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BAGHDAD – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to reassure nervous Iraqis that the U.S. won't abandon them, even as she said the American troop withdrawal would stay on schedule despite a recent surge in violence.

On her first visit to Baghdad as chief U.S. diplomat, Clinton said Saturday that Washington remains committed to moving U.S. soldiers out of urban areas by June 30 and pulling out combat troops from the country by 2011.

"Our strategy in working with you may be in a new phase, but we pledge our full and continuing commitment to Iraq and the Iraqi people," she told a news conference after meeting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari.

"As we drawn down militarily we will deepen our civilian cooperation," Clinton said, standing beside Zebari in an auditorium at the Foreign Ministry.

The withdrawal will proceed in a "responsible and careful way," she said, and would not affect efforts to improve Iraq's security forces, or complete reconstruction and development projects.

Zebari welcomed Clinton's "very assuring message that the United States would continue to support the efforts of the Iraqi government and the enhancement of Iraqi security and stability." He said Iraqi authorities wanted to ensure there is "no vacuum" when U.S. troops leave.

Clinton made clear, however, that Iraqis and their security forces in particular need to overcome sectarian and other differences if they are to build a united, secure nation, she said.

Suicide bombings Thursday and Friday that primarily targeted Shiite worshippers killed more than 150 people, many of them Iranian pilgrims. The second attack, at a revered Baghdad tomb, was the single deadliest bombing in the country this year.

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday renewed his call for the government to stop backing private loans to college students and replace them with direct government loans to young people, a challenge to a decades-old program with strong congressional support.

Obama's plan to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan program could save $48 billion for taxpayers over the next decade, but critics warn it could turn the Education Department into a national bank. Lenders and some college officials oppose the proposal, which Obama backed as a U.S. senator and pushed during the presidential campaign.

"In a paradox of American life, at the very moment it's never been more important to have a quality higher education, the cost of that kind of education has never been higher. ... Yet, we have a student loan system where we're giving lenders billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies that could be used to make college more affordable for all Americans," Obama said at the White House.

He was joined by Stephanie Stevenson of Baltimore, Md., a University of Maryland student, and her mother, Yvonne Thomas.

Under that system, students at some colleges borrow directly from the government, while others get loans from banks, non-profits or state agencies who in turn receive subsidies from Washington.

The president's proposal would switch the federal student loan system entirely to direct lending from the government.

Obama acknowledged that the proposal was sure to find critics, given the financial stakes. He warned banks and lenders were "gearing up for battle. So am I."

Republicans are concerned about the costs and even some Democratic lawmakers oppose the switch.

Sen. Lamar Alexander, chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said ending a successful lending program and giving more power to Washington and Education Secretary Arne Duncan would not help students.

BEIJING – China's economy is showing signs of a nascent recovery, but even officials who want to boost public confidence warn a rebound faces risks from the global crisis and is not yet certain.

Imports of oil, iron ore and other raw materials rose in March, reflecting the impact of Beijing's multibillion-dollar stimulus spending on industry. Home and auto sales are up, suggesting consumers might be more willing to spend.

A rebound for China, the world's third-largest economy, could help other countries by boosting demand for their exports, though analysts say China alone cannot propel the global economy out of its worst slump since the 1930s.

"I think they've turned the corner," said economist David Cohen of Action Economics in Singapore. "There is a sense that we are getting back on track with growth."

But Cohen and others caution it is still early and China could face trouble if trade weakens more than expected or consumer spending, housing sales and other private-sector areas fail to achieve a sustained rebound.

"Things probably will get a little bit worse before they get better," said economist James McCormack of Fitch Ratings.

Observers hope for a clearer picture when the government releases first-quarter economic growth figures Thursday.

The economy showed "better than expected positive changes in the first quarter" because of stimulus spending and some areas "are in a process of gradual recovery," Premier Wen Jiabao said over the weekend. But he warned against complacency.

"As the (global) crisis has not touched its bottom, we can hardly say that the Chinese economy alone has got out of the crisis," Wen said, according to state media.

Forecasts of Chinese growth this year range from 8 percent — the official target — to as low as 5 percent. That would be a drop from 2007's stunning 13 percent growth but still the fastest for any major country at a time when the U.S. economy, the world's largest, is mired in recession.

The 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus aims to pump money into the economy mostly through higher spending on building highways and other public works. But its goal is to boost public confidence and encourage China's own thrifty consumers to spend more.

So far, the biggest impact has been to boost employment and revenues at state-owned construction companies and suppliers of cement and other building materials.

But some consumer areas are improving, possibly because of easier credit and other incentives. March auto sales rose to a monthly high of 1.1 million as buyers were lured by sales tax cuts and rebates. Home sales rose 23.1 percent in the first three months of the year from the same period of 2008, the government reported Monday.

Beijing wants such domestic consumption to reduce reliance on exports, which fell 17.1 percent in March from a year earlier.

The World Bank said last week China could start to recover this year, helping the rest of Asia to stabilize and possibly rebound. China is the top trading partner for many of its neighbors, which supply its factories with components and raw materials.

China is well-positioned to ride out the slump, economists say. Its state-owned banks avoided the turmoil that battered Western institutions. Government debt is low compared with other countries, giving Beijing room to borrow for its stimulus.

Eager to shore up public confidence and encourage consumers to spend, the government has been highlighting strong growth in bank lending as state companies borrow money for stimulus projects. Lending in March surged to a monthly high of 1.9 trillion yuan ($277 billion).

"We believe China's stimulus-led domestic recovery is well under way," said UBS economist Tao Wang in a report last week.

Wang said lending is growing so fast that Beijing's next move should be "taming credit growth" to reduce the risk of wasteful investment and bad debt that might imperil banks.

Also in March, iron ore imports rose 46.2 percent from the same month last year, while imports of coal were up 37.4 percent, according to customs data. Oil imports were down from a year earlier but up 33 percent compared with February.

But trade is still lackluster. The collapse in demand for Chinese exports wiped out at least 20 million jobs as factories closed. Communist leaders worry that more job losses could fuel unrest.

If global consumer demand fails to rebound until next year, "that would suggest there are more difficulties ahead for China and probably worse economic news to come," said Fitch's McCormack. "That suggests to us some of the numbers that are recovering now may have another leg down later in the year."

AUGUSTA, Ga. – There were so many ways this most thrilling of Masters could have ended.

What if Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had carried their duel into a playoff? Now that would have turned Augusta National upside down.

Or how about Kenny Perry, the ultimate grinder, winning his first major at an age when most players are prepping for the senior tour? Boy, that would have been something.

Instead, it was a burly man from Argentina who crafted an ending no one could have envisioned. Down at the 10th green, long after Woods and Mickelson had headed for exits and dragged many of the patrons with them, Angel Cabrera barely beat the setting sun with a gimme of a putt as Perry looked on helplessly.

OK, it wasn't Hollywood.

But Cabrera sure earned it.

When his swing got loose and produced two straight bogeys on the front side, he hung in there. When he faced a two-stroke deficit with two holes to play, he didn't give up. And, most impressively, when his first tee shot of the sudden-death playoff rolled to a stop behind a big tree on the first playoff hole, he never lost hope.

"I only had a spot like this big" — meaning tiny — "and only trees, so I've got to put it through there, that's it," Cabrera said, a translator relaying his words. "Easy as that."

Cabrera hooked his ball around one tree but struck another, and was fortunate to see it carom to the left and out into the fairway, a sand wedge away from the green. He knocked it up to 8 feet behind the hole, and made the putt to save a remarkable par. Perry messed up his approach and had to settle for par, too. The third member of the playoff, Chad Campbell, missed his 6-footer and the race was down to two.

Only one more hole was needed. Perry found mud on his ball in the middle of the 10th fairway, and his shot veered left of the green. Cabrera knocked his below the hole and — for perhaps the first time all day — he was finally the one in command. Perry's chip raced past the flag, and he missed the putt coming back.

Perry didn't even get a chance to finish. Cabrera's putt stopped next to the hole. He marked it, took a quick look to make sure there was nothing on it, and calmly delivered the winning stroke on his second career major.

At Oakmont two years ago, Cabrera stared down Woods and Jim Furyk to win the U.S. Open. Now he has joined the green jacket club and wiped out any perception that his first major title was a fluke.

"I was happy with my game and I had confidence," Cabrera said after a closing 71 left him at 12-under 276. "I was just trying to enjoy the moment."