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BEIJING (Reuters) - Floods sweeping southern China seem to have fulfilled the final stanza of an Internet curse involving Beijing's Olympic mascots, but censors have been quick to remove postings that might fuel the superstition.

DADAAB, Kenya (Reuters) - Fighting in parts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East is increasing refugee numbers worldwide and undermining efforts by aid agencies to manage multiple disasters, a senior U.N. official said on Thursday.

PARIS (Reuters) - France has renewed contact with the leaders of Colombian guerrillas holding Franco-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt to try and secure her release after their main guerrilla contact was killed in March, presidency sources said on Thursday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The United States and its key Asian allies agreed on Thursday to push North Korea to take quick action to abandon its nuclear weapons programs, but they stopped short of thrashing out details to achieve their goal.

CINCINNATI (Reuters) - Homemaker Mary Mardis, 52, liked U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton but now she's not sure who she'll vote for in November. Maybe Barack Obama, who beat Clinton to win the Democratic nomination. Maybe Republican John McCain.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama said on Thursday he would reject public financing of his campaign against Republican John McCain, reversing an earlier stance and positioning himself to outspend McCain in the White House race.

ABUJA (Reuters) - The U.S. captain of an oil supply vessel operating off Nigeria was kidnapped by gunmen on Thursday, shortly after they attacked Royal Dutch Shell's main offshore oilfield, the Nigerian navy said.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's run-off presidential election on June 27 is very unlikely to be free and fair, African nations said, and the United States called for a tougher international response to worsening pre-poll violence.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Mexico asked the World Court on Thursday to take urgent steps to stop imminent U.S. executions of five Mexicans on death row who were denied their rights to consular assistance.

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Iran said on Thursday it was ready to negotiate over a new package of economic incentives put forward by major powers seeking to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear work.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - A powerful Hindu-nationalist political party in western India has called for Hindu suicide squads to counter Islamic terrorism, causing outrage and embarrassing the national opposition with which it is allied.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia warned on Thursday it might have to use force against Georgia if Russian peacekeepers were attacked again in its southern neighbor.

YANGON (Reuters) - Pro-junta thugs broke up a rally by supporters of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, detaining three people among a crowd chanting for her release on her 63rd birthday, a senior opposition member said.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi security forces launched a crackdown on Shi'ite militias in the southern city of Amara on Thursday, the latest drive in Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's campaign to impose order in Iraq.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan and NATO-led forces killed or wounded hundreds of Taliban on Thursday in an offensive to clear the militants from the outskirts of Kandahar city, the provincial governor said.

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Iran said on Thursday it was ready to negotiate over a new package of economic incentives put forward by major powers seeking to persuade Tehran to curb its nuclear work.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A Brussels-based journalists' rights group has welcomed criminal charges against three men in the killing of Russian reporter Anna Politkovskaya, but said those who ordered the murder must be held accountable.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has called on investors in the liberalizing power sector not to stuff their "stomachs" with quick profits and pledged harsh treatment for those not respecting national and social interests.

KABUL (Reuters) - Four U.S. helicopter engines worth more than $13 million have been stolen while they were being trucked from Afghanistan to a port in Pakistan to be shipped home, the U.S. military said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Lured by tax-free jobs and cheap living, foreign workers have long gravitated to wealthy Gulf Arab states to earn a better living, but rising costs are now forcing many to go home.