By MARK STEVENSON
2010-09-09T06:02:52Z
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- The third Mexican mayor in a month was slain by suspected drug gang hitmen on the same day the U.S. secretary of state raised hackles in Mexico by saying the country is looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago....   »      

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
2010-09-09T09:02:08Z
TOKYO (AP) -- The captain of a Chinese fishing boat that collided with Japanese patrol vessels near disputed islands could stand trial in the latest territorial spat between the neighbors, officials in Japan said Thursday. China called the prospect absurd....   »      

By YURI KAGEYAMA
2010-09-09T06:41:03Z
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) -- Thai-made Nissan March subcompact cars - the first major model from a Japanese automaker being mass produced abroad for sale in Japan - are getting extra scrutiny from a team of quality experts to meet choosey consumer standards, a senior executive said Thursday....   »      

By STEPHEN BERNARD
2010-09-09T10:41:24Z
NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock prices were set to continue their rally Thursday as investors prepare for a new report that is expected to show unemployment claims fell for the third straight week....   »      

By JOE McDONALD
2010-09-09T09:10:05Z
BEIJING (AP) -- The U.S. has slipped down the ranks of competitive economies, falling behind Sweden and Singapore due to huge deficits and pessimism about government, a global economic group said Thursday....   »      

By ALEX KENNEDY
2010-09-09T09:29:42Z
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices rose to near $75 a barrel Thursday in Asia after a report showed U.S. crude inventories fell more than expected, suggesting demand may be improving....   »      

By JOAN LOWY
2010-09-09T10:48:50Z
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After a regional airliner crashed in western New York a year and a half ago, killing 50 people, the Obama administration promised swift action to prevent similar tragedies. High on the list: new rules governing the number of hours pilots may work, to prevent tired flight crews from making fatal errors....   »      

By JENNIFER C. YATES
2010-09-09T10:49:09Z
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- Former first lady Laura Bush will speak at a National Park Service fundraiser in Pittsburgh on Friday, a day before joining Michelle Obama in rural Pennsylvania to remember the victims of Flight 93, which crashed there in the Sept. 11 attacks....   »      

By BETH FOUHY
2010-09-09T07:05:55Z
NEW YORK (AP) -- It sounds like a political grudge match for the ages: Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, battered by ethics charges and stripped of his chairmanship of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, defending his seat against Adam Clayton Powell IV, son of the legendary Harlem lawmaker Rangel ousted 40 years ago....   »      

By ANDREW DeMILLO
2010-09-09T04:22:02Z
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) -- Former President Bill Clinton said Wednesday it would be a mistake for voters to give in to anger, apathy and amnesia and deprive Arkansas of the Senate Agriculture chairmanship by defeating Democratic Sen. Blanche Lincoln....   »      

By EDDIE PELLS
2010-09-09T09:42:07Z
NEW YORK (AP) -- On a wind-swept day at the U.S. Open that had everyone complaining about the conditions, Roger Federer simply embraced them....   »      

By NANCY ARMOUR
2010-09-09T07:51:50Z
LEMONT, Ill. (AP) -- There are some places that simply suit Tiger Woods better than others....   »      

By TIM REYNOLDS
2010-09-09T07:54:30Z
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Jacory Harris and Terrelle Pryor were introduced a couple years ago by a mutual friend on a phone call, the two quarterbacks quickly becoming confidants....   »      

By BRIAN MAHONEY
2010-09-09T07:53:12Z
ISTANBUL (AP) -- Once Mike Krzyzewski agreed to return as coach of the U.S. national team, Jerry Colangelo figured most of his staff would follow....   »      

Iran’s Agriculture Ministry banned the import of 49 agriculture products, Donya-e-Eqtesad reported.   »      

TEHRAN, Iran -- An Iranian official has confirmed that the government halted the sentence of death by stoning for a woman convicted of adultery, but he reiterated that she was still facing accusations of murder.   »      

Iran has pleaded to the international community for more attention and support to its costly anti-narcotics efforts amid persisting rise in drug trade in neighboring Afghanistan despite the nine-year presence of US-led forces there.   »      

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) – Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Lebanon announced they would celebrate the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, on Friday. In Saudi   »      

DUBAI (AFP) – Taliban leader Mullah Omar said the NATO-led coalition is losing the war in Afghanistan, calling on Afghans to redouble their struggle and pressing the United States to withdraw. Omar was   »      

Baghdad/Najaf, Asharq Al-Awsat- Sources inside Al-Iraqiya List, which is led by former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, have asserted that the media leaks claiming that US Vice President Joe Biden succeeded   »      

A British journalist held captive by militants in northwestern Pakistan since March has been released.   »      

Mexico has arrested seven gunmen allegedly involved in the recent execution-style killings of 72 U.S.-bound undocumented migrants in the northern border state of Tamaulipas, officials said Wednesday.   »      

Florida Pastor Terry Jones said he was determined to go through with his plan to burn copies of the Quran on Sept. 11, despite pressure from the White House, religious leaders and others to call it off.   »      

The U.S. government is scrambling to preserve the benefits of a civil nuclear agreement with India after India passed a law that threatens to effectively exclude U.S. companies from its market for nuclear power.   »      

Goldman Sachs agreed to a fine of nearly $31 million as part of an investigation by the Financial Services Authority that began shortly after U.S. regulators accused the firm in April of fraud.   »      

Oscar wining film The Third Man (1949) has been re-released on DVD and Blu Ray with commentary from assistant director Guy Hamilton, actor Simon Callow and other members of the production team.

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Lewis Hamilton is hoping his victory in Belgium 11 days ago is the forerunner to an end-of-season push for the Formula One title.

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Roger Federer won a measure of revenge and a return to the US Open semi-finals as he beat fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling 6-4 6-4 7-5 last night to book his place in the last four for a seventh successive time.

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Top seed Caroline Wozniacki defied swirling winds gusting over 30mph to book her place in the semi-finals of the US Open.

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Cricket South Africa has approved a request from the Dolphins for Kevin Pietersen to play two games for his former team next month.

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Fabio Capello is happy to see Steven Gerrard loving life back in central midfield.

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Wales manager John Toshack will clarify his position this afternoon after considerable speculation in recent days that he is poised to quit.

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Marseille have revealed they tried to bring Chelsea star Didier Drogba back to the club before the transfer deadline, even as relations between coach Didier Deschamps and sporting director Jose Anigo were stretched to breaking point.

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New Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier is hoping to appoint one of his former Liverpool backroom staff - Patrice Bergues - at Villa Park.

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No clutter, no colour. It sounds depressing, but as little as three years ago minimalism was all the rage. Every glossy magazine was selling the look, complete with sharp corners, stainless steel surfaces and shades of black, white and grey. Sleek, unfussy and stylish were the buzz words and, for a while there, the bachelor pad-look seemed quite achievable.

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The number of shops closing across the UK is slowing but the North is faring significantly worse than the South, with Bristol having half the number of empty shops as Blackpool - the worst affected area in the UK.

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Britain should be braced for a choppy and uneven recovery, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg warned today - as a survey predicted the north of England would fare worst under Government spending cuts.

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A bus crowded with Hindu pilgrims veered off the road and crashed into a river in central India, killing at least 21 people, according to media reports today.

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A British journalist held captive by militants in northwestern Pakistan since March has been released.

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Police discovered three unexploded bombs in Bangkok and a neighbouring province, authorities said today, the latest in a series of mysterious incidents stoking fears of civil unrest in Thailand.

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A Russian circus touring Australia dropped an act in which a performer swallows a live fish then regurgitates it after complaints that it was in poor taste and inhumane.

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John Kluge, once listed as the wealthiest man in America, who built an investment in a radio station into a broadcasting empire that was the forerunner to Fox Television, has died. He was 95.

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Ministers in the new Government will be given more time to prove themselves in their jobs without fear of being reshuffled, as the coalition seeks to govern for the long term, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will say today.

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Education Secretary Michael Gove will today announce an independent review of vocational education for 14 to 19-year-olds.

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A suspected American missile strike killed five alleged militants in northwestern Pakistan early today, an intelligence official said, the fourth such attack in 24 hours.

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A crumbling barnyard, a room full of page three girls and a previously undisplayed work by Damien Hirst will be among the artworks included in the first retrospective of 20th century British sculpture to be held in this country for nearly three decades.

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Those who know Peter Bazalgette primarily as the man who brought Big Brother to these shores may not see him as the obvious authority on how the arts can grow its media presence at a time when it is braced for deep cuts. But the former Endemol chairman is the deputy chairman of the English National Opera (ENO) and is excited about the opportunities for arts institutions to bypass traditional media outlets and become programme-makers and broadcasters in their own right.

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Lady Anne Tree was a member of the upper echelons of the aristocracy, mixing easily during her 82 years with the nobility and cultural luminaries such as Cecil Beaton, John Betjeman and Lucian Freud. She moved in a world of dukes and duchesses and the most powerful in the land, living in stately homes. Yet she became familiar not just with exquisite drawing rooms but with grim prison cells.

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Fashionable pockets of east London must have been deserted on Saturday and Sunday, for their trend-setters seemed to have fetched up in sunny Chigwell. Short on wellies but long on 1980s haircuts, this is festival for those who like their entertainment readily accessible on the TFL transport network.

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Ask any representative of tennis in the United States, Australia or Britain why they produce fewer top players than they used to and it is a fair bet that they will point to the global nature of the modern game. More countries are competing, they will say, and youngsters from less privileged regions, like eastern Europe, have a greater hunger for success than those from the more traditional tennis nations. Gone are the days when a single country can dominate.

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