PA President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that Israel-Palestinian peace talks are off unless Israel cancels 1,600 newly planned homes for East Jerusalem. US Vice President Biden encouraged talks to go forward.

According to the latest Forbes rich list, China now has more billionaires than any country outside the US. India's billionaires, however, are richer. Eight made the Top 100 and two, Mukesh Ambani and Lakshmi Mittal, rank in the Top 5.

The most powerful politicians in Lebanon resumed discussions on national defense, with questions of how to rein in Shiite political party Hezbollah's powerful military wing on the table.

Commentators have called Israel's announcement of new settlement construction in East Jerusalem during Vice President Joe Biden's visit a humiliation. But the Palestinian leadership still appears willing to give talks a chance.

Activists in India have been hospitalized or even killed as they tap the 2005 freedom of information act to expose government corruption.

Pennsylvania woman Colleen LaRose, or 'Jihad Jane,' is only the latest in a string of American-born Muslim extremists, experts say. Here's a Top 10 list.

US Vice President Joe Biden visited Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Wednesday and warned that fresh Israeli settlement construction is undermining confidence in the peace process.

Manchester United prodigal son David Beckham returns home to Old Trafford for the first time in seven years today, representing AC Milan in a clash for a quarterfinal place in the European Champions League, the world's richest club soccer competition. There's a brewing insurgency in Manchester, though, against the clubs US owner Malcolm Glazer.

Militants assaulted an office of World Vision, a US charity, in northwest Pakistan. World Vision said it will temporarily suspend all aid operations in the country after the Pakistan attack killed six Pakistani employees.

A Saudi award to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his 'service to Islam' underscores Saudi backing for Turkey's bid to take a more activist role as a Middle East power broker.

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the US of playing a 'double game' during his Afghanistan visit, echoing an accusation lobbed at Tehran by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates earlier this week.

As President Obama meets with Haitian President René Préval in Washington, Haitians worry that the US reduction of troops (from 20,000 after the Jan. 12 Haiti earthquake to 9,000 now) may cause instability.

German skier Maria Riesch beat Lindsey Vonn in the World Cup downhill event Wednesday, though the American is still on track to win her 33rd World Cup title, beating Bode Miller's 32-title record.

Indonesia said Wednesday that it had killed leading Islamist militant Dulmatin, who helped organize the murder of 202 people on Bali in 2002.

'Jihad Jane,' as Pennsylvania woman Colleen LaRose dubbed herself, was indicted Tuesday for helping recruit a network for suicide attacks and plotting to kill a Swedish cartoonist. Seven Muslims were arrested in Ireland in connection with the alleged plot.

Pakistan cricket slapped star players Younis Khan and Mohammad Yusuf with a lifetime ban from the national team on Wednesday, angering many of the cricket-crazy nation's fans.

Today marks the third anniversary of the disappearance of former FBI agent Robert Levinson on Kish Island in Iran.

While preliminary Iraq election results aren't due out until Wednesday, turnout in Sunni provinces was as high as 75 percent, say news reports. Many Sunnis boycotted the last election.

Controversial Whale Wars captain Paul Watson has spiced up opposition to the Canada seal hunt -- offering $50,000 to anyone who can prove Harp seals wastefully eat cod. Canadian senators – in a snub to the EU – promise to keep seal meat on Parliament's menu for as long as the animals are in season.

As US Vice President Joe Biden prepares to meet Palestinians tomorrow, the Interior Ministry announced 1,600 new housing units in an Israeli settlement today. The move could disrupt a newly agreed restart of Israeli-Palestinian talks.