AP - Nearly every day for the past two years, two mothers have sat at their sons' bedsides and repeated almost the same words. "It's time to go home," they tell the young men. "Don't you want to leave the hospital?"

AP - Experts say Russia's threat of a military response if the U.S. and Czech Republic ratify a missile defense system is mostly bluster. But for Czechs, the timing couldn't be more jarring.

AP - Twelve-year-old Alexia Belen Moreno was afraid living in her father's house in Ciudad Juarez, where drug cartels are fighting a bloody war. She begged to move in with her mother just across the border in El Paso, Texas. Her parents agreed — but asked her to stay a few more weeks to finish school.

AP - A Turkish government official says there are signs that the gunmen who attacked the U.S. consulate in Istanbul might have been inspired by al-Qaida but there is no firm evidence yet.

AP - State television says Iran has test-fired medium- and long-range missiles in the Persian Gulf for a second day.

AP - Wearing T-shirts that read "Pope Go Homo" and "The pope is wrong, put a condom on!," a dozen demonstrators poked fun Wednesday at a new Australian law meant to protect participants of next week's World Youth Day from being annoyed by opponents.

AFP - Afghanistan's government and the United Nations launched a 404-million dollar appeal on Wednesday to help feed 4.5 million vulnerable Afghans.

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.