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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday Iran's missile tests proved a need for direct U.S. talks with Tehran while Republican John McCain emphasized sanctions and an anti-missile shield.

WARSAW (Reuters) - Poland's prime minister said on Wednesday his country could reach agreement with the United States in two weeks on a missile defence shield, but indicated he would not budge on tough conditions he has set for a deal.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has indicted two of its Arab citizens for links to al Qaeda and for planning attacks inside the Jewish state, the Shin Bet counter-intelligence agency said on Wednesday.

PARIS (Reuters) - Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner summoned the Chinese ambassador to France on Wednesday to ask him to explain his comments warning the French president not to meet the Dalai Lama.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Darfur militiamen ambushed and killed seven members of a joint U.N.-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeeping mission and wounded 22 others, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Barack Obama has spent days rejecting charges of flip-flopping on Iraq, but the presidential contender on Wednesday owned up to changing positions on another issue -- letting his daughters be interviewed on television.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Jews live longer and enjoy lower infant mortality and poverty rates in Israel than the country's Arab citizens, said a report published Wednesday by a watchdog partly funded by the European Union.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The next U.S. president should shift American trade policy away from an emphasis on bilateral free trade agreements to bigger accords with the world's leading economic powers, a new report from a centrist Democratic policy group said on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's government began on Wednesday the hard task of cobbling together votes to survive a no-confidence motion after the withdrawal of its communist allies in protest against a nuclear deal with the United States.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush won final congressional approval on Wednesday of a bill granting liability protection to telecommunication companies that took part in the warrantless domestic spying program he began after the Sept. 11 attacks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States continues to focus on Poland as a prospective site for part of its anti-missile defense shield but also has other options if a deal proves elusive, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

BERLIN (Reuters) - In their zeal to remove the Berlin Wall, German authorities were ruthlessly efficient in eliminating almost all traces of the hated symbol of the Cold War within months of its opening in 1989.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - After six years in captivity, newly freed French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt launched a psychological campaign this week urging leftist rebels to stop fighting and release remaining hostages.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama could take longer to implement environmental policies than Republican rival John McCain, but he will be greener in the long run, a renewable fund manager said.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran test-fired nine missiles on Wednesday and warned the United States and Israel it was ready to retaliate for any attack over its disputed nuclear projects.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates plans an "expedited recompetition" for $35 billion worth of new aerial refueling tankers to be overseen by the Pentagon's chief weapons buyer, according to two congressional aides and a third source briefed on the plan.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Taps have run dry in West Bank towns and Palestinians face acute water shortages as dry weather strains supplies already restricted by Israel, residents and the water authority said.

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia on Wednesday accused Russia of sending fighter jets into its airspace to undermine a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who is expected to signal firm support for the pro-Western state.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top U.S. Democratic senator said in a newspaper interview published Wednesday that he would consider supporting opening up new areas for offshore oil and gas drilling.

SOFIA (Reuters) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday received Bulgaria's top honor for helping to free Bulgarian nurses from a Libyan jail.