VoteKansas.org

PARIS (Reuters) - France aims to create a smaller, more mobile and better equipped army, able to respond to threats ranging from terrorism to cyber attacks, under plans to be formally presented by President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned on Monday that rising U.S. government spending on health care risks triggering runaway budget deficits that could put economic stability in danger.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court might have to free its first suspect because abuses of procedure by prosecutors could make a fair trial impossible, the court said on Monday.

KUWAIT (Reuters) - U.S. ally Kuwait on Monday rejected Washington's accusation that a Kuwaiti charity was funding terrorist activities.

FLINT, Michigan (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he was encouraged by a reduction in violence in Iraq but underlined his support for a pullout of U.S. troops.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and South Korean negotiators were set to continue talks on Monday on a deal to resume U.S. beef exports, which has triggered furor among South Koreans, just hours after officials announced the weekend discussions had ended without a resolution.

KIEV (Reuters) - NATO's secretary general, visiting Ukraine to bolster thin public support for joining the Alliance, said on Monday that membership would in no way oblige the country to host foreign bases or send soldiers off to war.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's ruling AK Party submitted on Monday its defense in court against charges it is seeking to turn the predominantly Muslim but secular country into an Islamic state.

CAIRO (Reuters) - A boat carrying 150 African migrants en route to Europe sank off the Libyan coast and the Libyan authorities have recovered one survivor and 21 bodies, the Egyptian Interior Ministry said on Monday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's trade with Iran at a time world powers are trying to convince it to give up its nuclear ambitions is sending the wrong signal to Tehran, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations nuclear watchdog said on Monday.

AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq's security forces tightened their grip on the southern city of Amara on Monday and appealed to Shi'ite militias to hand over heavy weapons before a government deadline for launching a crackdown.

FLINT, Michigan (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Monday he plans to visit Iraq and Afghanistan before November's election and was encouraged by a recent reduction in violence in Iraq.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel sought on Monday to lower U.S. expectations for any deal with the Palestinians this year, brushing aside pressure over settlements and calling for decisions on Jerusalem's future to be deferred.

LONDON (Reuters) - Protests against surging fuel prices which have triggered fears of political instability and a global economic downturn expanded in Europe and Asia on Monday, and Colombian truckers said they would join the wave of strikes.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai's threat of a cross-border pursuit of militants is more of a tactic to build pressure on Pakistan than a signal of real intent, analysts said on Monday.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe threatened on Monday to arrest opposition leaders over election campaign violence for which his opponents blame ruling party supporters.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian police have launched a more extensive crackdown on "social corruption" such as women flouting Islamic dress codes, the Farhang-e Ashti newspaper reported on Monday.

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush won Britain's backing on Monday for tighter sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and secured a British pledge to send more troops to Afghanistan.

LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - European Union foreign ministers closed ranks on Monday to insist the EU reform treaty was still alive despite Ireland's "No" vote, but conceded they had no quick solutions to rescue it.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - An Australian taxi driver convicted of terrorism charges in 2006 but later set free after an appeal was ordered on Monday to face a fresh terrorism trial.