Barcelona held off a spirited Real Madrid fightback to hang on for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday that was enough to edge its eternal rival once again, this time for a place in the Copa del Rey semifinals.

Barcelona looked headed for a comfortable victory when it went up 2-0 by halftime in the second leg of another feisty "clasico" matchup, but ended up narrowly escaping with a 4-3 aggregate victory after Madrid rallied in the second half.

Craig Bellamy's second-half equalizer against his former club sent Liverpool into the League Cup final Wednesday as the Reds rallied twice for a 2-2 draw against Manchester City to put them through on aggregate.

The result means Liverpool, which held a 1-0 lead from the first leg, will play a cup final at Wembley for the first time in 16 years when it takes on Cardiff next month after holding off the Premier League leader at Anfield.

Elie Saab stole into the tower and gave Rapunzel a gift to dazzle any passing prince — a new gown that shimmers royally.

Models with long rope-like ponytails in luminous shantung silk gowns blossomed at Wednesday's showing of the Lebanese designer's spring-summer haute couture collection.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard stumbled and was caught by a security guard as riot police helped her force a path through a crowd of rowdy protesters following a ceremony to mark Australia's national day Thursday.

Some 200 supporters of indigenous rights surrounded a Canberra restaurant and banged its windows while Gillard and opposition leader Tony Abbott were inside officiating at an award ceremony.

South Korea staged live-fire drills Thursday from a front-line island shelled by North Korea in 2010, the first such exercise since North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died last month.

Marines at Yeonpyeong Island and nearby Baengnyeong Island fired artillery into waters near the disputed sea border during the two-hour-long drills, a South Korean Defense Ministry official said. The drills were routine exercises and there haven't been any suspicious activities by North Korea's military, the official said on condition of anonymity, citing department rules.

Israel is putting together a plan for a national investment fund that would tap an anticipated natural gas bonanza to fuel both an export-geared economy and provide a nest egg of $10 billion in under a decade for future generations.

The proposed Israeli sovereign wealth fund is still in the planning phase, but officials have said some of the revenues would be invested in strategically critical targets such as education and health.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has approved an increase in bank interest rates in a bid to absorb liquidity in the market and supporting the Iranian currency.

Economy Minister Shamseddin Hosseini was quoted Wednesday by the official IRNA news agency as saying that Ahmadinejad approved a decision by Iran's Money and Credit Council to raise interest rates on deposits to 21 percent.

An investment company owned by Dubai's ruler says it will repay $500 million in bonds next week, distancing itself from other debt-laden firms in the Gulf emirate.

Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group confirmed Wednesday it will repay the bonds on Feb. 1, using funds from its internal cash flow.

On day two of Paris's frantic three days of haute couture collections, Chanel took the fashion crowd to the skies and highlights included super-sexy, celebrity-filled Armani Prive.

Tuesday's haute couture shows felt more flashy than in previous seasons — perhaps owing to confidence after some fashion houses revealed rising sales figures during last year.

The state developer of an ambitious cultural district in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday outlined a new timetable for the stalled project, with its first attraction — a branch of the Louvre — slated now to open in 2015.

A division of the Guggenheim will follow in 2017, which like the outpost of the French art institution will make its debut in the Emirati capital years later than originally planned.