from a Polish company.

Norway's intelligence chief told the BBC on Wednesday that investigators have found no evidence to support Breivik's claims of contact with other extremist individuals or groups in Britain or anywhere else.

"We don't have indications that he has been part of a broader movement or that he has been in connection with other cells or that there are other cells," Janne Kristiansen told the BBC.

She cautioned that the investigation was still underway and that connections to other groups or individuals could not be ruled out.

In a voluminous online manifesto posted the morning before the attack Breivik expressed an admiration for right-wing extremist groups in the U.S. and Europe.

"We are in close contact with our sister services in Europe, America and elsewhere," said Kristiansen.

Norway killer: 'no link' to British far-right groups

Explosives found at a farm leased by Anders Behring Breivik, the sole suspect in Friday's killings in Norway, have been safely detonated in a controlled explosion about 160km north of Oslo by the Norwegian police.

Police believe that Breivik, 32, made his bomb using fertiliser which he had bought under the cover that he was a farmer.

Tueday's detonation came as Breivik's lawyer, Geir Lippestad, said that he is probably insane, and was on drugs while he carried out his attacks that killed 68 in Utoeya island and eight in Oslo.

Lippestad said it was too early to say if his client would plead insanity at his trial, even though he thought the loner and computer-games enthusiast was probably a madman.

"This whole case indicated that he is insane," Lippestad said of Breivik, who has confessed to "atrocious but necessary" actions, but denies he is a criminal.

Breivik, who killed at least 76 people in twin attacks last week, has written of meeting British right-wing groups nine years ago.

But Ms Kristiansen said she believed he had acted on his own.

The intelligence chief added that she did not believe the killer was insane, but calculating and evil, and someone who sought the limelight.

Breivik's lawyer Geir Lippestad, had said it was too early to say if his client would plead insanity at his trial, even though "this whole case indicated that he is insane".

He believes that he's in a war and he believes that when you're in a war you can do things like that without pleading guilty," Mr Lippestad told reporters.

Ms Kristiansen's comments came as Norwegian police started releasing names of some of Breivik's victims.

They published four names, with more expected to follow later today.

Norwegian police have also defended the fact that it took an hour and a half for armed officers to reach Utoeya.

"I don't think we think we could have done this faster," Police Chief of Staff Johan Fredriksen said in Oslo.

GOP Bucks Boehner's Plan That Obama Threatens to Veto

WASHINGTON - US Representative Richard Neal has been thwarted for years in his effort to stop foreign insurance companies from shifting premiums paid by their US customers to offshore tax havens.

This week, it became clear that the Springfield Democrat will be frustrated once again, as Democrats and Republicans in Congress have left tax code changes out of their competing plans to raise the debt limit.

While much of the nation’s attention has been riveted on the determination of fiscal conservatives in the House to block any provision that raises new revenue, Neal’s unsuccessful effort to close what he calls an offshore tax loophole is an example of how business interests have stymied an array of tax code changes sought by President Obama, Democrats, and even some Republicans in the Senate.

“It’s the lobbying muscle,’’ Neal said. “Once something becomes embedded in the tax code, its very hard to extract.’’

Coincidentally, the aftermath of the tornadoes that tore through Western Massachusetts last month, causing an estimated $200 million in damage, offers a peek at the particular strategy on some insurance premiums that Neal and others say is unfair to US taxpayers.

So far, it doesn't appear Cantor's efforts are working. Rep. Jim Jordan, who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, said, "I am confident as of this morning that there were not 218 Republicans in support of this plan," The Washington Post's Felicia Sonmez reports. (No hard feelings though: Jordan insists that he and fellow conservatives "appreciate the speaker's hard work.") Though she's out on the campaign trail, Rep. Michele Bachmann wants everyone to know she does not back Boehner's plan--her staffers told the liberal site Think Progress, "the congresswoman is standing firm opposing the Boehner plan."

The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Weisman tweets that first the Republican Study Committee, then an arm of the Heritage Foundation, and now the Club for Growth are all opposing Boehner's plan: "This is a whip's nightmare -- or a real [break] for compromise." Could conservatives' abandonment of Boehner mean there's a chance to compromise with Democrats? Probably not. The New York Times' Jada F. Smith reports that House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer says when it's time to vote Wednesday, Boehner's plan will get "very few" Democratic votes, if any. And the White House's Office of Management and Budget released a memo saying if the plan, "is presented to the President, the President’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto this bill."

Sen. Kent Conrad, of the declared-dead-then-revived-now-probably-dead-again Gang of Six plan, says the "Boehner plan probably has to fail in the House or Senate before debt limit end game becomes clear," Brian Beutler reports. That's one of two scenarios Democrats are gaming out with the hopes of exploiting the disunity in the Republican ranks, The Washington Post's Greg Sargent reports. Sargent explains.

Short-term debt hike confounds 2 sides

WASHINGTON — Neither the House nor the Senate has a clear path forward for must-pass legislation to allow the government to continue to borrow to pay its bills, putting lawmakers and financial markets alike on edge less than a week before the deadline for heading off a first-ever U.S. default.

The pressure is on House Speaker John Boehner, who's being forced to rewrite his debt and budget plan after nonpartisan congressional scorekeepers said it wouldn't reap the savings he's promised.

The Ohio Republican also needs to shore up his standing with tea party-backed conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts to accompany an almost $1 trillion increase in the government's borrowing cap.

In a national, prime-time address Monday, the president declared that Boehner's plan "would force us to once again face the threat of default just six months from now. In other words, it doesn't solve the problem."

But debt ceiling increases are by definition temporary. Since 1993, when the debt ceiling stood at $4.37 trillion, Congress raised the limits 13 times, in amounts that lasted from three months to almost five years. The debt ceiling was raised 18 times during President Ronald Reagan's two terms, including three times during his 1984 re-election run, for an average length of about five months. House Republicans point out that is a shorter period than the six-month debt ceiling increase their plan would provide.

The problem for Obama is that Boehner's plan ties a second debt ceiling increase to a broad scrubbing of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, with a goal of reducing long-term deficits by at least $1.8 trillion. White House officials fear that under such a plan, the debt ceiling would once again be pushed to a near-crisis point in January as lawmakers undertake what so far has been a Sisyphean task to cut the costs of the nation's biggest benefit programs.

White House officials say that effort would be further complicated because it would be colored by election-year politics.

Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell both have accused Obama of being more worried about his own re-election than the fiscal health of the country. "With all due respect to the president, we have more important things to worry about than getting through the next election," McConnell said.

Obama, however, has said he would be willing to seek increases in the debt ceiling during an election year if they somehow would be guaranteed to pass, as they were in a proposal by McConnell.

"That way folks in Congress can vote against it, but at least it gets done," Obama said Friday. "I'm willing to take the responsibility. That's my job. So if they want to give me the responsibility to do it, I'm happy to do it."

For House Republicans, the two-step process was not always the preferred method either.

On June 13, Cantor asserted, "It's my desire to have one debt ceiling vote."

A week later, on June 21, he said: "I don't see how multiple votes on a debt ceiling increase can help get us to where we want to go. We want big reforms, we want big spending cuts and big changes to how this town works. And to me, it is a case of having to make some tough decisions. I am not so sure that if we can't make the tough decisions now, why we would be making those tough decisions later."

With six days left before the government exhausts its borrowing authority, Republican officials say they no longer have the luxury of planning a single debt ceiling increase to accomplish the deficit reductions they have in mind.

Those chances faded Friday when Boehner ended negotiations with the White House for a large package of $4 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years in exchange for a $2.4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling. Boehner said he walked out of the talks because Obama had insisted on $400 billion more in tax revenue than the $800 billion that Boehner was willing to concede.

But Republicans believe the only way Democrats and the president will seriously consider structural changes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security is if the debt ceiling is on the line. Boehner's plan as outlined Tuesday would increase the debt ceiling by $900 billion and seek cuts in day-to-day spending that are greater than that. It then would require a joint committee of Congress to identify deficit reduction measures totaling at least $1.8 trillion. Congress would have to approve those cuts before granting a second debt ceiling increase of $1.6 trillion.

"At this late hour, any plan that's going to have significant deficit reduction is going to have to be a two-step plan," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said. "There's just not time to write all the reforms needed.

Merkel, IMF talks cancelled

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, has been arrested on charges of attempted rape, criminal sexual act and unlawful imprisonment, New York City police said Sunday, the Associated Press reported.

A law enforcement official said Mr. Strauss-Kahn was taken into police custody Saturday after being removed from an airplane at Kennedy Airport.

The law enforcement official said Mr. Strauss-Kahn allegedly forced a cleaning woman onto his bed and sexually assaulted her at around 1 p.m. Saturday inside his room at the Sofitel Hotel near Times Square.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn's attorney didn't immediately return phone or email messages seeking comment.

Talks between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and arrested IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, set for Sunday, have been cancelled as the International Monetary Fund will not send a replacement to Berlin, a government source said.

The charges, if true, would strike a tremendous blow to France's current politics. The Socialist Party is holding primaries this fall, but candidates have been requested to apply between June 28 and July 13.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn's decision regarding his candidacy has been much awaited as polls have constantly shown over the past few months that he would beat Mr. Sarkozy as soon as the first round. His decision was expected as soon as the end of May, a person close to him told Dow Jones Newswires.

Corrupt corporate legislation

Just think about 100 Senators and 435 Representatives total numbers representative are 441 with 5 Delegates and one Resident.

If any corporation invest on 50% members one million dollars per member.The total amount will be 220.5 millions Dollars. After that they can make law as corporation want with 25% support of natural agreed members.Simply "that corporation" will "Get benefits" of just some "Billions" only.

Estimated War-Related Costs, Iraq and Afghanistan

Estimated Costs of war in Afghanistan 2011

119.4 Billions US$

Estimated Costs of war in Iraq 2011

51.1 Billions US$

Currently, the United States consumes 19.6 million barrels per day, of oil, which is more than 25% of the world's total.

If Congressman or Senator talk angrily on Middle east the oil prices will rise again.

If oil prices rise only 1$ per "Barrel" Poor corporations just get 19.6 US$ million per day only##########

Which one not agreed with them. They have many other "Alternate solutions"

Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills. ”

This establishes the method for making Acts of Congress. Accordingly, any bill may originate in either House of Congress, except for a revenue bill, which may originate only in the House of Representatives. In practice, the Senate can simply circumvent this requirement by substituting the text of any bill previously passed by the House with the text of a revenue bill, as was done with H.R. 1424 or the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982. When the Senate sends an appropriation bill to the House, the House may return it to the Senate with a blue slip, thereby settling the question in practice. Either House may amend any bill, including revenue and appropriation bills.

The Origination Clause stems from an English parliamentary requirement that all money bills start from the House of Commons; it was intended to ensure that the "power of the purse" lies with the legislative body closer to the people. The clause was also part of a compromise between small and large states: the latter were unhappy with equal representation in the Senate.

What did you think about US budget 2011?

Where are we (Americans).....................?

Consumer Outlook for China Luxury

Chinese incomes are going up. For some that means a stop at the local fast food restaurant is affordable, for others, it has created a pension for brand names, expensive cars and glitzy jewelry.

McKinsey, a management consultancy, recently reported it expects China will account for 20 percent of the world's luxury goods in just four years. By then, it says, the luxury market could be worth 27 billion dollars.

Rapid increases in wealth, and shifting social mores that sanction the display of that wealth, are driving a growing infatuation for luxury goods among Chinese consumers.”

“Access to an explosion of information on the Internet, an increasing penchant for overseas travel, and first-hand experience purchasing and consuming luxury goods are contributing to a substantial rise in sophistication among luxury consumers in China. Contrary to popular belief, a growing number of Chinese luxury consumers are exhibiting a noticeable trend away from overt displays of wealth, and towards more understated forms of luxury consumption.”

“Rapid urbanization and growing wealth outside of China’s largest cities is driving the emergence of several new geographic markets with sizeable pools of luxury goods consumers. Over the next 5 years, [McKinsey] expects that the number of such cities will double from 30-60.

Ushering into 2011, China, serving as a niche market, is more than just prosperity. It is believed that China’s luxury market has transformed from ‘land-rush’ to ‘ROI focus’. It is urgent for key market players to have in-depth knowledge of ‘China’s rule’. How to cultivate specific brandculture catering to local consumers? How to efficiently build brand image and grant to consumers? What is the ideal retailing solution for variant consumers? How to do ideal CRM in a niche market? It is certain that luxury consumption in China is more than purchasing but purchasing culture, spirit, life sytle of luxury brands.

Core luxury buyers: Affluent households that spend 12 to 20% of their income on luxury goods per year ($22,000 to $66,000).

Luxury role models: Young and fashionable, most are self-employed or corporate executives living in Beijing or Shanghai. They buy to indulge themselves and seek to feel unique rather than show off their wealth.

Fashion fanatics: Middle class, typically in junior to mid-level positions; includes some housewives. They spend a disproportionate amount of income on luxury, and have a stronger “enjoy now” mindset, willing to buy on credit. They also exert a strong influence on other consumers, sharing their purchases and opinions in social circles and online.

Middle-class aspirants: Middle class living in Tier 2/3 cities. They are infrequent buyers of luxury products. Purchasing luxury goods makes them feel successful and fulfills aspirations of belonging in a higher social circle. They are also less knowledgeable about luxury brands and thus are more cautious spenders.

Hillary offers carrot, Kerry stick

United States has reverted to its old tactics of carrot and stick policy as two of its top leaders have reflected this in their latest contacts with Pakistan.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called President Asif Ali Zardari late Sunday and discussed present situation in the aftermath of the Abbottabad operation. According to official sources, the President apprised her of the concerns expressed by Pakistan’s Parliament over the operation.

According to TV channels, Hillary assured US support to Pakistan. Both leaders also discussed war on terror and the bilateral relations

Earlier, US Senator John Kerry, while speaking in Kabul, warned that relations with key ally Pakistan were at a ‘critical moment’ and maintained that there was disturbing evidence against Pakistan’s links with Taliban.

Shortly arriving in Islamabad, John Kerry called on Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and exchanged views on matters of mutual interest. Kerry, who has ostensibly come to pacify Pakistan over US raid in Abbottabad, was told by General Kayani that unilateral action against Al-Qaeda chief did not go well in Pakistan and had further widened the trust deficit between the two countries.

WASHINGTON: US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Chairman Senator John Kerry visited Pakistan along with the list of demands and could use threats and offers to make demands meet, a report published in US newspaper said.

According to the US newspaper, Senator Kerry would try to use the threat of Congressional cuts to the $3 billion in annual American aid to Pakistan as leverage.

Kerry will also reassure Pakistani officials that they will be a central part of any political accord with the Taliban in Afghanistan, to ease their fears that India will take over large areas of Afghanistan as the United States pulls out.

He will also raise an issue of Pakistan's escalating production of nuclear fuel.

Members of Congress, in closed sessions, have complained that if Pakistan continued to escalate production of nuclear fuel then it would jeopardize the fundings.

Kerry presents list of specific demands

ISLAMABAD - U.S. Senator John Kerry will push Pakistani leaders on Monday to explain how Osama bin Laden was able to hide in their country for years, without further inflaming Pakistani anger over the U.S. raid that killed the al Qaeda chief.

U.S. special forces flew in from Afghanistan on a secret operation to find and kill the al Qaeda leader on May 2, nearly 10 years after he orchestrated the September 11 attacks on the United States.

His discovery holed up in the comfortable garrison town of Abbottabad, only 50 km from the Pakistani capital, has revived suspicion that U.S. ally Pakistan knew where he was and has been playing a double game.

Pakistan has rejected that as absurd. It welcomed bin Laden's killing as a big step in the fight against militancy but objected about being left in the dark over the raid to get him.

Kerry arrived late Sunday and went quickly to see army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, handing him the list of US demands, according to a Pakistani government official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to give more details because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Kayani told Kerry his soldiers have “intense feelings” about the raid, in apparent reference to anger and humiliation here that Washington did not tell the army in advance about helicopter-borne raid, and the fact it was unable to stop the incursion.

Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari’s office, meanwhile, said US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called him Sunday to discuss the raid’s fallout in Pakistan. Clinton has spoken of the need to keep strong ties with Pakistan, and stressed there’s no evidence yet its leaders knew of bin Laden’s whereabouts.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on Sunday to President Asif Ali Zardari by telephone about the situation since bin Laden's death, Zardari's office said, adding Zardari told Clinton about parliament's concerns.

"Both agreed to resolve the issues amicably and move forward," the president's office said.

Compounding Pakistan's reputation as an unstable Muslim country infested with militants, gunmen on motorcycles shot dead a Saudi diplomat in the city of Karachi on Monday as he was driving to work.

The attack came days after unidentified attackers threw two hand grenades at the Saudi consulate in the city, Pakistan's commercial hub. No one as hurt in that attack.

Al Qaeda is violently opposed to the Saudi government, which is a close ally of Pakistan, and has vowed revenge for the killing of its leader, Saudi-born bin Laden.

IMF chief's arrest may speed up succession battle

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the leader of the International Monetary Fund, spent much of Sunday at the Manhattan Special Victims Unit in East Harlem as prosecutors sought additional evidence, including possible DNA evidence on his skin or beneath his fingernails, to bolster allegations that he had sexually assaulted a maid in a $3,000-a-night suite at a Midtown hotel, officials said.

IMF officials explained Lipsky often runs the financial institution when the managing director (MD) is away and said it remained "fully functioning and operational."

But the announcement did not mask concerns among some high-ranking IMF board officials about a possible leadership vacuum, especially as Lipsky only last week said he planned to stand down in August when his term ends.

That could leave the world's lender rudderless just as it is immersed in efforts to fix the euro zone's debt debacle and faces the massive task of helping steer the global economy away from the kind of policies that triggered the crash of 2007-09.

As the court order was being sought, the woman who told the police on Saturday that she had been attacked by Mr. Strauss-Kahn, picked him from a police lineup on Sunday, the police said.

The identification came less than a day after he had been taken into custody by detectives of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in the first-class section of the Air France jet. He was turned over to detectives from the Midtown South Precinct and later taken to the Special Victims Unit.

After identifying Mr. Strauss-Kahn about 4:30 p.m., the woman, a maid at the Sofitel New York on West 44th Street, where Mr. Strauss-Kahn was a guest, left the Special Victims Unit in a police van that drove past a gaggle of reporters. A blanket was covering her head.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn himself remained at the Special Victims Unit, near the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge, well into the evening, and it was unclear when he would be taken to Manhattan Criminal Court for arraignment.

The heads of the Bretton Woods institutions should be chosen solely on the basis of an open and merit-based process without regard to nationality."

Former Turkish finance minister Kemal Dervis' name has been circulated in recent months as a possible candidate.

Dervis was a former head of the United Nations Development Programme and now directs an economics program at the Washington-based Brookings Institution think-tank.

While some in Britain speculated about a candidacy of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who served as finance minister for a decade until 2007, his successor, David Cameron, has urged the IMF to look beyond Europe for its next leader.

Current French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde has also been touted by some Europeans as a possible successor. That would make her the first female head of the institution.