CANNES, France (AP) — The problem with New York these days is there's just not enough litter.

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi government spokesman says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered changes in senior ranks of the military in the wake of bloody attacks that have killed dozens of people in the past few days.

CAIRO (AP) — Six Egyptian policemen and a border guard kidnapped by suspected militants in the volatile Sinai Peninsula last week were freed by their captors Wednesday after successful mediation, the country's military spokesman said.

By Dhanya Skariachan (Reuters) - Lowe's Cos Inc reported a weaker-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, hurt by colder-than-usual weather at the start of the spring selling season and strong competition from larger rival Home Depot Inc . The results contrasted sharply with those of Home Depot and signaled that Lowe's, the world's No. 2 home improvement chain, was still struggling to narrow the performance gap with the industry leader. Lowe's sales fell 0.5 percent to $13.09 billion in the first quarter ended on May 3, missing the analysts' average estimate of $13.45 billion. ...

BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's main opposition alliance on Wednesday urged fighters to come from around the country to reinforce a rebel-held town under attack by President Bashar Assad's troops and their allies from the Lebanese militant Hezbollah group.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday that a decision by election overseers to disqualify his top aide from next month's presidential race is an act of "oppression" and that he will take the case to the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures edged up in thin trading Wednesday, ahead of highly anticipated Congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the economy and monetary policy. Bernanke is expected to strike a dovish tone when he addresses a congressional committee at 10:00 a.m. EDT. Earlier on Wednesday, influential New York Fed President William Dudley reinforced his own remarks Tuesday, when he damped speculation that the U.S. central bank was preparing to reduce its monetary stimulus. The Fed's ultra loose monetary policy is one of the main forces behind a rally in ...

(Reuters) - Target Corp posted a 0.6 percent decline in first-quarter sales at U.S. stores open at least a year on Wednesday after warning investors one month ago that its results would be disappointing as a chilly start to spring kept shoppers from buying seasonal items such as clothing. Target earned $498 million, or 77 cents per share, in the first quarter ended on May 4, compared with a profit of $697 million, or $1.04 per share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Jessica Wohl in Chicago; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov ordered a dozen local reporters to be barred from covering government meetings after they staged a silent protest on Wednesday over physical attacks on journalists at a rally. "What kind of show is this?" Azarov said when reporters who were attending a cabinet meeting stepped in front of television cameras, turning their backs on Azarov and his colleagues. Signs pinned to their backs read: "Today it's a female journalist (beaten up), tomorrow - your wife, sister, daughter. ...

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock futures are rising with the nation's central bank seemingly committed to ushering along a financial rebound and the housing market nearing an important milestone.

By Carmel Crimmins and Conor Humphries DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland called on Wednesday for an international clampdown on multinationals shifting profits around the world to avoid tax, after criticism that Irish loopholes helped technology giant Apple to shrink its tax bill. A U.S. Senate investigation into the tax affairs of the maker of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers has shone an uncomfortable spotlight on Ireland's tax regime and forced the government to defend itself against accusations of being Europe's onshore tax haven. ...

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's parliament on Wednesday approved joining an international child custody treaty amid foreign pressure for Tokyo to address concerns that Japanese mothers can take children away from foreign fathers without recourse.

By Andrew Osborn LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's deputy prime minister on Wednesday took the unusual step of holding a news conference to say the country's two-party coalition would hold together until 2015 as he tried to stabilize a government beset by infighting and rifts. In a move that risks being cast as a sign of weakness by political opponents, Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the junior partner in the coalition, sought to reassure voters that his alliance with Prime Minister David Cameron would endure until the next national election. ...

CANNES, France (AP) — The Cannes Film Festival is missing one of its biggest stars of this year's festival: Ryan Gosling.

By Ian Simpson and Alice Mannette MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Rescue workers with sniffer dogs and searchlights combed through the wreckage of a massive tornado to ensure no survivors remained buried in the rubble of primary schools, homes and buildings in an Oklahoma City suburb. The massive tornado on Monday afternoon flattened blocks of the town, killed at least 24 people and injured about 240 in Moore, just outside Oklahoma City. ...

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — After months of ignoring China's warnings to give up its nuclear program, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un sent a high-level confidant to Beijing on Wednesday, in a possible effort to mend strained ties with its most important ally and the latest sign that Pyongyang may be giving diplomacy a chance.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe signed a new constitution into law on Wednesday, replacing a 33-year-old document forged in the dying days of British colonial rule and paving the way for elections later this year. The constitution, approved overwhelmingly in a referendum in March, clips the powers of the president and imposes a two-term limit. However, it does not apply retroactively so the 89-year-old Mugabe could extend his 33 years in power by another decade. ...

(Reuters) - It is too soon to determine whether to dial down the Federal Reserve's massive bond-buying program, and the economic picture may not be clear enough to make that decision for another three or four months, an influential U.S. central bank official said. New York Fed President William Dudley, a close ally of Chairman Ben Bernanke, said on Bloomberg TV that it was possible to taper down the $85 billion in monthly asset purchases by the fall "if the economy does better and if the labor market continues to improve" in the face of tighter fiscal policies. ...

CANNES, France (AP) — The Cannes Film Festival is missing one of its biggest stars of this year's festival: Ryan Gosling.

AMMAN (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Wednesday Iran and its militant Shi'ite Lebanese ally Hezbollah were "propping up" Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and giving him increasing support. "It is very clear that Syrian regime is receiving a great deal of support, increasing support in recent months from outside Syria from Hezbollah and Iran. This is a regime that is increasingly dependent on external support," Hague said in a news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh. ...

LONDON (AP) — Investors were edgy Wednesday ahead of the appearance of U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke before lawmakers in Congress.

LONDON (AP) — Investors were edgy Wednesday ahead of the appearance of U.S. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke before lawmakers in Congress.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Lowe's first-quarter net income rose almost 3 percent, even as a wet and cool spring dampened sales of gardening products.

(Reuters) - Toll Brothers Inc posted a 46 percent rise in quarterly profit as the largest U.S. luxury homebuilder sold more homes at higher prices, indicating that the housing recovery is spreading across the industry. Record-low interest rates and rising rents have encouraged people to buy homes. Ground-breaking to build new homes in the United States rose 7 percent in March to the highest level since June 2008. Toll said its quarterly orders were the highest in seven years. ...

By Luke Baker BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European leaders will discuss how to combat aggressive tax avoidance by major companies such as Amazon, Google and Apple at a summit on Wednesday, and cut the estimated 1 trillion euros a year the EU loses to tax evasion or avoidance. The four-hour summit was originally called to discuss energy policy, but investigations in Britain, France and the United States exposing how little tax major international companies have been paying by carefully structuring their European operations has forced the issue to the top of the agenda. ...

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit automakers are largely forgoing the traditional two-week summer break at their factories and speeding up production to meet buyers' growing demand for new cars and trucks.

By Ross Colvin NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Wednesday he had given a "wish list" of military equipment to India during a visit this week, presenting a conundrum for New Delhi as it weighs whether arming the Afghan army is in its interests. India wants to stabilize Afghanistan and is concerned about the resurgence of militant groups after foreign combat troops leave in 2014. But arming Afghanistan would alarm Pakistan. It takes issue with the influence of its old rival in Afghanistan. ...

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's leaders are seeking to advance their fight against tax evasion and close loopholes for large corporations' creative tax avoidance schemes.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's financial regulator said it had finalized capital requirements for Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group and was comfortable with their plans. The Prudential Regulation Authority said it would release more information when it had concluded discussions with all banks, including, where necessary, if banks need to take steps to meet any shortfalls. Lloyds and RBS each said on Wednesday they did not need to issue more equity, and would meet extra capital needs by selling assets and through retained earnings and restructuring plans that are underway. ...

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan vowed on Wednesday to take necessary steps to reduce volatility in bond markets that has threatened to jeopardize the government's fight to end deflation and revive growth. The central bank upgraded its assessment of the economy for a fifth straight month, saying it "has started picking up," as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policy prescription of aggressive fiscal and monetary stimulus has boosted sentiment and a weaker yen has halted a decline in exports. ...

TOKYO (AP) — Sony's CEO Kazuo Hirai says the electronics giant's board will discuss a proposal by U.S. hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb to spin off up to 20 percent of its movie, TV and music division.

TOKYO (AP) — A steady decline in the yen is proving a godsend for exporters such as Toyota and has won solid support from Japan's main trading partners, who are betting the impact on their own currencies will be offset by gains from a recovery in the world's third-largest economy. It's not such good news for entrepreneurs like Thamonwan Thawornthaweewong, whose Angry Bird fish balls, squid rings and other products now cost more to sell in Japan.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now that tech darling Apple Inc. has been dragged front and center into the debate over the U.S. tax code, lawmakers are hoping that the spotlight on such a high-profile company could be the catalyst for Congress to take action to close loopholes or reform the law.

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Ben Bernanke testifies about the U.S. economy Wednesday, the Federal Reserve chairman's words will be examined for any clues that the Fed might soon taper — or increase — its support for the economy.