Wall Street extended its February rally today, growing confident that interest rates will hold steady even as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke tempered his forecast of slowly cooling growth and inflation with a reminder that price pressures remain a concern.

Two kidnapped British oil workers have been released in Nigeria and six more hostages who are still being held are expected to be set free later today.

Petrol gushing from a ruptured Nigeria pipeline caught fire today as villagers scavenged for free fuel, sparking an inferno that killed up to 200 people and left charred bodies scattered around the site.