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.

AFP - A US missile strike on a militant compound in Pakistan's tribal district on the Afghan border killed at least 10 rebels on Wednesday, local security officials said.

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 - 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.

AFP - London shares slid at the start of trading on Wednesday following steep losses across Asia and on Wall Street overnight.

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.

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.

AP - BP says it plans to release results of its internal investigation into the rig explosion that killed 11 workers and led to the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

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.

AP - Iraqi police and health officials say at least six people have been killed and 35 wounded in two separate attacks in Baghdad.

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

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.

AP - Two dead bodies found in the northern state of Tamaulipas appear to be those of a state detective and local police chief who investigated the massacre of 72 migrants in August, prosecutors said.

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.