AFP - Two workers were missing and more than 30 others were trapped on an oil rig off China's northeast coast after the platform leaned dramatically, state media reported Wednesday.

Reuters - Republicans in Congress showed little willingness to help President Barack Obama approve billions of dollars in measures to boost the economy with midterm elections less than two months away.

AFP - A powerful Muslim politician went on trial Wednesday, accused of murdering 57 people in the worst political massacre in the Philippines, AFP reporters in the courtroom said.

AP - Most Asian stock markets slumped in early trading Wednesday, pressured by renewed concerns over the health of European banks following a report that the region's banks may have more risky government debt.

AP - Men armed with assault rifles burst into a shoe factory and opened fire Tuesday, killing at least 15 workers and wounding eight, Honduran authorities said.

AP - Tensions emerged on the first full day of Australia's new minority government's rule Wednesday between the deputy prime minister and a kingmaker independent legislator over plans to make mining companies pay more tax.

AP - American movie star Angelina Jolie met flood victims in northwestern Pakistan and appealed to the international community to provide aid needed to help the country recover from its worst natural disaster.

AP - The top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan warned an American church's threat to burn copies of the Muslim holy book could endanger U.S. troops in the country and Americans worldwide.

AP - Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates and billionaire investor Warren Buffett plan to sell the art of giving to China's super rich in a visit later this month that's already sparked some soul searching among the world's second-largest number of billionaires.

AP - A car bomb ripped through a police compound in a northwestern Pakistani city, killing 14 women and children and three officers, the latest in a string of attacks proving that Islamist militants remain a potent force in the country.

AP - A magnitude-5.1 aftershock that hammered New Zealand's earthquake-hit city of Christchurch on Wednesday morning sparked evacuations and fresh damage to buildings, causing authorities to extend a state of emergency for another week.

Reuters - Hewlett-Packard Co sued former Chief Executive Mark Hurd and asked a court to block him from joining Oracle Corp, saying his hiring by the rival technology firm puts HP's trade secrets "in peril."

AP - An Iraqi soldier fired a barrage of bullets at American troops protecting one of their commanders during a visit to an Iraqi army base Tuesday and killed two of them, the first U.S. servicemen to die since President Barack Obama declared an end to combat operations in the country last week.

Reuters - U.S. stocks fell in very light volume on Tuesday as investors seized on renewed concerns about European banks as a reason to sell shares after strong gains last week.

AP - The Obama administration is trying to jump-start its sputtering attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis with an effort to assist homeowners who owe more on their properties than their homes are worth.

AP - Motorists should see pump prices slide again after spending a little more to fill their tanks over the Labor Day weekend.

AP - President Barack Obama's proposed tax breaks for business sound like ideas that have enjoyed broad Republican backing in the past. But in today's toxic political atmosphere, he's unlikely to get much — if any — GOP help.

AP - European Union nations agreed to create new financial oversight institutions Tuesday, hoping to prevent a repeat of the government debt crisis that nearly left Greece bankrupt and brought the European banking system to its knees.