AP - Russia's conflict with Georgia could punish the European Union where it is perhaps most vulnerable: Oil and gas supplies from beyond its eastern frontier.

AP - Mauritania's prime minister was released Monday as junta leaders bowed to international pressure after a coup that prompted the U.S. to cut off more than $20 million in aid.

AP - Jordan's King Abdullah II held talks Monday with Iraq's prime minister after coming to Baghdad on an unannounced visit, the first by an Arab head of state since the U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

AP - Georgia's president says Russia's troops have effectively cut the country in half by seizing a strategic city that straddles the country's main east-west highway.

AFP - Indian troops in Kashmir fired shots and unleashed teargas Monday to stop thousands of Muslims from marching to the Pakistani part of the divided region amid worsening tension, officials said.

AFP - Zimbabwe's political rivals are set to resume power-sharing talks on Monday after marathon negotiations the previous day ended with President Robert Mugabe "confident" a deal was within reach.

AP - Hurricane Hernan weakened to Category 1 strength in the eastern Pacific on Sunday as it lumbered over cooler waters far from land, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

AP - Iranian media are quoting the country's vice president as saying Iranians are "friends of all people in the world — even Israelis."

AFP - Police are continuing to investigate on Monday following the discovery of the bodies of two Chinese students in a flat in Newcastle.

AP - Voters vigorously endorsed President Evo Morales on Sunday in a recall referendum he devised to try to break a political stalemate and revive his leftist crusade, partial unofficial results showed.

AP - President Bush said Monday the Beijing Olympics exceeded his expectations, calling them a "very uplifting experience" that he won't forget.

AP - A series of clashes and an airstrike in southern Afghanistan killed 25 militants and eight civilians held hostage by insurgents, the U.S.-led coalition said in a statement Monday.

AP - President Bush, increasingly distracted by Russia's harsh military crackdown in Georgia, took in one final golden Olympic moment Monday then ended what was likely his last trip to Asia before he leaves the White House.

AP - Russia and Georgia clashed on land and at sea Sunday despite a Georgian cease-fire offer and claim of withdrawal from the separatist province of South Ossetia, officials from both countries said.