BORDEAUX (AFP) - A French court Wednesday charged former minister Eric Woerth, an ally of President Nicolas Sarkozy, with passive influence peddling.

NEW YORK (AFP) - News Corp. said Wednesday that its net profit rose 65 percent in the second quarter of its fiscal year to $1.06 billion.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said that a senior envoy would visit violence-hit Maldives on Saturday as it called for calm following the resignation of the elected president Mohamed Nasheed.

PARIS (AFP) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy Wednesday urged his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev to give full support to an Arab League peace plan to persuade Bashar al-Assad to quit as Syria's leader.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States said Wednesday it has been notified by the Egyptian authorities of the formal charges against US citizens working for pro-democracy groups in Egypt.