Spotlight
The price of oil dropped below $102 a barrel Wednesday after scores of U.S. government workers were ordered off the job because of a budget impasse in Washington.
Benchmark oil for November delivery fell 44 cents to $101.60 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 29 cents to close at $102.04 a barrel in New York.

The Jacksonville International Airport was shut down for nearly five hours, stranding incoming planeloads of passengers on the tarmac, after police found two suspicious packages, one of which was deemed "destructive" and had to be deactivated offsite by a bomb squad.
The airport was evacuated shortly after 6 p.m. Tuesday when police found one suspicious package in the terminal and another in a nearby parking garage, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office spokesman Shannon Hartley told a news conference at 11 p.m., just after the airport reopened.

Formula One championship leader Sebastian Vettel is cautious about the prospects of Red Bull continuing its dominance at this weekend's Korean Grand Prix, saying the layout of the circuit does not suit the car's strengths.
Vettel leads Ferrari's Fernando Alonso in the drivers' championship by 60 points with six races remaining, and while that margin could shrink with a couple of bad races, the dominant nature of the German's victories in the past three races suggests the remainder of the season will be little more than an extended coronation.

Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea recovered from poor starts in the Champions League by winning their first group matches on Tuesday, while Barcelona beat 10-man Celtic 1-0 to avoid a second consecutive loss at Celtic Park.
Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Dortmund, last-season's runner-up, defeated Marseille 3-0 in Group F. Arsenal leads the group with six points after a 2-0 win over Napoli.

David Nalbandian, the 2002 Wimbledon finalist who caused an uproar a decade later by injuring a line judge at another tournament, retired from professional tennis Tuesday because of a shoulder injury.
The 31-year-old Argentine player described it as a "difficult day," but told a news conference that he was "super grateful" to his sport.

Surrounded by stewards and facing the wrath of a three-deep line of seething home fans, Neymar was being escorted out of Celtic Park just as Neil Lennon launched his criticism of the Barcelona winger.
"I don't think Neymar does himself any favors by the way he behaves at times," the Celtic manager said. "Our supporters are very respectful of great players. (Barcelona playmaker Andres) Iniesta walks off tonight to a standing ovation from the Celtic support. While Neymar, he gets booed every time he touches the ball."

A prominent Afghan opposition leader said Tuesday he will run for president in next year's presidential election.
The vote will be critical in determining Afghanistan's future following the withdrawal of all foreign combat troops at the end of 2014.

Pau Gasol politely stepped out of the paint when Andrew Bynum emerged as a dominant NBA center for the Los Angeles Lakers. The seven-foot-Spaniard stayed in a complementary role when Dwight Howard joined the club for one crazy season.
With Bynum in Cleveland and Howard now in Houston, Gasol is eager to be the Lakers' man in the middle again.

Almost exactly a year after a routine pre-training camp physical uncovered a heart condition that threatened his career, and maybe worse, Channing Frye is back with the Phoenix Suns.
Suns officials say they decided over the weekend that Frye should re-join the team after he was unanimously cleared by several doctors.

Romelu Lukaku scored twice and set up the other goal to lead Everton to a 3-2 win over Newcastle on Monday, lifting the Premier League's only unbeaten team to fourth in the standings.
The Belgium striker, who is on loan from Chelsea, shredded Newcastle's flaky defense to score either side of a well-taken effort by exciting youngster Ross Barkley, giving Everton a 3-0 lead after 37 minutes.
