AP - The ship, operating off the coast of Oman in the lawless waters of the Gulf of Aden, was crewed by heavily armed men, some carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers. Behind it were a pair of speedboats ? the sort pirates often use when they launch attacks on merchant ships in these violent seas.

AP - Katy Phiri, who is in her 70s, picks up single corn kernels spilled from trucks that ferry the harvest to market. She says she hasn't eaten for three days.

AP - Somalia's increasingly brazen pirates are building sprawling stone houses, cruising in luxury cars, marrying beautiful women ? even hiring caterers to prepare Western-style food for their hostages.

AP - Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader used a racial epithet to insult Barack Obama in a message posted Wednesday, describing the president-elect in demeaning terms that imply he does the bidding of whites. The message appeared chiefly aimed at persuading Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent a change in U.S. policies.

AP - The U.S. military apparently struck at Islamic militants outside Pakistan's lawless tribal belt for the first time Wednesday, firing a missile that killed six suspected insurgents taking refuge away from the conflict zone along the Afghan border.

AFP - England captain John Terry's header six minutes from time sealed a 2-1 win over Germany in Wednesday's friendly at Berlin's Olympic Stadium as Fabio Capello's weakened team beat the Euro 2008 runners-up.

AP - A heated parliamentary debate on the U.S.-Iraq security treaty was called to an early close Wednesday as lawmakers loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr scuffled with security guards for the foreign minister and the speaker of the legislature and his two deputies.

AP - Tearful relatives of sailors lost in a World War II sea battle threw flowers into the sea on Wednesday as Australia marked the 67th anniversary of the sinking of the HMAS Sydney ? the first since the ship was found on the ocean floor after decades of mystery.