BANGKOK – More than 50,000 protesters defied orders to  leave the Thai capital’s main shopping district on Sunday  despite threats of mass arrests, raising the stakes in the  fourth week of street rallies against the government.

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WASHINGTON – A White House adviser yesterday said China’s  yuan “needs to be more influenced by market forces” but  declined to say whether the Asian nation was manipulating its  currency.

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MAKHACHKALA, Russia – Two bombs exploded in Russia’s  Dagestan province yesterday, derailing a freight train in an  attack a security source linked to suicide bombings in Moscow  and the same region, RIA news agency reported.

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ISTANBUL – An Istanbul court ordered yesterday the rearrest  of 19 serving and retired military officers charged over an  alleged plot to overthrow the government, broadcaster CNN Turk  reported.

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WASHINGTON – The Obama administration expects U.S. job  creation to quicken but economic recovery has a long way to go  despite improved trends, White House officials said yesterday.

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AMMAN – International Monetary Fund head Dominique  Strauss-Kahn said yesterday the world economy was not “out of  the woods” despite a faster recovery in developing and emerging  countries than earlier forecast.

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VENTERSDORP – South African President Jacob Zuma called for  calm yesterday after the killing of white far-right leader  Eugene Terre’blanche in a suspected pay dispute with black  workers fanned fears of racial strains.

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VATICAN CITY – A leading cardinal defended Pope Benedict at  an unusual address at the pontiff’s Easter Sunday Mass, saying  the Church would not be intimidated by “petty gossip” about  sexual abuse of children by priests.