SINGAPORE (Reuters) - South Korea unveiled an economic stimulus plan on Monday and markets geared for more interest rate cuts in Europe and Australia in a frantic campaign to keep the financial crisis from plunging the world into its worst recession in decades.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in six of eight key battleground states one day before the U.S. election, including the big prizes of Florida and Ohio, according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls released on Monday.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - China's top negotiator on Taiwan affairs began a historic trip on Monday to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own to talk trade and transit as the opposition planned protests against warming ties

AP - Asian stock markets rose robustly Monday, with Hong Kong's benchmark advancing more than 5 percent, as investors appeared encouraged by government efforts to help the global economy weather the financial crisis.

AP - Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons, whose first term has been marred by an FBI corruption investigation, has been cleared of wrongdoing and will not be charged in the probe, his attorney said Sunday night.

Reuters - South Korea unveiled an economic stimulus plan on Monday and markets geared for more interest rate cuts in Europe and Australia in a frantic campaign to keep the financial crisis from plunging the world into its worst recession in decades.

Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in six of eight key battleground states one day before the U.S. election, including the big prizes of Florida and Ohio, according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls released on Monday.

Reuters - China's top negotiator on Taiwan affairs began a historic trip on Monday to the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own to talk trade and transit as the opposition planned protests against warming ties

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some of the earliest returns in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election could provide big clues about the outcome.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the U.S. presidential candidates sprint toward the finish line, the Bush administration is also sprinting to enact environmental policy changes before leaving power.

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's opposition Patriotic Front will launch a court challenge Tuesday to demand a vote recount after centrist politician Rupiah Banda was sworn in as president Sunday after a disputed poll.

AP - Aiming for a last-minute upset, Republican John McCain embarked on a grueling odyssey through seven swing states Monday while Democrat Barack Obama was headed toward three longtime GOP bastions that have become Democratic-leaning battlegrounds in the historic presidential contest.

AP - Police say two bombs have exploded in a central Baghdad square, killing six people and wounding 21 others.

AP - Asian stock markets rose Monday, with Hong Kong's benchmark advancing 3 percent, as investors appeared encouraged by government efforts to help the global economy weather the financial crisis.

Reuters - South Korea pledged more cash on Monday to rev up its economy, and central banks in Europe and Australia looked set to cut rates again in a frantic battle to keep the financial crisis from shoving the world into its worst slump in decades.

Reuters - As the U.S. presidential candidates sprint toward the finish line, the Bush administration is also sprinting to enact environmental policy changes before leaving power.

AFP - Barack Obama stood on the threshold of history Monday as polls gave the Democrat a sharp edge over John McCain on the last day of campaigning for the most dramatic presidential vote in a generation.

LONDON (Reuters) - Profits evaporated at top European banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to bolster weakening economies as data from Europe and China suggested a sharp global downturn was gathering pace.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranians marked the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy on Monday, a day before Americans elect a new president, with some demonstrators indifferent to the U.S. vote and a few wondering if it could help rebuild ties.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Muslim scholars due to meet Pope Benedict and Roman Catholic officials this week hope the Vatican will agree to joint crisis management plan to defuse tensions that flare up between Christianity and Islam.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The U.S. commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks Monday with Pakistani defense officials who told him Pakistan was fighting a war for its survival against militancy.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Exposure to some forms of entertainment is a corrupting influence on children, leading teens who watch sexy programs into early pregnancies and children who play violent video games to adopt aggressive behavior, researchers said on Monday.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A top Chinese negotiator began China's first high-level visit to political rival Taiwan in 60 years on Monday to pursue agreements on direct flights, food safety and the economy despite protests against warming ties.

AP - Most Asian stock markets rose Monday, with Australia's benchmark gaining its most in almost two weeks, as investors appeared encouraged by government efforts to help the global economy weather the financial crisis. European shares opened modestly higher.

AP - A string of bombings in the Iraqi capital killed six people and wounded at least 23 others Monday, including a senior Oil Ministry official, authorities said.

AP - A Vermont musician who lost her arm because of a botched drug injection is squaring off against a drug maker and the Bush administration in one of the most closely watched business cases of the Supreme Court's term.

AP - Americans will elect not only a president on Tuesday, but also his huge team of aides, advisers and bureaucrats who will help the winner run the federal government for the next four years.

Reuters - Profits evaporated at top European banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to bolster weakening economies as data from Europe and China suggested a sharp global downturn was gathering pace.

Reuters - Some of the earliest returns in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election could provide big clues about the outcome.

Reuters - Iranians marked the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy on Monday, a day before Americans elect a new president, with some demonstrators indifferent to the U.S. vote and a few wondering if it could help rebuild ties.

Reuters - Muslim scholars due to meet Pope Benedict and Roman Catholic officials this week hope the Vatican will agree to joint crisis management plan to defuse tensions that flare up between Christianity and Islam.

Reuters - The U.S. commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks Monday with Pakistani defense officials who told him Pakistan was fighting a war for its survival against militancy.

AFP - A UN convoy took desperately needed aid Monday to a rebel-held town in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as the government rejected the rebel leader's demand for talks.

AFP - Barack Obama stood on the threshold of history Monday as polls gave the Democrat a solid lead over John McCain on the last day of campaigning for the most dramatic US presidential vote in a generation.

LONDON (Reuters) - Profits evaporated at top European banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to temper a recession that policymakers said had become reality for much of the globe.

AP - A string of bombings killed nine people and wounded at least 33 others on Monday, including a senior Oil Ministry official, authorities said.

AP - Europe's stock markets opened modestly higher Monday after solid gains in Asia overnight and amid mounting expectations that the European Central Bank and the Bank of England will aggressively cut borrowing costs this week.

AP - Wall Street started November on a tentative note Monday, with stock futures trading mixed ahead of readings on manufacturing activity, construction spending and auto sales.

AP - The Tennessee Titans still have their sights set on perfection, thanks to Rod Bironas' right leg. Bironas redeemed himself for an earlier miss by kicking a 41-yard field goal with 9:36 to go in overtime that led the undefeated Titans to a 19-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

Reuters - Profits evaporated at top European banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to temper a recession that policymakers said had become reality for much of the globe.

AFP - The global financial crisis is pushing the whole European Union into recession, official forecasts said on Monday, as South Korea unveiled its own 8.5 billion dollar stimulus package against the turmoil.

LONDON (Reuters) - Profits evaporated at leading banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to temper a recession that policymakers said had become reality for much of the globe.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - The U.S. commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks on Monday with Pakistani leaders who told him to stop U.S. strikes on militants in Pakistani territory.

RUTSHURU, Congo (Reuters) - A U.N. relief convoy which entered a rebel-captured zone of east Congo on Monday for the first time since heavy fighting last week found deserted refugee camps emptied of their tens of thousands of occupants.

LONDON (Reuters) - Pregnant women who consume caffeine -- even about a cup of coffee daily -- are at higher risk of giving birth to an underweight baby, researchers said on Monday.

AP - A military jury has convicted a man who was accused of being an aide of Osama bin Laden and making propaganda videos for al-Qaida in the second Guantanamo war crimes trial.

AP - Wall Street is starting November on a cautious note, with stocks narrowly mixed after last week's surge and ahead of readings on manufacturing activity, construction spending and auto sales.

Reuters - Profits evaporated at leading banks on Monday and authorities worldwide pressed on with efforts to temper a recession that policymakers said had become reality for much of the globe.

Reuters - The U.S. commander running the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, held talks on Monday with Pakistani leaders who told him to stop U.S. strikes on militants in Pakistani territory.

Reuters - A U.N. relief convoy which entered a rebel-captured zone of east Congo on Monday for the first time since heavy fighting last week found deserted refugee camps emptied of their tens of thousands of occupants.

AFP - The global financial crisis is pushing the whole European Union into recession, official forecasts showed on Monday, as South Korea unveiled its own 8.5 billion dollar stimulus package against the turmoil.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity contracted sharply in October, falling to its lowest in 26 years as the financial crisis ravaged the world's largest economy, an industry report showed on Monday.

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Corporate results and outlooks worsened as government officials around the globe pressed efforts to bolster weakening economies, which claimed fresh victims from banks to retailers to manufacturers.

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. military tribunal found Osama bin Laden's media secretary guilty of conspiring with al Qaeda, soliciting murder and providing material support for terrorism in a verdict announced on Monday at Guantanamo.

AP - Wall Street started November on a cautious note Monday, with stocks fluctuating in a narrow range following a weak reading on the manufacturing sector.

AP - The Supreme Court will decide whether, years after his conviction, a defendant has a constitutional right to test genetic evidence found at the crime scene.

AP - Business at manufacturers from plastic companies to lumberyards plummeted to the lowest level in 26 years in October.

AP - Perhaps the biggest threat to Google Inc.'s increasing dominance of Internet search and advertising is the rising fear, justified or not, that Google's broadening reach is giving it unchecked power.

Reuters - U.S. factory activity contracted sharply in October, falling to its lowest in 26 years as the financial crisis ravaged the world's largest economy, an industry report showed on Monday.

Reuters - Corporate results and outlooks worsened as government officials around the globe pressed efforts to bolster weakening economies, which claimed fresh victims from banks to retailers to manufacturers.

Reuters - A U.S. military tribunal found Osama bin Laden's media secretary guilty of conspiring with al Qaeda, soliciting murder and providing material support for terrorism in a verdict announced on Monday at Guantanamo.

AFP - A UN convoy brought desperately needed humanitarian assistance to this rebel-held town on Monday as aid agencies began tracking down more than a million people trapped by fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain took their final shots at each other and barnstormed battleground states on Monday to wrap up a U.S. presidential campaign in which Obama was leading but McCain hoped to pull off a historic upset.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity contracted sharply in October, falling to its lowest in 26 years as the financial crisis ravaged the world's largest economy and its trading partners around the globe.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Corporate results and outlooks worsened as government officials around the globe pressed efforts to bolster weakening economies, which claimed fresh victims from banks to retailers to manufacturers.

AP - Ford's U.S. auto sales plummeted 30 percent and Toyota's dropped 23 percent in October as low consumer confidence and tight credit combined to scare customers away from their showrooms.

AP - Circuit City Stores Inc. said Monday it is closing about 20 percent of its U.S. stores — cutting thousands of jobs — in an effort to return to profitability as it finds consumers reluctant to spend and its vendors less eager to give it credit.

AP - Wall Street started November with a cautious advance Monday, as investors largely overlooked a weak reading on the manufacturing sector in quiet trading ahead of the U.S. presidential election.

AP - A series of bombings struck Baghdad and a neighboring province Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 40, including a deputy oil minister who was injured when a bomb went off in front of his house as he was leaving for work.

AP - A juror who vanished during Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial told the judge Monday she lied about her father dying and flew to California to see horse races.

AP - The Detroit Pistons shook the NBA in a big way Monday — landing former MVP Allen Iverson from the Denver Nuggets.

Reuters - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain took their final shots at each other and barnstormed battleground states on Monday to wrap up a U.S. presidential campaign in which Obama was leading but McCain hoped to pull off a historic upset.

Reuters - U.S. factory activity contracted sharply in October, falling to its lowest in 26 years as the financial crisis ravaged the world's largest economy and its trading partners around the globe.

Reuters - Corporate results and outlooks worsened as government officials around the globe pressed efforts to bolster weakening economies, which claimed fresh victims from banks to retailers to manufacturers.

Reuters - Iranians marked the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy on Monday, a day before Americans elect a new president, with some demonstrators indifferent to the U.S. vote and a few wondering if it could help rebuild ties.

AFP - Front-runner Barack Obama and his comeback-seeking White House rival John McCain Monday dashed through critical states in a frenetic final day blitz on the eve of the historic US elections.

AFP - The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo has 'launched the war on its people' by refusing to negotiate with rebel forces, their spokesman told AFP Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Corporate results and outlooks worsened on Monday, and automotive companies from Japan to Italy to Detroit said October sales were the weakest in about 20 years as economies continued to weaken and consumer credit, and available cash, dried up.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a term-limit extension law on Monday that will allow him to run for a third turn next year and earn a chance to guide New York City through the global financial crisis.

AP - General Motors' October U.S. sales plunged 45 percent and Ford's dropped 30 percent, as low consumer confidence and tight credit combined to scare customers away from showrooms.

AP - Banks tightened up further on all sorts of lending, from home mortgages to credit cards and business loans, as the worst financial crisis in seven decades took a bigger toll on the economy.

AP - A juror who vanished during Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' corruption trial told the judge Monday she lied about her father dying and flew to California to see horse races.

AP - It's a most excellent outcome for Keanu Reeves: The 'Matrix' actor doesn't owe a dime to the paparazzo who sued him. After deliberating for less than three hours, jurors unanimously rejected the civil lawsuit Monday, ruling that Reeves is not responsible for the photographer's alleged injuries. Alison Silva had asked the jury to award him $711,974, which includes medical bills, lost wages and punitive damages.

Reuters - Corporate results and outlooks worsened on Monday, and automotive companies from Japan to Italy to Detroit said October sales were the weakest in about 20 years as economies continued to weaken and consumer credit, and available cash, dried up.

Reuters - Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a term-limit extension law on Monday that will allow him to run for a third turn next year and earn a chance to guide New York City through the global financial crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother died of cancer, he said in a statement on Monday, a little more than a week after he interrupted the White House campaign to say goodbye to her in Hawaii.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Genetic tests on two bones found near the wreckage of Steve Fossett's airplane in the mountains of California near Nevada confirm the missing millionaire adventurer is dead, local authorities said in a statement on Monday.

AP - Barack Obama radiated confidence and John McCain displayed the grit of an underdog Monday as the presidential rivals reached for the finish line of a two-year marathon with a burst of campaigning across battlegrounds from the Atlantic Coast to Arizona.

AP - Barack Obama's grandmother, whose personality and bearing shaped much of the life of the Democratic presidential contender, has died, Obama announced Monday, one day before the election. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86. Obama announced the news from the campaign trail in Charlotte, N.C. The joint statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said Dunham died peacefully late Sunday night after a battle with cancer.

AP - Election watchers won't have to wait for polls to close in the West to know how things are going. The first clues will come early, when voting ends in Georgia, Indiana and Virginia. If Democrat Barack Obama wins any of the three, he could be on his way to a big victory, maybe even a landslide.

AP - Authorities say they've positively identified some of Steve Fossett's remains: two large bones found a half-mile from where the adventurer's plane crashed in California's Sierra Nevada.

AP - General Motors' October U.S. sales plunged 45 percent, and Ford's and Chrysler's weren't far behind, as low consumer confidence and tight credit combined to bring the industry's sales to an 'unsustainably weak level' that is the worst in 25 years.

AP - A video maker for Osama bin Laden who vowed that al-Qaida will never stop fighting America was sentenced to life in prison Monday for encouraging terrorist attacks.

AP - Wash your hands, folks, especially you ladies. A new study found that women have a greater variety of bacteria on their hands than men do. And everybody has more types of bacteria than the researchers expected to find.

AP - Boston Police investigating an armed robbery lifted a man out of a wheelchair and found he was sitting on three guns, including two with high capacity magazines and one with a laser sight. Police said they were led to an apartment building in the city's South Boston neighborhood by two men who said they were robbed of their cell phones Friday.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's grandmother died of cancer, he said in a statement on Monday, a little more than a week after he interrupted the White House campaign to say goodbye to her in Hawaii.

Reuters - Genetic tests on two bones found near the wreckage of Steve Fossett's airplane in the mountains of California near Nevada confirm the missing millionaire adventurer is dead, local authorities said in a statement on Monday.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Genetic tests on two bones found near the wreckage of Steve Fossett's airplane in the California mountains confirm the missing multimillionaire adventurer is dead, local authorities said on Monday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a term-limit extension law on Monday that will allow him to run for a third term next year and earn a chance to guide New York City through the global financial crisis.

MIAMI (Reuters) - A U.S. military tribunal at Guantanamo sentenced Osama bin Laden's media secretary to life in prison on Monday after convicting him of conspiring with al Qaeda, soliciting murder and providing material support for terrorism.

AP - Hundreds of mourners attended a private funeral service for Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson's slain mother, brother and nephew Monday at a South Side church.

Reuters - Genetic tests on two bones found near the wreckage of Steve Fossett's airplane in the California mountains confirm the missing multimillionaire adventurer is dead, local authorities said on Monday.

Reuters - Jeff Mason joined Reuters in October 2000 in Frankfurt, where he covered stock markets and transport companies. In 2004 he transferred to Brussels to cover European Union energy, environment and transport policy. An American, Jeff returned to the United States in January for the U.S. presidential campaign. In the following story, he describes life for reporters on the campaign trail.

Reuters - Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a term-limit extension law on Monday that will allow him to run for a third term next year and earn a chance to guide New York City through the global financial crisis.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - A subdued Barack Obama on Monday mourned his grandmother as a 'quiet hero' who helped raise him, telling a campaign rally that her death had made the final night of his White House campaign 'bittersweet.'

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was cleared on Monday of wrongdoing in an abuse-of-power investigation into the firing of the state's public safety commissioner.

Jeff Mason joined Reuters in October 2000 in Frankfurt, where he covered stock markets and transport companies. In 2004 he transferred to Brussels to cover European Union energy, environment and transport policy. An American, Jeff returned to the United States in January for the U.S. presidential campaign. In the following story, he describes life for reporters on the campaign trail.

AP - Gov. Sarah Palin violated no ethics laws when she fired her public safety commissioner, the state personnel board concluded in a report released Monday. 'There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters,' the report says.

AP - Here's a switch: The Cleveland Browns dropped Derek Anderson. The inconsistent Pro Bowl quarterback, whose production this season has been slowed by dropped passes, was benched on Monday by the Browns, who will start popular backup Brady Quinn on Thursday night against the Denver Broncos in hopes of turning around a disappointing season.

Reuters - A subdued Barack Obama on Monday mourned his grandmother as a 'quiet hero' who helped raise him, telling a campaign rally that her death had made the final night of his White House campaign 'bittersweet.'

Reuters - Alaska Gov. and Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was cleared on Monday of wrongdoing in an abuse-of-power investigation into the firing of the state's public safety commissioner.

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian police were investigating on Tuesday a threat to blow up the U.S. and Australian embassies in Jakarta if the Bali bombers are executed, police said.

AP - Gov. Sarah Palin violated no ethics laws when she fired her public safety commissioner, the state personnel board concluded in a report released Monday. 'There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters,' the report says.

AP - Barack Obama's grandmother, whose personality and bearing shaped much of the life of the Democratic presidential contender, has died, Obama announced Monday, one day before the election. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86.

AP - Ben Roethlisberger scored on a 1-yard sneak late in the first half then didn't return because of a shoulder injury as the Pittsburgh Steelers led the Redskins 16-6 early in the third quarter Monday night.

Reuters - Indonesian police were investigating on Tuesday a threat to blow up the U.S. and Australian embassies in Jakarta if the Bali bombers are executed, police said.

AFP - US presidential front-runner Barack Obama choked back tears on the campaign trail after his grandmother died and John McCain blitzed across seven states to make up ground on his rival a day before the historic US presidential election.