RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - US Vice President Joe Biden told Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Wednesday Israel's decision to expand settlement activity in Jerusalem "undermines" the trust needed for peace talks.

MADRID (AFP) - Spanish aid worker Alicia Gamez, one of three hostages kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in Mauritania who was freed on Wednesday, is in good health and traveling to Barcelona, the deputy prime minister said.

VIENNA (AFP) - The OPEC oil producers' cartel upgraded slightly on Wednesday its forecast for modest growth in world oil demand this year, but warned the slow pace of economic recovery was clouding the outlook.

JOS, Nigeria (AFP) - Forty-nine members of the mainly Muslim Fulani clan arrested after weekend attacks on Christian villages are to be charged with murder, the state police chief said Wednesday.

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI Wednesday denounced the "atrocious violence causing bloodshed in Nigeria" after weekend massacres of Christians in the city of Jos.