AP - Notre Dame needed every last yard and every defensive stop to become eligible for its first Bowl Championship Series berth in five years.

Reuters - Fears that migratory wild birds will spread a deadly strain of avian flu across the world have little, if any, scientific proof and chances of them infecting humans are even more remote, experts said.

AFP - Voters in the Russian republic of Chechnya have begun casting their ballots to elect a parliament for the first time in eight years, in a poll the Kremlin describes as the last stage of a normalisation process it says the troubled region has been undergoing.

AFP - The 3.8 million residents of Harbin are due to have their water reconnected Sunday, five days after supplies were cut due to a massive toxic spill snaking its way though the city's river.

AP - Thousands of residents were evacuated in Tokyo on Sunday while authorities dug up an unexploded 550-pound bomb, believed to have been dropped by the United States during World War II, a local official said.

Reuters - Iraq needs a more aggressive approach to win the fight against insurgents, the head of a powerful Shiite political party said in an interview that criticized the U.S. approach as mistaken, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

AP - Iraqi police have arrested eight Sunni Arabs in the northern city of Kirkuk for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge who prepared the case against Saddam Hussein, a senior police commander said Sunday.

AP - Thousands of residents were evacuated in Tokyo on Sunday while authorities dug up an unexploded 550-pound bomb, believed to have been dropped by the United States during World War II, a local official said.

AP - Running water was restored in a major Chinese city Sunday, five days after a shutdown caused by a chemical spill, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Reuters - The Muslim Brotherhood built its strength in Egypt's parliament this weekend, winning 29 seats in elections despite restrictions on voting and arrests of its supporters, official results showed on Sunday.

AP - The blue team has a breakaway. An attacker with the puck races up the left side, closing in for an uncontested shot on goal. Katie Rademacher can't let this happen. With long brown hair flowing from her white headgear, the high school junior pumps her legs and regains strategic position, forcing the attacker into the corner. Then she swipes the puck with her chipped, white stick and passes it out.

AP - Kimberly Stewart and "Laguna Beach" star Talan Torriero say their wedding plans are off.

Reuters - Saudi Arabia helped broker a deal between Syria and the United Nations over the questioning of five Syrians about the killing of Rafik al Hariri, Saudi King Abdullah was quoted as saying on Sunday.

Reuters - A U.S. civil rights lawyer and a Qatar former justice minister said on Sunday they were heading to Baghdad to help defend Saddam Hussein and ensure he gets a fair trial.

Reuters - Saddam Hussein loyalists leading the insurgency in Iraq have reinvented themselves as Islamic militants in a deadly new strategy generating plenty of recruits and funding, Iraq's national security adviser said on Sunday.

AFP - Hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese have joined campaign rallies as parties sought to secure support ahead of next week's local elections, seen as a prelude to the 2008 presidential polls.

AP - An earthquake measuring at least magnitude-5.9 shook southern Iran Sunday and was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates. Provincial officials said five people were killed and dozens were injured.

AP - Thousands of residents were evacuated in Tokyo on Sunday while authorities dug up an unexploded 550-pound bomb, believed to have been dropped by the United States during World War II, a local official said.

AP - The blue team has a breakaway. An attacker with the puck races up the left side, closing in for an uncontested shot on goal. Katie Rademacher can't let this happen. With long brown hair flowing from her white headgear, the high school junior pumps her legs and regains strategic position, forcing the attacker into the corner. Then she swipes the puck with her chipped, white stick and passes it out.

Reuters - Iraqi police have arrested eight men in the northern city of Kirkuk who have confessed to plotting to kill the investigative judge who built the case against Saddam Hussein, a senior police officer said on Sunday.

Reuters - At least five people have been killed in an Iranian earthquake that badly damaged three villages on the Gulf island of Qeshm, officials and state television said on Sunday.

Reuters - China's northeastern city of Harbin turned on the taps again on Sunday after a toxic spill into its river left millions without water for five days and an 80-km (50-mile) slick still flowing beyond the city.

Reuters - A U.S. civil rights lawyer and a Qatar former justice minister said on Sunday they were heading to Baghdad to join Saddam Hussein's defense team and support its campaign for his trial to be moved abroad.

AFP - A powerful earthquake measuring at least 5.9 on the Richter scale has struck an island off Iran's southern coast, killing at least three people and damaging four villages, a local official said.

AFP - Armenians have voted in a referendum on a constitutional reform backed by the Council of Europe that would curtail the powers of the president and increase those of parliament, while the opposition called on voters to boycott.

AP - Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs in the northern city of Kirkuk for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge who prepared the case against Saddam Hussein, a senior police commander said Sunday. The announcement came as former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark arrived in Baghdad, airport officials said, apparently to aid in Saddam's defense.

AP - An earthquake measuring at least magnitude-5.9 shook southern Iran on Sunday, killing 10 people and flattening at least four villages, officials said. The temblor was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

AP - New German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to strengthen relations with the United States and smaller EU nations in remarks released Sunday, a day before her top diplomat heads for Washington.

AP - Human rights abuses in Iraq are as bad now as they were under Saddam Hussein and could become even worse, the country's former interim prime minister said in an interview published Sunday.

AP - A small, twin-engine plane carrying White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card made an emergency landing in Nashville Saturday after smoke began pouring into the cockpit, officials said.

AP - Budget permitting, China wants to be able to put a man on the moon and build a space station in 15 years, a space program official said Sunday.

AP - Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe has shown he can now laugh about throwing a telephone at a Manhattan hotel concierge.

Reuters - The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants resumes in a fortified Baghdad courtroom on Monday with former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark joining the team defending Iraq's overthrown president.

Reuters - At least seven people were killed and many more injured when an earthquake razed mud-brick villages on the Gulf island of Qeshm off Iran's south coast on Sunday, officials and state media said.

Reuters - A wave of investigations into whether the CIA broke laws and violated human rights while using Europe as a hub for secret transfers of terrorist suspects poses awkward questions for both European governments and Washington.

Reuters - With contract talks off to a bumpy start, relations between the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. air traffic controllers are at their most contentious since thousands of them were fired during a 1981 strike, government and union officials say.

AFP - The oil-rich west African state of Gabon has gone to the polls to elect a new president, with incumbent Omar Bongo -- in power since 1967 -- widely expected to win amid opposition complaints of fraud.

AFP - European and Mediterranean-rim leaders have gathered in Barcelona for a first-ever summit between the regions, but the absence of most Mideast chiefs clouded hopes of relaunching a 10-year-old partnership.

AFP - New German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for closer ties with smaller EU states and the United States, in an interview to be published Monday on her foreign policy goals.

AP - Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs in the northern city of Kirkuk for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge who prepared the case against Saddam Hussein, a senior police commander said Sunday. The announcement came as former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark arrived in Baghdad, airport officials said, apparently to aid in Saddam's defense.

AP - An earthquake measuring at least magnitude-5.9 shook a sparsely populated area of southern Iran on Sunday, flattening seven villages and killing 10 people, officials said. The temblor was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

AP - The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sunday suggested that President Bush use an FDR-style presentation to update people on progress in the war in Iraq.

AP - The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood captured 29 more seats in weekend parliamentary runoff elections, the group and Interior Ministry officials said Sunday, meaning the organization will control at least five times more seats in the new legislature than it does now.

AP - Running water was restored Sunday in this city of 3.8 million people where a chemical spill forced a five-day shutdown, but officials warned it was not immediately safe to drink.

AP - A Greyhound bus overturned Sunday, injuring dozens of people, authorities said.

AP - A Japanese spacecraft on an unprecedented mission to bring asteroid material back to Earth is set to start home despite showing signs of trouble earlier, an executive of Japan's space agency, JAXA, said Sunday.

AP - When Ben Roethlisberger visits the RCA Dome for the first time Monday night, he'll glimpse at Peyton Manning and try to steal a few tips. It'll be one of the few times in Roethlisberger's 1 1/2 NFL seasons he's played the role of fan.

Reuters - The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven co-defendants resumes in a fortified Baghdad courtroom on Monday with former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark joining the team defending Iraq's overthrown president.

Reuters - Ten people were killed and some 50 injured when an earthquake razed mud-brick villages on the Gulf island of Qeshm off Iran's south coast on Sunday, officials and state media said.

AFP - At least nine people were killed and scores more injured when a powerful earthquake measuring at least 5.9 on the Richter scale struck an island off Iran's southern coast, officials said.

AFP - The last days of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal government have been marked by threats of lawsuits and ugly rhetoric that has pundits predicting the most vicious election campaign in the country's history.

AP - Four aid workers, including two Canadians, have been kidnapped in Iraq, a Canadian official said Sunday, while Iraqi police have arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to assassinate the investigating judge in the case against Saddam Hussein.

AP - A Greyhound bus with 44 people on board went off a highway and overturned, killing two people and injuring more than three dozen others, authorities said.

AP - A second Time magazine reporter has been asked to testify in the CIA leak case, this time about her discussions with Karl Rove's attorney, a sign that prosecutors are still exploring charges against the White House aide.

AP - While Alan Greenspan has won praise for his successful 18-year battle to keep inflation under control, he's the first to say he's had a lot of help. Among those most responsible are tens of millions of workers in China, India and Eastern Europe.

AP - It's been more than four years since terrorists crashed Flight 93 in rural Pennsylvania as part of the Sept. 11 attacks, killing 40 crew members and passengers. And some movie producers are hoping that audiences are now ready to watch what happened on that plane.

Reuters - The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven aides on charges of crimes against humanity will resume in a fortified Baghdad courtroom on Monday, with witnesses expected to take the stand for the first time.

Reuters - A Greyhound bus carrying 50 passengers overturned on Sunday morning in southern California, killing two and seriously injuring a dozen others, authorities said.

Reuters - The top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee urged President George W. Bush on Sunday to go before the American public to explain his plan for the war in Iraq.

Reuters - Ten people were killed and 50 injured when an earthquake razed mud-brick villages on the Gulf island of Qeshm off Iran's south coast on Sunday, officials and state media said.

AFP - The European Union voiced confidence that it would shortly agree on an anti-terror code of conduct with its southern neighbours, amid last-minute haggling at a landmark summit in Barcelona.

AP - Shoppers rifle through store shelves brimming with succulent tomatoes and plump strawberries, hoping to enjoy one last round of fresh fruit before the Western growing season ends. There is no hint of a dark side to the blaze of red.

AP - Stephanie Swisher is settling in nicely as a freshman at the University of Virginia, enjoying classes, Naval ROTC, club volleyball and football Saturdays. Things are going so well, in fact, that she would rather not return to Tulane University in New Orleans — the school she had expected to attend until Hurricane Katrina struck.

AP - A boy wizard and a country-music legend outclassed a flurry of box-office newcomers over Thanksgiving. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" took in $54.9 million over the three-day weekend to remain the top movie, while the Johnny Cash film biography "Walk the Line" stayed in second place with $19.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

AP - First Oklahoma fell from the Top 25, then Michigan was gone. Tennessee dropped out a month later and now Florida State. The Seminoles became the latest Top 25 fixture to fall from The Associated Press poll this season, dropping out on Sunday after losing their third straight game.

Reuters - Four Western aid workers, two believed to be from Canada, one from Britain and one from the United States, have been kidnapped in Iraq, the organization they were working for said on Sunday.

Reuters - A Greyhound bus carrying 44 passengers overturned on Sunday morning in southern California, killing two and seriously injuring a dozen others, authorities said.

Reuters - A second Time magazine reporter has been asked by special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald to testify in the CIA leak investigation, the magazine disclosed in its December 5 issue.

AFP - The White House for the first time has claimed possession of an Iraq withdrawal plan, arguing that a troop pullout blueprint unveiled this past week by a Democratic senator was "remarkably similar" to its own.

AFP - The Kenyan government banned opposition rallies and rejected calls for new elections as President Mwai Kibaki toughened his response to the embarrassing rejection of a new constitution he backed.

AFP - British Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold budget talks with EU newcomer states in visits to Estonia and Hungary later this week, his spokesman has announced, citing "gathering momentum" for a deal.

AP - Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to kill the judge who prepared the indictment of Saddam Hussein, authorities said Sunday, the day before the ousted leader's trial for crimes against humanity resumes.

AP - A Greyhound bus went off a highway Sunday and overturned, killing two people and injuring more than three dozen others, authorities said.

AP - A second Time magazine reporter has agreed to cooperate in the CIA leak case and will testify about her discussions with Karl Rove's attorney, a sign that prosecutors are still exploring charges against the White House aide.

AP - The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sunday suggested that President Bush use an FDR-style presentation to update people on progress in the war in Iraq.

AP - Shoppers rifle through store shelves brimming with succulent tomatoes and plump strawberries, hoping to enjoy one last round of fresh fruit before the Western growing season ends. There is no hint of a dark side to the blaze of red.

AP - There's a good reason Lovie Smith's Chicago Bears are drawing comparisons to the old Monsters of the Midway. The NFC North leaders play an awfully stingy brand of defense, too.

AFP - A first-ever summit between European leaders and their Mediterranean-rim neighbours was clouded by the absence of most Arab leaders and accusations of "humiliating" EU demands for reforms.

AP - Iraqi police arrested eight Sunni Arabs for allegedly plotting to kill the judge who prepared the indictment of Saddam Hussein, authorities said Sunday, the day before the ousted leader's trial for crimes against humanity resumes.

AP - A Greyhound bus ran off a freeway, overturned and slid at least 100 yards on its side before hitting a tree Sunday, killing a pregnant woman and a man on aboard, authorities said.

AP - A second Time magazine reporter has agreed to cooperate in the CIA leak case and will testify about her discussions with Karl Rove's attorney, a sign that prosecutors are still exploring charges against the White House aide.

AP - An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.9 shook a sparsely populated area of southern Iran on Sunday, flattening seven villages, killing 10 people and injuring 70, officials and state-run television said. The temblor was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

AP - A military vehicle carrying three congressmen overturned on the way to the Baghdad airport, injuring two of them, the U.S. Embassy said Sunday.

AP - The chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Sunday suggested that President Bush use an FDR-style presentation to update people on progress in the war in Iraq.

AP - Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after police searched his vehicle during a traffic stop, police said Sunday.

AFP - A first-ever summit between European leaders and their Mediterranean-rim neighbours was clouded by the absence of most Arab leaders and accusations of "humiliating" EU demands for reforms.

AP - A second Time magazine reporter has agreed to cooperate in the CIA leak case and will testify about her discussions with Karl Rove's attorney, a sign that prosecutors are still exploring charges against the White House aide.

AP - An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 5.9 shook a sparsely populated area of southern Iran on Sunday, flattening seven villages, killing 10 people and injuring 70, officials and state-run television said. The temblor was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

AP - A ski gondola at Canada's famed Lake Louise resort malfunctioned on Sunday, trapping about 65 people on board as darkness fell.

AP - A ski gondola at Canada's famed Lake Louise resort malfunctioned on Sunday, trapping about 65 people on board for hours as darkness fell and temperatures dropped below freezing.

AP - It was a decisive night for George the pharmacist on ABC's "Desperate Housewives."

AP - Former Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin was charged with misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after Plano police officers searched his vehicle during a traffic stop.

AFP - Forty miners were killed and another 138 are missing after an explosion at a coal mine in China's northeast Heilongjiang province, state press reported.

AFP - Myanmar's military junta has extended pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest by six months, a Home Ministry official said.