World - AFP

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia (AFP) - Republican John McCain desperately sought Monday to win back voters hit by the economic crisis and flocking in droves towards Democrat Barack Obama, three weeks before the elections.

VIENNA (AFP) - North Korea has granted the UN atomic watchdog access to its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon after having barred agency inspectors last week, the IAEA said Monday, following a deal between Washington and Pyongyang.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Troops and helicopter gunships killed about 40 Taliban militants while four people, including a politician, were injured in a roadside bomb in northwest Pakistan, officials said Monday.

MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) - More Christian families have quit their homes in Mosul, a local official said on Monday, as the United Nations voiced concern at the community's plight in the northern Iraqi city.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Monday that US President George W. Bush hoped for a meeting of Group of Eight rich country leaders on the financial crisis "in the next few weeks."

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia warned Monday of the risk of a large-scale armed conflict with Thailand as ministers from the two neighbours failed to reach a breakthrough in talks on their border dispute.

PODGORICA (AFP) - Montenegrin police Monday used tear gas to disperse several hundred angry demonstrators at a mass rally against the government's decision to recognise Kosovo's independence.

CARACOLLO, Bolivia (AFP) - Bolivian President Evo Morales inaugurated a "peaceful, historic" march Monday to press lawmakers to approve his moves to rewrite his country's constitution along socialist lines.

JERUSALEM, Oct 13, 2008 (AFP) - Israel's Kadima and Labour parties on Monday reached an agreement in principle that would pave the way for the formation of a new government headed by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, media reported.

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai threatened Sunday to pull out of a power-sharing deal with Robert Mugabe after the president handed key ministries to his own party.

ARLINGTON, Virginia (AFP) - Republicans Sunday pushed back against charges that John McCain's campaign had been sowing "hatred" against Barack Obama, as they struggled to put their White House bid back on track.

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea said on Sunday that it would resume work to disable plutonium-producing nuclear plants and readmit UN inspectors after the United States removed it from a terrorism blacklist.

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistani helicopter gunships on Sunday bombed a meeting of Islamic militants linked to Al-Qaeda near the border with Afghanistan, leaving 35 fighters dead, security officials said.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia test-fired three long-range missiles on Sunday and pronounced its nuclear deterrent strong in a show of force that experts said had not been seen since the days of the Cold War.

KABUL (AFP) - The commander of international forces in Afghanistan, US General David McKiernan, said Sunday that the West had not lost the war against Islamic insurgents but more troops and equipment were needed to tackle the rebels.

VIENNA (AFP) - Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider was driving at more than twice the speed limit after going to a nightclub when he crashed and died this weekend, court officials said Sunday.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Mehdi Karroubi announced on Sunday that he will run in next year's presidential race, becoming the first Iranian politician to declare his candidacy to succeed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) - About 100 militants were killed in Afghanistan's Helmand province, half in air strikes that thwarted a major attack on a key town overnight, Afghan and British forces said Sunday.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AFP) - Lithuania's opposition Conservatives took the lead in a general election Sunday, beating the party of impeached president Rolandas Paksas and the ruling Social Democrats, exit polls showed.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Saturday struck North Korea from a terror blacklist after saying Pyongyang agreed to steps to verify its nuclear disarmament and pledged to resume disabling its atomic plants.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AFP) - Vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin denied wrongdoing Saturday after a probe found she had abused voters' trust as Alaska governor, in a new blow to John McCain's trailing White House campaign.

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) - A missile strike by a suspected US spy drone late Saturday killed four people in a Pakistani tribal area seen as a safe haven for Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants near the Afghan border.

HARARE (AFP) - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe handed key ministries to his own party on Saturday, prompting an outraged opposition to warn that he may have jeopardised a four-week old power-sharing agreement.

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Turkish authorities claimed to have foiled a probable suicide attack by a suspected Kurdish militant in Istanbul on Saturday as the military stepped up bombing raids on rebel hideouts in northern Iraq.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia indicated Saturday it would only participate in international talks on Georgia if representatives from the breakaway regions at the centre of the August hostilities were allowed to attend.

MOSCOW (AFP) - A strong earthquake centred in the restive Russian region of Chechnya killed at least 13 people, injured more than 100 others and caused widespread havoc on Saturday, officials said.

LA PAZ, Mexico (AFP) - Hurricane Norbert struck Mexico's northwest Pacific coast Saturday, ripping off roofs, knocking down trees and leaving more than 20,000 homes without electricity, local authorities said.

VIENNA (AFP) - Austrian far-right leader Joerg Haider, who sparked outrage with comments praising Nazi policies, died in a car crash Saturday, prompting shocked tributes and speculation about the country's political future.