Authorities in Indonesia fear that the death toll will continue to rise, after two natural disasters this week. A small tsunami formed off the coast of Sumatra on Monday. And, on Tuesday, hundreds of miles away, the country's most active volcano, Mount Merapi, erupted.

France's interior minister says there is a "real" threat against French citizens, after hearing an audio recording on Wednesday sent to France from Al Qaeda, the Associated Press reports.

The New York City Housing Authority struggles with call volume, causing delays in housing repairs.

Gov. Christie cancels the ARC Tunnel for a second time.

George Gonzalez, the executive director of the Board of Elections, has been fired from his job, just one week before the General Election.

As of Monday, a cholera outbreak in Haiti had killed more than 250 people and sickened more than 3,000 others, according to The Associated Press. But the AP reports that certain health officials believe the outbreak may be slowing down, citing fewer deaths and reports of new cases so far this week.

The online Web site WikiLeaks has released hundreds of thousands of documents detailing the war in Iraq.

This follows the release of tens of thousands of classified Afghan war documents over the summer.

It's been several weeks since demonstrations began in France, in protest of a government proposal to raise the nation's retirement age from 60 to 62.

New York State's highest-ranking elected officials rigged the bidding process for an unqualified gaming company seeking a lucrative contract to bring gambling to Aqueduct race track. That's the conclusion of a new report by the state's Inspector General Joseph Fisch.

The British government has announced a series of spending reforms designed to carry the UK through the 2015 budget year.

According to the BBC, the plan calls for some $130 billion in cuts to welfare, various governmental departments and the public sector to help fill a multi-billion-dollar budget gap within the next five years.

Former Queens state senator Hiram Monserrate is once again in trouble with the law.  Federal prosecutors say he took taxpayer money meant for a non-profit to fund his personal senate campaign in 2006.

Tom Bosley, who played the father of Ron Howard's character Richie Cunningham on the long-running show "Happy Days" has died. Bosley was 83 and died of heart failure on Tuesday at his home in Palm Springs.

A federal jury has convicted four Newburgh men of trying to blow up Bronx synagogues and shoot down military planes at Stewart International Airport last May.

Switzerland is celebrating the completion of drilling on what will become the world's longest rail tunnel.

Just days after offering Palestinians a compromise over building in the West Bank, Israel has announced it is building more than 200 new homes in eastern Jerusalem, according to The Associated Press.

The Port Authority, the owner of the World Trade Center property, has tentatively agreed to pay $47.5 million to settle lawsuits by more than 9,000 people exposed to toxic dust during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

President Barack Obama has formally declared parts of New York City a disaster area because of the tornados and severe storms that ripped through Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island last month.

As the world watches the unfolding rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile, Chileans in the New York metro area are paying special attention.

The federal government has lifted a ban on deepwater oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, more than a month before it was set to expire. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar made the decision on Tuesday. As The Associated Press reports, critics of the ban, including oil companies, had argued that a six-month moratorium would harm their business.