Chaos in Greek politics and Spanish banking combined this week to underscore just how fragile Europe's economy remains after an eviscerating austerity regime that has spawned unemployment, desperation and misery. And there is no respite in sight, as Germany's finance minister predicted Friday that the crisis could last up to another two years.

Chaos in Greek politics and Spanish banking combined this week to underscore just how fragile Europe's economy remains after an eviscerating austerity regime that has spawned unemployment, desperation and misery. And there is no respite in sight, as Germany's finance minister predicted Friday that the crisis could last up to another two years.

ROME (Reuters) - Italy's highest appeals court on Friday upheld a decision that cleared former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a fraud and embezzlement case related to his private broadcaster Mediaset. Milan magistrates who wanted Berlusconi to be indicted lodged an appeal after a judge ruled last October that there was not enough evidence for a trial for the former prime minister. ...

French President Francois Hollande said Friday he would carry out his pledge to withdraw combat forces from Afghanistan by year's end, two years earlier than the U.S. ally once planned. He made the declaration to President Barack Obama in the Oval Office.

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of former U.S. Senator John Edwards asked on Friday to review more than a dozen prosecution exhibits as they deliberated whether he illegally used campaign funds to conceal his extramarital affair while he ran for president. The North Carolina federal court jurors began deliberating on Friday morning and submitted their request about 2-1/2 hours later. Among the evidence they asked to review were notes from wealthy donor Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and testimony from her lawyer, Alex Forger. ...

GREENSBORO, North Carolina (Reuters) - Jurors in the trial of former U.S. Senator John Edwards asked on Friday to review more than a dozen prosecution exhibits as they deliberated whether he illegally used campaign funds to conceal his extramarital affair while he ran for president. The North Carolina federal court jurors began deliberating on Friday morning and submitted their request about 2-1/2 hours later. Among the evidence they asked to review were notes from wealthy donor Rachel "Bunny" Mellon and testimony from her lawyer, Alex Forger. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's top health official on Friday took the debate over whether healthcare coverage should include contraceptives to the campus of a Catholic university that has been deeply divided over the administration's policy. U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a speech at Georgetown University a few miles from the White House, praised the new U.S. healthcare law requiring coverage and called for "conversation and compromise. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's top health official on Friday took the debate over whether healthcare coverage should include contraceptives to the campus of a Catholic university that has been deeply divided over the administration's policy. U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a speech at Georgetown University a few miles from the White House, praised the new U.S. healthcare law requiring coverage and called for "conversation and compromise. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage. The Pentagon, in its annual report to Congress on China's military, flagged sustained investment last year in advanced missile technologies and cyber warfare capabilities and warned that Chinese spying threatened America's economic security. ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Friday it believes China spent up to $180 billion on its military buildup last year, a far higher figure than acknowledged by Beijing, and it accused "Chinese actors" of being the world's biggest perpetrators of economic espionage. The Pentagon, in its annual report to Congress on China's military, flagged sustained investment last year in advanced missile technologies and cyber warfare capabilities and warned that Chinese spying threatened America's economic security. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will likely name allies to key economic posts when he unveils his new cabinet on Monday, asserting control over the government in a move that could hamstring reforms backed by his more liberal premier. At stake is the future of Russia's privatization program and the drive to diversify a $1.7 trillion Russian economy still heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, which yield half of all state revenues. "It will be Putin's cabinet," said Lilia Shevtsova, a senior associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center think-tank who is an author and expert on Putin. ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin will likely name allies to key economic posts when he unveils his new cabinet on Monday, asserting control over the government in a move that could hamstring reforms backed by his more liberal premier. At stake is the future of Russia's privatization program and the drive to diversify a $1.7 trillion Russian economy still heavily dependent on oil and gas exports, which yield half of all state revenues. "It will be Putin's cabinet," said Lilia Shevtsova, a senior associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center think-tank who is an author and expert on Putin. ...

(Reuters) - All baby boomers should be tested at least once for the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus, according to proposed guidelines from U.S. health officials released on Friday. The often-undiagnosed virus is transmitted through contaminated blood. While infection rates have dropped dramatically since the early 1990s - due in part to the introduction of blood and organ screening - many older adults are still at risk, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the draft guidelines. ...

(Reuters) - All baby boomers should be tested at least once for the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus, according to proposed guidelines from U.S. health officials released on Friday. The often-undiagnosed virus is transmitted through contaminated blood. While infection rates have dropped dramatically since the early 1990s - due in part to the introduction of blood and organ screening - many older adults are still at risk, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the draft guidelines. ...

(Reuters) - Kraft Foods said on Friday it lowered prices on many of its U.S. coffees, including its flagship brand Maxwell House and some of its instant coffees, citing lower green coffee costs since prices peaked last year. The move comes three days after trend-setter J.M. Smucker Co. cut the cost of well-known brands Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts by an average of 6 percent. It is the second cut to coffee prices since August 2011 for both companies. "These changes reflect sustained decreases in the cost of green coffee," Kraft spokeswoman Bridget MacConnell told Reuters in an email. ...

(Reuters) - Kraft Foods said on Friday it lowered prices on many of its U.S. coffees, including its flagship brand Maxwell House and some of its instant coffees, citing lower green coffee costs since prices peaked last year. The move comes three days after trend-setter J.M. Smucker Co. cut the cost of well-known brands Folgers and Dunkin' Donuts by an average of 6 percent. It is the second cut to coffee prices since August 2011 for both companies. "These changes reflect sustained decreases in the cost of green coffee," Kraft spokeswoman Bridget MacConnell told Reuters in an email. ...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - This weekend's NATO summit is attracting raucous rallies and protests to Chicago that have little to do with the mission of the military alliance, including a large rally of nurses angry about the resources devoted to healthcare in the United States. Hundreds of red-clad nurses from National Nurses United gathered in a downtown Chicago plaza across from city hall for what was expected to be the largest protest to date surrounding the summit, which heads of state including President Barrack Obama will attend. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The USS Iowa, which ferried the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt across the perilous Atlantic waters to a historic meeting with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin in the dark days of World War Two, will have to be towed to its final port call. The battleship saw combat in the Pacific, survived a devastating explosion in a gun turret, and even a snub from the city of San Francisco. At the end of its final voyage, the storied warship will have a permanent mooring in Los Angeles. ...

TENSIONS EASED: Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has leveraged growing economic ties with China to reduce tensions to their lowest level since the two sides split in 1949.

President Joyce Banda declared Friday she wants to repeal Malawi's laws against homosexual acts, going against a trend in Africa in which gays are being increasingly singled out for prosecution.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan, hit by an economic crisis since losing crucial oil revenues, will effectively devalue the pound by allowing foreign exchange bureaux to trade dollars at a level away from the official rate, a banking source and Sudanese media said on Friday. Sudan's economy has been battered since the country lost three-quarters of its oil production to South Sudan when the latter became independent in July. Even though the pipelines are in Sudan, the two have been unable to agree on how much the South should pay to transport its oil. ...

World stock markets fell in nervous trade on Friday and the euro hit a new four-month low against the dollar as a downgrade hit 16 Spanish banks ahead of a key G8 meeting, rattling investors.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad shot two protesters in the capital Damascus on Friday and fired in the air to break up thousands of anti-government demonstrators in the commercial hub of Aleppo, activists said. It was the second consecutive day of street protests in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, where a visit by U.N. ceasefire monitors a day earlier saw demonstrators mass outside the gates of the Aleppo University before security forces drove them off. ...

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan electricity generating company KenGen plans to raise funds from private investors for a $686 million gas-fired power plant to run on imported liquefied natural gas (LNG), Managing Director Eddy Njoroge said on Friday. KenGen, which relies largely on hydro power, said the plant would help meet growing demand for electricity and help prevent frequent blackouts in east Africa's biggest economy caused by generation shortfalls and an ageing grid. ...

British officials have given their word: "We won't read your emails."