Top Stories - AFP

COTABATO, Philippines (AFP) - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo vowed Wednesday justice would be served after 52 people were killed in a political massacre, but refused to say if an ally blamed for the murders would be arrested.

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) - The world's largest annual religious pilgrimage began on Wednesday but was overshadowed by the swine flu pandemic as 2.5 million Muslims massed at the holy city of Mecca for the hajj.

CARACAS (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Caracas for a meeting with President Hugo Chavez, just hours after the Iranian leader stopped in La Paz for a meeting with the Bolivian leader.

MONTREAL (AFP) - Gold production will continue to fall, despite a brief boost in 2009 and soaring prices, as deposits are exhausted and new discoveries remain elusive, say miners.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Bank group ABN Amro reported a third-quarter net loss of a billion euros (1.5 billion dollars) on Wednesday, a sharp improvement from the outcome in the previous quarter.

LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices soared to a record above 1,180 dollars here on Wednesday on the back of weak greenback, which makes the precious metal cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, traders said.

LONDON (AFP) - Roger Federer said finishing the season as world number one counted among his greatest-ever achievements in the game, given the dramatic upheaval in his personal life during 2009.

BUDAPEST (AFP) - Liverpool's miserable season continued as they were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage despite a 1-0 victory over Debrecen at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Cathay Pacific said Wednesday it has endured a spate of mysterious toilet blockages on its Airbus fleet, with one packed plane forced to make an unscheduled landing because it had no working lavatory.

SANIAG, Philippines (AFP) - The Philippines declared a state of emergency in parts of the volatile south on Tuesday as anger spiralled over a savage political massacre that left at least 46 people dead.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Two Congolese militiamen pleaded not guilty on Tuesday as they were accused in The Hague of plotting to wipe out a village where their forces killed civilians, raped women and enslaved child soldiers.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - An Israeli minister said on Tuesday that an agreement with Hamas to swap a Gaza-held soldier for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners was "very close," despite earlier efforts to rein in speculation.

SHANGHAI (AFP) - AIDS has killed 25 million people worldwide but new infections are slowing sharply, the UN said in an annual report on the crisis Tuesday that mixed hope with a warning against complacency.

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish luxury carmaker Koenigsegg said Tuesday it was giving up its bid to buy Saab Automobile from its US parent General Motors due to costly delays, plunging Saab's future into doubt.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday raised its outlook for US economic growth in 2010 to a range of 2.5 to 3.5 percent, and said the troubles in unemployment appeared to be near a peak.

MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona showed why they are the current Champions of Europe producing a football masterclass to defeat Italian leaders Inter Milan 2-0 at Camp Nou on Tuesday and move within touching distance of qualification for the knockout phase.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US Internet giant Google will soon begin digitising artefacts and documents at Iraq's National Museum, its chief executive said in Baghdad on Tuesday.

SANIAG, Philippines (AFP) - The Philippines declared a state of emergency in parts of the volatile south on Tuesday as anger spiralled over a savage political massacre that left at least 46 people dead.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel said on Monday there was no deal yet on a prisoner swap with Hamas, as efforts appeared to gather pace on an accord that could see a Gaza-held soldier exchanged for hundreds of Palestinians.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Eight soldiers died in a munitions blast Monday in central Russia, a defence ministry spokesman said, at the same arms depot where two died in a huge accidental weapons explosion 10 days earlier.

GENEVA (AFP) - Two circulating beams on Monday produced the first particle collisions in the world's biggest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), three days after its restart, scientists announced.

THE HAGUE (AFP) - A Boeing 747, one of four engines powered by a 50-percent biokerosene mix, circled the Netherlands for an hour on Monday for what airline KLM called the world's first passenger flight using biofuel.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A rush to cash in tax incentives helped boost sales of existing US homes 10.1 percent in October, according to data Monday showing fresh momentum for the sector at the heart of the economic crisis.

LONDON (AFP) - Gold prices soared to a record 1,174 dollars an ounce here on Monday as a sliding US currency and worries about a possible spike to inflation increased demand for the "safe-haven" metal, traders said.

LONDON (AFP) - Defending champion Novak Djokovic handed Nikolay Davydenko another painful defeat at the ATP World Tour Finals as the Serb secured a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory on Monday.

PARIS (AFP) - FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called an extraordinary general meeting for December 2 following the Thierry Henry handball incident and an ongoing investigation into match-fixing in Europe.

LONDON (AFP) - British reality TV singing sensation Susan Boyle's debut album went on sale Monday, having already become the most pre-ordered CD in the history of online retailer Amazon.

KANPUR, India (AFP) - Rahul Dravid scored his 28th century as India reached a strong 535-4 at lunch on the second day of the second cricket Test against Sri Lanka here on Wednesday.