Reuters - Angry residents wailed and protested as rescuers in northern China kept hunting on Wednesday for dozens of victims feared trapped by a deluge of mud after a mine waste reservoir collapsed.

Reuters - After hours of wrangling, OPEC on Wednesday agreed to revise its complex output targets and said the move would effectively cut supplies by half a million barrels per day (bpd).

Reuters - The parties in Thailand's ruling coalition met behind closed doors on Wednesday to agree a replacement prime minister for Samak Sundaravej, who was removed by the courts for hosting TV cooking shows while in office.

Reuters - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is not ill, a top official in the secretive state was quoted as saying on Wednesday, dismissing speculation of a possible power shift in the world's first communist dynasty.

Reuters - Afghanistan welcomed on Wednesday a U.S. decision to send more troops but reiterated that the strengthening of Afghan security forces was the long-term answer to defeat militants.

Reuters - Hurricane Ike swirled over the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, targeting Texas near the U.S. offshore oil patch after toppling decrepit buildings in Cuba's capital and ripping the communist-run island from end to end.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers is set to announce key initiatives on Wednesday that could include plans to sell a package of British real estate assets to BlackRock Inc to raise much-needed capital to survive the global credit crisis.

AP - Lance Armstrong is ready to swear off the chips and salsa, climb back on the bike and win an eighth Tour de France. Three years after retiring, the 36-year-old says he'll return to competition and the Tour de France in 2009, giving up relaxed days of a few beers and Tex-Mex food for a self-described monk's life of disciplined training and punishing races.

AP - One clear fan of a new Paris Hilton documentary has a familiar name: Paris Hilton.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama reached for middle ground on education this week, opening a debate with John McCain over who would do more to put good teachers in classrooms and help parents find alternatives to bad schools.

AP - Some Texas residents who have special medical needs in the Corpus Christi area were being told to evacuate in advance of Hurricane Ike as it steams into the Gulf of Mexico.

AP - Top defense leaders are telling Congress the U.S. must be cautious as the Pentagon begins to cut troops in Iraq and focus more attention on the escalating fight in Afghanistan.

AP - OPEC oil ministers agreed Wednesday to trim overall output by more than 500,000 barrels a day in a compromise meant to avoid new turmoil in crude markets while seeking to bolster falling prices.