AFP - Australia's late-blooming leg-spinner Bryce McGain faces a massive challenge bowling to India's spin batting masters on next month's tour of the subcontinent, Test paceman Stuart Clark said Friday.

AFP - The main militant group in southern Nigeria -- the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) -- said Thursday it had destroyed a major oil pipeline belonging to Royal Dutch Shell.

AP - Human Rights Watch said Venezuela's record on human rights has worsened under President Hugo Chavez, particularly with regard to government critics.

AP - As of Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008, at least 4,168 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

AFP - London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares surged by 4.43 percent to 5,096.40 points soon after the start of trading Friday in the wake of massive gains across Asia and on Wall Street overnight.

AP - A generation ago, when today's new Chinese parents were infants, milk powder was so scarce that it was one of the top items requested from travelers visiting from overseas.

AP - Arabs across the ideological spectrum, from secular-minded liberals to Muslim hard-liners, are denouncing a top Saudi cleric's edict that it was permissible to kill the owners of satellite TV stations that show "immoral" content.

AP - In the aftermath of Russia's brief war with Georgia, the United States and its NATO partners face questions about the very foundation of their alliance — the pledge enshrined in the 59-year-old North Atlantic Treaty that an unprovoked attack on one member would be treated as an attack on all.

AP - North Korea said Friday it was preparing to restart its nuclear reactor, accusing the United States of failing to fulfill its obligations under an international disarmament-for-aid agreement.

AFP - Hundreds of new marine species have been found on Australia's coral reefs, surprising an international team of biologists who announced details of their findings here Thursday.

Reuters - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and prime minister designate Morgan Tsvangirai are deadlocked over appointing cabinet ministers after reaching a power-sharing agreement, an MDC party official said on Thursday.

AP - Venezuela and Russia are deepening military and energy ties, with plans to step up oil, weapons and technology cooperation.

AP - A U.S. military official said a mechanical problem appeared to be the reason for a helicopter crash Thursday that killed seven American soldiers in Iraq's southern desert, the deadliest such incident in Iraq in more than a year.

AP - The Kremlin is in crisis mode, pledging a $20 billion boost Thursday to shore up Russia's battered markets as it seeks to ward off a financial crash and restore confidence in its fragile banking sector.