Florida pastor calls off Koran burning, claims mosque deal (AFP)

AFP - A Florida pastor called off Thursday a Koran-burning ceremony scheduled for this weekend, claiming he had secured a deal to move a planned mosque in New York away from Ground Zero.

Fla. minister cancels burning of Qurans on 9/11 (AP)

AP - The minister of a Florida church said he has canceled plans to burn copies of the Quran because the leader of a much-opposed plan to build an Islamic Center near ground zero has agreed to move its location. The agreement couldn't be immediately confirmed.

EPA seeks chemical info on hydraulic fracturing (AP)

AP - The Environmental Protection Agency is asking nine natural gas companies to voluntarily disclose the chemical components used in a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing.

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.

Iran to free female American for holiday clemency (AP)

AP - Iran said Thursday it will free Sarah Shourd, one of three Americans jailed for more than 13 months, as an act of clemency to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

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.

UN soldier shot and robbed outside Haitian bank (AP)

AP - The United Nations mission in Haiti says one of its peacekeepers and a civilian woman have been shot by robbers outside a bank in the capital.

Suicide car bombing in southern Russia kills 17 (AP)

AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin blamed extremists "without souls, without hearts" for a suicide car bombing that killed 17 people Thursday in the crowded central market of a city in the North Caucasus.

Jail sentence extended for Austrian right-winger (AP)

AP - A jailed right-wing Austrian author has been found guilty of violating a prohibition on glorifying Nazi ideology and sentenced to an additional two years in prison.

U.S. Marines take back pirate-held ship off Somalia (AP)

AP - U.S. Marine commandos stormed a pirate-held cargo ship off the Somalia coast Thursday, reclaiming control and taking nine prisoners without firing a shot in the first such boarding raid by the international anti-piracy flotilla, U.S. Navy officials said.

Wall Street buoyed by upbeat economic data (Reuters)

Reuters - Stocks rose on Thursday as stronger-than-expected jobs and trade data helped lift optimism about the economic recovery, although sentiment was fragile as investors fretted over European banks.

CA-CANADA Summary (Reuters)

Reuters - A Canadian man's own actions will prove he lied to a court about having no knowledge of the conspiracy that led to the deadly bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, prosecutors said at the start of a perjury trial on Thursday.

Air India bomb perjury trial starts in Canada (Reuters)

Reuters - A Canadian man's own actions will prove he lied to a court about having no knowledge of the conspiracy that led to the deadly bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, prosecutors said at the start of a perjury trial on Thursday.

SC had tax liens against gov hopeful's family biz (AP)

AP - A business owned by the family of South Carolina Republican gubernatorial candidate Nikki Haley has been penalized for failing to pay taxes three times since 2003, according to records obtained by The Associated Press.

Nigerian forces free two Russian hostages in delta (Reuters)

Reuters - Nigerian security forces have freed two Russian sailors who were abducted from their vessel in the oil-producing Niger Delta a month ago, a senior security officer said on Thursday.

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.

Israel's Military on the Spot in Hearing Over Activist Rachel Corrie's Death (Time.com)

Time.com - The family of a young American activist killed by an Israeli army bulldozer she was trying to block from demolishing a Palestinian home are fighting a civil suit in Israel's courts, forcing the authorities reveal details of her death

Has Pakistan's Military Lost Ground to the Floods? (Time.com)

Time.com - For Pakistan's powerful military, the unprecedented floods have been a mixed blessing

Somali refugees tell of hellish scene in Mogadishu (AP)

AP - Terrified Somalis fleeing an offensive by Islamist insurgents in their capital described a hellish scene of putrefying corpses, graves hastily dug in gardens and neighborhoods flattened by mortars.

(AP)

AP - Iran says female American held for more than year will be released.

Four escape U.S. custody at Iraq prison that held Saddam (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - BAGHDAD — Four prisoners escaped a maximum-security U.S. military facility housing al Qaida in Iraq suspects and former members of Saddam Hussein's regime, officials said Thursday, in an embarrassing development for American forces as they hand over security operations in Iraq.

Ford summons dealers to discuss Lincoln's future (Reuters)

Reuters - Ford Motor Co will host a meeting for its Lincoln dealers in early October to discuss its plans for re-energizing a brand that has long trailed luxury market competitors such as Cadillac and Mercedes.

McDonald's France lags in August, shares fall (Reuters)

Reuters - McDonald's Corp's European sales growth fell in August from the sizzling levels it experienced for much of the year due to weakness in France, which generates the company's biggest European sales, and its shares fell nearly 3 percent.

As Wall Street Sheriff, Coffey would be discreet (Reuters)

Reuters - New York state attorney general candidate Sean Coffey on Thursday said he was the only contender qualified to police Wall Street and called Democratic rivals career politicians fixated on becoming governor.

Irish bonds rebound, banks hold ground after Anglo (AP)

AP - Investors welcomed Ireland's plan to split up its most debt-crippled bank, Anglo Irish, by bidding strongly Thursday for government bonds. Ireland's battered bank shares also held their ground.

Merkel: economic upswing should benefit workers (AP)

AP - German chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday the current economic upswing should benefit workers who were hit by the economic and financial crisis.

Data shows economic recovery still on track (Reuters)

Reuters - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week to a two-month low, while the trade deficit narrowed sharply in July, hopeful signs for the stuttering economic recovery.

Web Impostors May Face Prison in California (BusinessWeek)

BusinessWeek - California Web impostors beware: You may soon be breaking the law, even if you aren't one of the perpetrators targeted by the state's "e-personation" bill.

British MPs to grill BP CEO Hayward (Reuters)

Reuters - British Members of Parliament (MPs) will next week grill outgoing BP Plc Chief Executive Tony Hayward, as part of an investigation into risks around deepwater drilling in the North Sea.

Australian regulators reject NAB bid for AXA Asia Pacific (AFP)

AFP - Australian regulators rejected National Australia Bank's 12.2 billion US dollar bid for financial firm AXA Asia Pacific on competition concerns Thursday, in a move welcomed by rival suitor AMP.

FDIC's Bair warns of government "exposure" in mortgages (Reuters)

Reuters - A key U.S. banking regulator raised concern on Wednesday about the risk of "exposure" the government is taking on in the mortgage market and urged more stringent standards for underwriting mortgages.

Germany considers scrapping the draft (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - The young man playing with kids at the Main Krokodile preschool here isn't your typical caregiver. He's among the tens of thousands of Germans who fulfill their military service by working with children, the elderly, or the disabled. The head of the school, Berndt NiedergesÃ¤ss, is all for it: "The children love dealing with men," he says.

Flash crash report: plunge still a mystery: sources (Reuters)

Reuters - Regulators probing the stock market "flash crash" last May still have not uncovered a single cause but will point to "stub quotes" and other previously identified issues as having exacerbated the market's dramatic drop, according to two sources familiar with the probe.

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.