World/Nation

• U.S. goes after China military in cyberspying case

WASHINGTON - Accusing China of vast business spying, the United States charged five military officials on Monday with hacking into U.S. companies to steal vital trade secrets in a case intensifying already-rising tensions between the international economic giants.

The Chinese targeted big-name American makers of nuclear and solar technology, stealing confidential business information, sensitive trade secrets and internal communications for competitive advantage, according to a grand jury indictment that the Justice Department said should be a national "wake-up call" about cyber intrusions.

A company's success in the international marketplace should not be based "on a sponsor government's ability to spy and steal business secrets," Attorney General Eric Holder declared at a news conference.

• Thailand's army declares martial law

BANGKOK - Thailand's army declared martial law before dawn Tuesday in a surprise announcement it said was aimed at keeping the country stable after six months of sometimes violent political unrest. The military, however, denied a coup d'etat was underway.

The move effectively places the army in charge of public security nationwide. It comes one day after the Southeast Asian country's caretaker prime minister refused to step down and follows six months of anti-government demonstrations that have failed to oust the government.

Armed troops entered multiple private television stations in Bangkok to broadcast their message and surrounded the national police headquarters in the city center. But the vast skyscraper-strewn metropolis of 10 million people appeared calm, and commuters could be seen driving and walking to work as usual.

On a major road in front of Central World, one of the country's most luxurious shopping malls, bystanders gawked at soldiers in jeeps mounted with a machine-guns diverted traffic. The mood wasn't tense; passers-by stopped to take cell phone photos of the soldiers.

• Putin orders troops to return to home bases

MOSCOW - In what could be an attempt to ease tensions with the West and avoid more sanctions, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops deployed near Ukraine to return to their home bases Monday.

Putin also praised the launch of a dialogue between Ukraine's government and its opponents even as fighting continued in parts of the country ahead of Sunday's presidential election.

The seemingly conciliatory approach suggested that Putin may believe he has achieved his key goal of maintaining Russian influence over eastern Ukraine without having to send in troops.

Russia still wants guarantees that Ukraine will not join NATO and will conduct constitutional reforms to give broader powers to its regions, something that would allow Moscow to maintain its clout in the Russian-speaking east that forms the industrial heartland.

• Obama group scales back fundraising

WASHINGTON - Organizing for Action, the advocacy group supporting President Barack Obama's agenda, is scaling back its fundraising efforts and cutting its paid staff in half as focus shifts to the approaching midterm elections, three Democratic officials said.

Formed last year from the remnants of Obama's vaunted re-election campaign, OFA raised more than $30 million in its first 15 months as it worked to build support for Obama priorities like health care, immigration and climate change. But the group's aggressive courting of big-dollar donors has troubled many Democrats who worry that OFA is siphoning sorely needed dollars from Democratic campaigns just as the party is bracing for a difficult election.

• First spread of Middle East virus not alarming

NEW YORK - A respiratory virus that has sickened hundreds in the Middle East has spread for the first time from one person to another in the United States. The case has raised questions about how much contact is needed to transmit the germ.

Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, has mostly spread before to health care workers or family members caring for a sick patient. The two men in the U.S. were together only in two business meetings.

But health officials say they don't find it alarming and that the risk of MERS to the general public remains low.

• Credit Suisse bank pleads guilty

WASHINGTON - European bank Credit Suisse AG pleaded guilty Monday to helping wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes through secret offshore accounts and agreed to pay about $2.6 billion.

The Justice Department said it was the largest penalty imposed in any criminal tax case. It is also the largest bank to plead guilty in more than 20 years.

The settlement resolves a yearslong criminal investigation into allegations that Credit Suisse, Switzerland's second-largest bank, recruited U.S. clients to open Swiss accounts, helped them conceal the accounts from the Internal Revenue Service and enabled misconduct by bank employees. The case is part of an Obama administration crackdown on foreign banks believed to be helping U.S. taxpayers hide assets.

- Associated Press