AFP - Cricket's world governing body charged three Pakistan stars with anti-corruption offences and provisionally suspended them, as the trio protested their innocence in an alleged betting scam.

AFP - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have cleared the first hurdle in what promises to be difficult negotiations, vowing to try to settle core differences within a year and meet every two weeks.

AP - The Justice Department sued the nation's self-proclaimed "toughest sheriff" on Thursday, calling Joe Arpaio's defiance of an investigation into his office's alleged discrimination against Hispanics "unprecedented."

AP - Bethany Storro had just bought a pair of sunglasses and was celebrating a new job when a woman walked up to her with a cup and said: "Hey pretty girl, do you want to drink this?"

AFP - South Korea's second largest carmaker Kia Motors said Friday it is recalling about 35,000 vehicles sold in the United States due to faulty wiring in interior lights that could cause fires.

AP - Actor Paul Hogan, star of the "Crocodile Dundee" movie trilogy, has been cleared to return home to the United States after he was barred last month from leaving Australia because of a disputed tax bill, his lawyer said Friday.

AFP - Malaysia has formed a task force to scour the Internet for blog postings deemed harmful to national unity, authorities said on Friday in the latest of a series of actions against new media.

AP - Searchers in the rugged North Cascades of Washington state have found a climbing backpack and a daypack belonging to the son of Hall of Fame boxing promoter Bob Arum, but are still looking for the missing climber.

AP - When all was right in the world of Tiger Woods, players wanted to be on the same side of the draw because they figured the world's No. 1 player was getting all the breaks.

AP - Paris Hilton may owe investors in her 2006 movie "Pledge This!" about $160,000 for failing to do enough promotion.

AP - The death toll from Typhoon Kompasu, which battered the Korean peninsula with strong winds and heavy rains, rose to five in South Korea, an official said Friday.

Reuters - The common diabetes drug metformin may hold promise as a way to keep smokers from developing lung cancer, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.