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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she is pushing for about $50 billion in a second election-year economic stimulus package being shaped by Democrats in Congress.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police dismissed a report on Thursday that it may have compromised investigations into the death of a Polish immigrant during a stun gun incident at Vancouver's airport.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new U.S. military command for Africa is unlikely to foster the security required to bring badly needed development to the impoverished continent, according to a study released on Thursday.

DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Iran's foreign minister said on Thursday U.S. participation in nuclear talks was "positive", but France said big powers still wanted Tehran to make specific proposals to resolve a dispute over Iran's nuclear work.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Impeachment is out for President George W. Bush, but a top U.S. lawmaker said on Thursday he wants to take a look at his "imperial presidency."

DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's president said on Thursday George W. Bush told African leaders at one stage the United States might send troops to Sudan's Darfur if they did not act to halt what he saw as genocide there.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to host peace talks in Washington with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on July 30, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Thursday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court's top prosecutor said on Thursday he would not drop his call for the arrest on genocide charges of Sudan's president, but the United Nations said the court must weigh the impact of its work.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives failed to approve legislation on Thursday that would have pushed oil companies to drill on federal leases they already hold while requiring the government to more often lease tracts in an Alaskan oil reserve.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has chosen John Simon, executive vice president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, as the new U.S. representative to the African Union, the White House said on Thursday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis want the U.S. military presence to end. But when that occurs -- and whether a timetable should be set for troops to leave -- is something ordinary Iraqis, security officials and politicians cannot agree on.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Despite Russian objections, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report made public on Thursday he was pushing ahead with a plan to hand over policing functions in Kosovo to the European Union.

GRAND HAVEN, Michigan (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Thursday he believes Democrat Barack Obama's upcoming trip to Europe is tantamount to holding political rallies abroad.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will deliver remarks on financial markets and the economy on Tuesday in New York, the Treasury said on Thursday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Record growth in the world's poorest countries has failed to prevent an increase in their total numbers of poor people, the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organisation (WHO) has for the first time since 2003 redeployed expatriate staff to Iraq, the United Nations agency said on Thursday.

PETROZAVODSK, Russia (Reuters) - Modern communications technology should become a gateway to democracy in Russia, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday, ordering his ministers to improve online public access to the government.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The top U.S. and EU trade officials expressed cautious optimism on Thursday about next week's make-or-break talks to secure an outline trade deal.

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States will announce in the next month that it plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years, a British newspaper said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top trade negotiator of the United States said on Thursday she was "cautiously optimistic" about the chances of a breakthrough next week in key talks on the World Trade Organisation's Doha round.