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BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia foiled a plot by leftist rebels to break hundreds of their captured fighters out of jail, days after Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other high-profile hostages were rescued from the guerrillas by state security forces, the government said on Thursday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The United Nations and the European Union sent experts on Thursday to the Philippines to assess the capsize of a ferry last month with large quantities of a highly toxic chemical on board, a U.N. spokeswoman said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican John McCain raised $22 million for his White House bid in June, his best month of fundraising, and his campaign voiced confidence on Thursday he could compete financially with record-setting Democratic rival Barack Obama.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. policy-makers said on Thursday they were doing everything possible to restore calm to financial markets but told lawmakers a longer-term regulatory overhaul was vital to prevent crises in the future.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Berlin's mayor said on Thursday he would be pleased if U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke at the Brandenburg Gate and sharply criticized Chancellor Angela Merkel for opposing such an appearance.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill to save hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure cleared a procedural hurdle in the U.S. Senate on Thursday and moved a step closer to being sent to the House of Representatives for needed agreement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission told Congress on Thursday there is no evidence that market traders are working together to push up crude oil prices or that oil supplies are being hoarded.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's top economic aide said on Thursday that the difficulties facing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reflected the softness in the U.S. economy.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's government and Darfur's rebel groups are all using child soldiers in violation of international law, the U.N. rights rapporteur in Sudan Sima Samar said on Thursday.

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech Republic protested to Russia on Thursday over what it called threats following the signing of a pact this week to host part of a U.S. missile defense shield.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Thursday said it blacklisted Syria's largest mobile phone operator and a chain of duty free shops because they are owned by a Syrian businessman previously targeted by the United States.

VIENNA (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it would seek to push a nuclear trade deal with India past international and domestic hurdles with time running out before a deadline set by U.S. elections in November.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hopes to watch some of the competition in the final days of Beijing's Olympic Games before attending the closing ceremony next month, her spokesman said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House remains focused on passing legislation on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that will give confidence to the financial markets, a White House spokesman said on Thursday, amid ongoing concerns about the mortgage finance heavyweights' capital levels.

MOSCOW/TBLISI (Reuters) - Georgia recalled its ambassador from Moscow on Thursday after Russia said it had sent its fighter jets into its neighbor's airspace to prevent Georgian troops attacking a separatist region.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's president will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday, with a confidence vote expected to be the main topic after the government's allies on the left withdrew support to protest against a nuclear deal with the United States.

BELLEVILLE, Michigan (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Thursday a government bailout of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was not necessary now.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police on Thursday detained the suspected driver of the car used in an attack on the U.S. consulate in Istanbul this week, in which 6 people were killed, media reports said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Thursday that regulators need emergency authority to step in to limit temporary disruptions to financial markets, a source familiar with his testimony said.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Thursday denied that substantive negotiations had begun with the ruling ZANU-PF party of President Robert Mugabe.