AP - With Hurricane Gustav just a day away from a possible monster hit on New Orleans, the mayor Sunday pleaded with the last of its residents to get out, imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on those who stay and warned looters they will be sent directly to prison.

AFP - Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej turned to parliament Sunday to try and defuse protests that have blockaded his offices and briefly shut airports, but insisted he would stay in power.

AFP - Russia moved to ease tensions with the West ahead of an EU emergency summit on the Georgia conflict as Britain pushed Sunday for a "root and branch" review of the bloc's relations with Moscow.

Reuters - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will try to draw up a document of understandings with the Palestinians to present to Washington before his party names his successor next month, Israeli officials said on Sunday.

Reuters - More than 1,000 government supporters marched on Thailand's parliament on Sunday as lawmakers began a special debate on street protests threatening to topple Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Reuters - President George W. Bush's decision to mount a troop "surge" in Iraq last year was taken against the initial recommendations of his top advisers, including his field commander, The New York Times reported in Sunday editions.

Reuters - More than 150,000 Mexicans dressed in white marched on Saturday to protest a wave of kidnappings and gruesome murders, putting pressure on President Felipe Calderon to meet his promises to crack down on crime.

Reuters - White House hopeful John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin hit the campaign trail as a team on Saturday, seeking to build on the momentum of her surprise addition to the Republican ticket even as Hurricane Gustav threatened to overshadow next week's party convention.

Reuters - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin ordered the city's more than 239,000 residents to evacuate on Sunday in the face of powerful Hurricane Gustav, which he called "the mother of all storms."

AP - Bruce Springsteen ended his world tour over the weekend, toned down but revved up.

AP - A dust storm chased away some participants from the counterculture Burning Man festival before its traditional climax Saturday night on the northern Nevada desert, authorities said.

AP - Russian troops remaining in Georgian territory are effectively preventing Georgians from returning to their homes, a U.N. representative said Saturday.

AP - Royal Dutch Shell, BP and other oil companies wrapped up evacuations and shut down production Saturday as an intensifying Hurricane Gustav churned toward the petroleum-rich waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

AP - Hundreds of thousands of frustrated Mexicans, many carrying pictures of kidnapped loved ones, marched across the country Saturday to demand government action against a relentless tide of killings, abductions and shootouts.

AP - Rescue teams headed to China's southwestern Sichuan province after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake killed 22 people and injured hundreds, local authorities said Sunday.