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MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev plans to replace dozens of regional governors over the next few years in an attempt to increase his influence within officialdom, the Vedomosti newspaper reported on Thursday.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific nations on Thursday called for greater coordination in dealing with natural disasters, including deploying military resources, in a region prone to earthquakes, cyclones and tsunamis.

GLASGOW (Reuters) - Voters in Scotland went to the polls on Thursday for a parliamentary by-election that Gordon Brown's party is expected to win, but which could dramatically dent the prime minister's standing if it is lost.

KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan soldiers killed "dozens" of militants, including foreigners, in a clash on a highway in southern Zabul province on Thursday, the defence ministry said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, on his first visit to Washington as Israel's top military officer, said on Wednesday it was crucial to block what he called "Iranian aggression" in the Middle East.

SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama assured Israel and its U.S. Jewish supporters on Wednesday he was a friend who would not press for peace concessions that would compromise its security.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Ranks of Chinese paramilitary police swore to prevent terrorist attacks or "political incidents" disrupting the Beijing Olympics in a show of force at the Games' main stadium, a state newspaper reported on Thursday.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday Washington would continue to speak out in legal cases such as that of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, despite accusations of meddling.

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Radovan Karadzic will conduct his own defence at the Hague tribunal and is convinced he will be cleared of charges of genocide, relatives and associates of the war crimes suspect said on Wednesday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Hong Kong children have jailed for more than three years for the armed hold-up of a jewelry shop, a newspaper said on Thursday, with the court saying the stiff sentence was in the public interest.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate was on course for a Saturday vote to approve a major housing market rescue bill offering a lifeline to mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and bond market action on Thursday indicated investors were encouraged by the progress.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Marathon trade talks limped into another day on Friday but with little progress so far on the tortuous negotiations ministers said it would soon be time to decide whether a deal was at all possible.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday after talks with North Korea that she believed Pyongyang was under no "illusions" it had to agree to a strong mechanism to verify its nuclear activities.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro on Wednesday said Cuba does not have to explain or "ask forgiveness" about a report out of Russia this week that Russia might use its Cold War ally Cuba as a refueling base for nuclear-capable bombers.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign has bought $5 million worth of advertising time from NBC Universal to run TV spots during the Olympic Games, a source familiar with the deal said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama has a 6-point lead over Republican John McCain in the presidential race as a growing percentage of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.

HACHINOHE, Japan (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring more than 100 people, trapping hundreds in halted trains and affecting production at some high-tech factories.

BERLIN (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama urged Europe to stand by the United States in stabilizing Afghanistan in a speech to over 200,000 in Berlin that stressed the need for unity in the face of new threats.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will hold a special meeting on a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand that has sparked fears of a military clash, France and Vietnam said on Wednesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Presidential candidate Barack Obama travels to Berlin on Thursday to give the only public speech of a week-long foreign tour, an outdoor address on transatlantic ties that is likely to draw tens of thousands.