WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama dispatches his vice president to the Middle East on Sunday to try to build support for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks despite deep skepticism on both sides.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp will start operating its new plant in Mississippi as early as June 2011, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said on Sunday, as the Japanese automaker works to regain trust in the United States.

AP - Under a blanket of tight security designed to thwart insurgent attacks, Iraqis went to the polls Sunday in an election testing the ability of the country's still-fragile democracy to move forward amid uncertainty over a looming U.S. troop drawdown and still jagged sectarian divisions.

AP - ABC's parent company switched off its signal to Cablevision's 3.1 million customers in New York at midnight Saturday in a dispute over payments that escalated just hours before the start of the Academy Awards.

AP - Philippine marines have killed at least seven al-Qaida-linked militants in an attack on a coastal hide-out, but they failed to capture a Malaysian terror suspect long wanted by Washington.

AP - Louisville gave Freedom Hall a memorable send-off.

Reuters - U.S. President Barack Obama dispatches his vice president to the Middle East on Sunday to try to build support for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace talks despite deep skepticism on both sides.

Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp will start operating its new plant in Mississippi as early as June 2011, the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper said on Sunday, as the Japanese automaker works to regain trust in the United States.

AFP - Iraqis on Sunday started voting in their war-shattered nation's second parliamentary election since the US-led overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein, as mortars and bombs rocked Baghdad.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, speaking at a rare news conference in Tehran, has urged Iraqis to take part in Sunday's election to help pave the way for Iraq's 'liberation' from U.S. forces.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Foreign Minister said on Sunday new sanctions on Iran will not solve the standoff over its nuclear program, while chiding the United States after two months of tensions between the big powers.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Explosions killed 16 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilize Iraq before U.S. troops leave.

AP - Police and hospital officials say at least 11 people were killed in northeastern Baghdad after a mortar attack leveled a building, bringing the death toll to 15 as Iraqis go to vote in historic elections.

AP - Gunbattles between the Taliban and another Islamist faction have killed at least 50 people in northeastern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday. The militants are apparently fighting for control of several villages where the central government has almost no presence.

AP - Iran on Sunday launched a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles capable of evading radar, state TV reported.

AP - Sandra Bullock warmed up for the Academy Awards with a stop at the Razzies to collect a dubious honor: a worst-actress prize for her romantic comedy flop 'All About Steve.'

Reuters - Anti-American Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, speaking at a rare news conference in Tehran, has urged Iraqis to take part in Sunday's election to help pave the way for Iraq's 'liberation' from U.S. forces.

Reuters - China's Foreign Minister said on Sunday new sanctions on Iran will not solve the standoff over its nuclear program, while chiding the United States after two months of tensions between the big powers.

Reuters - Explosions killed 16 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilize Iraq before U.S. troops leave.

AFP - Blasts killed at least 24 people and wounded dozens in Baghdad as Iraqis voted Sunday in an election that Al-Qaeda threatened to sabotage, an interior ministry official said.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea said on Sunday it will bolster its atomic arsenal and was no longer bound by the cease fire that ended the Korean War due to joint U.S.-South Korean military drills, which start this week.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Explosions killed 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilize Iraq before U.S. troops leave.

AP - Iraqis voted Sunday in an election testing the mettle of the country's still-fragile democracy as insurgents killed 25 people across the Iraq, unleashing a barrage of mortars intent on disrupting the historic day.

AP - Hispanic and black businesses are receiving a disproportionately small number of federal stimulus contracts, creating a rising chorus of demands for the Obama administration to be more inclusive and more closely track who receives government-financed work.

AP - Gunbattles between the Taliban and another Islamist faction have left at least 50 fighters dead in northeastern Afghanistan, as militants apparently fought over control of several villages where the government has almost no presence, officials said Sunday.

AP - Millions of cable subscribers faced the prospect of Oscar night without the Academy Awards broadcast Sunday after ABC's parent company switched off its signal to Cablevision customers and the two companies blasted each other for failing to reach a deal in a dispute over fees.

Reuters - North Korea said on Sunday it will bolster its atomic arsenal and was no longer bound by the cease fire that ended the Korean War due to joint U.S.-South Korean military drills, which start this week.

Reuters - Explosions killed 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election that Sunni Islamist militants have vowed to disrupt, in one of many challenges to efforts to stabilize Iraq before U.S. troops leave.

AFP - Iraqis defied waves of bomb, mortar and rocket attacks that killed 24 people to turn out Sunday in huge numbers to vote in elections seen as a test of the war-shattered state's fragile democracy.

AFP - A full 93.3 percent of Icelandic voters rejected a deal to pay billions to Britain and the Netherlands for the collapse of an Icelandic bank, according to official referendum results Sunday after 90 percent of ballots had been counted.

AP - Insurgents bombed a polling station and lobbed grenades at voters Sunday, killing 26 people in attacks aimed at intimidating Iraqis participating in an election that will determine whether the country can overcome jagged sectarian divisions that have plagued it since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

AP - Al-Qaida's American-born spokesman on Sunday called on Muslims serving in the U.S. armed forces to emulate the Army major charged with killing 13 people in Fort Hood.

AP - Afghan President Hamid Karzai heard a litany of complaints Sunday from residents of Marjah, the town in the south that thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan troops just seized from the Taliban.

AP - The original manuscript of Albert Einstein's groundbreaking theory of relativity, which helps explain everything from black holes to the Big Bang, went on display Sunday in its entirety for the first time.

AP - Minnesota Vikings Kevin Williams and Pat Williams are about to take their dispute with the NFL into a courtroom.

AFP - Iceland was under pressure Sunday to negotiate better terms after a referendum resoundingly rejected a deal to pay Britain and The Netherlands billions for losses in the Icesave bank collapse.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bomb and rocket attacks killed at least 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election that put Iraq's security forces and its fledgling democracy to the test before U.S. troops leave.

MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai made an unannounced visit to the southern town of Marjah on Sunday, promising angry elders that he will rebuild the former Taliban stronghold after a massive NATO operation.

AP - In private pitches to Democrats, President Barack Obama says he will persuade Congress to pass his health care overhaul even if it kills him and even if he has to ask deeply distrustful lawmakers to trust him on a promise the White House doesn't have the power to keep.

AP - Most Chileans are unhappy with their government's response to the catastrophic earthquake and squarely blame President Michelle Bachelet for shortcomings, according to a poll published Sunday. But some veteran aid experts are impressed by how quickly Chile has mounted a huge disaster-recovery effort.

AP - Dozens of Islamist militants defected to Afghan government forces Sunday after armed clashes erupted between them and their one-time Taliban allies in a northeastern province, two police officials said.

AP - More than a year after two Minnesota Vikings sued the NFL over its anti-doping procedures, the closely watched case heads to trial Monday with sports leagues worried the outcome will hurt their ability to enforce drug policies across the country.

Reuters - Bomb and rocket attacks killed at least 24 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election that put Iraq's security forces and its fledgling democracy to the test before U.S. troops leave.

Reuters - Afghan President Hamid Karzai made an unannounced visit to the southern town of Marjah on Sunday, promising angry elders that he will rebuild the former Taliban stronghold after a massive NATO operation.

AFP - Iceland was under pressure Sunday to negotiate better terms after a referendum resoundingly rejected a deal to pay Britain and The Netherlands billions for losses in the Icesave bank collapse.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bomb and rocket attacks killed at least 38 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election that put Iraq's security forces and its fledgling democracy to the test before U.S. troops leave.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's top healthcare official on Sunday urged quick passage of stalled healthcare reform legislation, but a top Democrat said they did not yet have the votes in Congress.

MARJAH, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai made an unannounced visit to the southern town of Marjah Sunday, promising angry elders that he will rebuild the former Taliban stronghold after a big NATO operation.

SANAA (Reuters) - An al Qaeda suspect tried to shoot his way out of hospital in Yemen's capital where he was being treated under guard on Sunday, while security forces and separatists clashed in the south of the country.

PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Government planners and international experts are racing to produce a blueprint this week to reconstruct Haiti's economy after the earthquake that killed up to 300,000 people and devastated its infrastructure.

AP - Insurgents bombed a polling station and lobbed grenades at voters Sunday, killing 36 people in attacks aimed at intimidating those taking part in an election that will determine whether the country can overcome the sectarian divisions that have plagued it since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

AP - Afghan President Hamid Karzai heard a litany of complaints Sunday from residents of Marjah, the southern town that thousands of U.S., NATO and Afghan troops just seized from the Taliban.

AP - More than 200 bodies — many of them women and children — lay in the streets of a central Nigerian town after a renewed spate of Christian-Muslim violence, witnesses said Sunday, just months after religious violence tore through a nearby city and left hundreds dead.

AP - Academy Awards voters are expected to go very big or very small on their best-picture winner at Sunday's Oscars. The two favorites in the expanded field of 10 best-picture nominees are the as-big-as-it-gets blockbuster 'Avatar' and the critical darling 'The Hurt Locker,' which drew a tiny fraction of the audience its mammoth competitor pulled in.

AP - A woman in jail for public intoxication was accused of assaulting a jailer by squirting breast milk at her. WYMT-TV reported that a 31-year-old woman was arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of public intoxication. But as she was changing into an inmate uniform, she squirted breast milk into the face of a female deputy who was with her.

Reuters - Bomb and rocket attacks killed at least 38 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in a parliamentary election that put Iraq's security forces and its fledgling democracy to the test before U.S. troops leave.

Reuters - President Barack Obama's top healthcare official on Sunday urged quick passage of stalled healthcare reform legislation, but a top Democrat said they did not yet have the votes in Congress.

Reuters - Afghan President Hamid Karzai made an unannounced visit to the southern town of Marjah Sunday, promising angry elders that he will rebuild the former Taliban stronghold after a big NATO operation.

Reuters - An al Qaeda suspect tried to shoot his way out of hospital in Yemen's capital where he was being treated under guard on Sunday, while security forces and separatists clashed in the south of the country.

HARARE (Reuters) - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Sunday Zimbabwe should invite international observers and a peacekeeping force to ensure that its next national election is free and fair.

AP - A top House Democrat said Sunday he believes Congress will pass a health care bill, but three fellow Democrats who opposed overhaul legislation last fall aren't committing themselves to backing President Barack Obama's late push.

AP - Elders in a former Taliban stronghold berated and challenged Afghanistan's president Sunday, delivering a litany of complaints about government corruption and NATO's military operations on the Afghan leader's first visit to Marjah.

AP - The virus that causes AIDS can hide in the bone marrow, avoiding drugs and later awakening to cause illness, according to new research that could point the way toward better treatments for the disease.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Bomb blasts and rocket and mortar fire killed 38 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election they hoped would distance their nascent democracy from years of sectarian slaughter as U.S. troops pack up to leave.

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistani security agents have arrested an American al Qaeda spokesman wanted in the United States on a treason charge, Pakistani security officials said on Sunday.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Academy Awards have long been dominated by men and their movies, but Hollywood's women may steal the spotlight Sunday when the final curtain falls on the top film honors watched around the world.

SANAA (Reuters) - An al Qaeda suspect tried to shoot his way out of hospital in Yemen's capital on Sunday and killed a guard, while security forces and separatists clashed in the south of the country with five wounded.

AP - The American-born spokesman for al-Qaida has been arrested by Pakistani intelligence officers in the southern city of Karachi, two officers and a government official said Sunday, the same day Adam Gadahn appeared in a video urging U.S. Muslims to attack their own country.

AP - A new online database promises to crack some of the nation's 100,000 missing persons cases and provide answers to desperate families, but only a fraction of law enforcement agencies are using it.

Reuters - Bomb blasts and rocket and mortar fire killed 38 people as Iraqis voted on Sunday in an election they hoped would distance their nascent democracy from years of sectarian slaughter as U.S. troops pack up to leave.

Reuters - Pakistani security agents have arrested an American al Qaeda spokesman wanted in the United States on a treason charge, Pakistani security officials said on Sunday.

Reuters - An al Qaeda suspect tried to shoot his way out of hospital in Yemen's capital on Sunday and killed a guard, while security forces and separatists clashed in the south of the country with five wounded.

AFP - The Palestinians agreed on Sunday to give indirect peace talks with Israel a chance after months of US-led efforts to lure both sides back to the negotiating table.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers were in suspense on Sunday afternoon over whether they would get to watch the 2010 Oscars telecast as Cablevision Systems Corp and Walt Disney Co's ABC had not yet agreed on a new contract.

AP - Iraqis defied insurgents who lobbed hand grenades at voters and bombed a polling station Sunday in an attempt to intimidate those taking part in elections that will determine whether their country can overcome deep sectarian divides as U.S. forces prepare to leave.

Reuters - New Yorkers were in suspense on Sunday afternoon over whether they would get to watch the 2010 Oscars telecast as Cablevision Systems Corp and Walt Disney Co's ABC had not yet agreed on a new contract.

Reuters - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai said on Sunday Zimbabwe should invite international observers and a peacekeeping force to ensure that its next national election is free and fair.

AFP - Millions of Iraqis braved waves of deadly rocket, mortar and bomb attacks that killed 38 to vote Sunday in a general election, winning international praise for their courage and determination.

AFP - Nigeria on Sunday put security forces on red alert after a new outburst of sectarian violence left at least 100 people dead, mainly women and children, as machete wielding gangs burned down villages, officials said.

AP - Two Pakistani officers and a government official said Sunday that an American charged with treason for working with al-Qaida had been captured, a development that could deliver another significant blow in the U.S.-led battle against the terror network.

AP - Authorities in Southern California say the skeletal remains of a 14-year-old girl who disappeared a year ago while walking to school have been found in a remote area of the Pala Indian Reservation.

AP - Kurt Busch survived a couple of restarts and 16 extra laps to win again Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, a race marred by accusations of an intentional crash that sent a car hurtling toward the main stands upside down.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New Yorkers were in suspense on Sunday afternoon over whether they would get to watch the 2010 Oscars telecast as Cablevision Systems Corp and Walt Disney Co's ABC had not yet agreed on a new contract.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar's red carpet swung into fashion action on Sunday ahead of the Academy Awards where several women including director Kathryn Bigelow and Sandra Bullock are favored to claim their share of Hollywood glory.

AP - Cablevision says WABC-TV's signal has been switched back on for its 3.1 million subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut shortly after the Academy Awards telecast got under way.

AP - Christoph Waltz won the supporting-actor Academy Award on Sunday for his role as a sociable fiend of a Nazi in 'Inglourious Basterds,' while the blockbuster 'Up' was named best animated feature.

AP - U.S. troops are withdrawing from the shattered capital, leaving many Haitians anxious that the most visible portion of international aid is ending even as the city is still mired in misery and vulnerable to unrest.

AP - The bones of a 14-year-old Southern California girl who vanished more than a year ago while walking to school were discovered in a rugged, remote area, authorities said Sunday, less than a week after a registered sex offender was charged with murdering another Southern California girl, 17-year-old Chelsea King.

Reuters - New Yorkers were in suspense on Sunday afternoon over whether they would get to watch the 2010 Oscars telecast as Cablevision Systems Corp and Walt Disney Co's ABC had not yet agreed on a new contract.

AFP - Martin O'Neill has told Norway striker John Carew to use the confidence boost from his FA Cup quarter-final hat-trick against Reading to fire Aston Villa to their second major final of the season.

AFP - Iraq's general election saw a strong turnout of at least 50 percent in most areas, initial forecasts showed Monday after a ballot hit by rocket, mortar and bomb attacks that killed 38 people.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cablevision Systems Corp customers were able to watch the live broadcast of the Oscars on Sunday after the cable company reached a last-minute deal to return WABC-TV to air in a dispute over fees.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dark drama 'Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire' earned two Oscars on Sunday, including supporting actress for Mo'Nique, as Hollywood's top film honors reached their mid-point.

BERLIN (Reuters) - Greece will not need foreign help to deal with its debt problems, central bank governor George Provopoulos said in a German newspaper interview released Monday.

AP - Villainous roles snatched the supporting-acting prizes Sunday at the Academy Awards: 'Precious' co-star Mo'Nique as a contemptible mother and 'Inglourious Basterds' co-star Christoph Waltz as a sociable Nazi fiend.

AP - Cablevision's 3.1 million subscribers in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut had their access to the Academy Awards telecast restored Sunday night after the cable operator reached a deal with ABC's parent company in a dispute over fees.

Reuters - Cablevision Systems Corp customers were able to watch the live broadcast of the Oscars on Sunday after the cable company reached a last-minute deal to return WABC-TV to air in a dispute over fees.

Reuters - Greece will not need foreign help to deal with its debt problems, central bank governor George Provopoulos said in a German newspaper interview released Monday.

AFP - A powerful explosion rocked Pakistan's second city of Lahore near a police building and Muslim seminary on Monday, where smoke was rising into the sky.