AP - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader called on Muslims to launch a holy war to break Israel's economic blockade of the Gaza Strip, in an audio recording posted Wednesday on an Islamic militant Internet site.

AP - Corn on your table or in your tank?

AP - The military expects a confrontational hearing when the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and four alleged confederates are brought before a Marine colonel presiding over their war-crimes tribunal.

AP - Denmark shared with Pakistani investigators video footage of the suicide car bombing against its embassy Thursday, while an Internet posting purportedly by al-Qaida claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks.

AP - A strong aftershock struck China's quake-battered Sichuan province Thursday, as rising water levels in a lake caused by landslides in the massive May 12 temblor forced evacuations from downstream areas.

AP - U.S. Navy ships laden with relief supplies will steam away from Myanmar's coast Thursday, their helicopters barred by the ruling junta even though millions of cyclone survivors need food, shelter or medical care.

AFP - Zimbabwe authorities intensified a pre-election crackdown on Wednesday, detaining the opposition leader over accusations he had addressed a rally without authorisation and ordering charities to stop work.

AP - Almost seven years after terrorists hijacked airliners and used them as missiles to kill 2,973 people, five men who allegedly plotted the attacks face a military tribunal Thursday.

AP - Saudi Arabia's king urged a gathering of Muslim scholars Wednesday to open religious dialogue with Christians and Jews. But politics intruded as a senior Iranian figure said the Islamic world should stand up to the U.S. and its "international arrogance."

AFP - Dwain Chambers, who clocked 10.25sec on Wednesday night in his first 100m for nearly two years, could see the High Court appeal on his life-time Olympic ban heard before the end of next week.

AP - Authorities cordoned off some schools that collapsed in last month's mighty earthquake, keeping out grieving parents and reporters Wednesday in a sign that Beijing was becoming increasingly nervous over accusations of shoddy construction.

AP - A tractor-trailer loaded with Shiite militia rockets accidentally exploded Wednesday in a densely populated area of northeast Baghdad, killing 18 people and wounding 75, the U.S. military said. It was the deadliest explosion in Baghdad in more than two months.

AP - Police detained opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Wednesday after his convoy was stopped at a roadblock while campaigning ahead of the presidential runoff election set for later this month, his spokesman said.