AP - The U.N., African Union and Arab nations struggled to respond Thursday to a surge of pirate attacks, authorizing more sanctions and calling for international peacekeepers to stop Somali sea bandits who appear undeterred by nonviolent tactics.

AP - His home was looted by wild government soldiers still pillaging this empty hilltop town. His fields are at the mercy of armed militias. And somewhere in the countryside, a rebel army is digging in.

AP - Iraq's parliament persevered Thursday in its debate on a proposed security agreement with the United States despite raucous attempts by opposition lawmakers to disrupt proceedings ahead of next week's vote on the deal.

AP - Pakistan protested to the U.S. ambassador Thursday over a deep cross-border missile strike, and a militant group threatened to target foreigners unless the attacks stop.

AP - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used a meeting of his powerful political party to take center stage Thursday, casting himself as an indispensable leader even as the global financial meltdown threatens the achievements of his boom-time presidency.

AFP - The outgoing chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland apologised for the company's financial troubles on Thursday as shareholders backed plans to raise fresh capital as part of a state bailout.

AP - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas took his case for a peace deal directly to ordinary Israelis Thursday, assuring them in Hebrew-language newspaper ads that a withdrawal from the West Bank, Gaza and parts of Jerusalem would bring them full recognition by the Arab world.

AFP - South Africa said Thursday it will hold back nearly 30 million dollars of aid to Zimbabwe until a new government is formed there, as it prepares to host new power-sharing talks next week.

AFP - Chinese President Hu Jintao called Thursday for a new era of cooperation with Latin America, saying the world's biggest developing country and the large developing region were a natural fit.

AP - Democratic leaders in Congress sidetracked legislation to bail out the auto industry Thursday and demanded the Big Three develop a plan assuring the money would make them economically viable. "Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money," Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a hastily called news conference in the Capitol.

AP - Jarred by new jobless alarms, Congress hurriedly approved legislation Thursday to keep unemployment checks flowing through the December holidays and into the new year for a million or more laid-off Americans whose benefits were running out.

AP - Stocks are tumbling in the final minutes of trading to levels not seen since 2002 as hopes fade that lawmakers will soon put together an aid package for the U.S. automakers.

AP - President-elect Barack Obama is likely to choose Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be secretary of homeland security, top Obama advisers and several Democrats said Thursday as the shape of Obama's Cabinet begins to emerge.

AP - What Robert Gates once called "inconceivable to me" — his remaining as defense secretary beyond Inauguration Day — is looking a bit more conceivable to the rest of Washington.

AP - Making John A. "Junior" Gotti stand trial on racketeering charges in Tampa instead of New York would be like "cutting off the supplies he needs to fight the fight," his attorney told a federal judge Thursday. Charles Carnesi, attorney for the New York Mafia scion, argued that a Tampa trial would be a "crushing burden" for Gotti and his family and make it difficult to get already reluctant defense witnesses to testify.

AP - Researchers said Thursday they have identified the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus by comparing DNA from a skeleton and hair retrieved from one of the 16th-century astronomer's books. The findings could put an end to centuries of speculation about the exact resting spot of Copernicus, a priest and astronomer whose theories identified the Sun, not the Earth, as the center of the universe.

AP - Friction keeps obstructing "The View." While she never mentioned Rosie O'Donnell by name, it was clear who Barbara Walters was referring to when she opened Thursday's show by complaining about "some people who have done this show" who criticize the daytime gabfest after leaving.