Obama wins nomination and Clintons' support

DENVER (Reuters) - To shouts of "Yes we can," Democrats nominated Barack Obama on Wednesday as their presidential candidate in a historic first for a black American, backed by his ex-rivals Bill and Hillary Clinton.

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New Orleans considers evacuation as Gustav looms

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - Three years after Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Louisiana coast, New Orleans residents on Wednesday again faced the prospect of an evacuation as Tropical Storm Gustav loomed.

Bomb attack on Pakistani police kills 11

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A car bomb blew up as a Pakistani police bus traveled across a bridge in the country's northwest on Thursday, killing 11 people, police said.

Medvedev looks east for support on Georgia

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev looked east on Thursday for support for Moscow's tough line over Georgia, which has inflamed relations with the West and prompted talk of a new Cold War.

Audit shows China's government mismanaged $6.7 billion

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese central government departments misused or mismanaged more than 46 billion yuan ($6.73 billion) last year, including using disaster relief money to build government offices and diverting funds to speculate in stocks, the National Audit Office said on Thursday.

Thai protesters defy order to leave PM's compound

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters defied a court order to leave Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej's official compound on Thursday as the group's leaders vowed to stay until his administration fell.

Idaho jury sentences serial child killer to death

SPOKANE, Washington (Reuters) - A federal jury in Idaho sentenced Joseph Duncan on Wednesday to death for shooting to death a 9-year-old boy in front of his younger sister after kidnapping and sexually abusing the boy.

After Olympic success, China lights Paralympics torch

BEIJING (Reuters) - Four days after closing the 2008 Beijing Games in triumph, China lit the 2008 Paralympics torch amid pomp and ceremony at Beijing's ancient Temple of Heaven, marking the start of a domestic relay for the September 6 Games.

U.S. lesbian pioneer, 87, dies months after wedding

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Lesbian activist Del Martin died on Wednesday, just two months after marrying her partner of 55 years in one of the first legally recognized California same-sex weddings.

U.S. soldiers say they executed Iraqis on riverbank: report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three U.S. soldiers killed four handcuffed and blindfolded Iraqi prisoners with pistol shots on the bank of a Baghdad canal last year, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.