AP - Authorities evacuated hundreds of people after a volcano erupted beneath a glacier in southern Iceland, Iceland's civil protection agency said Sunday.

AP - Another eventful day at the NCAA tournament is in the books, with Northern Iowa stunning overall No. 1 seed Kansas, 10th-seeded Saint Mary's knocking off second-seeded Villanova, and 11th-seeded Washington easily handling third-seeded New Mexico.

AFP - The US House of Representatives was to vote Sunday on Barack Obama's historic plan to overhaul the US health care system that the president says will provide health insurance coverage to the overwhelming majority of Americans.

AP - Authorities evacuated hundreds of people after a volcano erupted beside a glacier in southern Iceland, Iceland's civil protection agency said Sunday.

AP - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has entered the blockaded Gaza Strip, where 1.5 million people have been under lockdown by Israel and Egypt for nearly three years.

AP - A weeklong fight against flooding neared its climax in Fargo on Sunday, with miles of sandbags and clay dikes expected to hold back the bloated Red River at its crest with room to spare.

AFP - UN chief Ban Ki-moon crossed into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, expressing solidarity with the plight of the Palestinians and urging an end to an Israeli blockade of the Hamas-run territory.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Opposition activists prepared for talks on Monday with Thailand's government to seek a way out of an political conflict, but with neither side willing to budge, a swift resolution seems unlikely.

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - A Palestinian youth shot by Israeli forces died from his wounds Sunday, Palestinian medics said, the second death from the same incident Saturday that may fuel tensions in the occupied West Bank.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for a nationwide recount of votes from Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, warning the country could return to violence if the demand was not met.

AP - House Democrats are predicting that a rare Sunday session will produce one of the most significant legislative triumphs in decades: passage of a historic bill to overhaul the nation's health care system to provide coverage to millions of people who currently lack it.

AP - General Motors is recalling nearly 60,000 automobiles in South Korea due to potential problems with steering wheels, fuel hoses and seats, the company's local unit and the government said Sunday.

AP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he will not stop a controversial settlement project in east Jerusalem, as requested by the U.S., but will upgrade upcoming indirect talks with the Palestinians to include the main issues dividing them.

AP - Iraq's prime minister is pressing the electoral commission to respond to calls from several political blocs for a recount in the March 7 parliamentary elections.

AP - Nearly a year after President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered negotiators to start work on a new treaty to reduce their nuclear arsenals, the two countries say they are finally close to completing a deal — taking a small but important step toward the U.S. leader's goal of a nuclear-free world.

AP - Conservationists say the Internet has emerged as one of the greatest threats fueling the illegal wildlife trade, making it easier to buy everything from live baby lions to wine made from tiger bones, conservationists said Saturday.

Reuters - Opposition activists prepared for talks on Monday with Thailand's government to seek a way out of an political conflict, but with neither side willing to budge, a swift resolution seems unlikely.

Reuters - A Palestinian youth shot by Israeli forces died from his wounds Sunday, Palestinian medics said, the second death from the same incident Saturday that may fuel tensions in the occupied West Bank.

AFP - UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip saying it caused 'unacceptable sufferings,' during a visit Sunday to the impoverished coastal enclave.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives headed for a close vote on a landmark healthcare overhaul on Sunday, with Democratic leaders predicting victory on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The California governor's race is on track to be the most expensive nonpresidential election in U.S. history, sparking a debate over money and influence that could become the campaign's defining issue.

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Opposition activists in Thailand rejected a government offer for dialogue on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out dissolving parliament and assigned a junior minister to attend the talks.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who tried to stab a soldier on Sunday, the Israeli army said, in West Bank violence that placed further strain on U.S. efforts to get indirect peace talks under way.

AP - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday he would not restrict construction in east Jerusalem, a step requested by the U.S., but would upgrade upcoming indirect talks with the Palestinians to include the main issues dividing them.

AP - Iraq's president on Sunday called for a recount in this month's parliamentary elections, which have turned into a tight race between the prime minister and a secular rival amid accusations of fraud. A new count could further extend political wrangling in the contentious race.

AP - Nearly a year after President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered negotiators to work on a new treaty to reduce their nuclear arsenals, the two countries say they are finally close to completing a deal.

Reuters - The House of Representatives headed for a close vote on a landmark healthcare overhaul on Sunday, with Democratic leaders predicting victory on President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

Reuters - The California governor's race is on track to be the most expensive nonpresidential election in U.S. history, sparking a debate over money and influence that could become the campaign's defining issue.

Reuters - Opposition activists in Thailand rejected a government offer for dialogue on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out dissolving parliament and assigned a junior minister to attend the talks.

Reuters - Israeli troops killed two Palestinians who tried to stab a soldier on Sunday, the Israeli army said, in West Bank violence that placed further strain on U.S. efforts to get indirect peace talks under way.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives said they believe they will have the votes on Sunday to pass landmark healthcare overhaul legislation, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had informed Washington in writing that Israel would not stop Jewish settlement in and around Jerusalem, setting the stage for a defiant visit to the United States this week.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday urged Israel to end a three year-long blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and called on Palestinians to heal their political rifts.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's parliament could finally accede to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's demands for radical subsidy cuts after blocking the plan for months, a senior lawmaker said on Sunday.

AP - A pair of House Democratic leaders predicted Sunday the final tally on President Barack Obama's historic health care bill will meet or exceed the 216 votes required for passage. But they acknowledged having yet to nail down commitments from a handful of members.

AP - A news magazine reports that the head of the German Bishops Conference admits the Roman Catholic church consciously covered up cases of sexual abuse by priests.

AP - A spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the premier will be meeting President Barack Obama while in the U.S. this week.

Reuters - Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives said they believe they will have the votes on Sunday to pass landmark healthcare overhaul legislation, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority.

Reuters - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he had informed Washington in writing that Israel would not stop Jewish settlement in and around Jerusalem, setting the stage for a defiant visit to the United States this week.

Reuters - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Sunday urged Israel to end a three year-long blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and called on Palestinians to heal their political rifts.

Reuters - Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki called for a nationwide recount of votes from Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, saying the country could return to violence if the demand were not met.

AFP - UN chief Ban Ki-moon slammed Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip during a tour of the war-battered coastal territory on Sunday, saying it was causing 'unacceptable suffering.'

PARIS (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's apology to Ireland went further than any other papal statement on child sex abuse by priests, but still fell far too short for many victims of the scandals shaking the Roman Catholic Church across Europe.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Washington's actions contradict its call for friendly ties, a day after a renewed offer of dialogue by President Barack Obama.

ZURICH (Reuters) - The Vatican has to take cases of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy more seriously, the abbot of a Swiss monastery at the center of an abuse scandal told a Swiss Sunday paper.

AP - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged Catholics to refrain from judging sinners a day after he rebuked Irish bishops for their handling of a half-century of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

AP - Alice remains the queen of the box office.

Reuters - Pope Benedict's apology to Ireland went further than any other papal statement on child sex abuse by priests, but still fell far too short for many victims of the scandals shaking the Roman Catholic Church across Europe.

Reuters - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Sunday that Washington's actions contradict its call for friendly ties, a day after a renewed offer of dialogue by President Barack Obama.

AFP - US President Barack Obama on Sunday invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to meet him at the White House, even as the Israeli leader rebuffed a key US demand to halt settlement construction in east Jerusalem.

NABLUS, West Bank (Reuters) - Four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank were buried on Sunday following violence that has exacerbated growing tensions.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles into an al Qaeda and Taliban hideout in northwest Pakistan on the Afghan border on Sunday, killing eight militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Secularist challenger Iyad Allawi retained a slim lead in Iraq's tight election race after a preliminary count of 95 percent of votes released on Sunday.

AP - Suspected U.S. drones fired missiles Sunday at a house and car in a militant-dominated tribal region near the Afghan border, killing at least four people, officials said.

AP - The approaching crest of the Red River was being met Sunday with more shrugs than white knuckles, as Fargo residents walked their dogs and went to church instead of sandbagging and escaping to higher ground.

AP - Alice remains the queen of the box office.

Reuters - Four Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank were buried on Sunday following violence that has exacerbated growing tensions.

Reuters - A U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles into an al Qaeda and Taliban hideout in northwest Pakistan on the Afghan border on Sunday, killing eight militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said.

Reuters - Secularist challenger Iyad Allawi retained a slim lead in Iraq's tight election race after a preliminary count of 95 percent of votes released on Sunday.

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right bloc suffered a comprehensive defeat in Sunday's local elections, but managed to cling on to power in one mainland region to avoid a whitewash, exit polls said.

AP - Democratic House leaders predicted Sunday the final tally on President Barack Obama's historic health care bill will meet or exceed the 216 votes required for passage. Still at issue were the votes of a handful of members concerned about the abortion issue.

AP - Thirteen Afghan civilians died in violence Sunday as the nation's hard-line vice president expressed hopes for reconciliation and representatives of a militant group with ties to the Taliban brought their own draft of a peace deal to the capital.

AP - France's opposition Socialists and their allies handily defeated President Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives in regional elections Sunday, according to partial official results after a vote that helps set the stage for the 2012 presidential race.

AP - Immigrant rights supporters from around the country are rallying for immigration reform on the National Mall.

AP - The crest of the Red River was met Sunday with more shrugs than white knuckles, as flood fears receded and Fargo residents walked their dogs and went to church instead of sandbagging and fleeing to higher ground.

AP - A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that ESPN will air a one-on-one interview with Tiger Woods on Sunday night.

AP - Michigan State coach Tom Izzo will have a tough time getting junior guard Durrell Summers on the plane back to East Lansing. He's been simply outstanding in Spokane.

Reuters - The White House said on Sunday President Barack Obama would issue an order reaffirming a ban on using federal funds for abortion in a deal with holdout Democrats that could clear the way for passage of a healthcare overhaul.

Reuters - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right bloc suffered a comprehensive defeat in Sunday's local elections, but managed to cling on to power in one mainland region to avoid a whitewash, exit polls said.

AFP - US President Barack Obama's historic drive to extend health insurance to nearly all Americans will pass the House of Representatives in a crucial Sunday vote, his Democratic allies predicted.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives said on Sunday they were confident they had votes to pass a sweeping healthcare reform bill and deliver President Barack Obama a landmark political victory.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The former chief executive of American International Group Inc, Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg, reached a deal to sell most of the shares he holds in the insurer to a unit of Swiss bank UBS.

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right party suffered a comprehensive defeat in regional elections on Sunday, but pledged to push on with reform plans before the 2012 presidential race.

AP - President Barack Obama and House Democratic leaders struck a last-minute deal Sunday with abortion foes to secure the final few votes needed to remake America's health care system, writing a climactic chapter in a century-old quest for near universal coverage.

AP - The long-flailing French left made a big-time comeback Sunday, crushing Nicolas Sarkozy's conservatives in regional elections colored by voters' economic worries — and informally kicking off the 2012 presidential race.

AP - Iraq's president on Sunday demanded a recount in this month's historic parliamentary elections, intensifying the political conflict over the not-yet-completed tally and increasing the chances that the vote will be a long, chaotic test of the nascent democracy.

AP - The good news was all about things that didn't happen: No floodwaters pushing aside hastily built sandbag walls, no neighborhoods evacuated, no panicked residents wondering if they'd ever see their homes again.

AP - Two people familiar with Tiger Woods' plans tell The Associated Press that the golfer has done two interviews set to air Sunday night.

AP - Dash Harris isn't a big-time shooter, and Purdue's Ryan Smith bailed him out by fouling the Texas A&M guard with ninth-tenths of a second left in the first half. Harris is a poor free-throw shooter, too, but still coaxed two of three through the hoop.

Reuters - Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives said on Sunday they were confident they had votes to pass a sweeping healthcare reform bill and deliver President Barack Obama a landmark political victory.

Reuters - The former chief executive of American International Group Inc, Maurice 'Hank' Greenberg, reached a deal to sell most of the shares he holds in the insurer to a unit of Swiss bank UBS.

Reuters - Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the U.S. capital on Sunday to demand immigration reform that defends the rights of foreign workers, but their voices may have been muted by Democrats' push for a historic vote on healthcare.

Reuters - French President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right party suffered a comprehensive defeat in regional elections on Sunday, but pledged to push on with reform plans before the 2012 presidential race.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the U.S. capital on Sunday to demand immigration reform that defends the rights of foreign workers, but their voices may have been muted by Democrats' push for a historic vote on healthcare.

AP - Frustrated with the lack of action to overhaul the country's immigration system, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied on the National Mall and marched through the streets of the capital Sunday, waving American flags and holding homemade signs in English and Spanish.

AP - One restored a Haitian president to power; the other flew him back out again. Former U.S. presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are visiting Haiti on Monday, reminding the country of its tumultuous recent past just as frustration over an uneven earthquake relief effort is bringing politics back to the surface.

AP - Tiger Woods admitted he's nervous about how he'll be received when he returns to golf next month at the Masters.

AP - The Boilermakers have a message for President Barack Obama and everybody else: They're more than just one player.

AP - Triumph in their grasp, President Barack Obama and House Democrats demonstrated command of the votes needed to pass landmark health care legislation Sunday night, a climactic chapter in a century-long quest for near universal coverage.

AP - An Australian executive and three other employees of mining giant Rio Tinto went on trial Monday on charges of stealing secrets and offering bribes in a case viewed as a barometer of China's handling of foreign business.

AP - An American doctor accused of repeatedly botching operations and performing surgeries he was not capable of handling pleaded not guilty Monday in Australia to three manslaughter charges and one of grievous bodily harm.

AP - Brackets across the country are obliterated. Underdogs, meanwhile, keep moving on.

AFP - The highly sensitive trial of four staff of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto opened Monday in a case that has strained ties with Canberra and raised concerns about doing business in China.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives gave final approval to a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Sunday, expanding insurance coverage to nearly all Americans and handing President Barack Obama a landmark victory.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Sunday approved President Barack Obama's bid to implement what would be the biggest overhaul in decades of the federal student loan program.

PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will meet President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday to discuss the consequences of the ruling center-right UMP party's heavy loss in regional elections at the weekend.

AP - Summoned to success by President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled Congress approved historic legislation Sunday night extending health care to tens of millions of uninsured Americans and cracking down on insurance company abuses, a climactic chapter in the century-long quest for near universal coverage.

AP - President Barack Obama says the health care legislation passed Sunday night by the House is 'a victory for the American people' and 'a victory for common sense.'

Reuters - The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval to a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Sunday, expanding insurance coverage to nearly all Americans and handing President Barack Obama a landmark victory.

Reuters - The Democratic-led House of Representatives on Sunday approved President Barack Obama's bid to implement what would be the biggest overhaul in decades of the federal student loan program.

Reuters - French Prime Minister Francois Fillon will meet President Nicolas Sarkozy Monday to discuss the consequences of the ruling center-right UMP party's heavy loss in regional elections at the weekend.

AFP - The US Congress passed an historic health care overhaul Sunday, handing President Barack Obama a landmark win and taking the United States closer than ever to guaranteed coverage for all Americans.