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BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States asked Iraq for permission to keep troops there to 2015 but compromised with Iraqi negotiators on 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.

ROME (Reuters) - When it comes to political satire, Italians like theirs hot -- with buxom women in mini-skirts and low-cut tops dancing as cameras zoom in on their breasts and long legs.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Government forces killed at least 44 militants in clashes in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, and the stock exchange took drastic action to stop steady losses stemming from increased violence and political uncertainty.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran could hit back at Israel with missiles if the Jewish state attacked it and could also rely on allies in the region to strike, the commander of the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday.

BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Police were ordered to shoot rioters on sight in an eastern Indian state on Wednesday to tame rising violence between Hindus and Christians that has killed 11 people so far and left the Pope "profoundly saddened".

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Gustav stalled over Haiti on Wednesday, dumping torrential rains on the impoverished country, and forecasters warned it could regain hurricane strength once it moves out to sea.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - The hijackers of a Sudanese airliner surrendered to authorities in Libya on Wednesday after releasing all the passengers and crew, Libya's aviation authority said.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's threat to restart its plant that makes arms-grade plutonium is feasible, although the task would be a daunting one, analysts said on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States asked Iraq for permission to maintain a troop presence there to 2015, but U.S. and Iraqi negotiators agreed to limit their authorization to 2011, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The case of a missing four-year-old girl who police believe was murdered by her grandfather -- her mother's live-in lover -- captivated Israel on Wednesday.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe will form a new government soon but he says the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change does not want to join, state media reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge ruled against the Bush administration in its fight with Congress over a probe into the firings of U.S. attorneys by refusing on Tuesday to delay an order that current and former White House aides comply with congressional subpoenas.

DENVER (Reuters) - Bill Clinton once vowed to fight for voters "until the last dog dies." On Wednesday he shows how hard he will fight for Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama on the Clintons' last big day of the 2008 campaign.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A strong earthquake hit the Lake Baikal area of eastern Siberia on Wednesday, triggering panic, but there were no immediate signs of casualties or major damage, officials said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama on Tuesday condemned Russia's decision to recognize two rebel regions of Georgia as independent states and said Moscow should be further isolated from the international community.

DENVER (Reuters) - The "racist ramblings" of a man in Colorado posed no threat to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama but reminded many Americans of past attempts on the lives of their leaders.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's leading opposition figure, Anwar Ibrahim, cleared a major hurdle in his race to win power when an Islamist party endorsed him on Wednesday as leader of an anti-government alliance.

DENVER (Reuters) - The U.S. government should eliminate the hybrid structure of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and fully back them with taxpayer funds, New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention.

DENVER (Reuters) - Barack Obama was set to be nominated on Wednesday as the Democrats' presidential candidate, a historic first for a black American, and Bill and Hillary Clinton marked their last day in the Denver spotlight.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej ordered thousands of riot police to remove an anti-government crowd occupying his office compound by the end of Wednesday, but protest leaders vowed to stay.