VoteKansas.org

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lead U.S. and North Korean nuclear negotiators are expected to meet in Beijing next week, a diplomatic source said on Thursday, in a sign Pyongyang may be closer to making a declaration of its atomic programs.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Heavy rains and flooding have killed five people and forced about 13,000 from their homes in south-central Chile, some evacuated after rivers swelled and burst their banks, the government said on Thursday.

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta agreed on Friday to admit foreign aid workers of all nationalities to the delta area worst hit by Cyclone Nargis, in what the U.N. called a breakthrough for aiding survivors.

PALO ALTO, California (Reuters) - The United States will aggressively impose more sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to give up sensitive nuclear work and uses the world's financial system for "terrorism," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

BOROBUDUR, Indonesia (Reuters) - The Buddhist temple of Borobudur, set among volcanoes on Indonesia's Java island, stands as a testament to the Buddhist roots of the world's most populous Muslim country.

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's security chief accused rightwingers linked to the former apartheid government on Friday of fanning anti-foreigner violence that has spread to Cape Town, the second largest city and tourist centre.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The lead U.S. and North Korean nuclear negotiators are expected to meet in Beijing next week, a diplomatic source said on Thursday, in a sign Pyongyang may be closer to making a declaration of its atomic programs.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert did not propose a U.S. naval blockade of Iran during talks with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat's office said on Thursday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday welcomed a Lebanese peace deal brokered by Qatar, an agreement that may have averted a new civil war in the Middle East.

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Four people were killed and close to 5,000 forced out of their homes amid heavy rain and flooding in central and southern Chile, and the evacuation figure could rise further, the government said on Thursday.

PALO ALTO (Reuters) - The United States will aggressively impose more sanctions on Iran as long as it refuses to give up sensitive nuclear work and uses the world's financial system for "terrorism," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday.

GAZA (Reuters) - A suicide truck bomb at one Israeli checkpoint and violence at a rally by Hamas at another on Thursday highlighted frustrations in the Palestinian enclave at slow progress in efforts to secure a ceasefire with Israel.

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Police said on Thursday they had jailed 19 people suspected of burning to death 11 elderly Kenyan men and women accused of being witches in a case that has horrified the east African nation.

PARIS (Reuters) - French unions staged nationwide protests on Thursday against pension reform plans, while fishermen blocked ports in a battle over fuel costs.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The Afghan army could by early next year be leading the vast majority of military operations against enemy insurgents in the country, the U.S. soldier in charge of training them said on Thursday.

ROME/PARIS (Reuters) - High food prices are here to stay for the foreseeable future, potentially forcing millions more people into hunger, two reports from the United Nations and the OECD showed on Thursday.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Thursday he would return home on Saturday ahead of an election run-off against President Robert Mugabe.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Swedish police said on Thursday they had released two men who had been held on suspicion of planning to sabotage a nuclear power station.

DOHA (Reuters) - Rival Lebanese leaders signed a deal on Wednesday to end 18 months of political conflict that had threatened to push the country to a new civil war.

BAIJI, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi police said on Thursday a U.S. helicopter airstrike killed eight civilians, including two children, but U.S. forces said the six adults killed were militants suspected of links to a bombing network.