AFP - China's Liang Wen-chong successfully made the halfway cut in his British Open debut on Friday and hoped it would provide the inspiration for others in China to follow in his footsteps.

AP - President Cristina Fernandez canceled a widely protested farm export tax hike on Friday following months of protest and a stunning rejection by the Senate.

AP - Iraqi soldiers took up positions on rooftops and military helicopters hovered overhead Friday in a show of strength in a Baghdad district where Shiite militiamen once ruled the streets. There were no reports of violence.

AFP - KJ Choi claimed birdies on his last two holes to knock Greg Norman off the top of the British Open leaderboard on Friday.

AP - It took a few months. But the economic woes touched off by soaring oil prices and the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States are finally engulfing Europe.

AP - Two months after an earthquake ravaged much of Sichuan province, workers are diligently salvaging bricks to restore a 6th century Taoist temple damaged in the disaster.

AP - While movie fans the world over rave about the new Batman film, the only stir bats are causing in this poor farming village is in a cooking pot.

AP - Nelson Mandela celebrated his 90th birthday Friday by urging the wealthy to share their prosperity with the less fortunate and by saying he wished he had been able to spend more time with his family during the anti-apartheid struggle.

AP - There is a Baghdad that Sen. Barack Obama probably won't see.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI warned Christian leaders Friday the push to unite Christian churches was at a "critical juncture", as Anglicans met to avert a schism over the ordination of women and gays.

AP - Airlines are being told to stay away from Beijing's airport during the opening ceremony of the Olympics and further scrutiny is being applied to foreign entertainers in the latest security moves ahead of next month's games.

Reuters - World powers should heed the worries of African and Arab states in responding to genocide charges against Sudan's president, China's envoy on Darfur said, warning that the court steps could imperil peace efforts.

AP - Hurricane Elida weakened to a Category 1 storm off Mexico on Thursday, while Tropical Storm Fausto continued to gain strength.

AP - Thousands of Israelis prayed and cried at funerals Thursday for two soldiers whose return from Lebanon in black coffins touched off a nationwide wave of anguish.