AFP - Pope Benedict XVI was resting in Australia Monday as hundreds of thousands of Catholic pilgrims converged on Sydney for World Youth Day celebrations.

AFP - North Korea's killing of a Seoul tourist who strayed from her resort into a military zone came in for fresh South Korean criticism Monday as it emerged previous trespassers had merely been warned.

AFP - International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is expected on Monday to seek the arrest of Sudan President Omar al-Beshir, despite warnings the move could impact on the crisis in Darfur.

AP - Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2008 on Monday in a contest marked by the spectacle of Miss USA falling down during the evening gown competition for the second year in a row.

AFP - The chairman of the Royal Bank of Scotland signalled in an interview published Monday that the group would hold on to its stake in Bank of China for the long-term.

AP - In early June, about 300 fighters from jihadist groups came together for a secret gathering here, in the same city that serves as headquarters to the Pakistani army.

AP - The leaders of 43 nations from Europe, the Middle East and North Africa have launched a Union for the Mediterranean, a brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy that aims to improve cooperation in the region with practical projects that parallel efforts toward Mideast peace.

AP - Pilgrims cheered, sang and wept as a giant wooden cross serving as the symbol of a Roman Catholic youth festival that will be led by Pope Benedict XVI sailed into Sydney Harbor on Monday, the culmination of a yearlong journey through Australia.

AP - An International Criminal Court prosecutor is expected to seek an arrest warrant charging Sudan's president with genocide and crimes against humanity on Monday when he reveals details of his investigation into war crimes in Darfur.

AP - More than 100 militants firing machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars fought their way into a remote base built last week, killing nine American soldiers in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years.

AP - Glen Phillips kneels down, scoops up a handful of dirt and squashes it in his fist to test whether the soil in this dry patch of the Australian Outback is ready to take a crop of wheat.

AFP - Militant attacks killed 10 NATO soldiers and at least two dozen Afghans on Sunday, officials said, in one of the bloodiest days for international forces helping Afghanistan fight an Islamic insurgency.

AFP - Hundreds from captain Graeme Smith and fellow opener Neil McKenzie on Sunday gave South Africa hope of forcing what would be a remarkable draw against England in the first Test at Lord's.

AP - Bertha weakened into a tropical storm and stalled near Bermuda on Sunday, but forecasters say it might still deal a glancing blow to the Atlantic island.