AP - Malaysia's police and armed forces warned people Thursday not to make public remarks that could sour race relations, in a bid to scotch tensions following a Malay politician's diatribe against the ethnic Chinese minority.

AFP - The United States, Mexico and Costa Rica remained unbeaten in the semi-final phase of regional World Cup qualifying Wednesday, continuing their march toward South Africa 2010.

AP - A Druse politician in Lebanon who recently helped reconcile rival factions within his minority community was killed when a bomb tore through his car, police said.

AP - A small blip on a computer screen sent champagne corks popping among physicists in Switzerland. Near Chicago, researchers at a "pajama party" who watched via satellite let out an early morning cheer.

AP - North Korea's Kim Jong Il had brain surgery after a stroke last month and could have partial paralysis, media reported Thursday, after the South Korean government said he remained in control of his country.

AP - A confidant of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says the Israeli leader will step down "immediately" after his party chooses a successor this month.

AP - The day after Hurricane Gustav roared through western Cuba, families were salvaging belongings from their flattened homes when state-television cameras turned up.

AP - Pakistan's military chief has criticized U.S. cross-border raids from Afghanistan, saying his country's sovereignty will be defended and warning that the assaults could stoke militancy.

AP - Pakistan's military chief says his country's sovereignty will be defended "at all costs" after a raid by U.S. ground troops near the border with Afghanistan.

AP - Two Russian strategic bombers landed in Venezuela on Wednesday as part of military maneuvers, the government said, announcing an unprecendented deployment to the territory of a new ally at a time of increasingly tense relations with the U.S.