AFP - Cricket's world governing body charged three Pakistan stars with anti-corruption offences and provisionally suspended them, as the trio protested their innocence in an alleged betting scam.

AP - The death toll from Typhoon Kompasu, which battered the Korean peninsula with strong winds and heavy rains, rose to five in South Korea, an official said Friday.

AFP - South Korea's second largest carmaker Kia Motors said Friday it is recalling about 35,000 vehicles sold in the United States due to faulty wiring in interior lights that could cause fires.

AP - An Indonesian volcano sent a new, powerful burst of hot ash and debris two miles (thousands of meters) into the air early Friday, sending villagers fleeing back to emergency shelters.

AFP - South Korea's economy grew 1.4 percent in the second quarter from three months earlier, slightly less than earlier predicted due to weaker construction investment, the central bank said Friday.

AFP - Relief efforts in flood-ravaged Pakistan are being stretched by the "unprecedented scale" of the disaster, with the flow of international aid almost at a standstill, the UN said Thursday.

AFP - The International Cricket Council said Thursday it has charged Pakistan's Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif with various offences under its anti-corruption code.

AFP - The United States has apologised to Pakistan over "mistreatment" of a Pakistani military delegation at a US airport this week, the Pakistani defence ministry said Friday.

AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday that while the fight against corruption must be led by Afghans, the U.S. is working on new ways to prevent millions of American dollars flowing into the nation from underwriting bribery and graft.

AP - NATO said an airstrike in northern Afghanistan on Thursday killed about a dozen insurgents, but President Hamid Karzai said the victims were campaign workers seeking votes in this month's parliamentary elections.

AP - Census takers counting China's more than 1.3 billion people already face a daunting task, and it's getting harder for the latest once-a-decade update.

AP - Thousands of Shiite Muslims, thumping their chests and crying, mourned Thursday at funeral prayers for victims of a triple bombing that heaped more tragedy on Pakistan, which is already struggling to cope with devastating floods.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard edged closer to retaining power in Australia on Thursday when an independent lawmaker said he would support her center-left Labor Party to form Australia's first minority government in almost seven decades.

The Afghan president's brother confirms to NBC News that Kabul Bank funds were used to buy villas in Dubai but urges the U.S. to step in to prevent a financial panic.

Three bombs ripped through a Shiite Muslim religious procession in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, killing 25 people and wounding about 150 others, officials said.

Five more American troops were killed in action in Afghanistan on Tuesday, ending the month with a spike in bloodshed that has claimed the lives of 19 U.S. service members in only four days.

India should protect its elephant population by securing its wildlife reserves, curbing poaching and restricting development in the corridors they use to travel between forested areas, a panel recommended.