AP - Signs are emerging that Iraq has reached a turning point. Violence is down, armed extremists are in disarray, government confidence is rising and sectarian communities are gearing up for a battle at the polls rather than slaughter in the streets.

AFP - A joint north-south Sudanese force tasked with preventing a repeat of fighting in the disputed Abyei region will deploy a day later than planned, its commander said on Monday.

AP - Michael Norton — who spent nearly two decades covering Haiti's coups, rebellions and disasters for The Associated Press — died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 66.

AP - Israeli strikes in southern Gaza killed three Palestinian gunmen Monday and injured three others, militants said.

AFP - Scots are almost twice as likely to kill or commit suicide as people in England and Wales, researchers said Monday, blaming the higher death rates on alcohol and drug abuse.

AP - Israel's persistent building of Jewish homes on disputed land undermines the U.S.-backed attempt to write an Israeli-Palestinian peace draft this year and invites questions about Israel's motives, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.

AP - Followers of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr will run candidates on other party tickets in upcoming Iraqi provincial elections, a top aide said Sunday, in an apparent bid to sidestep what they believe is a government campaign against their movement.

AP - Massive flooding across a broad stretch of southern China killed almost 60 people and forced 1.3 million others from their homes, state media reported Monday.

AP - Hundreds of Afghans gathered in eastern Afghanistan Monday in support of President Hamid Karzai's threat to send troops after Taliban militants inside Pakistan, officials said.

AFP - Everton defender Joseph Yobo grabbed the winner as Nigeria triumphed 1-0 in Equatorial Guinea Sunday to maintain a perfect record in the 2010 World Cup-African Nations Cup qualifiers.

AP - A cousin and top deputy of Saddam Hussein on Sunday denied opening fire on Iraqi civilians during a Shiite uprising in 1991 but acknowledged executing an Iranian national accused of sabotage.