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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Only days before Pope Benedict arrives in Sydney, a 25-year-old sexual abuse case involving a Sydney priest has been reopened by the Catholic church after an Australian cardinal denied he tried to cover-up the abuse.

BEIJING (Reuters) - International envoys at talks on disarming North Korea made headway on Friday on verifying the communist state's own account of its nuclear activities, but big differences remained, officials said.

THARPARKAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - When Pakistani laborer Mangal Ram's children cry from hunger all he has to offer them is empty promises.

GIENGEN AN DER BRENZ, Germany (Reuters) - Wafts of golden fluff whirl in the air as Irene Basan wedges a bundle of material onto a spike and gently turns it inside-out, right ear, left ear, then a snout, to reveal a Steiff teddy bear head.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Pakistan has reached a "broad understanding" with the United Nations on aspects of a proposed U.N. investigation into the killing of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto but details remain to be worked out, its foreign minister said on Thursday.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean billionaire and former center-right presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera would win an election if it were held now, leading pollster CEP said on Thursday, showing a potential shift toward the right.

VALLETTA (Reuters) - Three women, one pregnant, died and 183 migrants were rescued from small boats by Malta's armed forces on Thursday, the largest influx of migrants so far this year.

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Prime Minister Salam Fayyad called on Palestinians on Thursday to defy an Israeli army attempt to shut down a major commercial centre in Nablus.

ROME (Reuters) - Rastafarians caught in possession of marijuana in Italy may now have legal recourse, thanks to a high court ruling made public on Thursday.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran tested more missiles in the Gulf on Thursday, state media said, and the United States reminded Tehran that it was ready to defend its allies.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has foiled plans by five "terrorism" groups to target the Beijing Olympics, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday, citing a public security official.