AP - John McCain's stance on the war is unambiguous: He voted for it, supports the current enhanced U.S. troop presence in Iraq and vigorously opposes any timetable to withdraw.

AP - Zimbabwe's opposition leader briefly emerged from his refuge at the Dutch Embassy Wednesday and called for African leaders to guide talks to end Zimbabwe's crisis, saying a presidential runoff this week was no solution.

AP - An angry employee opened fire at a western Kentucky plastics plant after an argument early Wednesday, shooting a supervisor and four others before committing suicide, police and a company official said.

AP - The Supreme Court on Wednesday outlawed executions of people convicted of raping a child.

AP - The Federal Reserve, navigating treacherous economic waters, decided on Wednesday to leave a key interest rate unchanged, bringing an end to a string of consecutive rate cuts.

AFP - US President George W. Bush and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will meet Wednesday for talks on efforts to forge a deal on a US military presence in the war-battered country after 2008, the White House said.

AFP - Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe said he is open to negotiations after this week's runoff presidential election, state media reported Wednesday.

Reuters - A roadside bomb killed three U.S. soldiers and an interpreter in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Pakistan's Supreme Court postponed on Wednesday a by-election in a constituency where former prime minister Nawaz Sharif had hoped to stand, pending a ruling on a decision by a lower court to bar him from the poll.

Reuters - South Korea will allow the resumption of U.S. beef imports starting Thursday, the farm ministry said, implementing an unpopular deal that sparked street protests and caused a crisis for the government.

Reuters - U.S.-led coalition and Afghan forces killed up to 35 Taliban insurgents after the militants attacked two towns in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistan border overnight, a police chief said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert averted a split in Israel's restive coalition on Wednesday by striking a deal with his biggest partner, the Labour party, that stopped it backing a bill to dissolve parliament.

Reuters - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev played down differences with his predecessor Vladimir Putin in an interview with Reuters but the contrast in style and tone between the two men was striking.