AP - A group of 11 European tourists and four Egyptians were kidnapped during an adventure safari to one of the remotest sites in Egypt deep in the Sahara desert and were taken across the border into neighboring Sudan, officials said Monday.

AP - A Russian navy squadron set off for Venezuela Monday, an official said, in a deployment of Russian military power to the Western Hemisphere unprecedented since the Cold War.

AP - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain raised doubts about the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout and demanded conditions that could snag its quick passage through the highly partisan Congress.

AP - Businesses were beginning to reopen, cell phone service was improving and power was coming back, but leaders warned that Galveston remains dangerous more than a week after Hurricane Ike's devastating assault.

AP - Oil prices spiked more than $25 a barrel Monday — the biggest one-day price jump ever — as anxiety over the government's $700 billion bailout plan battered the dollar and touched off frenzied buying of safe-haven investments including crude.

AP - Volatility swept through the financial markets Monday as investors awaited details of the government's plan to buy $700 billion in banks' mortgage debt and as oil shot higher. Stocks fell sharply, taking the Dow Jones industrials down about 220 points, while investors sought safety in hard assets, such as oil, which shot up by more than $20 a barrel.

AP - Judges could rewrite mortgages to lower bankrupt homeowners' monthly payments as part of congressional Democrats' proposal for a $700 billion financial system bailout.

AFP - Japan's ruling party on Monday picked brash conservative Taro Aso to be prime minister as it gears up for early elections, tasking him with steering Asia's largest economy away from recession.

AFP - China's tainted milk scandal spiralled into uncharted territory Monday as authorities said nearly 53,000 children had been sickened and more countries moved to ban or recall Chinese dairy imports.

Reuters - Israeli President Shimon Peres held talks on Sunday with parliamentary factions on the formation of a new coalition government after the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Reuters - Baseball said goodbye to Yankee Stadium on Sunday, ending 85 years at America's most storied sports venue with a celebration of its past and a postgame salute that players and fans didn't want to leave.

Reuters - European stocks halted a rally in world equities on Monday and the dollar fell as jittery investors awaited detail of Washington's $700 billion bailout to tackle the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Reuters - Japan's Nomura Holdings has reached a deal to buy the Asian operations of Lehman Brothers, a source said on Monday, outbidding other banks seeking to scoop up Lehman's Asia group on the cheap.

Reuters - Outspoken nationalist Taro Aso, an advocate of spending and tax cuts to boost the economy, won the race on Monday to become Japan's next prime minister and swiftly set his sights on an election expected within months.

Reuters - Pakistani troops fired on two U.S. helicopters that intruded into Pakistani territory on Sunday night, forcing them to turn back to Afghanistan, a senior Pakistani security official said on Monday.