Gates to stay on as Pentagon chief, aides say
Barack Obama's advisers were nearing a formal agreement with Robert Gates to stay on for perhaps a year.
- Obama sets tight restrictions on donations to inauguration
- For Biden, a broader role as a counselor

Thai Army chief calls on leader to quit

The head of the Thai Army on Wednesday bluntly advised the prime minister to step down and dissolve Parliament and told protesters who shut down the main international airport to end their demonstrations.

Uno the beagle, the Thanksgiving Day wonder dog
Uno the beagle, best-in-show ace, will be aboard the "Peanuts" float at the Macy's annual Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York.

EU calls for €200 billion in spending to bolster growth
The European Commission on Wednesday called for a stimulus package equivalent to about 1.5 percent of the EU's gross domestic product.

China cuts key lending rate
The rate cut of more than a full percentage point was the largest reduction by China since Asia's financial crisis a decade ago.
- China's industrial muscle weakened by slowdown

Woolworths on brink of failure
The board of Woolworths Group met late Wednesday to approve plans to put its two principal operating businesses into administration after failed attempts to sell the group.

Rice denies U.S. alters stance on Ukraine and Georgia's NATO membership
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice denied that the United States had altered its position on NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia.

2 journalists kidnapped in Somali pirate den
Officials with the regional government of Puntland, a semiautonomous swath of Somalia, said the journalists were not traveling with armed security - a must in Somalia - when they were taken.
- Destroyed pirate ship was hijacked fishing vessel

Mayor killed in North Ossetian capital
The mayor of Vladikavkaz, in Russia's conflict-prone North Caucasus region, was assassinated near his home.

Former Georgian envoy to Moscow puts blame for war on his own country
A parliamentary hearing on the origins of the war between Georgia and Russia in August ended in tumult after a former Georgian diplomat testified that the Georgian authorities were responsible for starting the conflict.

Gerrard leads Liverpool into final 16
Steven Gerrard's fifth goal of this season's Champions League on Wednesday secured a 1-0 victory for Liverpool against Marseille. Atlético Madrid and Inter Milan also advanced.

Merkel under pressure from within and without
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has shown little leadership during the financial crisis, will have to give an outstanding speech Monday if she wishes to retain her reputation as a disciplined, calculating and determined leader.

2 Spanish players apply the coups de grâce
Real Madrid, in its season of doubt, pulled through to the last 16 of the Champions League because of a solitary goal summoned up by its veteran captain, Raúl, in Belarus. In London, Arsenal's new captain, Cesc Fàbregas, created the only goal against Kiev, to ensure that his club advanced.