Time running out for US troops in violent Mosul
MOSUL, Iraq – Grenades lie unattended next to a west Mosul bazaar. Garbage bags throughout the city are searched daily for bombs. At a sprawling sheep market, Iraqi army soldiers are careful not to kick over rocks for fear of setting off hidden explosives.

Iraq: Minister says OPEC aims to raise oil prices
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s oil minister says crude oil prices are not “profitable and fair” for oil producing countries and should be increased.

Iraq’s women’s minister to withdraw resignation
BAGHDAD – Iraq’s state minister for women’s affairs said Monday she plans to withdraw her resignation after receiving pledges from aid organizations to help improve women’s lives.

Palestinian unity talks face low expectations
GAZA (Reuters) – Divided over policy toward Israel and control of Gaza reconstruction aid, rival Palestinian factions face tough obstacles in unity talks due to open in Cairo on Tuesday.

Rights group demands freeze on West Bank quarries
RAMALLAH, West Bank – Three-quarters of the rock and gravel quarried in the West Bank are transferred out of Palestinian territory and used by Israelis, a human rights group said Monday, charging Israel’s government with violating international law.

Israel believes Iran can build nuclear weapons
JERUSALEM – Iran is now capable of producing atomic weapons, Israel‘s top military intelligence officer said Sunday, sounding the highest-level warning that Israel’s arch-enemy has achieved independent nuclear capability.

Former Israeli president to be charged with rape
JERUSALEM – Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav will be charged with raping a woman who once worked for him and other sex crimes against former female employees, the Justice Ministry said Sunday.

Syria leader: Site bombed by Israel built over
DAMASCUS, Syria – The Syrian president said a facility bombed by Israel two years ago that the U.S. claims was a nearly finished nuclear reactor has been built over, but in comments published Monday denied it was a nuclear facility.

Cultural events on the rise in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – When word spread that Brazil was going to be the guest of honor at the Riyadh International Book Fair, a Saudi official had to reassure the public that the Brazilians wouldn’t be dancing the Samba at the 11-day event that opened recently.

Grim struggle continues for women in Afghanistan
KABUL – On the same day an Afghan female lawmaker announced her candidacy for Afghanistan’s presidency, an impoverished widow seeking to escape a life of despair set herself on fire.

Pakistan crisis deepens with march, talk of arrest
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s shaky government threatened the opposition leader with sedition charges on Monday after he called for protests against the president, raising the stakes in a political crisis that threatens to weaken the country’s fight against al-Qaida and Taliban.

China ups security on eve of key Tibet anniversary
KANGDING, China – Authorities closed the last window into a restive Tibetan region in western China on Monday, tightening its security cordon on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the failed uprising that sent the Dalai Lama into exile.

Dalai Lama to demand Tibet autonomy, mourn past
DHARAMSALA, India (Reuters) – The Dalai Lama is set to mark his 50 years in exile on Tuesday by demanding “meaningful autonomy” for his Tibetan homeland and saying that Chinese rule there has at times been “hell on earth.”

Court rejects Mumbai gunman’s translation request
MUMBAI, India – An Indian court rejected a request Monday by the only gunman charged in last year’s deadly attacks on Mumbai to translate court documents, including the charges against him, into his native language.

Sri Lanka army: 80 rebels dead in northern battles
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – Sri Lankan troops battling to capture the last town controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels found the bodies of 80 guerrillas as fighting raged across the shrinking battlefront, the military said Monday.

NKorea puts troops on alert, warns of war danger
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea put its troops on alert and cut the last hot line to Seoul on Monday as the American and South Korean militaries began joint maneuvers. The communist regime warned that even the slightest provocation could trigger war.

Japan to help train ETimor’s military personnel
TOKYO (AFP) – Japan agreed Monday to help train East Timor’s military and lend support during natural disasters and epidemics, officials and news reports said.

China drives home rejection of ‘Western’ democracy
BEIJING – The head of China’s rubber-stamp parliament cited Western democracy no less than nine times in a speech Monday — to illustrate what the country would not become.

A new mantra for China’s big thirst: Less is more
ZHANGYIGANG VILLAGE, China – It is China’s latest grand attempt to tame nature. Three canals will bring water hundreds of miles to Beijing and other thirsty cities in the north. More than 350,000 people in the way will be forced to move.

Taiwan: Military working on China contact body
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Taiwan is working on setting up a think tank to coordinate contacts with the Chinese military, a Defense Ministry official said Monday, in what would be one of the most significant steps so far in rapidly improving relations between the sides.

Australia accused of trading principles for UN seat
SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia’s opposition accused the government Monday of being prepared to trade its principles for African support of its bid for a seat on the UN Security Council.

Kangaroo intruder terrorizes Aussie sleeping family
CANBERRA (Reuters) – An Australian couple thought they were being attacked by an intruder when a kangaroo crashed through their bedroom window and started jumping on them.

Canada regulator plans oversight of bank pay: report
(Reuters) – Canada’s banking regulator plans to scrutinize bankers’ pay packages in an effort to prevent the excessive risk taking they might make in search of big bonuses, the Globe and Mail website said on Friday.

Canada studies GM aid plan, welcomes CAW talks
OTTAWA (Reuters) – General Motors of Canada’s bid for government aid is being closely reviewed after auditors for the U.S. parent said they doubted the company’s ability to survive outside bankruptcy, Canadian officials said on Thursday.

Mexico morgues crowded with mounting drug-war dead
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico – Death froze his exhausted face. The attackers lashed or punctured nearly every part of his body. Then they cut off the dead man’s head, wrapped it in a plastic grocery bag and dumped it with his body between two tractor-trailers on a city street.

Colombia extradites cooperative warlord
BOGOTA – A Colombian warlord who has cooperated closely with prosecutors was extradited to the United States on Thursday despite human rights groups’ objections that sending him away could leave hundreds of murders unsolved.

Bolivia expels US diplomat
LA PAZ , Bolivia – Bolivian President Evo Morales says he’s expelling another U.S. diplomat — the second in six months.

Bill Clinton, UN chief seek aid for Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Bill Clinton and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon are trying to refocus international attention on Haiti with a visit Monday they hope will lure more aid to keep the impoverished country from sliding back into chaos.

Real IRA: Northern Ireland’s deadly dissenters
LONDON – The Real IRA, which claimed responsibility for killing two British soldiers over the weekend, has caused more havoc than any other Irish Republican Army splinter group since most IRA members embraced a peace process in Northern Ireland.

Britain’s Brown: IRA dissidents can’t stop peace
BELFAST, Northern Ireland – British Prime Minister Gordon Brown vowed Monday that Irish Republican Army dissidents responsible for killing two soldiers will not be permitted to escape justice or undermine the Catholic-Protestant government at the heart of the peace process.

Geldof urges govts to stay strong on poverty fight
LONDON (AFP) – Anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof urged governments Monday to “hold their nerve” in sticking to pledges to help the world’s poorest nations in the face of the economic downturn.

EU wants to see IMF funds doubled: document
BRUSSELS (AFP) – The European Union will call on Tuesday for the International Monetary Fund’s resources for struggling nations to be doubled to 500 billion dollars (396 billion euros), a draft document showed.

German discount supermarket to sell cars online
BERLIN – A German discount supermarket known for low-priced groceries and household goods expanded into new territory Monday by selling cars on its Web site.

Explosion outside bank in Greece; no injuries
ATHENS, Greece – A bomb exploded outside of a Citibank branch in Athens early Monday, causing some damage to the building but no injuries.

Zimbabwe PM says wife’s death an accident
HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai sought to dispel speculation Monday over the cause of the car crash that killed his wife, saying her death was a tragic accident

Zimbabwe cholera deaths over 4,000: WHO
GENEVA (AFP) – The cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe has claimed more than 4,000 lives and more than 89,000 people have the disease, the World Health Organisation said in a new toll published Monday.

Sudan frees president’s chief opponent
KHARTOUM, Sudan – Sudan on Monday freed the country’s top opposition leader, who was jailed for nearly seven weeks after calling on President Omar al-Bashir to surrender to face war crimes charges.

4 rapists lashed by Somali Islamic court
MOGADISHU, Somalia – Four youths were publicly whipped in the Somali capital on Monday after an Islamist court convicted them of gang rape, in a demonstration of the U.N.-backed government’s inability to administer justice in this chaotic nation.
And the woman who was raped?  Was she stoned to death?