WORLD

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is close to a decision to bid for the presidency in an election next year because he has doubts about his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev, senior political sources say.

Mario Borghezio, an Italian Member of European Parliament, condemned the mass murder perpetrated by Norway?s Ander Behring Breivik, but nonetheless said he supported much of the killer?s ideas and attitudes.

Republicans and Democrats rushed to rework rival deficit reduction plans on Wednesday, but with the fate of both proposals heavily in doubt top lawmakers pursued a behind-the-scenes compromise to avert a crippling U.S. default.

A suicide bomber killed the mayor of Afghanistan's Kandahar Wednesday, a further blow to stability in the southern city still reeling from the assassination two weeks ago of President Hamid Karzai's powerbroker half-brother.

The former Libyan intelligence agent convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing over Scotland made a rare public appearance on Tuesday at a rally in support of Muammar Gaddafi.

Norway's prime minister on Wednesday promised a security review after a mourning period for at least 76 people killed by a far-right extremist in bombing and shooting attacks that have traumatised the nation.

The European Union's executive will increase funding for victims of the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa, the EU's crisis chief said on Wednesday after visiting Kenya and Somalia.

Striking workers in South Africa's petroleum sector are discussing a revised wage offer to end a three-week-old walkout as stoppages spread to the vital mining sector, threatening supplies of coal and gold.

An international rights group on Wednesday called on Uganda to stop prosecuting civilians in military courts and to immediately release 341 people under army detention.

At least 32 people have died in Mudslides near Seoul, South Korea.

Osama bin Laden's death and a relentless campaign of drone attacks have weakened al-Qaeda to the point that the terror organization may no longer be capable of planning and carrying out large-scale attacks.

Libya's rebel leader said on Wednesday that his council had offered to allow Muammar Gaddafi to stay in the country provided he step down first, but that this offer had now expired.

The Greek sovereign debt crisis has been resolved, and NFL owners and players have inked a new contract. Is a debt deal between Democrats and Republicans up ahead? As the saying goes -- "things occur in threes."

Norwegian killer Anders Behring Breivik has caused potential embarrassment for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin by describing him as worthy of respect and one of the two men he would most like to meet.

Senate Democrats' legislation to reduce the U.S. deficit and increase borrowing authority would cut $2.2 trillion from deficits, about $500 billion less than Democrats claimed, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

'History shows that even when the decision to raise the debt ceiling goes down to the wire, it does not lead to a default or a change in the perception that the US is the gold standard against which to benchmark other debt. This time around the stakes are higher.'

The upcoming trial of Anders Behring Breivik has shined a spotlight on Norway's innovative prison system.

It reportedly took Oslo police 90 minutes to get to Utoeya, which is only 25 miles from the city.

A judge dismissed a lawsuit seeking to freeze federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, backing the Obama administration's push to ease restrictions on the controversial research technique.

Norway's royal family and Prime Minister met survivors of the Utoya island massacre, where at least 85 people have been killed.

Gold prices rose to an all-time record in New York to touch $1623.70 as investors weighed in the possibility of a debt default in the U.S.

Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez was arrested in front of the White House on Tuesday afternoon while protesting deportation of illegal immigrants, a spokesman said.

South Korean scientists said on Wednesday they have created a glowing dog using a cloning technique that could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Yonhap news agency reported.

Will the sky fall on August 2 if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling?

A Republican proposal to cut the U.S. deficit faced delay and stiff opposition on Wednesday, raising the risk of a debt default and a ratings downgrade as the clock ticks toward a deadline less than a week away.

Nok-Ten has flooded a number of provinces on the northeast island.

Taiwan initially applied to acquire 66 aircraft from the U.S., reportedly to deter China, however, Washington has apparently postponed closing the deal out of concerns for Beijing.

While a glut of foreclosures makes South Florida a symbol for the casualties of the U.S. housing crisis, the swift recovery of the Miami housing market demonstrates the voracious taste for property that helped create it.

A Republican plan to cut the U.S. deficit faced delay and stiff opposition on Wednesday, raising the risk of default and a ratings downgrade as the clock ticks toward a deadline less than a week away.