AP - China and several Central Asian nations rebuffed Russia's hopes of international support for its actions in Georgia, issuing a statement Thursday denouncing the use of force and calling for respect for every country's territorial integrity.

AP - U.S. forces arrested a top Shiite official in Iraq's government as he stepped off a plane in Baghdad, a political ally said Thursday, and a U.S. military intelligence official linked the man to a June bombing that killed four Americans and six Iraqis.

AP - A four-day battle that began with an ambush on a joint U.S-Afghan patrol in southern Afghanistan has killed more than 100 militants, the coalition said Thursday.

AP - A surge of violence continued unabated in Pakistan's tribal border region Thursday, with a car bomb blasting a bus filled with Pakistani police and government workers off a bridge and killing eight people aboard.

AP - Tourists and oil workers fled Thursday as Gustav churned toward Jamaica and the Cayman Islands with winds near hurricane force. Louisiana called a state of emergency and put the National Guard on standby, hoping to avoid the chaos of Hurricane Katrina three years ago.