Mugabe insists that runoff vote will take place
The Zimbabwean government said the election would proceed Friday despite what Nelson Mandela called a "tragic failure of leadership" in the country.

Dow at lowest level of the year as bank fears push shares down
Wall Street took a sharp plunge, with the Dow down by more than 350 points, after a report on the prospects of the biggest U.S. brokerage firms.
- Mergers and acquisitions headed for rise in Asia in first half
- Middle Eastern and Asian investors flock to U.S. and European property markets

Oil rises past $140 a barrel, setting a record
Oil futures shot up to $140.39 a barrel, a new record, Thursday after OPEC's president said oil prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production.

A command performance for EU heads
Khanty-Mansiysk in Russia was putting its best foot forward for a much-touted summit meeting between Russia and the European Union — a gathering both sides say should define a new relationship between the global energy giant and the 27 European countries that are among its best clients. oil, Russia, European Union, energy, Medvedev

Lowly opponent humbles Maria Sharapova at Wimbledon
Playing tentatively and, above all, serving tentatively, the third-seeded Maria Sharapova was stunned in the second round at Wimbledon by Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-2, 6-4.
- Wimbledon Thursday results

EU reaches landmark deal to cap airline emissions
The agreement raises the stakes in an increasingly ferocious battle with the United States over how to regulate global greenhouse gases.
- 4 airlines fined $504 million to settle U.S. price-fixing charges
- More European companies expected to buy U.S. defense contractors

Anheuser-Busch to reject InBev takeover offer
The rejection, widely expected, will formally start what is likely to become a bitter fight that may even spill over to a political debate over the American company.
- Can InBev turn Budweiser into a global brand?

Rockets fired in Mideast, but cease-fire said to be intact
The week-old truce between Israel and the Hamas rulers of Gaza frayed further on Thursday when Palestinian militants launched two rockets against Israel and Israel prevented goods from entering Gaza for a second day.

The grasp of BP on oil assets in Russia gets more tenuous
BP's Russian partners said that a shareholders' meeting for their joint venture had been held in violation of Russian law.

Japan's Big 3 tap India and beyond
Aggressive moves by Toyota, Honda and Nissan are the latest signpost that the epicenter of the global auto industry is shifting increasingly from California to somewhere between Canton and Calcutta.

3 U.S. marines amoung 30 killed in 2 Iraq bombings
A series of attacks on pro-American targets in recent days is clearly intended to kill local Iraqi leaders.

European mobile operator opposes new limits on cellphone fees
The European Union's telecommunications commissioner said she wanted to bring down the fees charged by one operator for handling a call from another operator by 70 percent. The T-Mobile chief executive called the cut "too drastic."

Many hurdles for 2 democrats on path to unity
Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton are negotiating a thicket of complicated issues as they try to leave behind their intense rivalry and work out a plan to cooperate this fall.
- In pitch for McCain, Bush focuses on a familiar theme: National security
- Ticklish talks to untangle Clinton-Obama rivalry

Howard W. French: With life's journey as goal, little can disappoint
The writer sums up, with the help of Proust, the goals of his journeys around the world.

Spain swamps Russia, 3-0, in damp semifinal
Spain completely outplayed Russia, 3-0, in Vienna in the second Euro 2008 semifinal.