AP - Ailing Sen. Edward M. Kennedy prepared to rally Democrats with an appearance at the opening of the Democratic National Convention on Monday as Democrats struggled to present a unified front amid tensions left over from their bruising primary battle.

AFP - Israel on Monday started releasing 199 Palestinian prisoners in a goodwill gesture to president Mahmud Abbas as US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice headed to the region to give US-backed peace talks a push.

AFP - Russia's upper house of parliament on Monday voted in support of recognising the independence of two Georgian regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Reuters - A suicide bomber in an explosive vest killed 25 people at a dinner banquet in western Baghdad's Sunni Arab Abu Ghraib district on Sunday, police said.

Reuters - U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a liberal icon who is battling brain cancer, will likely deliver a speech at the Democratic convention this week, nearly three months after undergoing brain surgery, the Boston Globe reported on Sunday.

Reuters - Israel freed 198 Palestinian prisoners to a hero's welcome in the West Bank on Monday, saying it hoped the release would bolster Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his peace efforts.

Reuters - U.S. auto makers are expected to report big declines in August domestic sales despite stepped-up incentives, the Wall Street Journal said citing a report by J.D. Power & Associates.

Reuters - Sixty-five people, including members of a teenage basketball team, died on Sunday when a Kyrgyz airliner crashed in a ball of flames shortly after take-off from the Central Asian state's main airport.

Reuters - Russian lawmakers approved on Monday a resolution recognizing the independence of two rebel regions of Georgia, a move likely to worsen relations with the West already strained by Moscow's military intervention there.

Reuters - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama faces a challenge this week healing a party rift, confronting Republican rival John McCain more aggressively and fleshing out his rosy oratory with detailed policy.

AP - With help from British star power, China concluded its debut as Olympic host Sunday after 16 days of near-flawless logistics and superlative athletic achievement — coexisting awkwardly with the government's wariness of dissent and free speech.

AP - Environmentalists say flooding caused by a new border security fence in southwestern Arizona shows the structure is being built too quickly and without regard for the environment.

AP - Tropical Storm Fay may be gone but the rain remains.

AP - Militants used rockets and a bomb to attack the family home of a lawmaker in Pakistan's volatile northwest early Monday, killing eight people including the politician's brother, police said.