BEIJING (Reuters) - Deadlocked talks on North Korea's nuclear program appeared to be grinding to a halt on Thursday, with reports that Pyongyang's envoy may be preparing to leave after four days of fruitless negotiations.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A senior Iraqi official said on Thursday the government was holding talks with some major insurgent groups that might be nearing a point where a number would join a fight to drive al Qaeda out of Iraq.

Reuters - Deadlocked talks on North Korea's nuclear program appeared to be grinding to a halt on Thursday, with reports that Pyongyang's envoy may be preparing to leave after four days of fruitless negotiations.

Reuters - A senior Iraqi official said on Thursday the government was holding talks with some major insurgent groups that might be nearing a point where a number would join a fight to drive al Qaeda out of Iraq.

AFP - North Korean nuclear disarmament talks dragged into a fourth day Thursday as Chinese authorities worked frantically to clear a surprise roadblock to the tortuous six-party negotiations.

AFP - Sponsors of a UN Security Council draft resolution to tighten sanctions on Iran agreed to meet Thursday to consider amendments after Tehran warned world powers it will defend its right to nuclear power.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks on North Korea's nuclear program ground to a halt in Beijing on Thursday, with the North Korean and Russian envoys both leaving for the airport after four days of negotiations went nowhere.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Ethiopian tanks guarding a Somali government base in the capital Mogadishu opened fire on Thursday in a clash with insurgents, a Reuters correspondent said.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan successfully tested on Thursday a nuclear-capable cruise missile with a range of 700 km (435 miles), the military said in a statement.

AP - Believing they have been given a clear mandate from voters, Democrats are trying to challenge President Bush on the Iraq war while struggling to find enough votes to do it.

AP - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues are still worried about inflation, even while hinting that an interest rate cut may be needed to help boost a weak economy.

Reuters - Talks on North Korea's nuclear program ground to a halt in Beijing on Thursday, with the North Korean and Russian envoys both leaving for the airport after four days of negotiations went nowhere.

Reuters - Ethiopian tanks guarding a Somali government base in the capital Mogadishu opened fire on Thursday in a clash with insurgents, a Reuters correspondent said.

Reuters - Pakistan successfully tested on Thursday a nuclear-capable cruise missile with a range of 700 km (435 miles), the military said in a statement.

AFP - North Korea's chief nuclear envoy flew out of Beijing bound for home Thursday after four days of deadlock in disarmament talks here, an official with the airline told AFP.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi warned on Thursday that his country could be thrown into chaos if U.S.-led coalition forces withdrew before his national troops were ready to handle security on their own. 'We need the coalition forces to stay in Iraq until our national troops are qualified enough to look after security,' Hashemi told a think tank seminar in Tokyo, where he is on a four-day official visit.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union president Germany voiced cautious optimism on Thursday that the bloc's transport ministers would back a major agreement with the United States seen as helping to open transatlantic air travel to more competition and driving down fares.

AP - Talks on halting North Korea's nuclear program broke down abruptly on Thursday with the country's chief nuclear envoy flying home after a dispute over money frozen in a Macau bank could not be resolved.

AP - The Dallas Mavericks left the Cleveland Cavaliers beaten — and LeBron James beat up.

Reuters - Amnesty International urged the United States on Thursday to abandon plans to try Guantanamo prisoners before military tribunals and asked other nations not to contribute any evidence for use at the trials.

Reuters - Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi warned on Thursday that his country could be thrown into chaos if U.S.-led coalition forces withdrew before his national troops were ready to handle security on their own. "We need the coalition forces to stay in Iraq until our national troops are qualified enough to look after security," Hashemi told a think tank seminar in Tokyo, where he is on a four-day official visit.

Reuters - European Union president Germany voiced cautious optimism on Thursday that the bloc's transport ministers would back a major agreement with the United States seen as helping to open transatlantic air travel to more competition and driving down fares.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces have captured a senior aide to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala in January, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks on North Korea's nuclear program ended abruptly with no progress on Thursday after four days of negotiations derailed by the issue of funds frozen in a Macau bank.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union unanimously backed a deal with the United States on Thursday to liberalize transatlantic air travel but delayed its start by five months at Britain's request, German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's navy started more than a week of war games in the Gulf on Thursday using small vessels carrying missile launchers and tactical submarines, state television reported.

AP - Believing they have been given a clear mandate from voters, Democrats are trying to challenge President Bush on the Iraq war while struggling to find enough votes to do it.

AP - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon held talks in Baghdad on Thursday with Iraq's prime minister just as his government disclosed that it had been in indirect talks with Sunni insurgent groups over the past three months to persuade them to lay down their arms.

AP - Six powers seeking new sanctions against Iran hoped to persuade all 15 nations on the U.N. Security Council to back the proposed punitive measures.

AP - Congress will press federal regulators on whether they were lax as high-risk mortgages proliferated during the housing boom and even contributed to the spike in delinquent payments and foreclosures.

Reuters - U.S. forces have captured a senior aide to anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr over the killing of five U.S. soldiers in the Iraqi holy city of Kerbala in January, the U.S. military said on Thursday.

Reuters - Talks on North Korea's nuclear program ended abruptly with no progress on Thursday after four days of negotiations derailed by the issue of funds frozen in a Macau bank.

Reuters - The European Union unanimously backed a deal with the United States on Thursday to liberalize transatlantic air travel but delayed its start by five months at Britain's request, German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said.

Reuters - Iran's navy started more than a week of war games in the Gulf on Thursday using small vessels carrying missile launchers and tactical submarines, state television reported.

AFP - North Korean nuclear disarmament talks were suspended on Thursday, the Chinese government said following four days of deadlock in negotiations.

AFP - Heavy fighting broke out Thursday in previously calm northern neighbourhoods of the Somali capital as Somali-Ethiopian forces exchanged mortar and machine gun fire with insurgents.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Sen. John Edwards, a Democratic candidate for president, will hold a noon news conference on Thursday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife Elizabeth, who has been treated for breast cancer.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union transport ministers unanimously backed a landmark agreement with the United States on Thursday that will throw open transatlantic air travel to more competition and drive down fares.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday after a suspected rocket exploded, sending shock waves through a building where he was giving a news conference.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congress should not bail out subprime lenders and brokers who made risky mortgage loans to borrowers with bad credit, but lawmakers can take several steps to protect consumers going forward, a representative of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors said on Thursday.

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The Somali government said on Thursday that al Qaeda had made a young militant Islamist commander its leader in Mogadishu as fighting raged for a second day in the coastal capital.

AP - A rocket landed near the prime minister's office Thursday during the first visit to Iraq by the head of the United Nations in nearly a year and a half, sending Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ducking unharmed behind a podium at a news conference.

AP - John Edwards disclosed that his wife, Elizabeth, had breast cancer the day after he lost the vice presidency in the 2004 election. Now his political future may hinge on her health.

AP - Talks on halting North Korea's nuclear program broke down abruptly on Thursday with the country's chief nuclear envoy flying home after a dispute over money frozen in a Macau bank could not be resolved.

AP - A federal judge on Thursday dealt another blow to government efforts to control Internet pornography, striking down a 1998 U.S. law that makes it a crime for commercial Web site operators to let children access 'harmful' material.

AP - A French court cleared a satirical weekly newspaper Thursday in a case brought by Muslims who were angered by its publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad.

AP - The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week for the third consecutive time, signaling that the labor market may be stabilizing after a worrisome jump in layoffs earlier in the year.

AP - St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was arrested Thursday on a drunken driving charge after police said they found him asleep inside his running sport utility vehicle at a stop light.

Reuters - Former Sen. John Edwards, a Democratic candidate for president, will hold a noon news conference on Thursday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with his wife Elizabeth, who has been treated for breast cancer.

Reuters - European Union transport ministers unanimously backed a landmark agreement with the United States on Thursday that will throw open transatlantic air travel to more competition and drive down fares.

Reuters - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday after a suspected rocket exploded, sending shock waves through a building where he was giving a news conference.

Reuters - Congress should not bail out subprime lenders and brokers who made risky mortgage loans to borrowers with bad credit, but lawmakers can take several steps to protect consumers going forward, a representative of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors said on Thursday.

Reuters - The Somali government said on Thursday that al Qaeda had made a young militant Islamist commander its leader in Mogadishu as fighting raged for a second day in the coastal capital.

AFP - EU transport ministers have given their backing for plans to expose the transatlantic aviation market to tougher competition under an "open skies" accord, EU officials said Thursday.

AFP - Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies exchanged heavy mortar and machinegun fire with insurgents on Thursday as terrified residents streamed out of the Somali capital fearing a wider war.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Reuters) - Democrat John Edwards will suspend his presidential campaign, and may drop out completely, because his wife Elizabeth has suffered a recurrence cancer that struck her in 2004, a Democratic Party source said on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A second U.S. congressional panel in as many days authorized subpoenas of White House aides on Thursday, with Democrats pushing to expand investigations into the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Subprime mortgage market problems are not spilling over to threaten the banking system, a senior U.S. regulator said on Thursday at a Senate hearing where lawmakers criticized officials over the subprime crisis.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday on his first visit to Baghdad after a Katyusha rocket landed just meters from a building where he was giving a news conference.

AP - A Senate panel, following the House's lead, has authorized subpoenas for White House political adviser Karl Rove and other top aides involved in the firing of federal prosecutors.

AP - NBC Universal and News Corp. joined forces with several Internet companies Thursday to distribute TV shows online in an effort to better control their programming and stave off competition from YouTube.

AP - The Atlanta Braves made a longterm commitment to Brian McCann, agreeing Thursday to a six-year contract with the All-Star catcher.

Reuters - Democrat John Edwards will suspend his presidential campaign, and may drop out completely, because his wife Elizabeth has suffered a recurrence cancer that struck her in 2004, a Democratic Party source said on Thursday.

Reuters - A second U.S. congressional panel in as many days authorized subpoenas of White House aides on Thursday, with Democrats pushing to expand investigations into the firing of eight federal prosecutors.

Reuters - Subprime mortgage market problems are not spilling over to threaten the banking system, a senior U.S. regulator said on Thursday at a Senate hearing where lawmakers criticized officials over the subprime crisis.

Reuters - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was left shaken but unhurt on Thursday on his first visit to Baghdad after a Katyusha rocket landed just meters from a building where he was giving a news conference.

AFP - Somali troops and their Ethiopian allies exchanged heavy mortar and machinegun fire with insurgents here Thursday as terrified residents streamed out of the Somali capital fearing a wider war.

CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Reuters) - Democrat John Edwards said on Thursday he will continue his campaign for the White House even though his wife Elizabeth has suffered an incurable recurrence of the cancer that struck her in 2004.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Government officials on Thursday minimized the broader economic impact of a crisis in the subprime mortgage market, but the largest U.S. mortgage lender said foreclosures in 2006 may be the worst yet.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Congress pressed on Thursday for a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, ignoring White House threats of a presidential veto on any bill that ties nearly $100 billion in combat funds to a 2008 pullout.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Major powers worked on amendments on Thursday to get votes from South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar on sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment that can be used in a nuclear weapon.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jurors at Conrad Black's trial were told on Thursday that a major investor in Black's giant media company blew the whistle on fees and perks Black and his lieutenants were collecting and that the Canadian-born millionaire was out of a job not long after that.

AP - John Edwards said Thursday that his wife is now battling an incurable reappearance of cancer but vowed to continue his second bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.

AP - President Bush on Thursday again challenged Congress to pass his war spending bill without conditions. Democrats, believing they have a clear mandate from voters, were searching for votes to adopt their own plan.

AP - Activist groups sued the parent company of Comedy Central on Thursday, claiming the cable network improperly asked the video-sharing site YouTube to remove a parody of the network's 'The Colbert Report.'

AP - The Houston Texans introduced quarterback Matt Schaub at a news conference Thursday, saying he will replace David Carr as the starter.

Reuters - Democrat John Edwards said on Thursday he will continue his campaign for the White House even though his wife Elizabeth has suffered an incurable recurrence of the cancer that struck her in 2004.

Reuters - Government officials on Thursday minimized the broader economic impact of a crisis in the subprime mortgage market, but the largest U.S. mortgage lender said foreclosures in 2006 may be the worst yet.

Reuters - Democrats in the U.S. Congress pressed on Thursday for a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, ignoring White House threats of a presidential veto on any bill that ties nearly $100 billion in combat funds to a 2008 pullout.

Reuters - Jurors at Conrad Black's trial were told on Thursday that a major investor in Black's giant media company blew the whistle on fees and perks Black and his lieutenants were collecting and that the Canadian-born millionaire was out of a job not long after that.

AFP - Somali troops backed by Ethiopian tanks Thursday exchanged heavy mortar and machine-gun fire with insurgents for a second straight day in Mogadishu, killing three civilians, as hundreds fled.

AFP - Top-tier Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards announced Thursday his wife had suffered a recurrence of cancer but said his 2008 White House campaign would go on.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. Congress pressed on Thursday for a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, ignoring White House threats of a presidential veto on any bill that ties nearly $100 billion in combat funds to a 2008 pullout.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Thursday he was dedicated to pursuing Middle East peace as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepared to visit the region amid skepticism about U.S. commitment to the peace process.

LONDON (Reuters) - British police arrested three men on Thursday in connection with the July 7, 2005, suicide bomb attacks that killed 52 commuters on London's transport system.

AP - A Senate committee approved a $122 billion measure Thursday financing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan but also calling on President Bush to pull combat troops out of Iraq by next spring.

AP - Democrat John Edwards is forging ahead with his second bid for the presidency despite the sobering news that his wife, Elizabeth, is battling an incurable reappearance of cancer.

AP - For all of his death-defying stunts, Harry Houdini couldn't escape the Grim Reaper: the unparalleled performer, age 52, expired on Halloween 1926. Many of his trade secrets went with him to the grave — but rumors that Houdini was murdered soon took on a life of their own.

AP - Dina Lohan says her daughter Lindsay isn't an alcoholic and that people are wrong to assume that she's a club-hopping 'party mom.' 'Oh, the party mom, the party mom, the party mom!' Lohan says. 'Whoever said that, my ex-husband or whatever, I'm not the party mom!'

AP - Wall Street finished mixed Thursday, nudging the Dow Jones industrials higher for the fourth straight session but moving cautiously as investors awaited new data to assess whether their hopes for an interest rate cut are justified.

AP - Kentucky's Tubby Smith will be the University of Minnesota's new basketball coach, a Minnesota school official said Thursday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because Minnesota had not yet announced the hire. The Gophers fired coach Dan Monson in November.

Reuters - Democrats in the U.S. Congress pressed on Thursday for a timetable for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, ignoring White House threats of a presidential veto on any bill that ties nearly $100 billion in combat funds to a 2008 pullout.

Reuters - President George W. Bush said on Thursday he was dedicated to pursuing Middle East peace as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepared to visit the region amid skepticism about U.S. commitment to the peace process.

Reuters - British police arrested three men on Thursday in connection with the July 7, 2005, suicide bomb attacks that killed 52 commuters on London's transport system.

Reuters - Major powers worked on amendments on Thursday to get votes from South Africa, Indonesia and Qatar on sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment that can be used in a nuclear weapon.

AFP - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday his wife Elizabeth had suffered an incurable recurrence of cancer, but the couple vowed not to halt his top-tier 2008 campaign.

PARIS (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would make new proposals to the United Nations Security Council before it votes on extending sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in testimony to a Lebanon war inquiry released on Thursday, said he would not have entered last year's war if the decision had rested with him.

AP - On the eve of a critical vote, House Democrats labored Thursday to lock down a majority behind a Sept. 1, 2008, date for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq, the sternest test yet for a determined new majority eager to challenge President Bush.

AP - Democrat John Edwards said Thursday that his presidential campaign 'goes on strongly' in the face of a repeat cancer diagnosis for his wife, Elizabeth, a somber development that thrust his White House bid into uncharted territory.

AP - Senators joined the House on Thursday in approving subpoenas to force President Bush's political adviser and other aides to testify about the firings of federal prosecutors, setting off new efforts to avoid a dragged-out court fight.

AP - For all his death-defying stunts, Harry Houdini couldn't escape the Grim Reaper: He died on Halloween 1926, apparently from a punch to the stomach that ruptured his appendix. But rumors that he was murdered have persisted for decades. Eighty-one years after Houdini's death, his great-nephew wants the escape artist's body exhumed to determine if enemies poisoned him for debunking their bogus claims of contact with the dead.

AP - A prolonged debate over whether to preserve a 175-ton staircase that still stands at the World Trade Center site is threatening construction schedules for new office towers, rebuilding officials said this week.

AP - An extremely rare species of tiny owl has been seen in the wild for the first time, the American Bird Conservancy said Thursday. The long-whiskered owlet, one of the world's smallest owls, was discovered in 1976. Researchers have caught a few specimens in nets after dark but had not seen it in nature.

AP - Blackstone Group LP, one of the world's biggest private equity firms, on Thursday said it seeks to raise up to $4 billion in a highly anticipated initial public offering. The New York-based firm, known for multibillion dollar takeovers such as February's buyout of Equity Office Properties, announced its intentions to go public in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he would make new proposals to the United Nations Security Council before it votes on extending sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

Reuters - Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, in testimony to a Lebanon war inquiry released on Thursday, said he would not have entered last year's war if the decision had rested with him.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Major powers negotiating U.N. sanctions against Iran intend to put their draft resolution to a vote on Saturday after rejecting nearly all amendments proposed by South Africa.

AP - In a new video posted Thursday on the Internet, an al-Qaida militant who escaped from a U.S. prison in Afghanistan urged Sunni militants in Iraq to join the terror group and claimed the U.S. military's security plan for Baghdad has failed.

AP - Pakistan's cricket coach Bob Woolmer was strangled to death in his hotel room after the team's shocking World Cup loss to Ireland, Jamaican police said Thursday.

AP - An arrest warrant was issued for rapper Foxy Brown on Thursday after she failed to appear in court on charges stemming from a scuffle in a beauty supply store.

AP - With Kentucky fans dogging him after another disappointing finish, Tubby Smith is bolting the bluegrass for Minnesota. Smith will be introduced as the 16th coach of the Golden Gophers at a noon press conference Friday, ending a 10-year tenure in Lexington that seemed to be nearing an end even before Minnesota contacted him.

Reuters - Major powers negotiating U.N. sanctions against Iran intend to put their draft resolution to a vote on Saturday after rejecting nearly all amendments proposed by South Africa.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Major powers made minor changes on Thursday on a draft U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on Iran and said they wanted the 15-nation Security Council to vote on Saturday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times abruptly quit on Thursday after the paper killed a special edition of its opinion section that had been edited by a Hollywood producer with ties to his girlfriend.

AP - Kansas' run through the NCAA tournament was slowed to a crawl by scrappy Southern Illinois. The Jayhawks got up just in time to move to the brink of the Final Four. Brandon Rush scored 12 points without missing a shot, and Kansas eked out a 61-58 victory over Southern Illinois in the West Regional semifinals Thursday night.

Reuters - Major powers made minor changes on Thursday on a draft U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on Iran and said they wanted the 15-nation Security Council to vote on Saturday.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear threat that collapsed over a delayed bank transfer may restart soon as negotiators seek to focus on a nascent disarmament deal, the chief U.S. envoy said on Friday.

AP - Dorie-Ann Kahale and her five daughters moved from a homeless shelter to a mansion Thursday, courtesy of a Japanese real estate mogul who is handing over eight of his multimillion-dollar homes to low-income Native Hawaiian families.

AP - Kobe Bryant became the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in three straight games Thursday night. Bryant said the most important thing was that it happened in another win.

Reuters - Talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear threat that collapsed over a delayed bank transfer may restart soon as negotiators seek to focus on a nascent disarmament deal, the chief U.S. envoy said on Friday.