AFP - The leader of the Taliban said the West is losing the war in Afghanistan and called on Afghans to repel the "invading infidels" as experts urged the US to scale back troops and goals.

AP - North Korea celebrated its 62nd anniversary Thursday with odes to supreme leader Kim Jong Il and pilgrimages to his late father's statue amid hints that a political meeting believed aimed at promoting his son as successor is imminent.

AP - Cuba's communist economic model has come in for criticism from an unlikely source: Fidel Castro.

AP - South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate near a record low Thursday for a second straight month as the risk of slowing global growth outweighed a buoyant outlook for the local economy.

AP - BP's long-awaited internal report on what it believes went wrong when a rig exploded and started the massive Gulf oil spill never mentions the words blame, regret, apology, mistake or pollution. The word fault shows up 20 times, but only once in the same sentence as the company's name.

AP - A suspected American missile strike killed five alleged militants in northwestern Pakistan early Thursday, an intelligence official said, the fourth such attack in 24 hours.

Reuters - Asian stocks edged up and the yen held below a 15-year high on Thursday, after a small rally on Wall Street driven by successful European bond auctions gave investors an excuse to lighten up on their bets.

Reuters - Switzerland remains the world's most competitive economy, while the United States has fallen from second to fourth after losing the top spot last year, according to the World Economic Forum's annual rankings issued on Thursday.

AP - The third Mexican mayor in a month was slain by suspected drug gang hitmen on the same day the U.S. secretary of state raised hackles in Mexico by saying the country is "looking more and more like Colombia looked 20 years ago."

Reuters - Goldman Sachs has been fined 20 million pounds ($30.9 million) by the UK's financial regulator for failing to disclose it was under fraud investigation by its U.S. counterpart, the BBC reported on Wednesday.

Reuters - Australia's competition regulator blocked National Australia Bank's $12 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific for a second time, dashing NAB's efforts to cement its dominance in the world's fourth-largest wealth management market.

AP - Politically weakened but refusing to bend, President Barack Obama insisted Wednesday that Bush-era tax cuts be cut off for the wealthiest Americans, joining battle with Republicans — and some fellow Democrats — just two months before bruising midterm elections.

AP - Wearing white to symbolize purity, worshippers throughout this African capital gathered to pray on one of the final nights of Ramadan. To purify the soul and purge sin, they hadn't eaten all day and refrained from drinking, smoking and having sex — which during the holy month is only allowed among spouses at night.

AFP - US President Barack Obama Wednesday admitted some of his policies were unpopular and had not revived the economy quickly enough, but sought to rekindle his frayed bond with American voters.

AFP - London shares closed higher on Wednesday after a boost from a successful Portuguese debt auction, although many financial stocks remained weak.