New York police have broken up an international identity theft ring that made fake credit cards using information swiped off real cards in banks, restaurants and retail stores, according to authorities.

More than 111 people have been charged and 86 were detained in the operation, which involved five criminal organizations in the New York borough of Queens with links in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East, they said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday honored all those killed since U.S. warplanes launched a campaign to oust the Taliban in Afghanistan 10 years ago, and saluted those who have served in the U.S. military.

Obama said in a statement the United States was "responsibly ending" the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq "from a position of strength" and promised to provide veterans with healthcare and job opportunities.

U.S. President Barack Obama warned Thursday Europe must "act fast" on a debt crisis threatening the fragile U.S. recovery and accused China of gaming the global currency and trading systems.

In a White House news conference, Obama also said Republicans must pass his $447 billion dollar jobs bill as insurance against a double dip recession and warned Pakistan was hedging its bets by maintaining ties with extremists.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday slammed Russia and China for vetoing a U.N. Security Council resolution on Syria, saying the people of Syria "will not forget."

Clinton said the Council had "abrogated its responsibility" by failing to push through the European draft resolution that would have threatened possible action against Syrian President Bashar Assad over a crackdown on protests.

The White House Wednesday expressed "concerns" about legislation meant to punish China for alleged currency manipulation, after complaints in Beijing that it amounted to scapegoating.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the administration was worried the bill could compromise U.S. international obligations, and officials would work with lawmakers to modify the bill if it advances further in Congress.

The United States said Wednesday it was "incoherent" for UNESCO to back the Palestinian Authority's bid to join the cultural body with the rights of a state and said it could fuel tension.

A process is underway at the U.N. Security Council to study the Palestinian request to be admitted as a member state, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

The U.S. military faces serious budget cuts and will be unable to make up any shortfalls in the NATO alliance as European members slash defense spending, Pentagon chief Leon Panetta warned Wednesday.

Fiscal pressures are bearing down on both sides of the Atlantic and NATO allies will need to work closely together to pool funds, instead of counting on America's much larger defense spending to close the gap, Panetta said.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday said that it would be "very difficult" over the next two years for Al-Qaeda to stage a spectacular terror attack on the scale of the September 11 strikes in 2001.

Obama said that given America's open society, it would always be vulnerable, but argued that as a result of a stepped-up U.S. campaign which had "decimated" Al-Qaeda's leadership, the country was safer.

The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday moved to block the sale of telecommunications equipment to Syria, the latest in a series of sanctions aimed at isolating Bashar al-Assad's regime.

According to a Treasury document signed on Monday, U.S. firms will now be barred from selling the Syrian government, or anyone in the country, telecoms equipment or technology, "including satellite or terrestrial network connectivity."

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday urged Israel and the Palestinians to take "bold action" to end the Middle East conflict while also scolding U.S. lawmakers for blocking aid to the Palestinians.

"There is a need and an opportunity for bold action on both sides to move towards a negotiated two-state solution," Panetta told a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Ehud Barak.