AFP - Sudan's ex-foes have agreed on a police force and command for the contested oil district of Abyei, where fighting in May posed the biggest test for a fledgling peace, a UN official said Wednesday.

AP - Iran test-fired nine long- and medium-range missiles Wednesday during war games that officials said aimed to show the country can retaliate against any U.S. or Israeli attack, state television reported.

AFP - French supermarket giant Carrefour on Wednesday said its three months to June sales rose 6.0 percent to 23.72 billion euros (37.2 billion dollars).

AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev came to his grandest global meeting yet with a mixed mandate: Start mending ties with the West, but stand fast on policies set by his predecessor and patron, Vladimir Putin.

AP - Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt says she's been in a "bubble of happiness" since being rescued from more than six years of captivity in the Colombian jungle.

AP - Hundreds of women in black abayas crowd outdoor food markets, snapping up groceries and fresh vegetables. Stores are open again. Children play soccer on dirt fields until dusk — or later, when there's electricity.

AP - Suspected al-Qaida militants armed with pistols and shotguns attacked a police guard post outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul on Wednesday, sparking a gunbattle that left three attackers and three officers dead.

AFP - Australians protesting against Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Sydney took a creative turn on Wednesday, staging an "annoying" fashion show of T-shirts displaying anti-Catholic slogans.

AP - Charging bulls plowed into or trampled piles of fallen thrillseekers Wednesday, injuring at least two people at the running of the bulls, including an American who was gored in the abdomen.

AP - Heavy fighting erupted Wednesday between government supporters and Hezbollah's allies in northern Lebanon, killing at least three people and shattering a fragile truce that lasted just two weeks, security officials said.