The embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad will seek to expand trade ties with markets in Asia and elsewhere to bypass European economic sanctions, Syria's finance minister said Wednesday at a meeting of Arab finance chiefs.

Mohammad Jleilati did not name specific countries for stronger economic bonds, but listed Russia, China and others in Asia as traditionally "friendly" to Syria.

Cowboy hats, costumes and saddles from actor John Wayne's estate are among the items that will go up for auction in Los Angeles next month.

Heritage Auctions spokesman Donn Pearlman on Tuesday said the auction will include more than 700 personal and professional items, including an eye patch Wayne wore in his Oscar-winning performance in "True Grit."

Thai police on Tuesday said they had arrested a 40-year-old man for allegedly posting pictures, audio clips and messages deemed insulting to the royal family on the social networking site Facebook.

Surapak Phuchaisaeng was arrested in Bangkok on Friday, said a senior police officer at the Technology Crime Suppression Division.

A 36-year-old man has been charged after he allegedly broke into singer Celine Dion's home near Montreal, raided the fridge and even took the time to pour himself a bath, police said Tuesday.

He was nabbed by police in the Montreal suburb of Laval on Monday afternoon after the alarm system went off.

Yahoo Inc. fired Carol Bartz as CEO Tuesday after more than 2½ years of financial lethargy that had convinced investors that she couldn't steer the Internet company to a long-promised turnaround.

To fill the void, Yahoo's board named Tim Morse, its chief financial officer, as interim CEO. Bartz lured Morse away from computer chip maker Altera Corp. two years ago to help her cuts costs. Yahoo, based in Sunnyvale, California, said it is looking for a permanent replacement.

In the tradition of Bob Hope and Johnny Carson, and later Billy Crystal, Steve Martin and Whoopi Goldberg, Oscar is going back to its comedic roots with Eddie Murphy as host.

The actor and comedian will host the 84th annual Academy Awards, producers Brett Ratner and Don Mischer said Tuesday — and even they were surprised the reclusive star agreed to the gig.

Staff and students at the University of Massachusetts celebrated the start of the new semester on Monday by making the world's largest stir-fry.

Using a custom-built, 14-foot (4.27-meter)-frying pan, the 4,010-pound (1,820-kilogram) meal included 800 pounds (360 kilograms) of chicken, 500 pounds (227 kilograms) of onions, 400 pounds (180 kilograms) of carrots, 300 pounds (135 kilograms) of broccoli as well as peppers, green beans, bok choy, peanuts, basil and garlic. It was cooked in 50 pounds (23 kilograms) of canola oil.

Lebanon came from a goal down to beat the United Arab Emirates 3-1 on Tuesday in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.

Lebanon, which was routed 6-0 by South Korea in its opening match in Group B, trailed 1-0 after UAE defender Mahmoud Al Hammadi scored in the 15th minute.

One of the most devastating wildfire outbreaks in Texas history left more than 1,000 homes in ruins Tuesday and stretched the state's firefighting ranks to the limit, confronting Gov. Rick Perry with a major disaster at home just as the GOP presidential contest heats up.

More than 180 fires have erupted in the past week across the rain-starved Lone Star State, and nearly 600 of the homes destroyed since then were lost in one catastrophic blaze in and around Bastrop, near Austin, that raged out of control Tuesday for a third day.

Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee retailer, plans to triple its coffee shops in China during the next four years and step up expansion elsewhere in Asia, an executive said Tuesday.

Starbucks plans to operate 1,500 outlets in China by 2015 from a current 470, the company's Asia Pacific president Jinlong Wang said. The company also expects to open 700 coffee shops in South Korea by 2016, up from 370 now, Wang said.