AP - Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest person, jumping past Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the first person from a developing nation to top the list, according to Forbes magazine.
AP - Brazil's president came under withering criticism Wednesday at home and in Cuba for his deference to the island's communist government over political prisoners and hunger strikes for human rights.
AP - An open diplomatic row during the visit of Vice President Joe Biden has shined a spotlight on the U.S. failure to rein in Israeli settlement ambitions and deepened Palestinian suspicions that the United States is too weak to broker a deal.
AP - President Michelle Bachelet leaves office Thursday with a chunk of her country in ruins — and her popularity in the clouds.
AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Saudi leaders Wednesday that the U.S. effort for diplomatic engagement with Iran had come to naught and he asked for the influential kingdom's help to win wide backing for biting economic penalties against Tehran.
AFP - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday denounced the "atrocious" bloodshed in Nigeria after a massacre of Christian villagers, as police said 49 people would be charged over the killings.
AP - China's inflation spiked higher in February, adding to pressure on Beijing to prevent overheating and keep the recovery in the world's third-largest economy on track.
AP - An elephant calf that was believed to have died during a nine-day labor is feeding itself and has earned the nickname "Mr. Shuffles" since learning to stand, Taronga Zoo officials said Thursday.
