AP - Germany, the European Union and a major human rights group slammed Iran on Wednesday for its plans to stone a woman convicted of adultery, increasing the global pressure on Tehran over a case it has tried to present as a criminal matter and not one of human rights.

AP - A Romanian Gypsy leader on Wednesday compared French President Nicolas Sarkozy to Romania's pro-Nazi wartime leader, following the expulsion of hundreds of Gypsies from France.

AP - The Taliban's shadowy leader Mullah Mohammad Omar says Afghan fighters are winning the war and warns Americans they are wasting lives and billions in tax dollars.

Time.com - The first congress in three decades of the ruling Workers Party is rumored to be imminent, suggesting that a succession is being prepared that will hand power to a third generation of the first family

AP - Stocks resumed their rally Wednesday after a successful auction of Portuguese government debt eased worries about Europe's financial system.

AP - Fidel Castro's warnings of a looming war between the United States and Iran have Cuba buzzing with fears of nuclear Armageddon. But the revolutionary icon's alarming predictions have barely registered in the place where it might matter most: Iran.

AFP - Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed new military, intelligence and police chiefs, his office said on Wednesday, ahead of January elections in the oil-rich country.

AFP - Police in Indian Kashmir on Wednesday arrested a leading separatist who has been spearheading months of protests in the disputed Muslim-majority region.