AP - A U.N. mine-clearing worker was wounded by suspected Taliban militants during an ambush on Afghan and U.S.-led coalition forces north of Kabul, the coalition said Sunday.

AP - The mask protecting his broken nose kept sliding around, frustrating Tyler Hansbrough as he tussled in the paint with Michigan State's physical defenders. So North Carolina's big man tossed it off, then helped the Tar Heels dispose of the determined Spartans.

Reuters - The U.S envoy to talks on North Korea's nuclear program said on Sunday he wants to move past a spat over Pyongyang's frozen bank accounts and concentrate on pushing the de-nuclearization issue forward.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ruled out on Sunday resuming talks on Palestinian statehood with President Mahmoud Abbas and urged the international community to shun his new government with Hamas.

ASADABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban guerrillas chopped noses and ears of at least five truck drivers in eastern Afghanistan as punishment for transporting supplies to U.S.-led troops, officials and residents said on Sunday.

AP - A sixth-grade science teacher who was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old student has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

AP - It looks like a color-coded terror alert scale — and meteorologically speaking, that's exactly what it is. With climate change making conditions more unpredictable, national weather services from across the European Union have joined forces to create http://www.meteoalarm.eu — a new Web site providing up-to-the-minute information on 'extreme weather' across the continent.

AP - Pet owners were worried Saturday that the pet food in their cupboards could be deadly after millions of containers of dog and cat food sold at major retailers across North America were recalled.

Reuters - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged the international community on Sunday to join Israel in shunning the new Palestinian unity government, calling its platform "very problematic."

AFP - The new Palestinian unity government holds its first cabinet meeting in Gaza City on Sunday, with ministers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank participating from Ramallah via video link.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government would remain in place but it broke ranks with Israel by authorizing contacts with some members of the new unity administration.

AP - A roadside bomb killed four U.S. soldiers patrolling western Baghdad, the military reported on Sunday, while another soldier died in a non-combat related incident.

AP - A two-hour clash between suspected Taliban militants and police left two officers dead in western Afghanistan, a spokesman said Sunday.

AP - The president with the fewest vetoes in more than a century, George W. Bush is poised to make up for lost time as congressional Democrats move legislation the White House says is unacceptable.

AP - It looks like a color-coded terror alert scale — and meteorologically speaking, that's exactly what it is. With climate change making conditions more unpredictable, national weather services from across the European Union have joined forces to create http://www.meteoalarm.eu — a new Web site providing up-to-the-minute information on 'extreme weather' across the continent.

Reuters - The United States said on Sunday its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government would remain in place but it broke ranks with Israel by authorizing contacts with some members of the new unity administration.

AFP - Thousands of protesters were expected to take to the streets here Sunday to demand an immediate end to the war in Iraq as New York takes the relay from other US cities that have held massive anti-war marches.

AFP - The new Palestinian government holds its first cabinet meeting on Sunday, vowing to confront rampant lawlessness and end a crippling international aid freeze but facing a continued Israeli boycott.

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea is on track to fulfil its side of a breakthrough disarmament accord by shutting down its main atomic facility next month, the U.S. envoy to six-party talks on the North's nuclear program said on Sunday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - For a city with far more Sakamotos than O'Sullivans, Japan's capital still manages to go all out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli and visiting U.S. forces are holding a biennial air-defense exercise this month but on a reduced scale, partly out of reluctance to stoke tensions with Iran, Israeli security sources said on Sunday.

AP - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.

AP - There were signs of progress Sunday on the thorny issue of U.S. financial sanctions that have frozen some $25 million in North Korean funds, as envoys met to discuss a schedule for the communist nation's to dismantle its nuclear programs.

AP - Thieves stole a baby crocodile and more than 50 snakes and lizards from an Australian wildlife park, officials said.

Reuters - For a city with far more Sakamotos than O'Sullivans, Japan's capital still manages to go all out to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

Reuters - Israeli and visiting U.S. forces are holding a biennial air-defense exercise this month but on a reduced scale, partly out of reluctance to stoke tensions with Iran, Israeli security sources said on Sunday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States said on Sunday its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government would remain in place but it broke ranks with Israel by authorizing contacts with some members of the new unity administration.

AP - The U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of seven more troops in Iraq, including four killed by a roadside bomb while patrolling western Baghdad — the latest American casualties in a monthlong security crackdown in the capital.

AP - Denouncing a conflict entering its fifth year, protesters across the country raised their voices Saturday against U.S. policy in Iraq and marched by the thousands to the Pentagon in the footsteps of an epic demonstration four decades ago against another divisive war.

AP - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.

AP - Envoys worked Sunday to negotiate a schedule for dismantling North Korea's nuclear programs, amid efforts to resolve the thorny issue of U.S. financial sanctions that have frozen some $25 million in North Korean funds.

Reuters - The United States said on Sunday its ban on direct aid to the Palestinian government would remain in place but it broke ranks with Israel by authorizing contacts with some members of the new unity administration.

Reuters - North Korea is on track to fulfil its side of a breakthrough disarmament accord by shutting down its main atomic facility next month, the U.S. envoy to six-party talks on the North's nuclear program said on Sunday.

AFP - Thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets here and in major US West Coast cities Sunday to demand an immediate end to the war in Iraq as New York takes the relay from other US cities that have held massive anti-war marches.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A car bomb exploded in a crowded market in a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood of northern Baghdad on Sunday, killing three people and wounding seven, police said.

AP - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates declined to say Sunday whether the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should apologize for his remark that homosexual acts were immoral or whether it was a slur on gay members of the armed forces.

AP - For plane builder Airbus and German airline Lufthansa AG, the A380's first flight to North America on Monday is a chance to show off the superjumbo to potential U.

Reuters - A car bomb exploded in a crowded market in a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood of northern Baghdad on Sunday, killing three people and wounding seven, police said.

AFP - Zimbabwe's security forces have stopped an opposition activist from leaving the country at Harare airport and beat him up badly in an ongoing crackdown on dissent, his colleagues reported Sunday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the fourth anniversary of the war approached with another violent day in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday it was too early to evaluate whether the latest U.S. strategy was working but 'so far, so good.'

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House political strategist Karl Rove and others will face Senate subpoenas this week if they do not agree to testify in a dispute over fired prosecutors that has put pressure on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to quit, a Senate committee head said on Sunday.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States and Israel on Sunday agreed to keep a ban on financial aid to the new Palestinian government but a rift emerged over Washington's willingness to ease a year-old diplomatic blockade.

AP - The U.S. military on Sunday announced the deaths of seven more troops in Iraq, including four killed by a roadside bomb while patrolling western Baghdad — the latest American casualties in a monthlong security crackdown in the capital.

AP - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Sunday ruled out peace talks with the Palestinians, saying contacts will be limited to humanitarian issues until the new coalition government explicitly renounces violence and recognizes Israel's right to exist.

AP - When climate scientist Andrew Weaver considers the idea of tinkering with Earth's air, water or sunlight to fight global warming, he remembers the lessons of a favorite children's book.

AP - After many failed attempts to unionize dealers in this gambling city, more than 80 percent of the floor employees at Caesars Atlantic City casino have voted to join a union.

AP - For decades, famed music producer Phil Spector was a recluse, hiding in his hilltop suburban castle. It took the gunshot death there of a glamorous actress who starred in a cult movie to force him out into the Hollywood spotlight.

AP - Spartans continued to fend off the box-office competition as the battle epic '300' took the No. 1 spot for the second-straight weekend with $31.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

AP - Purdue forward Carl Landry was so confident about his team's matchup against top-seeded Florida that he made a bold prediction Saturday. 'If a few possessions go our way and the ball's going down, Florida has no chance,' said Landry, the team's leading scorer. 'That's just how the ball rolls sometimes. I think any team is capable of beating any team in this tournament.'

Reuters - White House political strategist Karl Rove and others will face Senate subpoenas this week if they do not agree to testify in a dispute over fired prosecutors that has put pressure on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to quit, a Senate committee head said on Sunday.

Reuters - The United States and Israel on Sunday agreed to keep a ban on financial aid to the new Palestinian government but a rift emerged over Washington's willingness to ease a year-old diplomatic blockade.

AFP - US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said Sunday it was too soon to know whether the US troop "surge" in Iraq is making progress, as the White House fended off heavy pressure to wind up the war four years after it began.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States and Israel on Sunday agreed to keep a ban on financial aid to the new Palestinian government, but in a break with the Jewish state, Washington left room for contacts with non-Hamas ministers.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Police found the decapitated and bound bodies of nine policemen in an al Qaeda stronghold in Iraq on Sunday, as U.S. commanders blamed the militant group for chlorine gas bombs that poisoned hundreds in the same province.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MySpace, the largest Internet social network, said on Sunday it has launched a politics channel ahead of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections.

AP - Sunni insurgents, resilient despite the five-week security crackdown in the capital, killed at least seven more U.S. troops over the weekend. A Sunni car bomber hit a largely Shiite district in the capital Sunday, killing at least eight people.

AP - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.

AP - Search teams on Sunday combed rugged mountain terrain for a 12-year-old Boy Scout who vanished on a group hike.

AP - Thousands of weary travelers faced a third day waiting to reach their destinations Sunday as US Airways struggled to recover from the ice and snow storm that paralyzed airports in the Northeast.

AP - The top American nuclear envoy said Sunday that he believed North Korea and the U.S. had 'gotten past' a dispute over $25 million in frozen North Korean funds, and the communist nation was moving toward nuclear disarmament.

AP - Clear Channel Communications Inc.'s meteoric rise from small-time radio station owner to colossal media company has often been tempestuous, with consumer and antitrust advocates hounding the giant. But these days, the loudest cries are coming from stockholders.

AP - Go ahead, Tennessee fans. Break out the orange paint and slather up. It sure seems to work for the head coach. JaJuan Smith led a second-half comeback, Chris Lofton made one free throw after another in the final seconds and the Volunteers held off Virginia 77-74 Sunday in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Reuters - As the fourth anniversary of the war approached with another violent day in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday it was too early to evaluate whether the latest U.S. strategy was working but "so far, so good."

Reuters - The United States and Israel on Sunday agreed to keep a ban on financial aid to the new Palestinian government, but in a break with the Jewish state, Washington left room for contacts with non-Hamas ministers.

Reuters - Police found the decapitated and bound bodies of nine policemen in an al Qaeda stronghold in Iraq on Sunday, as U.S. commanders blamed the militant group for chlorine gas bombs that poisoned hundreds in the same province.

Reuters - MySpace, the largest Internet social network, said on Sunday it has launched a politics channel ahead of the 2008 U.S. presidential elections.

AP - An Army contract to privatize maintenance at Walter Reed Medical Center was delayed more than three years amid bureaucratic bickering and legal squabbles that led to staff shortages and a hospital in disarray just as the number of severely wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan was rising rapidly.

AP - The stock market proved again last week that it's vulnerable to bad news relating to U.S. subprime mortgage lenders. This week should give investors a clearer view of the housing market's health, and whether it's stable enough to stave off an overflow of that sector's troubles into the wider economy.

AP - Laura Garcia doesn't have a car, and the change in her pocket won't cover the 15-cent bus fare. But standing by a crumbling overpass, sweating in her shorts, sunglasses and skimpy top, the 18-year-old says a free ride is only an outstretched thumb away.

AP - Spartans continued to fend off the box-office competition as the battle epic '300' took the No. 1 spot for the second-straight weekend with $31.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

AP - Lon Kruger was beaming. Happy as a coach, proud as a dad. Thanks to a shooting surge by his son Kevin, the UNLV Runnin' Rebels rallied for the school's biggest win since the 1991 team made the Final Four.

AFP - Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets of New York Sunday to demand the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, in a second day of national rallies to mark the fourth anniversary of the war.

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finnish opposition conservatives made strong gains in a general election on Sunday, coming a close second to the ruling Center Party and staking a claim to a place in a new coalition government.

AP - Sunni insurgents, resilient despite the five-week security crackdown in the capital, killed at least six more U.S. troops over the weekend. A Sunni car bomber hit a largely Shiite district in the capital Sunday, killing at least eight people.

AP - Thousands of weary travelers faced a third day waiting to reach their destinations Sunday as US Airways struggled to recover from the ice and snow storm that paralyzed airports in the Northeast.

AP - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.

AP - An Army contract to privatize maintenance at Walter Reed Medical Center was delayed more than three years amid bureaucratic bickering and legal squabbles that led to staff shortages and a hospital in disarray just as the number of severely wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan was rising rapidly.

AP - Search teams combed mountain terrain Sunday for a 12-year-old Boy Scout who disappeared during an outing.

AP - If Kevin Durant decides to leave college after one year, it will be without a championship — or even a trip into the second week of the tournament. Southern California made sure of that Sunday, getting 22 points from its more seasoned star, junior Nick Young, in an 87-68 runaway over Texas and Durant, the freshman front-runner for national player of the year.

AP - Ahmad Salaheddin is an Arab who has crossed the ethnic divide in Darfur's bloody war to fight alongside ethnic African rebels. His fellow rebels jokingly call him a 'janjaweed' — one of the Arab militiamen who are their fiercest enemy.

AP - A man who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he didn't commit was convicted Sunday of murdering a photographer, whose charred bones were found in a burn pit outside his home.

AP - For decades, famed music producer Phil Spector was a recluse, hiding in his hilltop suburban castle. It took the gunshot death there of a glamorous actress who starred in a cult movie to force him out into the Hollywood spotlight.

AP - Two-time runner-up Ramy Brooks was disqualified from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race for abusing his dogs.

Reuters - Finnish opposition conservatives made strong gains in a general election on Sunday, coming a close second to the ruling Center Party and staking a claim to a place in a new coalition government.

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korean money frozen in a Macau bank will be released into a Chinese bank and turned over to Pyongyang for humanitarian use, a U.S. official said on Monday before nuclear disarmament talks resumed in Beijing.

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea is likely to demand an end to U.S. financial restrictions when fresh talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programme open on Monday, while host China held out hopes that the financial dispute had been settled.

AP - Thousands of weary travelers spent a third day waiting to reach their destinations Sunday as US Airways struggled to recover from the ice and snow storm that paralyzed airports in the Northeast.

AP - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.

AP - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday that peace talks with the Palestinian coalition government would be impossible as long as it refuses to renounce violence and recognize Israel's right to exist.

AP - John McCain, 70 and scarred, cannot deny his age. So he jokes about it.

AP - Search teams combed mountain terrain Sunday for a 12-year-old Boy Scout who disappeared during an outing.

AP - During his four years in Iraq, NBC News correspondent Richard Engel has escaped two attempted carjackings and a roadside bomb. Another bomb blew the door off his hotel room, sending shrapnel that burned holes through the sheets of the bed where he was sleeping.

AP - Seven pilot whales that came ashore on the Galapagos Islands died Sunday, despite the efforts of rescuers who dug makeshift pools in the sand to keep them from dehydrating. Five other whales in the group were returned to the ocean.

Reuters - North Korean money frozen in a Macau bank will be released into a Chinese bank and turned over to Pyongyang for humanitarian use, a U.S. official said on Monday before nuclear disarmament talks resumed in Beijing.

Reuters - North Korea is likely to demand an end to U.S. financial restrictions when fresh talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programme open on Monday, while host China held out hopes that the financial dispute had been settled.

AFP - The six-nation agreement on shutting down North Korea's nuclear arms programme is "on schedule" after negotiators agreed on some key implementation details in talks Sunday, the US envoy said.

BEIJING (Reuters) - North Korea will receive disputed funds held in a Macau bank, the United States said on Monday, clearing up a financial dispute that threatened to upset fresh six-party nuclear disarmament talks in Beijing.

AP - The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he intends to subpoena White House officials involved in ousting federal prosecutors and is dismissing anything short of their testimony in public.

AP - Sunni insurgents, resilient despite the five-week security crackdown in the capital, killed at least six more U.S. troops over the weekend. A Sunni car bomber hit a largely Shiite district in the capital Sunday, killing at least eight people.

AP - Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton took the stage Sunday with her husband, the former president, at a major fundraiser that brought in over $1 million for her presidential campaign.

AP - Seven pilot whales that came ashore on the Galapagos Islands died Sunday, despite the efforts of rescuers who dug makeshift pools in the sand to keep them from dehydrating. Five other whales in the group were returned to the ocean.

AP - Lonelygirl15, OK Go and other YouTube sensations will get an opportunity to walk down a virtual red carpet.

Reuters - North Korea will receive disputed funds held in a Macau bank, the United States said on Monday, clearing up a financial dispute that threatened to upset fresh six-party nuclear disarmament talks in Beijing.

AFP - The United States said Monday it had struck a deal with North Korea on a long-running financial sanctions dispute, clearing the way for progress in talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.