French prosecutor seeks to drop 2005 riots case (AP)

AP - French prosecutors want to drop a highly charged case against two police officers in the electrocution deaths of two teens that sparked fiery nationwide riots in 2005, a judicial official said Friday.

S. Africa's Zuma assures media on press freedoms (AP)

AP - International news agencies alarmed by South African proposals that could see reporters jailed should not fear freedoms are under attack, the president said Friday, adding that South Africa has one of the world's most progressive constitutions.

July wholesale inventories jump 1.3 percent (Reuters)

Reuters - Wholesale inventories surged by the largest amount in two years in July, a government report said on Friday, in a sign firms were anticipating enough demand to boost stock this summer.

German shares weighed down by bank refunding talk (AP)

AP - German stocks underperformed their European and U.S. counterparts Friday following reports that Deutsche Bank AG is planning to raise as much as euro9 billion ($11.4 billion) to lift its stake in Deutsche Postbank AG and shore up its capital base.

Wall Street little changed, energy shares up (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks opened little changed on Friday in what was expected to be another low volume session, with the energy sector leading the way up as crude oil prices jumped.

BCE to buy remaining 85 percent of CTV for C$1.3 billion (Reuters)

Reuters - BCE Inc, Canada's biggest communications company, said on Friday it agreed to pay C$1.3 billion for the 85 percent of broadcaster CTV it did not already own.

Spanish miners stage strike deep underground (AP)

AP - Fifty Spanish coal miners 1,640 feet (500 meters) underground are staging the ninth day of a strike over unpaid wages and government aid.

Russians mourn bombing victims; 6 others killed (AP)

AP - Clashes between police and alleged militants left six more people dead Friday in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, even as stunned residents laid flowers in a square where a suicide car bombing killed 17 people and wounded more than 140 only a day ago.

SEC probing certain investment advisory firms: report (Reuters)

Reuters - The securities regulator is investigating investment advisory firms that channel investors' money into hedge funds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Japan missing more than 230K listed centenarians (AP)

AP - More than 230,000 Japanese citizens listed in government records as at least 100 years old can't be found and may have died long ago, according to a government survey released Friday.

Iran's president intervened in American's release (AP)

AP - An Iranian news agency says Saturday's planned released of one of three Americans jailed for more than a year is a result of intervention by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Tokyo's electric taxi experiment (Reuters)

Reuters - Yoshihiko Takahashi chuckles politely when asked if he's weary of having the same conversation with passengers, day in and day out, as he shuttles them around Tokyo in his white-and-blue all-electric taxi. How often do you have to recharge? How far can you go? Does this car really have no emissions?

Nokia dumps CEO, turns to Microsoft exec (AP)

AP - Nokia Corp. is replacing CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo with top Microsoft executive Stephen Elop as the world's top handset maker aims to regain lost ground in the fiercely competitive smartphone market.

Oil rises to over $75 on U.S. supply outage (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. crude rose more than $1 to over $75 on Friday due to the shutdown of a major pipeline, but a leading forecaster said demand would remain tepid.

Japan wary of China military, urges closer US ties (AP)

AP - Japan's Defense Ministry stressed the importance of U.S. military forces in Japan and cast a wary eye on China's military expansion in an annual report Friday, as diplomatic tensions with China rose following a collision near disputed islands.

Greece pledges to overhaul loss-making state rail (AP)

AP - The Greek government pledged Friday to radically overhaul loss-making state rail company OSE, as official data showed efforts to cut the country's bloated budget deficit remained on track, if slightly asthmatic.

Nokia brings in Microsoft exec to replace CEO (Reuters)

Reuters - Nokia has hired Stephen Elop, a Canadian Microsoft executive of Silicon Valley pedigree, to replace its embattled chief executive and renew its drive to compete with Apple.

Admissions Q&A: Brigham Young (BusinessWeek)

BusinessWeek - Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management (Marriott Full-Time MBA Profile) offers students more than a rigorous business education. Students at the school, owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are required to abide by a strict honor code, based on the tenets of the Mormon religion. The code includes rules against academic dishonesty and requires students to "live a chaste and virtuous life." It also prohibits drugs, alcohol, and coffee -- even at home. ...

D.Bank set to lead likely Basel cash call charge (Reuters)

Reuters - Deutsche Bank is set to lead rivals raising billions of euros as new global capital rules to be unveiled this weekend bite, and showed it may be good to get the jump on the pack.

Trichet: phasing out crisis measures to take time (AP)

AP - It may take a while yet to phase out the special credit support that was given to banks in the wake of the financial crisis, the European Central Bank's president has said.

Pakistan's Floods: Through Hell and High Water (Time.com)

Time.com - Pakistan's Floods: Through Hell and High Water

Why Foreign Businesses in China Are Getting Mad (Time.com)

Time.com - Foreign businesses in China are voicing growing frustration about the country's heavily regulated market -- a bureaucratic maze many say is deliberately designed to hamstring non-Chinese players to the advantage of their local competitors

Australian 'kingmaking' MP declines ministerial post (AFP)

AFP - An independent Australian politician whose support was crucial to keeping Prime Minister Julia Gillard in power Friday knocked back an offer to become a minister in her minority government.

Mexican police didn't know they'd caught drug capo (AP)

AP - The Mexican police officers who arrested infamous drug suspect Edgar Valdez Villarreal, alias "La Barbie," did not initially know who they had caught, according to a booking report obtained Thursday.

Quran burning canceled after Pentagon calls pastor (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — Under tremendous pressure from U.S. officials all the way up to President Barack Obama, a Florida pastor on Thursday called off a Quran burning that he'd scheduled for Saturday, the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which had drawn international condemnation and posed a potential threat to national security.

Draft: U.N. goals to slash poverty, hunger achievable (Reuters)

Reuters - A set of U.N. goals aimed at drastically reducing poverty and hunger worldwide by 2015 are achievable, despite setbacks caused by the global financial and economic crises, a draft document said.

Mortgage rates edge up; Housing market still slow (AP)

AP - Record-low mortgage rates failed to pull the housing market out of its funk. Now rates are inching higher, but don't blame them if home sales stay sluggish.

Homeowners, Beware Association Costs (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - House and condo owners may face extra costs as their homeowner associations struggle with unpaid assessments, the legacy of neighbors hit by job losses and foreclosures.

Shoe seller DSW's operator says 2Q profit jumps (AP)

AP - Retail Ventures Inc., which operates the DSW shoe store chain, posted a 67 percent jump in second-quarter net income as a key revenue figure improved.

Analysis: Obama has tenuous grip on Democrats over taxes (Reuters)

Reuters - Democrats in Congress are distancing themselves from President Barack Obama's push to let taxes rise for the wealthiest Americans, fearing it will further harm them in November's mid-term elections.

Iraq to pay $400 million for Saddam's mistreatment of Americans (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - Iraq has quietly agreed to pay $400 million in claims to American citizens who say they were tortured or traumatized by Saddam Husseinâs regime after his 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Wal-Mart US merchandising now headed by four execs (Reuters)

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will remain without a chief merchandising officer for its U.S. stores for now, instead naming four new product heads to take over that responsibility, the retailer said on Thursday.

SEC says proposed Citi settlement is fair (Reuters)

Reuters - The top securities regulator defended its proposed $75 million settlement with Citigroup , saying the penalty reasonably accounts for the seriousness of the bank's alleged misconduct, according to a document filed in court on Wednesday.

Banging a Drum for the MDG Summit (OneWorld.net)

OneWorld.net - NEW YORK, Sep 7 (IRIN) - Activists are pulling out all the stops ahead of a development summit at UN headquarters on 20-22 September. Pro-aid and anti-poverty lobbyists are trying everything from giant letters to banging pans to raise awareness of the high-level event.