MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked militants detonated multiple bomb blasts and engaged in ongoing battles with security forces in an attempt to breach the main U.N. compound in Mogadishu, officials said Wednesday.

LONDON (Reuters) - Ofcom said on Wednesday that it would launch an investigation into satellite TV firm BSkyB over the wholesale supply of its sports channels after a complaint by Sky's increasingly bitter rival BT. Ofcom said the probe would centre on BT's claims that the terms on which Sky offered its sports channels, Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2, to BT's YouView platform amounted to an abuse of Sky's market dominance. BT has complained to Ofcom that Sky is making the supply of the two channels conditional on BT making its own sports channels available to Sky for retail on Sky's platform. ...

GENEVA (AP) — The Syrian civil war contributed to pushing the numbers of refugees and those displaced by conflict within their own nation to an 18-year high of 45.2 million worldwide by the end of 2012, the U.N. refugee agency said Wednesday.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The United Nations and Washington have separately asked the Philippines not to withdraw its more than 300 Filipino peacekeepers from the Golan Heights, warning of "maximum volatility" in the region after a number of countries decided to pull out their peacekeeping forces amid escalating violence, the Philippines' top diplomat said Wednesday.

By Daren Butler and Parisa Hafezi ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) - A lone, silent vigil by a man in Istanbul inspired copycat protests on Tuesday, as police detained dozens of people across Turkey in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent demonstrations against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Overnight in Ankara, riot police used teargas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of people who had gathered in and around the government quarter of Kizilay. ...

BERLIN (AP) — President Barack Obama will renew his call Wednesday to reduce the world's nuclear stockpiles, including a proposed one-third reduction in U.S. and Russian arsenals, the White House said.

By Oliver Holmes and Alexander Dziadosz SALQIN, Syria (Reuters) - The moment the young fighter walks in, it's clear he's different. He has a grey robe, a scraggly beard and a gun holster - hallmarks of the rebels who control this part of the northwest. But he wears Adidas trainers. And his accent and swagger are pure London. The young man sits at a small table, accepts the tea offered by his hosts, and asks to be called by his war name, Abu Khaled. ...

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The Somali Islamist militant group al Shabaab said on Wednesday its fighters were behind an attack on a United Nations compound in Mogadishu and said a battle between their gunmen and security forces continued more than an hour after an initial blast. "Mujahideen units from the Martyrdom Brigade have stormed the UNDP compound near the airport in Mogadishu," the group said on its official Twitter feed @HSMPRESS1. A U.N. spokesman in Mogadishu said the attackers had entered the compound. (Editing by Richard Lough and Edmund Blair)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — IOC inspectors have concluded their second visit to Pyeongchang by praising organizers for making good progress on preparations for the 2018 Winter Games.

Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Al-Qaida-linked militants detonated at least one bomb blast and engaged in ongoing battles with security forces in an attempt to breach the main U.N. compound in Mogadishu, officials said Wednesday.

BANGKOK (AP) — The price of oil rose Wednesday, before the conclusion of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

DENVER (AP) — Bob and Barbara Schmidt dashed to their home on a dirt road in a heavily wooded area northeast of Colorado Springs as smoke from what would become the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history filled the air.

By Shadia Nasralla CAIRO (Reuters) - "Gangs of New York" seems a fitting favourite movie for Egypt's new culture minister, a film studies professor who styles himself an outsider fighting to break the hold of a privileged elite over spending on the arts. Artists enraged that he fired the head of Cairo Opera, and fearing Muslim puritans may ban ballet, have barricaded Alaa Abdel Aziz from entering his own ministry. ...

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — David Moyes was given a challenging start to life as Manchester United manager Wednesday, with his new team handed fixtures against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City in the first five matches of its Premier League title defense.

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — Air France-KLM is ordering 25 Airbus A350 jets, saying the wide-body plane that flew for the first time last week is key to plans to expand long-haul flights.

LONDON (AP) — The FA Cup final has been restored to its traditional place as the last match of the English football season.

By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - A suicide bomber and several gunmen attacked a United Nations compound in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, police and witnesses said, in a strike that bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda-linked militants. The bomber set off his explosives outside the gate of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base before attackers ran inside and opened fire on security guards, a senior police official told Reuters. Gunfire could still be heard more than 30 minutes after the initial explosion. It was not immediately clear whether any U.N. ...

SEATTLE (AP) — A Boeing 787 flying from Denver to Tokyo diverted to Seattle because of an oil filter issue, a United Airlines spokeswoman said.

MADRID (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says recession-wracked Spain is making progress but is urging policymakers both within the country and in Europe to take "urgent action" to slash the country's crippling 27 percent unemployment rate.