Amid the overwhelming flood disaster in Pakistan, the world has "no choice but to be optimistic and to have hope" that things can improve there, actress and humanitarian Angelina Jolie told CNN Wednesday. FULL STORY l Dr. Sanjay Gupta interviews Jolie l Gupta reflects on covering the disaster

A Somali suspect pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to commit piracy in the November 2008 takeover of a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia announced.

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan condemned a Florida church's plan to burn the Quran, the Muslim holy book, as "disrespectful, intolerant and divisive," in a statement on Wednesday.

Authorities have begun an investigation after a threatening message was found scrawled on the lavatory mirror of a Thai Airways plane, the Transportation Security Administration said.

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair canceled a launch party for his new book in London Wednesday because of planned protests, his spokesman said.

U.N. officials estimated more than 500 rapes and other sexual attacks in eastern Congo in July and August, more than double the previous estimate.

South Korea on Wednesday announced sanctions against Iran -- including government scrutiny of most financial transactions involving the country -- as part of global efforts to quash Tehran's suspected nuclear program.

North Korea's political leaders are expected to meet this month in a rare gathering, possibly to set the stage for the handover of power from Kim Jong Il to his youngest son.

A small asteroid passed within the moon's distance from the Earth on Wednesday morning, and another will do likewise later in the day, space watchers say.

Niko Mushi hated rats, as did most people in his village near Tanzania's Mt. Kilimanjaro -- until he learned the critters had a nose for land mines.