Reuters - Supporters of deposed South African President Thabo Mbeki may split from the ruling African National Congress and contest elections as a breakaway party in 2009, South Africa's Sunday Times said.

AP - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama undergoes three days of preparation this week for a crucial foreign policy clash with John McCain in the first debate of the general election campaign.

Reuters - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that the Bush administration's $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street lacks "necessary safeguards" in several areas.

AP - Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, in the midst of a tough re-election fight back at home, begins another fight with legal and political implications as his trial on corruption charges begins only steps from the U.S. Capitol.

AP - President Bush and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe renewed their push on Saturday for Congress to approve a free-trade deal before lawmakers leave town to campaign for re-election.

Reuters - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday that Democrats want to deal swiftly with the Bush administration's $700 billion financial market rescue plan, but also want more oversight, taxpayer protections and regulatory reform.

AP - Experts at an early August international AIDS conference in Mexico City were full of praise for the United States for having reversed a 15-year-old law banning HIV-positive people from entering the country.

AP - President Bush and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe renewed their push on Saturday for Congress to approve a free-trade deal before lawmakers leave town to campaign for re-election.

AFP - Two members of the US House of Representatives introduced a measure Friday calling on the International Olympic Committee to strip Russia of the 2014 Winter Olympics and designate a new host city.

AFP - Democratic leaders in Congress Friday pledged quick action on a massive finance sector bailout, but set the stage for November's elections by also demanding help for struggling American workers.