China trims 2017 growth target, warns against trade controls

China's top economic official trimmed the country's growth target and warned Sunday of dangers from global pressure for trade controls as Beijing tries to build a consumer-driven economy and reduce reliance on exports and investment.

In a speech to the national legislature, Premier Li Keqiang promised more steps to cut surplus steel production that is straining trade relations with Washington and Europe. He pledged equal treatment for foreign companies, apparently responding to complaints Beijing is trying to squeeze them out of technology and other promising markets.

Somalia: 110 dead from hunger in past 48 hours in drought

Somalia's prime minister said Saturday that 110 people have died from hunger in the past 48 hours in a single region — the first death toll announced in a severe drought threatening millions of people across the country.

Somalia's government declared the drought a national disaster on Tuesday. The United Nations estimates that 5 million people in this Horn of Africa nation need aid, amid warnings of a full-blown famine.

Malaysia expels North Korean ambassador over Kim probe

Malaysia said it expelled North Korea's ambassador on Saturday for refusing to apologize for his strong accusations over Malaysia's handling of the investigation into the killing of the North Korean leader's half brother.

Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said a notice was sent to the North Korean Embassy at around 6 p.m. declaring Ambassador Kang Chol persona non grata. The notice said Kang must leave Malaysia within 48 hours.

Jordan hangs 10 for attacks linked to Islamic extremism

Jordan on Saturday executed 10 prisoners with ties to Islamic extremism who carried out five shootings and a bombing since 2003, the government spokesman said. It was the largest round of executions in the kingdom in at least a decade.

Among those killed in the attacks were a British tourist, an outspoken Jordanian critic of Islamic extremism and members of the Jordanian security forces.

Rare comic books with Superman, Batman debuts go to auction

By day, Jon Berk is a mild-mannered civil attorney in Connecticut.

But by night (well, really during most of his spare time for the past 45 years) he is known by some as a comic book-collecting super hero.

Berk's collection of more than 18,000 books and 300 pieces of comic-book art goes on display March 11 at the Metropolis Gallery in New York City. He will then sell it off during an online auction at ComicConnect.com that begins May 15.

"The time is just right to move them along and let someone else experience them," said Berk, 66.

Egypt's Mubarak acquitted in final ruling on 2011 deaths

Egypt's top appeals court issued a final ruling Thursday that effectively acquits former President Hosni Mubarak on charges of killing protesters during the 2011 uprising that ended his nearly three-decade reign.

The Court of Cassation rejected an appeal by prosecutors, allowing an acquittal verdict from 2014 to stand. The judge also rejected a civil petition for compensation from families of some of the hundreds of protesters killed during the 18-day Arab Spring uprising.

8 miners killed by Ukraine coal mine blast, 6 miners injured

An explosion at a coal mine in western Ukraine left eight people dead Thursday, the state emergencies agency said.

The blast took place in the Stepovaya mine in the Lviv region, 460 kilometers (285 miles) west of the capital Kiev, about 550 meters (1,800 feet) underground. The agency said six miners were injured by the explosion.