World News

AP - Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo pleaded not guilty to an electoral fraud charge Thursday at the opening of a landmark trial that is seen as a key test of her reformist successor's campaign to stamp out corruption.

Time.com - In the face of continuing bloodshed in their homeland, one anti-Assad group courts the regime's allies in the Syrian business community and Moscow. Is it all in vain?

Time.com - A celebrated American-born war reporter and a young French photographer were killed on Wednesday morning when Syrian forces bombed a makeshift media center in the besieged city of Homs

AP - Mexico's election commission says its members have unanimously voted to fine a Mexican boxer for wearing a political party's emblem during a match broadcast last year.

AP - Mazda stock dived nearly 7 percent Thursday after the struggling car maker said it will raise about $2 billion from selling new shares to invest in assembly plants and developing new vehicle technologies.

AP - Prime Minister Julia Gillard put her job on the line Thursday, announcing a leadership ballot in hopes of quashing a comeback by the premier she ousted in a Labor Party coup. But Kevin Rudd's supporters said that even if Gillard survives Monday's vote, the turmoil surrounding her unpopular government will continue until she is out.

AP - Syrian gunners pounded an opposition stronghold where the last dispatches from a veteran American-born war correspondent chronicled the suffering of civilians caught in the relentless shelling. An intense morning barrage killed her and a French photojournalist — two of 74 deaths reported Wednesday in Syria.

AP - Japan's crown prince believes efforts should be made to reduce the burden on his ailing father, Emperor Akihito, as the 78-year-old monarch recovers from heart bypass surgery.

AP - The Swedish Royal Court says Crown Princess Victoria has been admitted to a hospital for the birth of her first child, who would be a future heir to the throne.

AP - The first two cars were packed as usual for the morning rush, so tightly that people stood pressed flesh to flesh, sandwiched between bicycles and the few seats, many without so much as a strap to hold onto.

Reuters - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces rained rockets and bombs down on opposition-held neighborhoods of the city of Homs, reducing buildings to rubble and killing more than 80 people, including two Western journalists.

AP - President Hugo Chavez has never been one to share decision-making authority. Now, the voluble socialist strongman and acerbic critic of the U.S. may have no choice but to designate a successor.

AP - Federal regulators have filed civil fraud charges against the chairman and the former CEO of a Chinese company, accusing them of duping people to invest in a coal company that was an empty shell.

AP - Former Australian foreign minister Kevin Rudd said he was encouraged by support from government colleagues to challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard for the leadership of their Labor Party.

AP - Prime Minister Julia Gillard is announcing that her party will vote next week on its leadership.

AP - A train packed with morning commuters slammed into a downtown station on Wednesday, killing 49 people and injuring hundreds as passenger cars crumpled and windows exploded around them. It was Argentina's worst train accident in decades.

AP - Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces party leadership ballot next week.

Reuters - London Fashion Week shook off its traditional image as a mere playground for quirky emerging talent with a display of grown-up elegance for the autumn/winter 2012 season that had leaders of the global fashion pack singing the British capital's praises.

AP - Syrian gunners pounded an opposition stronghold where the last dispatches from a veteran American-born war correspondent chronicled the suffering of civilians caught in the relentless shelling. An intense morning barrage killed her and a French photojournalist — two of 74 deaths reported Wednesday in Syria.

Reuters - Air Canada's 8,600 mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents have rejected a tentative contract agreement with the country's biggest airline, a union spokesman said on Wednesday, marking another setback for the carrier during a year of rocky labor relations.