Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush pressed President Hu Jintao on Sunday to rein in China's swelling trade surplus and push forward currency reform after calling for greater religious freedom.

AFP - China will not tolerate Taiwan's independence, Chinese President Hu Jintao told his US counterpart George W. Bush during a meeting.

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened a visit to Japan hoping to secure new business even though the two countries refuse to compromise on a territorial dispute that has hampered ties for 60 years.

AFP - Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic, the Serb political and military leaders during the 1992-1995 Bosnian civil war, have managed to evade capture for 10 years thanks to numerous complicities and the inefficiency or even bad will of the countries charged with finding them, experts say.

AP - President Bush called on China on Sunday to expand religious, political and social freedoms and urged steps to reduce Beijing's huge trade surplus with the United States. President Hu Jintao promised steps to resolve economic frictions.

AP - An ambush on a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol northwest of Baghdad left 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine dead from a roadside bomb and the firefight that followed, a U.S. military statement said Sunday.

AP - Tropical Storm Gamma deluged the coast of Central America on Saturday, killing at least six people — three in flooding in Honduras and three in the crash of a small plane belonging to a Belize lodge owned by the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

Reuters - Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Tokyo on Sunday for three days of tense diplomacy aimed at putting aside a 60-year territorial row between the Pacific neighbors and opening the door for more trade.

AP - No. 1 Southern California got another major scare Saturday night. But the electrifying Reggie Bush wouldn't let the Trojans lose.

Reuters - The death toll from a suicide car bomb attack on the funeral of a Shi'ite sheikh rose to at least 50 from 35, doctors said on Sunday, as the number killed in a spate of attacks over the past two days rose to 150.

Reuters - Tropical Storm Gamma lashed Central America on Saturday and killed at least 12 people, three of them in a plane crash on their way to a luxury jungle lodge owned by film director Francis Ford Coppola.

Reuters - The United States will 'vociferously' raise with China a reported government crackdown on dissidents, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday.

Reuters - Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was sent home on bail on Saturday after being detained for violating restrictions imposed following his release from prison in 2004, a police spokesman said.

AFP - Chinese President Hu Jintao has rebuffed US President George W. Bush's call to let "social, political and religious freedoms grow," but offered to show flexibility on trade disputes.

AFP - The United States has expressed concern to China about reports of a crackdown on dissidents ahead of US President George W. Bush's visit here, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.

AP - An ambush on a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol northwest of Baghdad left 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine dead from a roadside bomb and the firefight that followed, a U.S. military statement said Sunday.

AP - Tropical Storm Gamma weakened Sunday, a day after it deluged the coast of Central America and killed at least six people — three in flooding in Honduras and three in the crash of a small plane belonging to a Belize lodge owned by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

Reuters - Iran said on Sunday there was not enough evidence that its nuclear program was designed to produce anything other than energy for it to be sent to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice voiced concern on Sunday over China's military build-up, saying that the United States hoped to keep a balance in the region.

AFP - Iran says it will not bow to UN nuclear agency demands to visit a military site in Tehran unless the UN provides "concrete proof" to justify an inspection.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met his current cabinet for what was likely to be the last time on Sunday, as he weighed quitting Likud to form a centrist party that could remake Israeli politics and peacemaking.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Quake-stricken Pakistan heaved a sigh of relief on Sunday after world donors pledged almost $6 billion, and vowed in return to account for every cent as it distributes the aid to survivors of last month's huge tremor.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday any decision to refer its nuclear case to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions would be purely political and not based on evidence Tehran was trying to build a nuclear weapon.

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - The number of new HIV cases in India, home to the second highest infections in the world, is far more than what official data shows and epidemics in some pockets were alarming, the U.N. AIDS chief said.

VIENNA (Reuters) - When Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn waded into a heated debate over evolution in the United States, his goal was not to persuade American schools to teach that God created the world in six days.

AP - Amid concern over a crackdown on dissidents, President Bush pressed China on Sunday to expand religious, political and social freedom and won little more than promises from President Hu Jintao to open China's huge markets to U.S. farmers and businesses.

AP - No. 1 Southern California got another major scare Saturday night. But the electrifying Reggie Bush wouldn't let the Trojans lose.

AFP - The United States demands that North Korea honor its commitment to end its nuclear weapons program, US President George W. Bush has said during a visit to China, the North's closest ally.

AFP - With the last of his turkeys slaughtered and ready for Thanksgiving, Rick Undesser has begun the tedious task of sanitizing his farm.

AFP - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers remained mute on peace talks offered by the new president whom they had dubbed the "war candidate" while a pro-rebel newspaper has said new talks were not on the cards.

AP - U.S. President George W. Bush pressed China on Sunday to expand religious, political and social freedoms and won renewed promises — but no concrete actions — from President Hu Jintao to open China's huge markets to U.S. farmers and businesses.

AP - An ambush on a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol northwest of Baghdad left 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine dead from a roadside bomb and the firefight that followed, a U.S. military statement said Sunday.

AP - While some lawmakers press for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made no promises on Sunday and said commanders' assessments will determine the pace of any military drawdown.

AP - Iran's parliament approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block international inspections of its nuclear facilities if the nation is referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

AP - Family members of Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi renounced the terrorist leader Sunday after his al-Qaida in Iraq group claimed responsibility for the Nov. 9 suicide attacks on three Amman hotels that killed 59 people.

AP - Tropical Storm Gamma weakened Sunday, a day after it deluged the coast of Central America and killed at least six people — three in flooding in Honduras and three in the crash of a small plane belonging to a Belize lodge owned by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush on Sunday all but apologized to a hawkish Democrat who the White House had called a liberal like American moviemaker Michael Moore for demanding an immediate U.S. pullout from Iraq.

Reuters - Gamma, the 24th named storm in the record-breaking hurricane season, has weakened into a tropical depression, the National Hurricane Center said on Sunday.

Reuters - China reported on Sunday two new outbreaks of bird flu in which almost 3,700 poultry died and more than 7,000 were culled as provinces hit by the deadly virus tightened preventive measures.

AFP - One British soldier was killed and four wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq's southern city of Basra, the British military said.

AFP - Chinese President Hu Jintao has rebuffed US President George W. Bush's calls to allow greater religious and political freedom but promised to show more flexibility on Sino-US economic disputes.

AMMAN (Reuters) - Lawyers for Saddam Hussein and his aides said on Sunday they were willing to attend next week's trial hearing, despite mounting threats to their lives, if the government met their demands for proper protection.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian lawmakers voted on Sunday to oblige their government to stop allowing snap U.N. checks of its atomic sites and to resume uranium enrichment if Tehran is referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration needs to 'level with the American people' about the war in Iraq if it wants to stem eroding support for the conflict, and to step back from the unrealistic goal of establishing a liberal democracy there, Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden said on Sunday.

AP - U.S. President George W. Bush pressed China on Sunday to expand religious, political and social freedoms and won renewed promises — but no concrete actions — from President Hu Jintao to open China's huge markets to U.S. farmers and businesses.

AP - An ambush on a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol northwest of Baghdad left 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S. Marine dead from a roadside bomb and the firefight that followed, a U.S. military statement said Sunday.

AP - While some lawmakers press for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld made no promises on Sunday and said commanders' assessments will determine the pace of any military drawdown.

AP - Parliament approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block international inspections of its atomic facilities if the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency refers Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

AP - Israel's dovish Labor Party voted Sunday to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's coalition government, virtually assuring early general elections in March.

AP - Tropical Storm Gamma weakened into a tropical depression Sunday after killing 12 people in the Central American countries of Honduras and Belize.

AFP - France's opposition Socialists have announced they had patched up damaging divisions after a marathon meeting designed to reshape their limping party into a real contender in 2007 elections.

AFP - US President George W. Bush has said that he had urged China's leaders to invite the Dalai Lama to hear for themselves that the spiritual leader has "no desire" for an independent Tibet.

AP - After fiercely defending his Iraq policy across Asia, President Bush abruptly toned down his attack on war critics Sunday and said there was nothing unpatriotic about opposing his strategy.

AP - The views that Samuel Alito expressed on reapportionment in a 20-year-old document could jeopardize his Supreme Court nomination and provoke a filibuster, a leading Democratic senator said Sunday.

AP - Ten years after Bosnia's bloodshed ended in a peace accord reached 5,000 miles away in Dayton, Ohio, a bunch of Bosnian teenagers set out to determine why their country is still dysfunctional.

AP - With the click of a mouse, Cassie Pap flips through cable TV channels, her legs pumping away on a recumbent exercise cycle.

AP - A top U.S. Air Force general said Sunday that reports of civilian casualties in Iraq as a result of American military action were exaggerated.

AP - The hot, dry Santa Ana wind blew strongly again Sunday while firefighters battled a 3,700-acre wildfire that had burned through rough terrain above this oceanfront city.

AP - Roger Federer's record-chasing run ended with a jolt Sunday, a five-set loss to David Nalbandian in the Tennis Masters Cup final.

Reuters - Lawyers defending Saddam Hussein and his aides are willing to attend next week's trial hearing, despite threats to their lives, if the government provides them with proper protection, the team's leader said on Sunday.

Reuters - The chance of a filibuster to halt the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito rose on news he once opposed 1960s Supreme Court rulings on reapportionment based on the principle of equal voting rights, a top Democrat on the Senate judiciary panel said on Sunday.

Reuters - Rep. John Murtha, the Democrat whose call for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq set off a furor last week, on Sunday predicted U.S. forces would leave Iraq before next year's U.S. congressional elections.

AFP - Israel's Labour party paved the way for a general election early next year by voting to pull out of government as Prime Minister Ariel Sharon mulled quitting his right-wing Likud faction.

AFP - General Motors Corp. is expected to unveil sweeping plant closures and job cuts in coming days, in response to falling market share and revenues, analysts say.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush's call for China to expand political freedoms underscores a central theme of his second inaugural address and a belief that integration with the world's leading democracies could prevent the rising superpower from becoming a threat.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Washington Post's ombudsman rebuked journalist Bob Woodward on Sunday for withholding what he knew about the CIA leak probe from his editor and for making public statements that were dismissive of the investigation without disclosing his own involvement.

NUREMBERG, Germany (Reuters) - Germany marked the 60th anniversary of the start of the Nuremberg trials on Sunday with a ceremony in the oak-paneled courtroom where World War Two allies came together to prosecute Nazi leaders.

TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's Labour party voted on Sunday to quit Ariel Sharon's coalition ahead of early elections as the prime minister weighed abandoning his own Likud in a move that could remake Israeli politics and peacemaking.

COZUMEL, Mexico (Reuters) - Mexicans have set up a shrine at a plant pot on the grounds of a beach resort on the Caribbean island of Cozumel after an image said to depict Jesus appeared on it following Hurricane Wilma a month ago,

AP - After fiercely defending his Iraq policy across Asia, President Bush abruptly toned down his attack on war critics Sunday and said there was nothing unpatriotic about opposing his strategy.

AP - Insurgent attacks killed an American soldier near Baghdad and a British trooper in the south Sunday, as U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their hand to avoid capture.

AP - The White House and senators are discussing the implications of a Senate-passed ban on the torture of suspected terrorists in U.S. custody and what part, if any, of the proposal the administration might find acceptable, the Pentagon chief said Sunday.

AP - The bespectacled boy wizard has worked his biggest box-office magic to date.

AP - His rescuers credited snowboarder John Ryan with doing all the right things to survive three days lost in the mountains outside a ski resort area, but he doubts he would have made it through another night.

AP - Raising the stakes before a key vote by the U.N. nuclear agency, lawmakers approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block inspections of atomic facilities if the agency refers Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

AP - LSU and Penn State each moved up a spot in The Associated Press Top 25, taking advantage of Miami's loss to move behind unbeaten Southern California and Texas.

AFP - Boeing scored a major coup over its European rival Airbus when Dubai airline Emirates announced a 9.7-billion-dollar order for the US manufacturer's new long-haul 777 aircraft.

AP - U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.

AP - At least six people were hurt after shots were fired inside a Tacoma shopping mall Sunday, and the mall was locked down as police searched for a shooter, authorities said.

AP - Israel's dovish Labor Party voted Sunday to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, and Sharon reportedly decided to quit his Likud Party to set up a new movement — beginning a campaign for elections expected in March.

AP - The views that Samuel Alito expressed on reapportionment in a 20-year-old document could jeopardize his Supreme Court nomination and provoke a filibuster, a leading Democratic senator said Sunday.

AP - One in 20 students was a victim of violence or theft at school in 2003, the government said in a report that shows school crime rates about were half what they were 10 years earlier.

AP - A NASA spacecraft is halfway toward Mars where it is expected to collect more data on the Red Planet than all previous Martian explorations combined.

AP - Nathan Vasher struck again, and the Chicago Bears stamped themselves as a contender in the NFC. One week after returning a missed field goal a record 108 yards, Vasher intercepted two passes Sunday for the NFC North leaders in a 13-3 victory over the Carolina Panthers. It was Chicago's sixth straight win.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will quit his ruling Likud party to run separately in national elections and will ask Israel's president to dissolve parliament for a snap poll, a source in Sharon's office said on Sunday.

AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has decided to quit his right-wing Likud party and plans to make an announcement on Monday, Israeli media reported.

AFP - Moroccan security forces arrested 17 Islamic extremists with ties to the Al-Qaeda network as they were setting up a terrorist cell, officials in Rabat said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are looking into whether al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a gunfight in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, a U.S. official said on Sunday, but a White House spokesman said that was 'highly unlikely.'

AP - A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall Sunday, wounding several people in the halls and taking three people hostage in a music store before police arrested him, authorities said.

AP - Israel's dovish Labor Party voted Sunday to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, and Sharon reportedly decided to quit his Likud Party to set up a new movement — beginning a campaign for elections expected in March.

AP - The number of people who use Internet search engines to find information has jumped over the last year, claiming a solid No. 2 spot behind e-mail among online tasks, a new study finds.

AP - The union representing the orchestra for Radio City Music Hall's 'Christmas Spectacular' approved a contract deal Sunday that allowed its musicians to return to work following a bitter labor dispute.

AP - Tony Stewart was smooth and steady for an entire race. An entire season. An entire championship run.

AFP - Prime Ariel Sharon is set to quit his right-wing Likud faction, Israeli media reported, as the Labour party paved the way for a general election early next year by voting to quit the government.

AFP - The Washington Post's editorial watchdog slammed legendary reporter Bob Woodward for committing a journalistic "sin" by keeping from his paper what he knew in a CIA leak case that has rocked the White House.

AFP - The second round of Egypt's parliamentary election was marred by deadly violence and voter intimidation as the regime appeared bent on curbing the surge of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.

AP - U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. The White House said Sunday that it was "highly unlikely" that the terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.

AP - Israel's dovish Labor Party voted Sunday to pull out of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's government, and Sharon reportedly decided to quit his Likud Party to set up a new movement — beginning a campaign for elections expected in March.

AP - Raising the stakes before a key vote by the U.N. nuclear agency, lawmakers approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block inspections of atomic facilities if the agency refers Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.

AP - Egyptian twins born joined at the top of the head returned to their home country on Sunday, still wearing protective helmets two years after a successful surgery in the United States to separate them.

AFP - The Washington Post's editorial watchdog slammed legendary reporter Bob Woodward for committing a journalistic "sin" by keeping from his paper what he knew in a CIA leak case that has rocked the White House.

AP - A gunman opened fire inside a busy shopping mall Sunday, wounding at least six people and taking three others hostage in a music store before he surrendered to a SWAT team, authorities said.

AP - In the wake of congressional unrest over his war policies, President Bush thanked Mongolia on Monday for standing with him in Iraq and compared the struggle against Islamic radicalism to this country's battle against communism.

AFP - US President George W. Bush became the first sitting US president to visit Mongolia, touching down for a lightning visit to show appreciation for the remote Asian country's help in Iraq.