LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sees risks to the economic recovery and says it is not the moment to change course as he prepares for an election by June.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The leader of the House of Representatives -- a persuasive arm-twister and deal maker -- faces her toughest challenge yet in the coming weeks: getting 216 votes to pass final legislation revamping the U.S. healthcare system.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. economists raised their forecast for economic growth in 2010 in March, the third straight monthly rise, while trimming their growth forecast for 2011, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A leading Southeast Asian militant, wanted for the 2002 Bali bombings, was the man killed in police raids in Jakarta, Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Wednesday.

AP - The government sent investigators Tuesday to examine a Prius that sped out of control on a California freeway, and Toyota said it wanted to interview the driver as the besieged automaker dealt with a high-profile new headache that raised questions about the safety of its beloved hybrid.

AP - Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jews in east Jerusalem is overshadowing Vice President Joe Biden's visit to the West Bank.

AP - The Taliban claimed responsibility Wednesday for a suicide bombing inside a NATO-Afghan base in eastern Afghanistan that killed two international service members.

AP - Gunmen attacked the offices of an international aid group in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing five people working for the organization, police said.

AP - Mike Dunleavy and the Los Angeles Clippers parted company for good Tuesday, barely a month after he relinquished his head coaching duties to focus solely on being general manager.

Reuters - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown sees risks to the economic recovery and says it is not the moment to change course as he prepares for an election by June.

Reuters - The leader of the House of Representatives -- a persuasive arm-twister and deal maker -- faces her toughest challenge yet in the coming weeks: getting 216 votes to pass final legislation revamping the U.S. healthcare system.

Reuters - U.S. economists raised their forecast for economic growth in 2010 in March, the third straight monthly rise, while trimming their growth forecast for 2011, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

AFP - Militants stormed a building used by a US-based charity in Pakistan on Wednesday, sparking heavy clashes with police and killing at least five people, police and an aid worker said.

CANBERRA/JAKARTA (Reuters) - A suspected mastermind of the Bali bombings was killed in a police raid in Indonesia in the latest blow to an Islamist militant movement in the world's most populous Muslim country.

AP - President Barack Obama has chosen a suburban St. Louis high school to make his closing argument for a health care overhaul, pushing a new anti-fraud plan as he cranks up the pressure on skittish Democratic lawmakers to act fast.

AP - It starts with a tip, a scrap of intelligence, a fingerprint lifted from a suspected terrorist's home.

AP - Suspected militants armed with grenades attacked the offices of an international aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six employees and wounding several others, police and the organization said.

AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates raised the possibility Wednesday that some of the U.S. forces involved in the Afghanistan surge could leave the country before President Barack Obama's announced July 2011 date to begin withdrawal.

AFP - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad flew into Kabul on Wednesday for summit talks on a visit overlapping with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was in Afghanistan to review a US troop surge.

AFP - Militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the offices of a US-based Christian charity in Pakistan Wednesday, killing up to five people and sparking clashes with police, officials said.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will on Wednesday propose to force banks to reveal how many of their staff earn top wages, in steps that go further than previous proposals, financial services minister Paul Myners said.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - An Israeli cabinet minister apologized on Wednesday after Israel embarrassed visiting Vice President Joe Biden by announcing plans to build 1,600 more homes for Jewish settlers.

REYKJAVIK (Reuters) - Iceland's opposition turned up the heat on the center-left government on Wednesday to hold out for a tough new 'Icesave' debt accord with Britain and the Netherlands, after a referendum rejection of its previous deal.

CANBERRA/JAKARTA (Reuters) - A suspected mastermind of the Bali bombings was killed in a police raid in Indonesia in the latest blow to an Islamist militant movement in the world's most populous Muslim country.

AP - Before he called 911, James Sikes says he reached down with his hand to loosen the 'stuck' accelerator on his 2008 Toyota Prius, his other hand on the steering wheel. The pedal didn't move.

Reuters - Britain will on Wednesday propose to force banks to reveal how many of their staff earn top wages, in steps that go further than previous proposals, financial services minister Paul Myners said.

Reuters - An Israeli cabinet minister apologized on Wednesday after Israel embarrassed visiting Vice President Joe Biden by announcing plans to build 1,600 more homes for Jewish settlers.

Reuters - Iceland's opposition turned up the heat on the center-left government on Wednesday to hold out for a tough new 'Icesave' debt accord with Britain and the Netherlands, after a referendum rejection of its previous deal.

AFP - Indonesia's president on Wednesday confirmed that a bombmaker believed to be behind the Bali bombings was killed in a Jakarta raid and vowed to keep hunting extremists in a landmark address to Australia's parliament.

AFP - A car bomb killed five people in Afghanistan on Wednesday, as the Iranian president and the defence secretary of Iran's arch-foe, the United States, paid duelling visits to the war-torn country.

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he believed Britain would maintain its coveted top credit rating and announced a pay freeze for senior civil servants and military officers to help tame a record deficit.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinians told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday that Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jewish settlers challenged Washington's efforts to get indirect peace talks underway.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election, a vote seen as a litmus test of its young democracy, are likely to be released by Thursday, a United Nations official said Wednesday.

AP - Israel apologized Wednesday for disrupting the visit of Vice President Joe Biden with its announcement of 1,600 new homes in disputed east Jerusalem, but made clear it had no intention of reversing the order that has cast a shadow over the latest U.S. push for Mideast peace.

Reuters - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday he believed Britain would maintain its coveted top credit rating and announced a pay freeze for senior civil servants and military officers to help tame a record deficit.

Reuters - Palestinians told U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday that Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jewish settlers challenged Washington's efforts to get indirect peace talks underway.

Reuters - Preliminary results of Iraq's parliamentary election, a vote seen as a litmus test of its young democracy, are likely to be released by Thursday, a United Nations official said Wednesday.

AFP - Iran's outspoken president on Wednesday criticised Western troops as an obstacle to peace in Afghanistan and mocked the US defence secretary during their overlapping visits to the war-torn country.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Vice President Joe Biden publicly condemned on Wednesday Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jewish settlers, saying on a West Bank visit the project undermined Washington's peace efforts.

AP - The Los Angeles coroner's office says 'The Lost Boys' actor Corey Haim is dead at 38.

AP - A spokesman for the Regensburg Catholic diocese in Germany says the diocese will investigate allegations of physical and sexual abuse that have swirled around a famed choir once led by Pope Benedict XVI's brother.

AP - Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Palestinians deserve a 'viable' independent state with contiguous territory, seeking to reassure them of U.S. support after Israel announced plans to expand a Jewish neighborhood in disputed east Jerusalem.

AP - Kobe Bryant hit a 17-foot fallaway jumper with 1.9 seconds left, and the Los Angeles Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter to snap their three-game losing streak with a 109-107 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.

Reuters - Vice President Joe Biden publicly condemned on Wednesday Israel's new plan to build 1,600 homes for Jewish settlers, saying on a West Bank visit the project undermined Washington's peace efforts.

AFP - Iran's outspoken president on Wednesday criticised Western troops as an obstacle to peace in Afghanistan and mocked the US defence secretary during their overlapping visits to the war-torn country.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI denounced the 'atrocious' bloodshed in Nigeria on Wednesday after a massacre of Christian villagers, as police said 49 people would be charged over the killings.

RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden publicly scolded Israel Wednesday over a Jewish settlement plan, saying it was undermining peace efforts after Palestinians agreed to U.S.-mediated talks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with plotting to kill a Swedish man and trying to recruit fighters via the Internet to commit violent attacks overseas, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Sporadic shooting rang out overnight in the central Nigerian city of Jos and witnesses said at least one person was killed by soldiers enforcing a curfew days after attacks on three nearby Christian villages.

KABUL (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Secretary Robert Gates traded barbs on Wednesday during briefly overlapping visits to Afghanistan, where Washington has troops at war but Tehran has growing clout.

OSLO (Reuters) - A record 237 people and organizations have been nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, with interest boosted by last year's award to President Barack Obama, organizers said on Wednesday.

AP - Corey Haim, a 1980s teen heartthrob for his roles in 'Lucas' and 'The Lost Boys' whose career was blighted by drug abuse, has died. He was 38.

AP - Americans have come to detest Congress ever more deeply as it nears the end of a nasty fight over health care. But more than half still back President Barack Obama, a bright spot for a Democratic Party counting on its leader to help stave off expected losses in elections this fall.

AP - Catholic authorities in Germany announced two major abuse investigations Wednesday — one into the renowned choir once led by Pope Benedict XVI's brother and another into what everyone, including the pope, knew about the sexual and physical abuse of students.

AP - Suspected militants armed with assault rifles and a homemade bomb attacked the offices of a U.S.-based Christian aid group helping earthquake survivors in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six Pakistani employees, police and the organization said.

AP - Alex Rodriguez's lawyers are setting up an interview with federal authorities as part of an investigation into a Canadian doctor who is the focus of a cross-border drug smuggling case involving human growth hormone.

Reuters - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden publicly scolded Israel Wednesday over a Jewish settlement plan, saying it was undermining peace efforts after Palestinians agreed to U.S.-mediated talks.

Reuters - A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with plotting to kill a Swedish man and trying to recruit fighters via the Internet to commit violent attacks overseas, the U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday.

Reuters - Sporadic shooting rang out overnight in the central Nigerian city of Jos and witnesses said at least one person was killed by soldiers enforcing a curfew days after attacks on three nearby Christian villages.

Reuters - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Defense Secretary Robert Gates traded barbs on Wednesday during briefly overlapping visits to Afghanistan, where Washington has troops at war but Tehran has growing clout.

AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinian leaders on Wednesday Washington will hold accountable any side that hurts peace prospects, pointedly citing Israel's settlement expansion plans.

DETROIT (Reuters) - Federal regulators said they were looking into a report of another runaway Toyota Prius, this one in Westchester County, New York, where police said a woman pulling out of a driveway zoomed across a busy street and into a stone wall.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by Thursday, Iraqi and U.N. officials said on Wednesday, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

AP - Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country.

AP - Corey Haim, a 1980s teen heartthrob whose career was blighted by drug abuse, has died. He was 38.

AP - President Barack Obama on Wednesday renewed America's commitment to the recovery and reconstruction of earthquake-devastated Haiti, telling visiting President Rene Preval he knows the crisis has not passed.

AP - A Swedish artist who angered Muslims by drawing the Prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog said Wednesday he has no regrets and believes the suspects in an alleged plot to kill him were not professionals.

AP - Cable, satellite TV and other video providers are seeking government intervention in ongoing disputes over the fees that they are charged by TV networks to carry local channels.

AP - Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday revealed the price for its first 3-D TV set, confirming that $3,000 is about what it takes to be among the first to watch 3-D movies in the home.

AP - A spokesman for Charlie Sheen says the actor will soon be back at 'Two and a Half Men' after undergoing rehab that temporarily halted production of CBS' top-rated sitcom.

Reuters - Federal regulators said they were looking into a report of another runaway Toyota Prius, this one in Westchester County, New York, where police said a woman pulling out of a driveway zoomed across a busy street and into a stone wall.

Reuters - Initial results from Iraq's national election are likely to be released by Thursday, Iraqi and U.N. officials said on Wednesday, as further signs emerged of a strong showing for Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

AFP - Two US missile strikes on Wednesday killed at least 12 militants in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.

AP - The nation's top health official challenged insurers on Wednesday to join President Barack Obama's push to overhaul the medical system, arguing that if the effort fails it will hurt them as well as other Americans.

AP - Unemployment rose in 30 states in January, the Labor Department said Wednesday, evidence that jobs remain scarce in most regions of the country.

AP - NHL general managers unanimously agreed Wednesday to recommend a rule change dealing with on-ice hits to the head.

AFP - Militants armed with guns and grenades stormed the offices of a US-based Christian charity in Pakistan on Wednesday, killing six aid workers in an attack blamed on Islamist rebels.

AFP - US Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinian leaders on Wednesday that Washington will hold accountable any side that hurts peace prospects, pointedly citing Israel's settlement expansion plans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three American detained in Iran last year and accused of spying have been allowed to telephone their families, although formal consular access has not been granted, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

AP - President Barack Obama says Washington for too long has accepted billions of dollars in health care fraud and abuse as simply the cost of doing business. He says that must end.

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 - Church abuse scandals in Germany have reached the older brother of Pope Benedict XVI and are creeping ever closer to the pontiff himself.

AP - The self-dubbed 'Jihad Jane' who thought her blond, all-American profile would help mask her plan to kill a Swedish cartoonist is a rare case of a U.S. woman inciting foreign terrorism and shows the latest evolution of the global threat, authorities say.

AP - The Senate voted Wednesday to extend a host of soon-to-expire elements of last year's economic stimulus measure, including help for the jobless and money to help financially strapped states pay for health care for the poor.

AP - The point of a caricature depicting the Prophet Muhammad as a dog was to show that artistic freedom allows mockery of all religions, including the most sacred symbols of Islam, the Swedish artist who created it said Wednesday.

AP - Someone is spinning quite a yarn over one New Jersey shore town. An unknown person dubbed The Midnight Knitter by West Cape May residents is covering tree branches and lamp poles with little sweaters under cover of darkness.

AP - Nomar Garciaparra rejoined the Red Sox for one day and then retired, ending a 14-year career in which he won two batting titles with Boston and was once a beloved player in the city.

Reuters - Three American detained in Iran last year and accused of spying have been allowed to telephone their families, although formal consular access has not been granted, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ratcheted up the pressure on health insurance companies on Wednesday, urging them to forgo short-term profits to make coverage more affordable and to stop fighting the Obama administration's reform effort.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest person, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, as the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 50 percent over the last year, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the House of Representatives moved on Wednesday to limit the ability of lawmakers to tuck pet projects into spending bills amid mounting election-year ethics concerns.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - With Governor David Paterson enveloped in scandal, New York's lieutenant governor is leading the notoriously difficult budget process and freeing up his boss to fight for his political life, experts say.

AP - Democrats claimed momentum Wednesday in their drive to enact the sweeping health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama, citing near agreement on crucial issues despite persistent Republican efforts to knock them offstride.

AP - Colleen LaRose spent long days caring for her boyfriend's father in a second-floor apartment in Pennsburg, a small town north of Philadelphia.

AP - Reports of sudden acceleration in the Toyota Prius have spiked across the country. But that doesn't mean there's an epidemic of bad gas pedals in the popular hybrid.

AP - Second-degree burglary charges have been filed against an Ames man who broke into a church where he allegedly used the institution's electronic equipment to watch pornography. Police allege the 55-year-old man broke into the First Christian Church on Thursday. After gathering items from around the building, he is believed to have gone to the basement to spend the night.

Reuters - Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius ratcheted up the pressure on health insurance companies on Wednesday, urging them to forgo short-term profits to make coverage more affordable and to stop fighting the Obama administration's reform effort.

Reuters - Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim is the world's richest person, knocking Microsoft founder Bill Gates into second spot, as the wealth of the world's billionaires grew by 50 percent over the last year, Forbes magazine said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Arab League chief Amr Moussa said on Wednesday that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had told him he would not enter indirect talks with Israel, only days after the Palestinian side had agreed to the contacts.

Reuters - Democrats in the House of Representatives moved on Wednesday to limit the ability of lawmakers to tuck pet projects into spending bills amid mounting election-year ethics concerns.

Reuters - With Governor David Paterson enveloped in scandal, New York's lieutenant governor is leading the notoriously difficult budget process and freeing up his boss to fight for his political life, experts say.

ST. CHARLES, Missouri (Reuters) - President Barack Obama declared on Wednesday the 'time for talk is over' and urged the U.S. Congress to vote on healthcare as his health secretary directly challenged insurers to forgo profits to make coverage more affordable.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's revenue in February was $480 million or 8.7 percent above the estimate in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's state budget plan, so tax refunds should be paid on time, State Controller John Chiang said on Wednesday.

AP - House GOP leaders are pushing rank-and-file Republicans to break their addiction to pet projects by going cold turkey and giving up the long-cherished practice of directing federal dollars to their home districts.

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 - On his first day as Dodgers interim manager, hitting coach Don Mattingly said Wednesday that the team has made overtures about him eventually becoming Joe Torre's permanent replacement.

Reuters - President Barack Obama declared on Wednesday the 'time for talk is over' and urged the U.S. Congress to vote on healthcare as his health secretary directly challenged insurers to forgo profits to make coverage more affordable.

Reuters - California's revenue in February was $480 million or 8.7 percent above the estimate in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's state budget plan, so tax refunds should be paid on time, State Controller John Chiang said on Wednesday.

AP - Democrats claimed momentum Wednesday in their drive to enact the sweeping health care legislation sought by President Barack Obama, citing near agreement on crucial issues despite persistent Republican efforts to knock them off stride.

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 - Jason Kidd had 20 points and nine assists, Caron Butler added 16 points, and the Dallas Mavericks recovered from a lethargic start to match the NBA's longest winning streak this season with their 13th straight victory, 96-87 over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.

AFP - Prospects for indirect Israeli-Palestinian talks lay in tatters after the Arab League came out against them unless Israel reversed its plans to build more settler homes in the occupied territories.