Egyptians back at the polls to pick president

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt resumed its first free presidential election on Thursday after a first day of voting that passed off mostly calmly, apart from a stone-throwing attack on candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was premier for a few days before Hosni Mubarak fell.

Suu Kyi to make first trip out of Myanmar in 24 years: party

YANGON (Reuters) - Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will travel outside Myanmar for the first time in 24 years next week to deliver a speech at an international forum in Thailand, her party said on Thursday.

EU urges Greece to stay in euro, plans for possible exit

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union leaders, advised by senior officials to prepare contingency plans in case Greece decides to quit the single currency, urged the country to stay the course on austerity and complete the reforms demanded under its bailout program.

Insight: Iran's "Great Game" in Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - With most foreign combat troops set to withdraw from Afghanistan by 2014, Iran is using the media in the war-ravaged nation to gain influence, a worrying issue for Washington.

China factory data signals weak first-half growth

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's factories took a hit in May as export orders fell sharply, a private sector survey showed on Thursday, suggesting surprise weakness in April's hard economic data persists even as policymakers seek to shore up growth.

Iran nuclear talks enter second day

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Talks resumed on Thursday between Iran and world powers about a nuclear programme that the West suspects is aimed at nuclear bomb research.

Obama defends foreign policy record against Republicans

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday staunchly defended his foreign policy record against Republican election-year criticism that he has overseen a decline in American power in the world.

Jury deals big blow to Oracle in Android case versus Google

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc's Android mobile platform has not infringed Oracle Corp's patents, a California jury decided, putting an indefinite hold on Oracle's quest for damages in a fight between the two Silicon Valley giants over smartphone technology.

Shareholders sue Facebook, NYSE comes calling

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The fallout from Facebook Inc's messy initial public offering widened on Wednesday as shareholders sued the social network and its bankers while a trading firm revealed a massive loss on the shares and threatened to seek "remedies."

HP to lay off 27,000, profit slides 31 percent

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett Packard Co plans to lay off roughly 27,000 employees or about 8 percent of its workforce over the next couple of years to jumpstart growth and save up to $3.5 billion annually, sending its shares 11 percent higher.