AP - The number of Iraqi security forces killed in September rose by nearly a third to 159 compared with the same period last year, Associated Press figures showed Tuesday. U.S. troop deaths for the same period fell by nearly 40 percent to 25.

AP - Pakistan's army chief named a general considered a hawk in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban to head the country's powerful spy agency, asserting his control at a time of U.S. concern that rogue operatives are aiding Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

AP - Somali pirates said Tuesday they celebrated a Muslim holiday aboard a hijacked freighter and denied reports that three comrades were killed in a shootout on the vessel, which is being closely watched by a half-dozen U.S. warships.

AP - Astounded by the U.S. government's failure to resolve the financial crisis threatening the foundations of the global free market, fingers of blame are pointing at America from around the planet.

AP - Bad news for American writers hoping for a Nobel Prize next week: the top member of the award jury believes the United States is too insular and ignorant to compete with Europe when it comes to great writing.

AFP - Celtic have their work cut out to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League as their dismal European away record continued with a 1-0 Group E defeat at Villarreal on Tuesday.

AP - The chief U.N. atomic inspector suggested Tuesday that nuclear weapons states bore some blame for other countries seeking such arms, because they are modernizing arsenals rather than scrapping them.

AP - The Russian ambassador to Bolivia hopes the Andean nation's plan to purchase five civil defense helicopters is only a "first step" in deepening ties.

AP - A new command takes over all U.S. military operations in Africa Wednesday, a program that many on the continent fear has a hidden agenda skewed by the war on terror and a self-interested scramble for resources.

AFP - A missile strike by a suspected US spy drone hit a house in a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, killing at least four people and wounding nine, security officials said Wednesday.

AFP - A row about plagiarism embroiled Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday after his former speechwriter admitted to copying a speech in support of the US-led Iraq war by Australia's former leader John Howard.