Reuters - Missiles fired by U.S. drones killed 23 people, mostly relatives of a Taliban commander close to Osama bin Laden, in a region of Pakistan near the Afghan border on Monday, witnesses and intelligence officials said.

Reuters - South African President Thabo Mbeki met with Zimbabwe's rival parties on Monday, amid growing doubts over his chances of securing a power-sharing deal to end the political crisis.

AP - Al-Qaida marked the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks with an hour and a half video message Monday summarizing the state of jihad, or holy war, around the world and slamming Iran for collaborating with the United States.

AFP - Newcastle assistant manager Terry McDermott and reserve team coach Adam Sadler have both left the Premier League club following the departure last week of manager Kevin Keegan.

AP - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pledged Monday to withdraw Russian troops from key areas of Georgia after 200 European Union monitors are deployed later this month.

AP - The bodies of at least 10 children and many more adults covered in blankets and white shrouds appear in videos obtained by The Associated Press on Monday, lending weight to Afghan and U.N. allegations that a U.S.-led raid last month killed more civilians than the U.S. reported.

AP - Three men were convicted Monday of conspiracy to murder in a terrorist bombing campaign, but the jury could not reach a verdict on allegations they plotted to use liquid explosives to down trans-Atlantic airliners.

AP - Lt. Christopher Hanes knew something was wrong as soon as he stepped into the Friends bakery. The oven was unused, the water tank was empty and a large concrete bin was full of dirt that the two employees claimed was used to cool cakes.

AP - Deadly Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, blowing homes to rubble and sending waves crashing over apartment buildings. Some 900,000 Cubans evacuated, and forecasters said it could hit Louisiana or Texas this weekend.

AFP - US oil giant ConocoPhillips will pay up to 9.6 billion dollars (8.0 billion US dollars) for a half share of a coal seam gas (CSG) venture with Australia's Origin Energy in a deal that could thwart a hostile bid by Britain's BG Group.

Reuters - The frontrunner to become Japan's next leader will pledge tax cuts and bigger government spending to boost the economy, a newspaper said on Monday, a contrast with rivals worried about the country's huge debt.

Reuters - South African President Thabo Mbeki will meet Zimbabwe's rival parties in Harare on Monday in a new attempt to secure a power-sharing deal amid growing doubts over his chances of success.

AP - As of Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008, at least 4,155 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.