WORLD briefs

PHUKET, Thailand.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sketched out on Wednesday how the United States might cope with a nuclear Iran -- by arming its allies in the Gulf and extending a "defense umbrella" over the region.

Her comments drew an immediate rebuke from a senior Israeli official, who said the United States should focus on preventing Iran from going nuclear rather than talking as if this may be a fait accompli.

TOKYO. Millions of Asians turned their eyes skyward Wednesday as dawn suddenly turned to darkness across the continent in the longest total solar eclipse this century will see. Millions of others, fearing a bad omen, shuttered themselves indoors.

Chinese launched fireworks and danced in Shanghai. On a remote Japanese island, bewildered cattle went to their feeding troughs thinking night had fallen. And in India, a woman was crushed as thousands of viewers crowded the banks of the Ganges for a glimpse.

WASHINGTON. After more than a week of tirelessly pressuring Congress to move his top domestic priority, President Barack Obama may have to settle for a fallback strategy on overhauling health care.

Instead of votes in the House and Senate by August, the best Democrats may be able to hope for this summer is action by the full House by the end of the month and some sort of agreement on a bipartisan plan in the Senate before lawmakers head home for vacation.

JERUSALEM. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected on Wednesday any notion he would order Israel's barrier in the West Bank to be torn down in response to the absence of Palestinian attacks from the occupied territory.

ISLAMABAD. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday renewed calls for the United States to provide his country with advanced military technology and weapons to help in the battle against Taliban militants in the northwest.

During discussions with visiting U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke, Gilani said the United States should share "real-time, credible and actionable intelligence" with the country of Pakistan.