AP - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon took back the initiative from the rejuvenated Labor Party, quitting the Likud Party he himself founded in 1973 and striking out on his own — a daring pre-emptive strike before elections set for days after his 78th birthday.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will meet Israel's president on Monday to request a snap election he hopes to win as head of a new centrist party intent on pursuing peacemaking with the Palestinians.

Reuters - CIA interrogators use "unique" methods to obtain "vital" information from prisoners, but strictly obey laws against torture, CIA Director Porter Goss said in an interview published on Monday.

Reuters - Hundreds of Mongolians lined the streets of the capital to welcome George W. Bush who on Monday became the first U.S. president to visit the vast, windswept country to thank it for its help in Iraq.

AFP - Bosnia marks the 10th anniversary of the Dayton peace agreement which ended more than three years of bloody inter-ethnic war and divided the country into a shaky system of separate but equal entities.

AFP - The United States will not have enough vaccine to address the needs of its population in case of a bird flu pandemic for at least three years, the country's top public health official warned.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked Israel's president on Monday to dissolve parliament, opening the way for a snap election that he hopes to win as head of a new centrist party.

AFP - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked President Moshe Katsav to dissolve parliament, paving the way for an early election he is expected to fight at the head of a new centrist party.

AFP - George W. Bush became the first sitting US president to visit Mongolia, in a show of support for a fledgling democracy that has sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan.

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin has assured Japan it will have access to Siberian oil as he sought to increase trade amid a standoff over islands seized by Soviet troops at the end of World War II.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday quit the right-wing Likud party he helped to found and said he was forming a new party after asking Israel's president to declare an early election, Israel Radio said.

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush heard multi-toned Mongolian 'throat singing' and drank mare's milk on Monday as he ended an Asian tour inside a nomadic hut that is a symbol of the country that produced Genghis Khan.

BAQUBA, Iraq (Reuters) - Witnesses and the Iraqi police said U.S. troops opened fire on a crowded minibus north of Baghdad on Monday, killing five members of the same family, including two children, and wounding four others.

BEIJING (Reuters) - The U.N. envoy on torture arrives in China on Monday as Beijing grapples with a series of cases in which people have been wrongly convicted after giving forced confessions, a practice rights groups says happens too often.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The trial began on Monday of a Dutch businessman accused of complicity in war crimes and genocide for selling chemicals to Iraq while knowing Saddam Hussein would use them for poison gas attacks.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain insisted on Monday that Iran meets obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty after Iranian lawmakers voted to block snap U.N. checks of nuclear sites if it is referred to the Security Council.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's cabinet approved a plan on Monday to reduce the country's 3,200 troops in Iraq by about one-third, beginning in the first half of next year, a Defense Ministry official said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China unveiled new rules to combat bird flu on Monday, threatening fines and police action against people who do not cooperate.

AP - President Bush, buffeted by unrelenting criticism at home over Iraq, on Monday saluted Mongolia's "fearless warriors" for helping his embattled effort to establish democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

AP - In a bold political gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday asked Israel's president to dissolve parliament, pushing for a March election after deciding to leave his hardline Likud Party and to form a new centrist political movement.

AP - U.S. forces left a cordoned area around a house in the northern city of Mosul on Monday where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight over the weekend. The White House said it was "highly unlikely" that terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.

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 - The Colts, Cardinals and Jaguars won shootouts, while the Broncos and Browns had shutouts.

AFP - US President George W. Bush left Mongolia after becoming the first sitting US president to visit the remote former land of 13th century conqueror Genghis Khan.

AFP - Commercial relations between Japan and Russia will be held back so long as they do not reach a deal on a 60-year island dispute, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned.

AP - A man accused of going on a shooting spree at a crowded shopping mall sent a text message to his ex-girlfriend minutes before the rampage saying he was about to show the world his anger, the woman said.

AP - General Motors Corp., which has been losing billions of dollars along with share in the key U.S. market, is planning to close some North American plants, a spokesman for the world's biggest automaker said Monday.

AP - Some of Rudolph's cousins are paying an early visit to San Francisco. Four reindeer arrived at the San Francisco Zoo this weekend.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, taking the biggest gamble of his political career, quit the ruling Likud on Monday to lead a new centrist party into early elections.

Reuters - Romania is prepared to allow investigations at two military bases to show they were not used by the CIA as secret detention centres, President Traian Basescu said in an interview published on Monday.

Reuters - CIA interrogators use "unique" methods to obtain "vital" information from prisoners, but strictly obey laws against torture, CIA Director Porter Goss said in an interview published on Monday.

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush heard multi-toned Mongolian "throat singing" and drank mare's milk on Monday as he ended an Asian tour inside a nomadic hut that is a symbol of the country that produced Genghis Khan.

Reuters - U.S. troops opened fire on a crowded minivan north of Baghdad on Monday, fearing a car bomb attack, and killed at least three members of the same family, including a child, the U.S. military and survivors said.

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that trade with Japan will be held back until they resolve a World War II island dispute even as the two countries move closer economically.

AP - General Motors Corp. will eliminate 30,000 manufacturing jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand and return the company to profitability and long-term growth.

AP - In a bold gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked Israel's president Monday to dissolve parliament, pushing for a quick March election just hours after deciding to leave his hard-line Likud Party and to form a new centrist party.

AP - U.S. forces mistakenly fired on a civilian vehicle outside an American base in a city north of Baghdad on Monday, killing three people, including a child, the military said.

The Christian Science Monitor - 'Get back, get back!' shouted Cpl. Sean Thompson after poking at the suspicious mound of rocks during a marine patrol to look for insurgents' improvised explosive devices.

AP - The global HIV epidemic continues to expand, with more than 40 million people now estimated to have the AIDS virus, but in some countries prevention efforts are finally starting to pay off, the United Nations says.

AP - Takeru Kobayashi swallowed 67 Krystal's hamburgers in eight minutes to retain his title of Krystal Square Off World Hamburger Eating Champion and win $10,000.

Reuters - General Motors Corp. said on Monday it will cut about 30,000 jobs or 9 percent of its total work force, close or curtail operations at 12 plants in North America and slash the amount of vehicles it produces by 1 million as it attempts to reduce costs by $7 billion.

Reuters - U.S. troops opened fire on a crowded minivan north of Baghdad on Monday, fearing a car bomb attack, and killed at least three members of the same family, including a child, the U.S. military and survivors said.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quit his right-wing Likud on Monday to lead a new centrist party into an early election, taking a gamble likely to reshape Israeli politics for years to come.

Reuters - Almost 5 million people were infected by HIV globally in 2005, the highest jump since the first reported case in 1981 and taking the number living with the virus to a record 40.3 million, the United Nations said on Monday.

AFP - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon triggered a political earthquake in Israel by splitting from his Likud party and seeking the dissolution of parliament, forcing an election early next year.

AFP - Progress has been made in tackling HIV infection in key African countries, but five million people were infected worldwide in 2005 to take the estimated total beyond 40 million, a UN report warned.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli lawmakers approved a preliminary motion for dissolving parliament on Monday in a first step toward holding an early general election.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Iraq has no confirmation but is checking reports that Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been killed during fighting in northern Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Monday.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has captured the leader of a drug cartel that has waged a bloody turf war near the U.S. border, the government said on Monday.

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - A Dutch businessman sold chemicals to Iraq knowing Saddam Hussein would use them to carry out poison gas attacks that killed thousands of people, prosecutors told the start of his trial on Monday.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney charged Monday that some Senate Democrats were "dishonest and reprehensible" for suggesting that President Bush lied to the nation about going to war in Iraq and said he strongly disagrees with a battle-tested congressman who advocates a pullout.

AP - In a bold gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon asked Israel's president Monday to dissolve parliament, pushing for a quick March election just hours after deciding to leave his hard-line Likud Party and to form a new centrist party.

Reuters - Iraq has no confirmation but is checking reports Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi may have been killed during fighting in northern Iraq, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Monday.

AFP - Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that trade with Japan will be held back until they resolve a World War II islands dispute, even as the two countries move closer in other areas.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney denied on Monday that the administration was trying to stifle dissent by lashing out at Iraq war critics, but said he drew the line at what he called shameless charges by some Democrats that the president distorted prewar intelligence.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in his first public address since quitting his Likud on Monday, said the party he plans to form would work to set permanent borders between Israel and the Palestinians.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops fearing a car bomb attack fired on a crowded minivan and killed at least three civilians including a child north of Baghdad on Monday.

PORTLAND (Reuters) - A Nike Inc. corporate jet with faulty landing gear was circling over Portland to burn off fuel before attempting a landing, aviation officials said on Monday.

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. said on Monday it would cut 30,000 North American manufacturing jobs and close a dozen plants as it struggles to compete with fast-growing rivals led by Toyota Motor Corp.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is investigating reports that a plane allegedly used by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to transport prisoners for interrogation landed at a Canadian airport last week, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

AP - General Motors Corp. will eliminate 30,000 jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain plants by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand and position the world's biggest automaker to start making money again after absorbing nearly $4 billion in losses so far this year.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday said he strongly disagrees with a battle-tested congressman who advocates quickly pulling all U.S. troops from Iraq, calling such a proposal "a dangerous illusion."

AP - In a bold gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left his hard-line Likud party Monday to form a new centrist party, and he asked Israel's president to dissolve parliament and push for a quick March election. Sharon said life in Likud had become insufferable. He described his new party as "liberal" and said it would give Israel new hope for peace.

AP - The state sued Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Monday under its new anti-spyware law, saying anti-piracy technology the company slipped into music CDs leaves huge security holes on consumers' computers.

AP - Vincent Pastore, who played gangster Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on "The Sopranos," was given a conditional discharge Monday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of attempted assault following an altercation with a girlfriend.

AP - Eagles' quarterback Donovan McNabb will have surgery for a sports hernia and is expected to miss the rest of the season, another crushing blow for a team that had hoped to return to the Super Bowl even without suspended receiver Terrell Owens.

AFP - Five Iraqi civilians were shot dead by US forces at a roadblock northeast of Baghdad as political leaders agreed to call for a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign troops.

AFP - Kenyans queued for hours to cast ballots in a constitutional referendum that ended with minor skirmishes in the capital after a bitterly contested campaign for the first major overhaul of the country's charter since independence.

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. said on Monday it would cut 30,000 North American manufacturing jobs and close a dozen plants as it struggles to compete with fast-growing rivals led by Toyota Motor Corp.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. troops fearing a car bomb attack fired on a crowded minivan and killed at least three civilians including a child north of Baghdad on Monday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Nike Inc. corporate jet carrying three senior executives that had been forced to circle an Oregon airport for two hours due to landing gear problems landed safely on Monday, television pictures showed.

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Camden, New Jersey, was the most dangerous city in the United States for the second consecutive year, according to an annual survey released on Monday.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday said he strongly disagrees with a battle-tested congressman who advocates quickly pulling all U.S. troops from Iraq, calling such a proposal "a dangerous illusion."

AP - In a bold gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left his hard-line Likud party Monday to form a new centrist party, and he asked Israel's president to dissolve parliament and push for a quick March election. Sharon said life in Likud had become insufferable. He described his new party as "liberal" and said it would give Israel new hope for peace.

AP - Children who are overweight face more than future health problems. They appear to have broken bones and joint problems more often during childhood than kids of normal weight, research suggests.

AP - The state sued Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Monday under its new anti-spyware law, saying anti-piracy technology the company slipped into music CDs leaves computers vulnerable to hackers.

AP - Big Pussy's case is closed. "Sopranos" actor Vincent Pastore pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to assault a former girlfriend last spring.

AFP - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon unleashed a political earthquake in Israel by splitting from his Likud party as parliament began paving the way for a general election early next year.

AFP - US President George W. Bush wrapped up a week-long trip to Asia, where he trumpeted shows of unity on Iran and North Korea and made little concrete progress on trade disputes.

AFP - The United States and Europe are to delay a possible move this week to refer Iran to the UN Security Council over its disputed nuclear program, diplomats said.

AFP - A landmark referendum in Kenya on a draft constitution looked set to fail after a vitriolic campaign that deeply split the east African country's government, according to television projections.

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - A Nike Inc. corporate jet carrying Chief Executive William Perez and other executives landed safely at an Oregon airport on Monday after a landing gear problem forced it to circle over Portland for hours.

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada is investigating reports that a plane used by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to transport prisoners for interrogation landed at a Canadian airport last week, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

AP - General Motors Corp., pounded by declining sales and rising health care costs, said Monday it will cut more than a quarter of its North American manufacturing jobs and close 12 facilities by 2008. The United Auto Workers called the plan "devastating" and warned it will make negotiations more difficult, but some Wall Street analysts said GM's actions may not go far enough.

AP - Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday accused critics of "corrupt and shameless" revisionism in suggesting the White House misled the nation in a rush to war, the latest salvo in an increasingly acrimonious debate over prewar intelligence.

AP - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Monday he gambled and broke away from his hardline Likud Party because he did not want to squander peacemaking opportunities created by Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip or waste time with political wrangling.

AP - "Seinfeld" has not suffered from shrinkage. Seven years after its finale, not only does the classic sitcom air up to two hours a day in some markets, but the reruns remain fresh enough to spark watercooler chitchat about everything from puffy shirts to mimbos.

AP - Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb will have surgery for a sports hernia and is expected to miss the rest of the season, another crushing blow for a team that had hoped to return to the Super Bowl even without suspended receiver Terrell Owens.

AFP - Struggling General Motors Corp. said it would close nine North American plants as part of a hard-hitting restructuring plan that will cut 30,000 manufacturing jobs.

AP - A 14-year-old girl whose 18-year-old boyfriend is accused of killing her parents left with him willingly after the slayings, prosecutors said in court papers filed Monday.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon quit his right-wing Likud to lead a new centrist party, taking a gamble likely to reshape Israeli politics for years to come and propelling the Jewish state toward early national elections.

AFP - US President George W. Bush ended a week-long trip to Asia, which produced few tangible results.

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Middle East leaders want Syria to cooperate with a U.N. inquiry into the killing of a former Lebanese leader but fear a U.N. confrontation with Damascus could lead to 'another Iraq,' Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Closing arguments were given on Monday in the case of a Pakistani accused of aiding al Qaeda, with the prosecution and defense debating whether prolonged questioning by FBI agents produced a false confession by the accused man.

AP - A man accused of a shooting spree at a crowded shopping mall told authorities to "just follow the screams" when he called them shortly before opening fire with a pair of assault rifles, according to court documents released Monday.

AP - Increasing levels of ocean noise generated by military sonar, shipping, and oil and gas exploration is threatening dolphins and whales that rely on sound for mating, finding food and avoiding predators, according to a new report.

AP - LaMarcus Aldridge made a putback with 3.6 seconds left and blocked a last-second shot to lift No. 2 Texas to a 76-75 victory over No. 13 West Virginia on Monday night in the semifinals of the Guardians Classic.

Reuters - Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward on Monday expressed regret about some of his conduct in the CIA leak probe, and compared his pledge not to name his source to the promise he made to "Deep Throat" in the Watergate case.

Reuters - President George W. Bush signed into law legislation drastically raising the borrowing authority of the government's flood insurance program to $18.5 billion from $3.5 billion to cover claims from Hurricane Katrina and other flood disasters, the White House said on Monday.