Top Stories - AFP

MIAMI (AFP) - Hurricane Ike lashed the Turks and Caicos Islands early Sunday and threatened to unleash its fury on the Bahamas, Cuba and the US Gulf Coast, as Tropical Storm Hanna continued to batter the US East Coast.

LUANDA (AFP) - Angola's chaotic first post-war vote "might not reflect the will of the people," the leader of the main opposition UNITA party said Sunday after initial results gave a sweeping lead to the ruling party.

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (AFP) - US presidential candidates jostled for the mantle of change Sunday as more bad economic news threatened to deepen electoral dissatisfaction with the state of the nation.

LONDON (AFP) - People should cut their consumption of meat to help combat climate change, a top United Nations expert told a British Sunday newspaper.

FRANKFURT (AFP) - Time is running out and tension is growing: the takeover of Volkswagen by Porsche has sparked union anger and possibly raised tempers within both companies.

DETROIT (AFP) - Battered by weak sales, declining market share and miserable credit ratings, Detroit's Big Three automakers are now turning to the US government for help.

BARCELONA (AFP) - Fabio Capello has warned Croatia that England have no intention of playing for a draw in Wednesday's crucial World Cup qualifier.

BEIJING (AFP) - Britain took an early lead in the Paralympics medal table on Sunday as Olympian Natalie du Toit starred and Chinese officials played down an embarrassing security breach at the glittering opening ceremony.

SHANGHAI (AFP) - In scenes reminiscent of a generation ago, Chinese are tapping friends and relatives travelling abroad to bring back electronic devices that are unavailable in China.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Asif Ali Zardari secured a large win in Pakistan's presidential elections on Saturday, capping a remarkable rise from jail, exile and his wife Benazir Bhutto's assassination just nine months ago.

YEREVAN (AFP) - The presidents of Armenia and Turkey pledged Saturday to overcome decades of enmity between their two nations during the first visit to Yerevan by a Turkish head of state.

CERNOBBIO, Italy (AFP) - Tensions between Russia and the United States over Georgia intensified Saturday with Vice President Dick Cheney casting Moscow as a brutal regime that aims to recapture its Soviet-era dominance.

CAIRO (AFP) - At least 24 people were killed on Saturday when dozens of homes in a northern Cairo shantytown were crushed by a massive rockslide, rescue officials said.

MIAMI (AFP) - Tropical Storm Hanna raced across the southeastern United States on Saturday, battering the coast with powerful waves, rain and wind as Florida and Cuba kept a wary eye on a dangerous hurricane.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Boeing machinists took to the picket line on Saturday as they launched a strike that has halted production and could cost the US aerospace giant more than 100 million dollars per day.

BERLIN (AFP) - German car maker Daimler will not countenance any move to hive off its truck and van division, a spokesman said Saturday in response to reports that it is under pressure from a Swedish investment fund.

BEIJING (AFP) - China once again dazzled the world with a glittering ceremony as the Paralympics opened Saturday in the iconic "Bird's Nest" National Stadium with the message that all life has value and dignity.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Roger Federer moved within one victory of his fifth consecutive US Open title Saturday, firing 20 aces to overpower Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2.

VENICE, Italy (AFP) - Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler," starring gritty survivor Mickey Rourke, won the coveted Golden Lion at the Venice film festival on Saturday.

TRIPOLI (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on a landmark visit to Tripoli Friday, heralding a new chapter in Washington's reconciliation with the former enemy state.

MIAMI (AFP) - Tropical Storm Hanna closed in on the US east coast Friday on the verge of hurricane strength after leaving 136 dead in Haiti, as powerful Hurricane Ike threatened Caribbean islands and the United States.

KIEV (AFP) - US Vice President Dick Cheney urged Ukraine's leaders on Friday to unite against the "threat" posed by Russia at separate talks with the country's deeply divided president and prime minister.

LUANDA (AFP) - Voting was set to go into a second day Saturday in Angola's first peacetime elections, after chaos at the start of ballot-casting on Friday led the opposition to cry foul and demand new polls.

DETROIT, Michigan (AFP) - The US presidential election campaign went into full swing Friday under the shadows of a struggling economy, with unemployment figures soaring to a five-year high and triggering recession fears.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US unemployment jumped to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as 84,000 jobs were slashed, according to a report Friday that sparked fresh fears about recession in the world's biggest economy.

HELSINKI (AFP) - Shares in Nokia, the world's biggest maker of mobile handsets, shed nearly 10 percent of their value on Friday after the Finnish group cut its forecast for its market share in the third quarter.

BRUSSELS (AFP) - Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt won the 100m at the Golden League meet here on Friday, beating compatriot Asafa Powell in a time of 9.77sec to bring the curtain down on his record-shattering season.

NEW YORK (AFP) - American brothers Bob and Mike Bryan won their seventh Grand Slam men's doubles crown Friday, defeating India's Leander Paes and Czech Lukas Dlouhy 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (12/10) to take the US Open title.