ISLAMABAD (Reuters) U.S. President Barack Obama has started reaching out to some of Pakistan's most fervent Islamist and anti-American parties, including one that helped give rise to the Taliban, trying to improve Washington's image in the nuclear-armed state.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Wednesday leader Kim Jong-il had sent condolences on the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the latest sign of a possible defrosting of relations between the rival Koreas.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Defense Minister Chen Chao-min has offered to quit over criticism that the government was too slow in its response to Typhoon Morakot which may have killed as many as 500 people, local television said on Wednesday.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that information her husband brought back from North Korea has been 'extremely helpful' by providing a window into what's happening in the reclusive country.

AP - Derek Jeter had his third straight three-hit game and also knocked in the go-ahead run to help CC Sabathia win for the first time in six years in Oakland in the New York Yankees' 7-2 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night.

Reuters - ISLAMABAD (Reuters) U.S. President Barack Obama has started reaching out to some of Pakistan's most fervent Islamist and anti-American parties, including one that helped give rise to the Taliban, trying to improve Washington's image in the nuclear-armed state.

Reuters - North Korea said on Wednesday leader Kim Jong-il had sent condolences on the death of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, the latest sign of a possible defrosting of relations between the rival Koreas.

Reuters - Taiwan Defense Minister Chen Chao-min has offered to quit over criticism that the government was too slow in its response to Typhoon Morakot which may have killed as many as 500 people, local television said on Wednesday.

AFP - Fresh attacks hit Kabul as Taliban gunmen stormed a bank building and fought pitched battles with police Wednesday on the eve of Afghanistan's second presidential election.

AFP - North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has offered to send a delegation to the funeral of former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung, its latest apparently conciliatory gesture after months of bitter hostility.

KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a bank building in the Afghan capital and battled police for hours on Wednesday on the eve of a cliffhanger election which the Taliban has vowed to disrupt.

AP - Gunfire and explosions reverberated through the heart of the Afghan capital Wednesday on the eve of the presidential election after three militants with AK-47s rifles and hand grenades overran a bank. Police stormed the building and killed the three insurgents, officials said.

AP - South Korean scientists were making final checks Wednesday before sending the country's first rocket into space — a liftoff that threatens to raise the ire of rival North Korea.

AP - American John Yettaw boarded a flight home Wednesday, ending an infamous journey that started three months ago with a secret swim to the home of Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that landed them both in prison.

AP - Israeli President Shimon Peres said Wednesday that the Kremlin has promised to reconsider the planned delivery of powerful air defense missiles to Iran.

AP - Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam held steady for the high school class of 2009, a sign of modest progress considering the pool of students taking the test continues to expand.

Reuters - Gunmen stormed a bank building in the Afghan capital and battled police for hours on Wednesday on the eve of a cliffhanger election which the Taliban has vowed to disrupt.

Reuters - Hurricane Bill, the first of the 2009 Atlantic season, grew quickly into a major Category 3 storm on Tuesday and could strengthen as it curves north, likely missing the eastern United States as it passes Bermuda.

KABUL (Reuters) - Gunmen stormed a bank building in the Afghan capital and battled police for hours on Wednesday on the eve of a cliffhanger election which Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The toll from bomb and mortar attacks in quick succession near mostly high-profile targets in central Baghdad rose to at least 50 people killed and 300 wounded on Wednesday, police said.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi on Wednesday asked to meet top officials including the president to be able to present evidence of the rape of some detained post-election protesters, his party said.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season, strengthened into a Category 4 storm on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph (215 kmh), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

AP - Iraqi police and medical officials say that a series of explosions have struck Baghdad, killing at least 58 people and wounding nearly 300 others.

AP - Gunfire and explosions reverberated through the Afghan capital Wednesday before police stormed a bank and killed three insurgents that had taken it over on the eve of the presidential election, while a wave of attacks killed at least six election workers, officials said.

AP - Space officials aborted South Korea's first rocket launch just minutes before liftoff Wednesday.

AP - Hurricane Bill became a Category 4 storm as it rumbled across the Atlantic early Wednesday with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph.

AP - A Texas judge criticized for closing her court with a condemned man's last appeal in the works is set to resume testifying at her ethics trial.

AP - Average scores on the ACT college entrance exam held steady for the high school class of 2009, a sign of modest progress considering the pool of students taking the test continues to expand.

Reuters - Gunmen stormed a bank building in the Afghan capital and battled police for hours on Wednesday on the eve of a cliffhanger election which Taliban militants have vowed to disrupt.

Reuters - The toll from bomb and mortar attacks in quick succession near mostly high-profile targets in central Baghdad rose to at least 50 people killed and 300 wounded on Wednesday, police said.

Reuters - Iranian reformist cleric Mehdi Karoubi on Wednesday asked to meet top officials including the president to be able to present evidence of the rape of some detained post-election protesters, his party said.

Reuters - Hurricane Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season, strengthened into a Category 4 storm on Wednesday with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph (215 kmh), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

AFP - North Korea said Wednesday it will send a high-level delegation to the funeral of former South Korean president Kim Dae-Jung, its latest apparently conciliatory gesture after months of hostility.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of explosions killed at least 75 people and wounded more than 300 in central Baghdad on Wednesday, the deadliest day in the Iraqi capital since U.S. troops withdrew from urban centers in June.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Hurricane Bill, the first of the 2009 Atlantic season, gathered strength and grew into a dangerous Category 4 storm with sustained winds of up to 135 mph on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

AP - A series of explosions targeting government and commercial buildings struck Baghdad Wednesday, killing at least 75 people and wounding more than 300, Iraqi police and medical officials said.

AP - Police stormed a bank in Kabul on Wednesday and killed three insurgents who had taken it over, while a wave of attacks killed at least six election workers around the country on the eve of the presidential election, officials said.

AP - South Korea on Wednesday aborted its first domestic launch of a rocket just minutes before scheduled liftoff because of a technical problem, delaying space ambitions that have threatened to anger rival North Korea.

AP - Rep. Barney Frank lashed out at protester who held a poster depicting President Barack Obama with a Hitler-style mustache during a heated town hall meeting on federal health care reform.

AP - Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet aims Wednesday to finalize a plan that envisions one million electric cars zipping along the nation's famed autobahns by 2020.

AP - Pessimism about the economy reasserted itself in financial markets Wednesday, with U.S. stocks looking to fall at the opening. Treasury prices rose as investors sought a safe place for their money.

AP - The sister of 'Survivor' winner Richard Hatch says she thinks her brother was sent back to jail because he granted an interview to NBC's 'Today' show.

AP - A Muslim part-time model will be caned next week, becoming the first woman in Malaysia to be given the punishment under Islamic law, after she pleaded guilty to drinking beer, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

AP - Gary Sheffield doubled twice in an eight-run fourth inning and the New York Mets battered Derek Lowe, rebounding from an early deficit for a 9-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday night.

Reuters - A series of explosions killed at least 75 people and wounded more than 300 in central Baghdad on Wednesday, the deadliest day in the Iraqi capital since U.S. troops withdrew from urban centers in June.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will on Wednesday nominate a relative novice as oil minister and seek to bring women into the cabinet for the first time -- but he may face a hard fight to win approval from the conservative parliament.

Reuters - Hurricane Bill, the first of the 2009 Atlantic season, gathered strength and grew into a dangerous Category 4 storm with sustained winds of up to 135 mph on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

AFP - At least 45 people were killed in a wave of attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday, including two massive truck bombings, on the bloodiest day in the capital for almost two months, health and security officials said.

BERNE (Reuters) - The Swiss government will hand over details of about 4,450 bank accounts to U.S. authorities as part of a deal struck with Washington over UBS, it said on Wednesday.

(Reuters) - The United States economy is out of the emergency room and appears to be on a slow path to recovery, Warren Buffett wrote in an opinion column in the New York Times.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on Wednesday expected to nominate a relative novice as oil minister and seek to bring women into the cabinet for the first time -- but he may face a hard fight to win approval from parliament.

AP - Pessimism about the global economy is reasserting itself in the stock market.

AP - A Rhode Island radio station host says 'Survivor' winner Richard Hatch called in to his show twice without the station first getting permission from the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Reuters - The Swiss government will hand over details of about 4,450 bank accounts to U.S. authorities as part of a deal struck with Washington over UBS, it said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has avoided a meltdown and appears on a slow path to recovery, but Congress must now deal with enormous amounts of debt that threaten to erode U.S. purchasing power.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on Wednesday expected to nominate a relative novice as oil minister and seek to bring women into the cabinet for the first time -- but he may face a hard fight to win approval from parliament.

AFP - A series of devastating attacks across Baghdad killed at least 75 people on Wednesday, in the worst day of carnage to hit the Iraqi capital since US troops pulled out of the conflict-hit nation's cities.

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters will not wreck Afghanistan's presidential election, President Hamid Karzai said hours before polls open, after fighters clashed with police in the center of Kabul and threatened to shut the country's roads.

BERNE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Switzerland will hand over details of about 4,450 UBS AG bank accounts to U.S. authorities, settling a tax dispute that has threatened Swiss banking secrecy, the two governments said on Wednesday.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, renewing doubt over Iraqi forces' ability to maintain security after U.S. troops pulled out of urban areas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has avoided a meltdown and appears on a slow path to recovery, but Congress must now deal with enormous amounts of debt that threaten to erode U.S. purchasing power.

AP - A truck bomb exploded across the street from Iraq's Foreign Ministry near the Green Zone Wednesday, knocking out concrete slabs and windows and leaving a mass of charred cars outside as a wave of explosions around Baghdad killed at least 86 people.

AP - Don Hewitt, the CBS Newsman who invented '60 Minutes' and produced the popular newsmagazine for 36 years, died Wednesday. He was 86.

AP - The U.S. military says three American troops have been killed in two incidents in southern Afghanistan.

AP - Hurricane Bill became a dangerous Category 4 storm Wednesday as it howled through the open Atlantic's energizing waters, which could further boost the storm's power as it moves north.

AP - U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years, the government reported Wednesday.

AP - Stocks shook off early losses Tuesday and turned higher on a surprise pickup in demand for oil.

AP - It'll cost just a dollar to get a glimpse of the Washington Nationals' new $15 million man.

Reuters - Taliban fighters will not wreck Afghanistan's presidential election, President Hamid Karzai said hours before polls open, after fighters clashed with police in the center of Kabul and threatened to shut the country's roads.

Reuters - Switzerland will hand over details of about 4,450 UBS AG bank accounts to U.S. authorities, settling a tax dispute that has threatened Swiss banking secrecy, the two governments said on Wednesday.

Reuters - A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, renewing doubt over Iraqi forces' ability to maintain security after U.S. troops pulled out of urban areas.

Reuters - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said the U.S. economy has avoided a meltdown and appears on a slow path to recovery, but Congress must now deal with enormous amounts of debt that threaten to erode U.S. purchasing power.

AFP - A wave of attacks across Baghdad killed at least 95 people on Wednesday in the worst day of carnage to hit the Iraqi capital in 18 months and the bloodiest since US troops pulled out of the conflict-torn nation's cities.

BERNE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Switzerland has agreed to hand over details of about 4,450 UBS AG bank accounts to U.S. authorities to settle a tax dispute that challenged Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, prompting a rare admission of culpability from Iraqi security forces struggling to cope without U.S. help.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two years after the start of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, policy-makers from around the world gather this week to think about how to prevent it from happening again.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Powerful Hurricane Bill, a dangerous Category 4 storm with 135 mph winds, raged across the open Atlantic on Wednesday, days from land but on a path that could menace Canada's eastern province next week.

AP - Iraq's prime minister has blamed Sunni insurgents for a wave of deadly bombings in Baghdad and says the Iraqi government must re-evaluate security to confront the challenge.

AP - The U.S. military said Wednesday six American troops were killed in Afghanistan, as militants killed six election workers amid growing fears on the eve of the presidential election that insurgents would mar the vote.

AP - U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years, the government reported Wednesday.

Reuters - Switzerland has agreed to hand over details of about 4,450 UBS AG bank accounts to U.S. authorities to settle a tax dispute that challenged Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks.

Reuters - Two years after the start of the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s, policy-makers from around the world gather this week to think about how to prevent it from happening again.

AFP - Twin truck bombs killed 95 people and wounded almost 600 on Wednesday as Baghdad suffered its bloodiest day in 18 months, prompting Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to call for a security review.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, prompting a rare admission of culpability from Iraqi security forces struggling to cope without U.S. help.

AP - A truck bomb exploded across the street from Iraq's Foreign Ministry near the Green Zone Wednesday, knocking out concrete slabs and windows and leaving a mass of charred cars outside as a wave of explosions around Baghdad killed at least 95 people and wounded more than 400.

AP - Threats of Taliban violence and rumors of fraud cast a shadow over Afghanistan's election, in which millions of voters will choose a new president Thursday to lead a nation plagued by armed insurgency, drugs, corruption and a feeble government.

AP - Don Hewitt, the CBS newsman who invented '60 Minutes' and produced the popular newsmagazine for 36 years, died Wednesday. He was 86.

AP - A Texas judge who closed her court before a death row inmate's last-minute appeal was complete testified in her misconduct trial Wednesday that she would do the same thing again.

AP - A bloodied scab on his face and his shattered hand bound by a bulky cast, Milwaukee's mayor said Wednesday his decision to intervene in a domestic dispute got 'very ugly' quickly but he did what any good citizen should have done.

AP - U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years, the government reported Wednesday. The increase is due mainly to falling death rates in almost all the leading causes of death. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2007 is nearly three months greater than for children born in 2006.

AP - Authorities say a man was driving to the Gillette police station to report his Ford Bronco was stolen when he spotted the vehicle and confronted the driver. The driver fled, but police arrested a 16-year-old boy a short time later on suspicion of larceny. His name wasn't released.

AP - John Smoltz agreed to a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, giving the 42-year-old former ace a chance to rejuvenate his career in the middle of a pennant race. Smoltz joined the NL Central leaders shortly after he cleared waivers, following his release by Boston. He was 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA in eight starts for the Red Sox.

Reuters - Switzerland has agreed to reveal the names of about 4,450 wealthy American clients of UBS AG to U.S. authorities in a tax dispute settlement that pierces Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks.

Reuters - A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, prompting a rare admission of culpability from Iraqi security forces struggling to cope without U.S. help.

AFP - Nervous Afghans prepared to elect a president on Thursday, reeling from a surge in Taliban attacks as the government lashed out, threatening to expel foreign journalists who report violence on polling day.

KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai called on Afghans to defy Taliban threats and vote, hours before polls opened in an election on Thursday that could prove the toughest test yet of his own mandate and his nation's fragile democracy.

BERNE/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Switzerland has agreed to reveal the names of about 4,450 wealthy American clients of UBS AG to U.S. authorities in a tax dispute settlement that pierces Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea hopes for a thaw in relations after former President Bill Clinton's trip to Pyongyang this month secured the freedom of two jailed U.S. journalists, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration plans to transfer six prisoners abroad from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, part of the effort to close the controversial facility by early 2010.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The federal judge being asked to declare gay marriage a fundamental constitutional right on Wednesday set a January 2010 trial date and denied attempts by gay and conservative advocacy groups to join the case, already top-heavy with high profile lawyers.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the nation on Thursday to present a cabinet expected to include a relative novice as oil minister, but he may face a tough battle to win parliament's approval.

MIAMI (Reuters) - Powerful Hurricane Bill, a dangerous Category 4 storm with 135 mph winds, raged across the open Atlantic on Wednesday, days from land but on a path that could menace Canada's eastern provinces next week.

AP - Nearly simultaneous truck bombs struck Iraq's Foreign and Finance ministries Wednesday as a wave of explosions killed at least 95 people, bringing the weaknesses of Iraqi security forces into sharp focus less than two months after U.S. forces withdrew from urban areas.

AP - President Barack Obama is broadening his push for overhauling health care even as congressional Democrats quietly pursue ways to achieve their goals without any Republican help.

AP - Nevada U.S. Sen. John Ensign told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his affair with a friend's wife was different from former President Bill Clinton's affair in the White House because Clinton committed a felony when he lied about it to a grand jury.

AP - Authorities said a 23-year-old woman was arrested after a scuffle with a 13-year-old boy in a wheelchair at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. The woman was charged with injury to a child in connection with the struggle over a soccer ball on Tuesday night.

AP - John Smoltz agreed to a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, giving the 42-year-old former ace a chance to rejuvenate his career in the middle of a pennant race.

Reuters - President Hamid Karzai called on Afghans to defy Taliban threats and vote, hours before polls opened in an election on Thursday that could prove the toughest test yet of his own mandate and his nation's fragile democracy.

Reuters - Switzerland has agreed to reveal the names of about 4,450 wealthy American clients of UBS AG to U.S. authorities in a tax dispute settlement that pierces Swiss banking secrecy and now threatens to spill over to other banks.

Reuters - A series of blasts in Baghdad killed 95 people and wounded 536 in Iraq's bloodiest day this year, prompting a rare admission of culpability from Iraqi security forces struggling to cope without U.S. help.

Reuters - North Korea hopes for a thaw in relations after former President Bill Clinton's trip to Pyongyang this month secured the freedom of two jailed U.S. journalists, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson said on Wednesday.

Reuters - The Obama administration plans to transfer six prisoners abroad from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, part of the effort to close the controversial facility by early 2010.

Reuters - The federal judge being asked to declare gay marriage a fundamental constitutional right on Wednesday set a January 2010 trial date and denied attempts by gay and conservative advocacy groups to join the case, already top-heavy with high profile lawyers.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government's budget office will announce next week the federal deficit for fiscal 2009 will total $1.58 trillion, about $262 billion lower than a forecast in May, an administration official said on Wednesday.

(Corrects former President Kim Dae-jung's age to 85 in third paragraph)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A federal court case which could legalize gay marriage in the United States will begin trial in January 2010 with high-profile lawyers but not longtime gay and conservative antagonists lined up on opposite sides of the debate, a district judge ruled on Wednesday.

AP - Powerful winds slammed parts of four Midwestern states on Wednesday, leaving behind shattered windows, toppled power lines and a handful of injuries. At least a half dozen suspected tornadoes were reported.

AP - Ryan Alexander Jenkins was fulfilling his dream of becoming a star, with a small fortune stowed away, a marriage — albeit brief — to a former model, and two gigs in reality TV.

AP - Venus and Serena Williams have found a new sport: pro football.

Reuters - The U.S. government's budget office will announce next week the federal deficit for fiscal 2009 will total $1.58 trillion, about $262 billion lower than a forecast in May, an administration official said on Wednesday.

Reuters - A federal court case which could legalize gay marriage in the United States will begin trial in January 2010 with high-profile lawyers but not longtime gay and conservative antagonists lined up on opposite sides of the debate, a district judge ruled on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will trim its budget deficit forecast for fiscal 2009 to $1.58 trillion, after scrapping money earmarked for bailing out more banks, officials said on Wednesday.

SEOUL (Reuters) - Reclusive North Korea confirmed on Thursday it would send a high-ranking delegation to the South to mourn former President Kim Dae-jung, who died earlier this week, in the latest sign of easing tensions with the outside world.

Reuters - The Obama administration will trim its budget deficit forecast for fiscal 2009 to $1.58 trillion, after scrapping money earmarked for bailing out more banks, officials said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Reclusive North Korea confirmed on Thursday it would send a high-ranking delegation to the South to mourn former President Kim Dae-jung, who died earlier this week, in the latest sign of easing tensions with the outside world.

AFP - Afghanistan's 17 million voters go to the polls Thursday to elect a president for just the second time in history with a sweeping security clampdown in force to prevent threatened Taliban attacks.

AFP - Iraqi forces were on high alert Thursday after twin truck bombs killed 95 people and wounded almost 600 in Baghdad's bloodiest day in 18 months.

KABUL (Reuters) - Streets in Afghanistan were mainly quiet and tense early on Thursday as Afghans headed to the polls for an anxiously awaited presidential election that Taliban fighters have vowed to disrupt.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized the United States on Wednesday for being willing to spend billions on its high-tech military but finding it difficult to approve healthcare reform that would protect its poor people.

AP - Afghans voted under the shadow of Taliban threats of violence Thursday to choose their next president for a nation plagued by armed insurgency, drugs, corruption and a feeble government nearly eight years after the U.S.-led invasion.

AP - The CIA hired private contractors at Blackwater USA in 2004 as part of a secret program to kill top-level members of al-Qaida, a person familiar with the program said Wednesday.

AP - No fish can escape mercury pollution. That's the take-home message from a federal study of mercury contamination released Wednesday that tested fish from nearly 300 streams across the country.

AP - Jay Leno said he's looking forward to being a star-maker for young comedians on his new prime-time show.

AP - Cliff Lee keeps finding ways to outdo his previous performance.

Reuters - Streets in Afghanistan were mainly quiet and tense early on Thursday as Afghans headed to the polls for an anxiously awaited presidential election that Taliban fighters have vowed to disrupt.

Reuters - Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro criticized the United States on Wednesday for being willing to spend billions on its high-tech military but finding it difficult to approve healthcare reform that would protect its poor people.