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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Minnesota governor and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura has ended speculation over his political future, announcing on Monday he will not run for the U.S. Senate in Minnesota this year.

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on Monday urged blacks to take more responsibility for improving their own lives, standing firm on a tough message that has been criticized by some African Americans.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Zhou Zhilian is one of thousands of entrepreneurs for whom the Olympic Games next month represent more a missed opportunity than a chance to cash in on the influx of visitors expected to pour into Beijing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday a "single-minded" focus on Iraq was distracting the United States from other threats, and he promised to end the war and shift resources to fighting al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China expressed "grave concern" on Tuesday after the International Criminal Court's prosecutor charged Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Finding a way to safely let U.S. patients buy cheaper medicines from other countries will pose a challenge for the next president and Congress, a health adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain told Reuters on Monday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday lifted a White House ban on offshore drilling to try to drive down soaring energy prices, a largely symbolic bid unlikely to have any short-term impact on high gasoline costs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Finding a way to safely let U.S. patients buy cheaper medicines from other countries will be a challenge, a health adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain told Reuters on Monday.

VIENNA (Reuters) - The International Atomic Energy Agency's governing board will meet on August 1 to consider India's draft plan for nuclear inspections submitted to help launch a U.S.-Indian nuclear cooperation deal, officials said on Monday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Presidential foes John McCain and Barack Obama clashed on Monday over the U.S. role in Iraq, with McCain questioning his rival's judgment as Obama pushed for a new strategy to boost troop levels in Afghanistan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government would withdraw 500,000 barrels of oil a day from an emergency reserve over six months to help lower retail gasoline prices under legislation being sought by a key Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military commander in Iraq said on Monday that security conditions would determine whether he makes recommendations for further troop withdrawals in the coming months.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Singapore next week for a meeting of Southeast Asian countries and will also visit Australia, New Zealand and Samoa, the State Department said on Monday.

CALABAR, Nigeria (Reuters) - A Nigerian court annulled the election of a state governor on Monday in the tenth such ruling since nationwide polls more than a year ago that were deemed not credible by international observers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush on Monday lifted a White House ban on offshore drilling to try to drive down soaring energy prices, a largely symbolic bid unlikely to have any short-term impact on high gasoline costs.

HADARIM PRISON, Israel (Reuters) - Israel prepared on Monday for a prisoner swap with Hezbollah by moving four Lebanese guerrillas in its custody to a holding facility ahead of Wednesday's U.N.-mediated exchange.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has approved a plan to hand control of hundreds of state-owned assets to a single Kremlin corporation despite resistance from inside his government.

PHOENIX (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Monday he backed U.S. actions aimed at saving mortgage finance giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae from financial collapse.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday said he does not expect housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will need to draw on additional liquidity or capital from the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Thabo Mbeki and the African Union's top diplomat will meet on Friday to discuss the political crisis in Zimbabwe, an Mbeki spokesman said on Monday.