VoteKansas.org

TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday Iran's "enemies" would never succeed in stopping its nuclear activities, the official IRNA news agency reported.

PARIS (Reuters) - The leader of a breakaway traditionalist Catholic group has rejected a Vatican offer to rejoin Rome, accusing Pope Benedict of trying to silence dissenting voices.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bombs killed at least 40 people in Iraq on Thursday, including 20 at a tribal council meeting in Anbar province just days before the U.S. military transfers control of security for the vast western region to Iraqi forces.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Rival political activists clashed in Pakistan on Thursday as by-elections were held for five National Assembly seats and 25 provincial assembly seats and several people were wounded, police said.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese athletes have begun a spartan, chopstick-free Chinese food training program to help them acclimatize for this year's Beijing Olympics.

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired a makeshift rocket into southern Israel on Thursday, putting further strain on a week-old truce as Israel kept border crossings into the Hamas-ruled territory closed.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's envoy to the strike-torn Sudanese region of Darfur on Thursday accused western media and non-governmental groups of stirring up anti-Chinese feelings among opposition groups in the African country.

SIBUYAN ISLAND, Philippines (Reuters) - Relatives said goodbye to their missing kin at the site of a capsized ferry in the central Philippines on Thursday fearing they will not see them again; dead or alive.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabweans vote in a one-sided presidential run-off on Friday after President Robert Mugabe defied mounting world condemnation and calls to postpone an election which the opposition says is a farce.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Anti-graft authorities in a southern Chinese city are questioning mistresses of suspected corrupt officials and finding the information is paying off prettily, state media said on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Experts who advise presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama on East Asia say U.S. policy there hinges on resolution of the Iraq crisis, but disagree on how to go about that.

SHANGRI-LA, China (Reuters) - Excusing himself from the banquet table, Liao Chunlei stood up, wine glass in hand, and belted out a traditional folk song with colleagues as his face turned red with drink.

BUENAVENTURA, Colombia (Reuters) - Colombians who thought they had seen everything in the war on drugs were treated to something new this year: cocaine smuggling in a submarine.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday approved three candidates to fill spots on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, clearing the way for a vote by the full Senate.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday his top choice for running mate would be someone who would offer sound advice and "tell me where he or she thinks I'm wrong."

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday passed a bill authorizing funding for the World Bank and African Development Bank, congressional officials said.

WASHINGTON/GENEVA (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush believes the Iran nuclear issue can be solved diplomatically and that U.S. allies including Israel favor the same approach, the White House said on Wednesday.

GENEVA (Reuters) - HIV/AIDS infection rates are growing among intravenous drug users, prostitutes and gay men around the globe but they are often viewed as outcasts and refused treatment, according to a report issued on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House-backed spy bill to protect telecommunication companies from billions of dollars in possible privacy lawsuits passed a Senate test vote on Wednesday and headed toward final congressional approval.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Wednesday the international community must do more try to help resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis and to pressure President Robert Mugabe who is clinging to power.