AFP - Pakistan's ruling coalition split Monday after former premier Nawaz Sharif withdrew over differences on the restoration of judges sacked by ex-president Pervez Musharraf.

Reuters - Zimbabwe's main opposition party won the vote for parliament speaker on Monday, dealing a blow to President Robert Mugabe in a post-election power struggle.

AP - Tropical Storm Julio drenched the central section of Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Monday, but was expected to weaken to a tropical depression as it moved over the Gulf of California.

AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acknowledged Monday that a broad peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians is a long shot before President Bush leaves office, but she rejected the idea of a half-measure now.

AFP - Some 850,000 revellers packed the streets of west London over the weekend as masquerade floats entertained party-goers at the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's biggest street festival.

AP - Russia's parliament voted unanimously Monday to urge the president to recognize the independence of Georgia's two breakaway regions, stoking further tensions between Moscow and the small Caucasus nation's Western allies.

AP - Zimbabwe's main opposition party won the top job in parliament Monday, scoring a surprise victory that could give President Robert Mugabe's foes leverage in power-sharing talks.

AP - Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dug in his heels Monday on the future of the U.S. military in Iraq, insisting that all foreign soldiers leave the country by a specific date in 2011 and rejecting legal immunity for American troops.

AP - Iraqi police publicly questioned a teenage girl after she was allegedly caught wearing an explosives belt, parading her in front of reporters and pressing her to confess she was planning a suicide bombing.

AP - Pakistan's ruling coalition collapsed Monday, torn apart by internal bickering just a week after Pervez Musharraf's ouster and underscoring fears that the government would be distracted from its fight against Islamic extremists.

AFP - Australia's gay capital Sydney came under attack from a rebel city councillor on Monday over its plans to create 'homophobia-free zones' in the heart of its bar and nightclub precinct.

Reuters - Malaysia's opposition alliance, which backs Anwar Ibrahim in his bid to return to parliament, said on Monday that some of its supporters had been removed from voter lists ahead of a crucial by-election.

AP - Tropical Storm Julio drenched the resort-studded southern Baja California peninsula with heavy rains Sunday as authorities evacuated more than 2,500 families living along riverbeds near the coast.

AP - Tens of thousands of Baghdad football fans cheered on their club in the top league's final game, the largest sports crowd the city has seen since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.