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TOKYO (Reuters) - A strong earthquake jolted northern Japan early on Thursday, injuring several people, burying three cars under a landslide and cutting off electric power to at least 10,000 homes, media reports and officials said.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Wednesday it would neither allow Islamist militants to plot attacks on its soil nor let foreign troops take military action on its territory.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel is an admirer of U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama -- even though she has not yet met him in person.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives passed a massive housing rescue bill on Wednesday while the White House dropped a threat to veto it, paving the way for measures aimed at shoring up the worst U.S. housing market since the Great Depression.

SDEROT, Israel (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday a nuclear Iran would pose a "grave threat" and that the world must stop Tehran from obtaining an atomic weapon.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will sign into law a housing rescue package, despite objections about a provision to provide grants to communities to buy and repair foreclosed homes, because the legislation was needed promptly to address the crisis, the White House said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush has an explanation for the housing market meltdown that has thrown the global economy into turmoil: Wall Street got drunk.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who met her North Korean counterpart for the first time, said the six nations involved in North Korea disarmament talks had a good meeting on Wednesday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - India welcomed on Wednesday an offer by the United States to limit its disputed farm subsidies as part of efforts to save a global trade deal but immediately came under pressure from Washington to make concessions itself.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. stock market would fare better in the first year after a victory by Republican presidential candidate John McCain than by his Democratic rival Barack Obama, according to a majority of economists at U.S. banks and research groups polled by Reuters.

GENEVA (Reuters) - Global trade talks began a third day on Wednesday after emerging economies such as Brazil and South Africa said a U.S. offer to cut its farm subsidies was not enough to justify reciprocal moves by them.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Southeast Asian nations on Wednesday to put more pressure on Myanmar's junta to improve human rights and adopt democratic reforms.

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Ministers from six nations involved in nuclear talks with North Korea, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, held a rare meeting on Wednesday that China said showed a "political will" to move the disarmament process forward.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police detained 20 people on Wednesday in connection with an investigation into an alleged plot to overthrow the government, state-run Anatolian news agency said.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will propose forcing U.S. diplomats to apply for visas to travel to the European Union from January 1, 2009 unless Washington moves towards granting citizens of all EU states visa-free entry.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government won a vote of confidence in parliament on Tuesday, ensuring the survival of the ruling coalition and a civilian nuclear deal with the United States.

LONDON (Reuters) - Five Britons who were jailed for life for plotting al Qaeda-inspired bomb attacks across Britain lost appeals against their convictions on Wednesday.

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition MDC and President Robert Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF will begin negotiations on a power-sharing deal in earnest on Thursday, officials said on Wednesday.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in a show of defiance, made his first visit to Darfur on Wednesday since the International Criminal Court prosecutor accused him of genocide and war crimes and sought his arrest.

ALMATY (Reuters) - The United States urged Kazakhstan on Wednesday to show clear signs of democratic progress before the end of this year ahead of its chairmanship of Europe's main human rights watchdog in 2010.