Reuters - A visit to Beijing by two U.S. senators to press China to loosen currency controls is unlikely to resolve the issue, a state-run newspaper said on Thursday, urging a steady-as-she-goes approach to foreign exchange reform.

AP - Jordan Farmar is enjoying UCLA's run to the regional semifinals, though the sophomore point guard acknowledged he came close to taking his game to the Pacific Northwest.

Reuters - The Basque separatist group ETA declared a permanent ceasefire on Wednesday after almost four decades of attacks in Spain, potentially ending one of Western Europe's bloodiest guerrilla campaigns.

AP - The College Board disclosed Wednesday that 27,000 SAT college entrance exams missed being re-scanned following the initial discovery of scoring problems, including those of another 375 students who were given incorrectly low marks.

AP - Vince Young threw sideline passes, deep routes and across the middle. Some were touch passes, others he fired as hard as he could. Almost all were on target.

AP - Supreme Court justices debated Wednesday when prisoners should be able to file federal lawsuits, taking up the case of a California inmate who sued after he was punished for alleged inappropriate activity with volunteer priests.

AFP - US President George W. Bush and Chinese leader Hu Jintao will meet in Washington April 20 for talks aimed at resolving "outstanding differences," the White House said.

AP - British Treasury chief Gordon Brown said the country's economy is growing, with inflation on target, as he presented his 10th annual budget Wednesday.

AFP - The Basque separatist group ETA announced a permanent ceasefire, ending nearly four decades of unrest that killed more than 800 people and meeting the key condition for talks with the Spanish government.

AP - China agreed to turn over bird flu samples from poultry to the World Health Organization as Vietnam stepped up efforts along its borders against the 'direct threat' posed by birds smuggled in from China.

President Bush's campaign to bolster support for the war in Iraq moves to West Virginia on Wednesday, a day after reporters peppered him with questions on the subject at a White House news conference.

AP - Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday he will not wait years for Hamas to recognize Israel, a precondition for peace talks, and he is prepared to take unilateral steps in the meantime.

AP - Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet with President Bush at the White House on April 20, making his first official visit to the United States since becoming president in 2003.

Reuters - The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee plan to offer a bill next week that addresses concerns about China's currency practices and other trade irritants in a "constructive" manner, a spokeswoman for one of the senators said on Wednesday.

Reuters - The Palestine Liberation Organization rejected Hamas's governing platform on Wednesday but President Mahmoud Abbas said he would present the Islamic group's proposed cabinet to parliament nonetheless.

AFP - Andrew Flintoff and Shaun Udal made a mockery of India's famed batting line-up as a depleted England squared the series with a crushing 212-run victory in the third and final Test.

Reuters - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is recalling about 643,000 rocking chairs after reports that poor construction and over-curvature of the their runners caused 45 injuries, U.S. regulators said.

AFP - Japan is ready to give further ground on the sensitive issue of farming to help wrap up the latest round of WTO talks, the country's farm minister said in an interview.

AFP - Commonwealth Games decathlon champion Dean Macey has targetted this summer's European Championships as his next stepping stone on the way to an assault on Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008.

AP - Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia pledged Wednesday to cooperate more closely in producing oil and gas, and Putin said he expects a closely watched pipeline to be built to carry Siberian oil to fuel China's booming economy.