AP - Election officials began counting ballots Thursday after Zambians voted to decide whether President Levy Mwanawasa would stay in office for a second term despite a strong challenge from opposition candidates who lambasted his economic policies.

AFP - British Prime Minister Tony Blair has claimed to have defused a potential row with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf over claims that his country's intelligence services are backing Islamist extremism.

AFP - South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon has emerged as the clear favorite to succeed Kofi Annan as secretary general after winning his third informal straw poll in the Security Council.

AP - Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returned Thursday to the gritty suburb where he campaigned as a radical leftist for years before winning Brazil's presidency. This time, he's a popular centrist who stabilized Brazil's economy and brought millions out of poverty.