AP - A Chinese bus fire that killed 27 people and injured dozens last month was deliberately set by a man who committed suicide, state media said Friday.

AFP - African leaders reached a compromise early Friday on the powers of a new regional Authority that will coordinate key policies but have little power to act without a mandate from member states.

AP - Oil prices hovered above $66 a barrel Friday in Asia in light holiday trading volume a day after grim unemployment numbers from the U.S. and Europe sent crude prices tumbling.

E! Online - UPDATE: A judge has postponed next week's custody hearing until July 13 at the request of Rowe's attorney, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court public information officer. Matters pertaining to Jackson's estate will still be addressed at the originally scheduled hearing on July 6.

AP - U.S. Marines suffered their first casualties of a massive new military campaign Thursday as they engaged in sporadic gunbattles along 55 miles of Taliban-controlled heartland in southern Afghanistan. One Marine was killed and several others were injured or wounded on the first full day of the assault, the largest military operation in Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban government in 2001.