It's show time for Obama and McCain

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It's show time for Barack Obama and John McCain, with back-to-back presidential nominating conventions offering them tightly-scripted spectacles designed to polish their images and highlight their messages.

U.S. demands Russia leave Georgia "now"

SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Washington demanded on Friday that Russia pull its troops out of Georgia "now", but Moscow said it would be another 10 days before the bulk of its force left Georgian soil.

Rice in says Iraq troops deal close

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States and Iraq are close to a deal extending the presence of U.S. troops beyond 2008, but any timetable for their withdrawal must be "feasible", Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

Fannie, Freddie debt rallies on likely bailout

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Heightened expectations for a government bailout of U.S. home-funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac drove their debt prices higher on Thursday as investors bet the securities will be guaranteed by the U.S. government even if shareholders are wiped out.

Analysts see tough quarter for U.S. investment banks

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Wall Street research analysts are projecting yet another tough quarter for U.S. investment banks marked by additional writedowns across a series of fixed-income assets amid an already weak operating environment.

Jamaica sweeps the sprint golds in Beijing

BEIJING (Reuters) - Jamaica made a clean sweep of Olympic sprint golds on Thursday with victory in the women's 200 meters humbling the United States, the traditional track and field superpower.

Suicide bombs kill 59 outside Pakistani arms plant

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Two Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the country's main defense industry complex on Thursday, killing at least 59 people as workers were leaving at the end of their shift, officials said.

Relatives seek to identify Spain crash victims

MADRID (Reuters) - Grieving relatives on Thursday tried to identify charred bodies from the wreckage of a Spanish jet which crashed at Madrid airport on its second attempt at takeoff after mechanical problems.

Lehman shares fall after report of failed sale

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Lehman Brothers shares fell 4.3 percent on Thursday after a newspaper reported the bank had tried to sell a stake of itself to South Korean or Chinese parties and failed, and a Citigroup analyst reduced his estimates for the sector.

Vaccine refusals fuel measles outbreak

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Parents refusing to have their children vaccinated against measles have helped drive cases of the illness to their worst levels in a dozen years in the United States, health officials reported on Thursday.