AP - Syria's foreign minister has arrived in Lebanon on the first such visit by a senior Syrian official in more than three years.

AFP - Chelsea's billionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovich is set to obliterate the transfer world record with a 150 million euro (238 million dollar) bid for AC Milan's Kaka, according to Monday's Gazzetta dello Sport.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran on Monday of not being serious at weekend talks about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new sanctions.

AP - Half of Beijing's drivers left their cars at home and took public transportation instead on Monday, the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear this city's notoriously polluted skies before next month's Olympics.

AP - A last-minute plea deal could halt the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay on Monday, but military lawyers and observers say that appears extremely unlikely at this late stage.

AP - Barack Obama began Monday his first on-the-ground inspection of Iraq since launching his bid for the White House, with U.S. commanders ready to brief him on progress in a war he has long opposed and Iraqi leaders wanting more details of his proposals for troop withdrawals.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to beat back a "spiritual desert" spreading through the modern world as he closed Catholic World Youth Day in Australia.

AFP - KJ Choi was left heartbroken after his dream of becoming the first Asian to win a major was shattered by a final round 79 at the British Open.

AP - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown demanded Sunday that Israel cease settlement construction and promised more money to jump-start the battered Palestinian economy.

AFP - Lewis Hamilton delivered another massive endorsement of his great potential Sunday when he opened a clear lead in this year's drivers' championship by winning the German Grand Prix in thrilling style.

AP - Pope Benedict XVI ended his farthest pilgrimage Sunday, one intended to inspire a new generation of faithful while trying to overcome a dark chapter for his church from a clerical sex abuse scandal.

AP - U.S.-led troops and Afghan forces killed nine Afghan police Sunday, calling in airstrikes and fighting on the ground for four hours after both sides mistook the other for militants, Afghan officials said.