Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere says Afghans and the international community must focus sharply on improving the competence of the newly elected government of Afghanistan. Read More

Helicopter gunships shelled militant hide-outs in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 10 suspected fighters after a Taliban attack left two paramilitary soldiers dead at an outpost in the area. Read More

Iraqi insurgents will try to undermine the country's fledgling democracy in the run-up to January's national elections, the country's prime minister warned Wednesday. Read More

Iran is urging Russia to deliver on an air-defense contract the two countries signed and ignore Israeli pressures for delaying the deal. Read More

Saudi Arabia is trying to set up a military buffer zone inside Yemen after its week-long offensive against the Yemeni Shiite insurgents along the border, a rebel spokesman said Wednesday. Read More

A man who stabbed a pregnant Egyptian woman to death in a German courtroom has been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Read More

German man convicted of courtroom stabbing of Egyptian woman, sentenced to life in prison. Read More

Just minutes before anti-riot police charged opposition marchers in Tehran last week, a new chant bubbled up from the crowd: "Death to Nobody." Read More

Iran has written to an Oxford University college to complain about a scholarship in memory of a slain Iranian student who became a symbol of anti-government protests in her country, the college said Wednesday. Read More

For the first time since World War I, the leaders of Germany and France appeared together at a ceremony Wednesday to commemorate the end of the conflict, saying it is now time to celebrate their countries' reconciliation and friendship. Read More

A United Airlines pilot who failed a breath test shortly before he was due to take off has been charged with having too much alcohol in his system, British police said. Read More

Defense lawyers for a top prime minister's aide can raise torture allegations at his trial, a judge ruled Wednesday in a case that has shaken Zimbabwe's troubled coalition government. Read More

The cone-shaped Mayon volcano in the central Philippines, which killed scores in an eruption 16 years ago, shot up an ash plume Wednesday _ prompting hundreds of nearby residents to evacuate in case it blows again. Read More

Scientists say they've discovered a new dinosaur species in South Africa that may help explain how the creatures evolved into the largest animals on land. Read More

Amid rising tension between North and South Korea after a naval skirmish this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday urged calm but said diplomatic efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff with the North would continue. Read More

Transmission problems at an enormous hydroelectric dam in Brazil caused a massive power outage Tuesday night, leaving millions in several major cities without electricity for hours. The lights have since come back on, but the incident is another black eye for the South American country set to host the 2016 Olympic Games. Read More

Military divers have found the body of one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing last week as they tried to recover airdropped supplies that fell into a river in western Afghanistan, NATO said Wednesday. Read More

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross has called for the "immediate and unconditional release" of two staff members kidnapped in the African countries of Chad and Darfur. Read More

Pope Benedict XVI has urged Europeans to defend their continent's religious and cultural heritage. Read More

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday that Washington will not impose new conditions on Myanmar's junta in exchange for better relations, but will not lift sanctions until it makes progress on democracy. Read More