VoteKansas.org

ARBIL, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi politicians must not let a bitter feud over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk stand in the way of provincial elections expected to redraw the country's political map, the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad said on Wednesday.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia circulated its own draft U.N. resolution aimed at bringing peace to Georgia to the Security Council on Wednesday, a day after blocking a rival Western draft that demanded an immediate Russian withdrawal.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran described talks with a top U.N. inspector over its nuclear program -- which the West fears is a cover to build atomic bombs -- as "positive", the official IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most Americans think that the worst of the fuel price spike that pushed gasoline above $4 per gallon has passed, but they have little hope that the housing market will stage a swift recovery, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi negotiators completed a draft deal on Wednesday to give U.S. troops a legal basis to stay in Iraq after 2008, without setting out a timetable for their withdrawal, Iraq's top negotiator said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican Sen. Ted Stevens failed on Wednesday to have his corruption case moved to Alaska so he could have more time in his home state to campaign for re-election.

ON BOARD FLIGHT TO BEIJING (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged China on Wednesday to make more progress on human rights, saying the issue needed to be addressed not only during the Olympic Games.

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambian Vice President Rupiah Banda, a prominent businessman, has taken over as head of government after the death of President Levy Mwanawasa and will call early elections, officials said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With speculation over U.S. vice presidential picks at a boil, prediction markets on Wednesday judged Democrat Joseph Biden and Republicans Mitt Romney and Tim Pawlenty most likely to get the nod.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - The United States has seen initial signs that Russia is withdrawing some of its forces from Georgia but Moscow is not moving fast enough, the White House said on Wednesday.

MADRID (Reuters) - A Spanish jet heading for the Canary Islands crashed on takeoff and burst into flames at Madrid airport on Wednesday, killing 153 of the people on board, the government said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans remain deeply worried about a faltering economy and their own financial futures, but their outlook improved slightly this month, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora vowed on Wednesday to strengthen ties with Iraq, calling for it to be "reintegrated into the Arab world", as he became the second Arab leader to visit since Saddam Hussein's fall.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a sharp turnaround, Republican John McCain has opened a 5-point lead on Democrat Barack Obama in the U.S. presidential race and is seen as a stronger manager of the economy, according to a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe will officially open parliament on Tuesday despite opposition warnings that such a move would endanger crucial power-sharing talks.

WARSAW (Reuters) - The United States and Poland signed a deal on Wednesday to station parts of a U.S. missile defense shield on Polish soil, drawing a sharp response from Moscow.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Deadlock between Pakistan's coalition partners over the restoration of deposed judges has raised questions about the survival of the government that forced President Pervez Musharraf's resignation.

BOUIRA, Algeria (Reuters) - Two car bombs in Algeria killed 12 people and wounded 42 on Wednesday, the latest attacks in the bloodiest week of unrest in years and a blow to hopes the OPEC member state can soon end an Islamist insurgency.

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - Floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains left some 50,000 people homeless in India's remote northeast, officials said on Wednesday, warning of more rains in one of the country's most flood-prone regions.

TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) - A earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.5 jolted eastern Japan on Wednesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.