AP - When Irini Ibrahim, a young Coptic Christian woman, floated the idea of divorce from a husband she said was abusing her, her parents immediately opposed it, reminding her of the Biblical vow, "What God has joined together let no man put asunder."

AP - Trying to smooth over recently rocky relations before a visit to Washington, Chinese President Hu Jintao told American officials on Wednesday that he wants to see healthy and stable ties between the two countries.

AP - John Demjanjuk attends most sessions of his trial in a hospital bed set up in the courtroom, wearing dark sunglasses and a hat pulled down over his face.

Reuters - Australia's fragile Labor government suggested on Wednesday it could adjust a planned profits-based tax on mining companies to bend to demands of the independent MPs giving it a slender grip on power.

AP - Afghan election officials said Wednesday that scores of additional polling stations will have to remain closed during the Sept. 18 parliamentary vote because of the deteriorating security situation in the country.

AFP - House prices in Britain rose further in August but at a slower pace compared with July, data showed on Wednesday, in marked contrast to a rival survey reporting that prices were in fact falling.

AFP - A truck convoy bearing a huge oil drilling machine is expected to arrive Wednesday to offer a third rescue option, or "Plan C," for the 33 men trapped for a month at the bottom of a Chilean mine.

Reuters - Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, led by shares in Japan's big exporters as a rise in the yen to a new 15-year high threatened to erode their overseas earnings.

Reuters - Foster's Group Ltd , Australia's largest brewer, knocked back an offer worth up to $2.5 billion for its wine business as too cheap, but the approach could flush out offers for the entire group.

AFP - A guard at a prison in northern Nigeria attacked by suspected members of an Islamist sect said Wednesday that nearly all inmates had been freed and an unknown number of people were shot.

AP - A house servant of the politically powerful clan accused in last year's massacre of 57 people told a Philippine court Wednesday that the family members plotted the killings of rivals and journalists over dinner six days before the ambush.

AP - Tens of thousands of people have abandoned their homes across southern Mexico to escape flooding from weeks of torrential rains, and forecasts are predicting even more rainfall.

AFP - The European Union's financial services chief called on Wednesday for so-called "stress tests" on banks to be carried out on a regular basis, to judge their resilience in the event of another crisis.

AP - A suspected U.S. drone killed at least six militants in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday when it fired a missile at a house linked to a group that often carries out attacks on NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan, intelligence officials said.

Reuters - Japan's government sharpened its rhetoric on foreign exchange intervention on Wednesday as a rise in the yen to a 15-year high underlined concerns that the currency's strength could threaten the economic recovery.

Reuters - President Barack Obama will push billions of dollars in new business tax incentives and spending on big construction projects on Wednesday, as he tries to convince a balky Congress to pass measures intended to spur the economy and create jobs.

Reuters - Hewlett-Packard Co sued former Chief Executive Mark Hurd and asked a court to block him from joining Oracle Corp, saying his hiring by the rival technology firm puts HP's trade secrets "in peril."

AP - The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.

AP - Motorists should see pump prices slide again after spending a little more to fill their tanks over the Labor Day weekend.