International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

The Federal Reserve concluded Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting without making a decision to change anything. The Fed intends to continue buying long-term securities, mostly mortgages, in an effort to keep interest rates artificially low. It shows the central bank isn't particularly optimistic about prospects for economic growth.

There's no stopping Democrats out for political blood. Richard Mourdock, the Indiana Republican locked in a close contest with Democrat Joe Donnelly for a U.S. Senate seat, offered a badly phrased comment about abortion in rape cases during a debate Tuesday. He quickly apologized for any misunderstanding, but the Obama campaign is seizing the issue as a way to get at Mitt Romney.

A look at Hurricane Sandy, day by day, on its path across the Caribbean: , Oct. 22: Tropical Depression 18 forms over the southwestern Caribbean, about 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southwest of Kingston, Jamaica. Six hours later, the U.S. National Hurricane Center says it has grown to tropical storm force and names it Sandy.

PANAMA CITY (AP) , Panama's government said Friday it will cancel plans to sell state-owned land in a duty-free zone on the Panama Canal following a week of sometimes violent protests in which a 10-year-old boy and two adults died.

Steve Forbes is chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes Media. The flagship Forbes magazine, long regarded as America's best business periodical, has a circulation of nearly 1 million. An early entrant and leader in new media, Forbes websites, including Forbes.com, RealClearPolitics.com and RealClearMarkets.com, among others, reach 20 million online readers a month.

In American politics, each election always seems to be of greater importance than the last. There's a lot riding on what happens on Nov. 6, but for the future of America's military and U.S. national security, the stakes are as high as they have ever been.

KYAUKTAW, Myanmar (AP) , At least 56 people have been killed and 1,900 homes destroyed in renewed ethnic violence in western Myanmar as the government warned perpetrators and the international community appealed for calm.

BEIRUT (AP) , The embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad promised Thursday to observe a U.N.-proposed truce during a four-day Muslim holiday, while rebels claimed major gains in the key battleground...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) , A Giant dose of small ball, and suddenly San Francisco finds itself in a most unique position , way ahead in a postseason series. Madison Bumgarner shut down the Detroit Tigers for seven innings, then the Giants took advantage of a bunt that stayed fair to eke out the go-ahead run in a 2-0 win Thursday night for a 2-0 edge in the World Series.

MEXICO CITY (AP) , Laughter was a serious matter at a clown convention in the Mexican capital, where hundreds of the performers gathered this week to discover some of the secrets of making people laugh. The most important lesson at the four-day event was the difference between being a simple joker and a top-notch merry-maker.

Linebacker London Fletcher did not attend Thursday's practice in order to undergo extensive neurological testing to diagnose the cause of his balance problem. Fletcher was subjected to about six hours of testing, coach Mike Shanahan said. His status for Sunday is in extreme doubt because of head and hamstring injuries.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) , A man in an Afghan police uniform shot and killed two American service members in what appeared to be the latest attack on international forces this year by their Afghan partners. The so-called insider attacks have stretched to the breaking point a partnership that U.S.

One of American democracy's most annoying sideshows , campaign TV commercials , abruptly will end in less than two weeks on Election Day, but not before setting some all-time records. More than 915,000...

WORTHINGTON, Ohio , As the Republican standard-bearer this year, Mitt Romney, a late-in-life convert to the pro-life cause, finds himself at the helm of a party staking out an increasingly absolute opposition to abortion, even as he tries to woo moderate voters he'll need to win on Election Day.

STOCKHOLM (AP) , A Swedish newspaper says Princess Madeleine and her American boyfriend Chris O'Neill have been engaged. The 30-year-old Madeleine is the youngest of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia's three children and is fourth in line to the throne.