BRUSSELS (AP) — The EU has something important to say about its proposal to regulate olive oil on restaurant tables: Uh, never mind.

Read more here: EU performs abrupt U-turn on olive oil regulation

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes rose in April to the second highest level since the summer of 2008 while the median price for a new home hit a record high, further signs that housing is recovering.

Read more here: US new home sales up 2.3 percent in April

GENEVA (AP) — Cycling federation president Pat McQuaid says an independent panel will examine the allegations that the UCI was complicit in Lance Armstrong’s doping.

Read more here: McQuaid: Panel to study UCI-Armstrong 'collusion'

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average rates on fixed mortgage rose for the third straight week, hitting their highest levels since mid-March. Still, mortgage rates remained close to historic lows, a trend that should help sustain the housing recovery.

Read more here: US rate on 30-year mortgages rises to 3.59 pct.

(Reuters) – JPMorgan Chase said it has appointed Barry Sommers as chief executive of its consumer bank, which includes its wealth management unit. Visa Inc had earlier announced that JPMorgan’s current consumer banking head, Ryan McInerney, had been appointed as president of Visa. McInerney succeeds John Partridge, whose term as president of Visa ended on March 31. McInerney will receive an annual salary of $750,000, Visa said in a regulatory filing. (Reporting by Tanya Agrawal in Bangalore; Editing by Robin Paxton)

Read more here: JPMorgan appoints new consumer bank head

PARIS (Reuters) – France will do everything to protect its interests in Niger after an attack on a uranium plant run by nuclear reactor maker Areva near the northern town of Arlit earlier on Thursday, French President Francois Hollande said. “We will have the same will to co-operate (with Niger) to fight against terrorism and will also protect our interests,” he told reporters. “Everybody should know that we will let nothing pass and support Niger’s authorities to end the hostage taking and annihilate the group that carried out these attacks. …

Read more here: France's Hollande says will protect interests in Niger

PRISTINA (Reuters) – A close wartime ally of Kosovo's prime minister was among five people arrested by European Union police on Thursday on suspicion of war crimes during a 1998-99 insurgency against Serbian forces. The EU police and justice mission in Kosovo, EULEX, did not release the names of those arrested, but a lawyer for Sami Lushtaku, mayor of the town of Skenderaj, said his client was among them and would appear in court on Friday. …

Read more here: Ally of Kosovo PM among five arrested for war crimes

SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — The Socialists, who finished second in Bulgaria's election this month, were asked to form a new government Thursday, after the front-running party was unable to.

Read more here: Socialists try to form new govt in Bulgaria

President Obama will say he sees a day when the War on Terror comes to an end in a much anticipated speech at the National Defense University on Thursday. That day is not today. Control over drone strikes will move from the CIA to the military, The New York Times' Charlie Savage and Peter Baker report. The transition is expected to take six months, and Obama might not address it explicitly, because the CIA program is classified. …

Read more here: Obama's Forever War Doesn't End Today

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed in clashes with gunmen on Thursday, police and hospital sources said, as fears mount that Iraq might slide back into bloody sectarian strife. Ten years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Sunni, Shi’ite and ethnic Kurdish factions have yet to find a stable power-sharing deal and security is deteriorating. More than 300 people have been killed in violence over the past week. More than 700 died in April, according to the United Nations, the highest monthly toll in almost five years. …

Read more here: Gunmen kill seven Iraqi soldiers in worsening conflict