AFP - Separatist fighters and Russian troops looted and set homes ablaze in Georgia on Wednesday amid mutual recriminations over breaches of a truce that ended five days of bitter conflict.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched a fresh verbal attack on Israel on Wednesday on the eve of a visit to Israel's close ally Turkey, saying Western countries should not support the Jewish state.

Reuters - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said on Wednesday he was still committed to power-sharing negotiations after three days of talks with President Robert Mugabe broke off without a deal.

Reuters - The United Nations pledged on Wednesday to hasten its cautious steps in helping Iraq rebuild, five years after a devastating bomb pushed it to pull foreign staff out of the country.

Reuters - The U.S. military was so eager to get the sluggish Guantanamo war crimes trials moving that the legal advisor to the Pentagon overseer adopted a "spray and pray" approach, a U.S. general testified on Wednesday.

Reuters - Americans scaled back their driving during June by almost 5 percent in response to soaring fuel costs, the government said on Wednesday -- a day after announcing the biggest six-month drop in U.S. petroleum demand in 26 years.

Reuters - The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party was wounded by gunfire at the party's state headquarters in Little Rock, local media and police sources said on Wednesday.

Reuters - China go into the sixth day of the Olympics on Thursday ahead of sporting arch-rivals the United States in the medals table despite Michael Phelps's exploits.

Reuters - Georgia accused Russia of breaking a ceasefire in their six-day-old conflict on Wednesday and President George W. Bush demanded Moscow act to resolve a crisis that has strained relations with the United States.

AP - A woman who grew to be 7 feet, 7 inches tall and was recognized as the world's tallest female died early Wednesday, a friend said. She was 53.

AP - Lee Jong-wook hit a sacrifice fly with one out and South Korea answered the Americans' ninth-inning rally with one of its own, beating the United States 8-7 on Wednesday night in a thrilling Olympic baseball opener.

AP - A bomb ripped through a bus during Wednesday morning rush hour in a northern Lebanese city, killing 18 soldiers and civilians, security officials said, raising fears that an al-Qaida-inspired militant group is stepping up revenge attacks against the military.

AP - Retail sales fell in July, the weakest performance in five months, as shoppers shunned autos and other big ticket items.