LAHORE, Pakistan – Two suicide bombers targeting the Pakistani military killed at least 45 people in Lahore yesterday, officials said, in a challenge to government assertions that crackdowns have weakened Taliban insurgents.

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BEIJING – The United States should not make a political issue out of the yuan, a Chinese central banker said yesterday, as the two countries lurched towards a potential bust-up over Beijing’s currency regime.

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WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday delayed an overseas trip to focus on a final push to pass healthcare reform as the House of Representatives prepared to take up a final version of the bill next week.

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BAGHDAD – Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had a narrow lead over rival Shi’ites, partial results in Iraq’s tight election race showed yesterday, but a secularist challenger remained far ahead in minority Sunni areas.

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LOS ANGELES/DETROIT – In the latest blow to Toyota Motor Corp , a Southern California prosecutor filed the first consumer protection lawsuit against the automaker, claiming it had engaged in “fraud” by hiding evidence of dangerous vehicle defects.

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JOHANNESBURG – Deep divisions between South Africa’s ruling ANC and its labour and communist allies are threatening a decades-old alliance as rival factions battle for power and influence to shape policy.

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KABUL – An upcoming US-led military campaign to regain control of the Taliban heartland of Kandahar will be a “decisive phase” in the Afghan war, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told frontline troops this week.