AP - A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has rocked much of New Zealand's South Island. No immediate tsunami alert has been issued and no injuries have been reported.

Reuters - Chinese officials have ordered state companies to meet investment bankers to explore ways to block BHP Billiton's $39 billion bid for Potash Corp, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Whether or not she emerges as winner following recent elections, Australia's first woman prime minister will have led the nation's oldest political party to one of the lowest points in its 119-year history.

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The first Middle East peace talks in nearly two years got off to a quick start Thursday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas agreeing to meet again in two weeks and to commence work on the blueprint for a peace treaty.

The Christian Science Monitor - When Israeli-Palestinian peace talks move beyond today's summit in Washington, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will face a tough balancing act as even his allies at home push back against US and Israeli pressures.

.com - A new anti-immigration book by a director on the board of Germany's central bank has outraged the nation -- and has critics calling for his job

OneWorld.net - MEXICO CITY, Sep 1 (IPS) - Activists in Latin America have been galvanised by atrocities like the recent massacre of 72 migrants near the U.S. border to step up their efforts on behalf of migrant rights.

World stock markets rose Friday ahead of a U.S. jobs report that could help determine whether the Federal Reserve opts to introduce fresh measures to get the world's largest economy going again.

World stock markets climbed as investors took heart from a slight improvement in U.S. economic indicators ahead of a crucial employment report due later Friday.

A world premiere exhibition of wedding dresses is set to open in the regional city of Bendigo in 2011.

The value of world merchandise trade rose around 25 percent in the first six months of 2010 up strongly from the same period of 2009. The surge in trade growth marks a continuation of the trend which started in the first quarter of the year, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). World merchandise exports increased by about 7 percent in the second quarter of 2010, in comparison with