AFP - The leader of the Taliban said the West is losing the war in Afghanistan and called on Afghans to repel the "invading infidels" as experts urged the US to scale back its troops and goals.

AP - A suicide car bomber hit a central market in southern Russia on Thursday, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 130 in one of the North Caucasus region's worst attacks in years, officials said.

AP - Iran's Culture Ministry says one of the three Americans jailed for more than a year will be released Saturday.

AP - A suicide car bomber exploded at the gate to Mogadishu's airport Thursday, and suicide bombers in a second vehicle rushed toward the terminal before exploding themselves short of their goal, officials said. Up to 14 people were killed, including five attackers.

AP - Hundreds of angry Afghans burned a U.S. flag and chanted "Death to the Christians" on Thursday to protest plans by a small American church to torch copies of the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Reuters - Suicide bombers killed two African Union peacekeepers and a number of civilians at Mogadishu's airport on Thursday in the latest attack on the Somali capital by al Qaeda-linked rebels.

Reuters - New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a two-month low, while the trade deficit narrowed sharply in July, hopeful signs for the stuttering economic recovery.

AP - Spain gave final approval Thursday to labor market reforms designed to shake up a listless economy and help slash a bloated deficit that has prompted European-wide worries of another Greek-style debt crisis.

Reuters - Britain's financial watchdog fined Goldman Sachs Group Inc 17.5 million pounds ($27 million) for failing to tell the regulator that it was the subject of a U.S. probe, reviving disclosure headaches for the Wall Street powerhouse.

Reuters - McDonald's Corp reported softer-than-expected August sales in Europe, its biggest revenue market, due to weakness in France, sending its shares down nearly 3 percent.

Reuters - Stocks rose nearly 1 percent in morning trading on Thursday after data indicated the U.S. economy may see faster growth than economists have anticipated.

Reuters - President Barack Obama stood firm on Thursday in opposition to a Republican push to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the rich but stopped short of threatening to veto such a measure if passed by Congress.

AP - Cuba's communist economic model has come in for criticism from an unlikely source: Fidel Castro.

AFP - Australian regulators rejected National Australia Bank's 12.2 billion US dollar bid for financial firm AXA Asia Pacific on competition concerns Thursday, in a move welcomed by rival suitor AMP.

AP - South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate near a record low Thursday for a second straight month as the risk of slowing global growth outweighed a buoyant outlook for the local economy.

AP - As exhausted Detroit firefighters battled wind-fed blazes burning wild in some neighborhoods and threatening to char much of the city, a half-dozen departments from surrounding communities brought in sorely needed — and gladly accepted — help.

AFP - London shares closed higher on Wednesday after a boost from a successful Portuguese debt auction, although many financial stocks remained weak.