AFP - A faster drilling machine was being assembled Saturday to enlarge an existing supply shaft to 33 Chilean trapped miners, as work on the main shaft continued and a special rescue cage was being built by the Navy.

AP - Mexican police have arrested six suspects in a bar fire that killed eight in the resort city of Cancun.

AP - A Honduran who survived the massacre of 72 migrants in Mexico helped untie the only other survivor — a wounded Ecuadorean — and the two fled together, an official said Friday.

Reuters - Two members of Mexico's Congress were among six people killed on Friday when their private plane crashed near a popular Mexican Pacific beach resort, officials said.

AFP - Palestinian militants fired a rocket from Gaza into Israel on Saturday without causing any casualties or damage, an army spokesman said.

AP - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to inject urgency into Israeli-Palestinian peace talks Friday, warning the negotiations may be "the last chance for a very long time" to reach an agreement.

AP - One of the investors in a proposed Islamic center near ground zero is a Long Island medical clinic owner whose expressions of sympathy for Palestinians included a donation to a charity later shut down for links to Hamas.

AP - A healthy economy needs bustling Main Streets and a thriving middle class even more than a healthy stock market, President Barack Obama said as he reaffirmed his commitment to work hard for America's hardworking men and women.

Reuters - President Barack Obama, previewing a big push on the U.S. economy next week, on Saturday defended policies that he said "have stopped the bleeding" and put the middle class on the road to recovery.

AP - Unemployment is stuck at high levels even though some companies are hiring. The problem, government data show, is that too few jobs are being created for the growing number of people looking for work.

Reuters - U.S. employment fell for a third straight month in August, but the drop was far less than expected and private hiring was a positive surprise, relieving concerns about a stalling economic recovery.

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Friday he would outline new measures next week to boost the U.S. economy, but analysts were skeptical he would be able to deliver a big enough package to lift growth significantly.

AP - Is the global economy out of the woods? Two years after near-meltdown, with the U.S. looking sluggish, equity markets groggy and Europeans fighting a debt crisis, experts gathered in Italy offered a generally gloomy outlook — especially for the United States and much of the industrialized world.

AFP - European equities surged on Friday and the dollar jumped above 85 yen as financial markets welcomed a better-than-expected payrolls report in the United States.

AFP - Europe took a big step closer on Thursday to its goal of creating cross-border financial supervisors, reaching a "crucial milestone" in efforts to reform a sector blamed for the global recession.

AP - Romania's unpopular government was in turmoil Thursday after the prime minister fired five Cabinet ministers, with the economy minister also saying he will quit.

AP - The European Central Bank raised its growth projections for the 16-nation eurozone on Thursday, but stressed that the outlook remains uncertain and said its effort to keep banks supplied with credit would stay in place for the rest of the year.

Reuters - The European Central Bank held interest rates at a record low on Thursday and extended its liquidity safety-net in response to a lopsided recovery and worries about vulnerable banks.

AFP - European stock markets slid on Thursday as investors took profits from recent gains amid caution before the latest interest rate decision from the European Central Bank.