AP - Tropical Storm Gustav was losing steam early Wednesday as it moved through the Caribbean a day after hitting Haiti as a hurricane.

AP - A U.S. military ship on Wednesday docked at the Georgian port of Batumi to bring humanitarian aid following a devastating war with Russia earlier this month.

AFP - Mining giant Rio Tinto said Tuesday it had more than doubled first-half net profit to a record 6.91 billion US dollars (3.76 billion pounds) as it continues to fend off a hostile takeover bid by rival BHP Billiton.

AP - A U.S. diplomat narrowly escaped an attempt on her life Tuesday when two men with AK-47s jumped in front of her armored vehicle and sprayed it with bullets, staging a brazen attack that raised fears other foreigners could be targeted.

AP - A man holding a knife hijacked a plane, carrying more than 100 people Tuesday in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, a security official said.

AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is warning his country may respond to a U.S. missile shield in Europe through military means.

AP - A suicide bomber with explosives hidden beneath his traditional robe blew himself up Tuesday in a crowd of Iraqis trying to join the police force, killing at least 25 people in the second major bombing in Iraq this week.

AP - Hurricane Gustav struck Haiti on Tuesday and sent global oil prices soaring on fears it could become "extremely dangerous" even before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico.

AP - Opposition legislators jeered President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday as he opened Zimbabwe's parliament, singing and chanting and sometimes drowning out his voice.

AP - The 27-year-old woman and her husband already had three children — all girls. They badly wanted a boy, and she had not conceived in five years, so doctors gave her hormones.

AP - Russia formally recognized the breakaway Georgian territories at the heart of its war with Georgia on Tuesday, drawing immediate condemnation from the West as the United States dispatched a military ship bearing aid to a port city still patrolled by Russian troops.

AFP - National Foods, a unit of Japanese brewing giant Kirin, has acquired Australia's Dairy Farmers co-operative for 910 million Australian dollars (782 million US), the companies confirmed Tuesday.

AFP - North Korea said Tuesday that it has stopped disabling its nuclear plants and will consider restoring the Yongbyon complex as it accused the United States of violating a six-nation disarmament deal.