Credit rating agency Standard and Poor's on Wednesday lowered its rating of Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony less than a week after the company announced woeful results.   more

The Brazilian government has filed a lawsuit against Twitter and its users in a bid to stop publication of messages alerting drivers to police speed traps and drunk-driving checkpoints.   more

Dozens of civilians were killed on Wednesday as government troops pressed a relentless assault on the flashpoint Syrian city of Homs for a fifth straight day, flattening many buildings, activists said.   more

The Maldives' ex-president Mohamed Nasheed told AFP Wednesday he had been forced to resign by armed police and army officers in a coup plot hatched with the knowledge of his successor.   more

Yahoo! on Tuesday announced a boardroom shakeup to breathe fresh life into a pioneering Internet firm that has been struggling to re-invent itself and appease disappointed investors.   more

A home-filmed video showing a four-year-old Chinese boy being forced by his parents to run almost naked through the snow in bitterly cold New York has gone viral and sparked an online uproar.   more

A US federal appeals court struck down a California law that strips gays and lesbians of the right to marry in the latest round of America's long-running battle over same-sex marriage.   more

Christian conservative Rick Santorum reignited his White House bid, claiming an unexpected trio of state wins that raised new question marks over Republican frontrunner Mitt Romney.   more

A half-century by Dinesh Chandimal helped Sri Lanka reach 233-8 in their tri-series one-day international against India in Perth on Wednesday.   more

Arctic conditions throughout France have forced the country's football authorities to postpone three last-16 encounters in the French Cup.   more