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TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan and China, political rivals for six decades, will launch direct weekend charter flights on Friday, potentially letting millions of tourists visit the island in a historic move heralding a further warming of relations.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - The severed heads of four men were found dumped on a Mexican street on Wednesday with a message accusing a drug gang kingpin of treachery, police said.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain arrived in Mexico on Wednesday to promote free trade after his visit to Colombia coincided with the daring rescue of 15 hostages from leftist rebels.

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Mongolian officials cleared away debris left by a night of deadly riots as parliament convened an extraordinary session on Thursday to decide how to move forward after violence over alleged election fraud.

PALM HILLS, Egypt (Reuters) - The four-wheel-drives outside the terracotta villas include a Lexus and a Porsche, and under the shade of the palms and the bright red poinciana trees men in liveried overalls are buffing them to a shine.

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - One minute, Omer Almagboul says, he and his fellow Sudanese flatmate were lazing at their student flat in England, recovering from a big night out. The next, their lives changed for ever.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will pledge $400 million in aid to Kosovo next week at a donors conference expected to raise more than $1 billion for the newly independent state, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Henry Morgentaler, the doctor who led the fight to legalize abortion in Canada two decades ago, said on Wednesday he was proud to be receiving his country's highest civilian award, an honor condemned by anti-abortion advocates and hailed by his supporters.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday his presidency would have a different tone from his predecessor and mentor Vladimir Putin's and hinted the Kremlin might consider easing its complete dominance over domestic politics.

CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain promoted free trade on Wednesday on a visit to Colombia he was using to subtly score political points against Democrat Barack Obama.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday rejected talks on a unity government, saying President Robert Mugabe must first stop violence and accept him as the rightful election winner.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush reiterated on Wednesday that his administration believed in a strong dollar, and said the currency would reflect the relative strength of the economy.

WASHINGTON/WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States and Poland have reached a tentative deal to base interceptors for a missile defense shield in Poland but the pact requires final approval from Warsaw, U.S. officials said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said he was prepared to compromise to resolve a row with Britain over a murdered Kremlin critic, but he expects Prime MInister Gordon Brown to do the same when the two men meet next week.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.S. envoy for Darfur expressed disappointment on Wednesday that the United Nations had not met a U.S. goal for reinforcing peacekeepers in the area, calling progress so far "absolutely unacceptable".

BOGOTA (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages held for years in jungle captivity were rescued on Wednesday from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops posing as aid workers.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt, three Americans and 11 other hostages were rescued from leftist guerrillas by Colombian troops on Wednesday after years in captivity, the government said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian construction worker rampaged in a bulldozer along one of west Jerusalem's busiest streets on Wednesday, killing three Israelis as he crushed cars and overturned a bus before being shot dead.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian construction worker rampaged in a bulldozer along one of west Jerusalem's busiest streets on Wednesday, killing three Israelis as he crushed cars and overturned a bus before being shot dead.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - A Palestinian construction worker rampaged in a bulldozer along one of west Jerusalem's busiest streets on Wednesday, killing three Israelis as he crushed cars and overturned a bus before being shot dead.