Iraqi President Jalal Talabani arrived in Tehran on Monday amid increasing calls for Washington to enlist Iran's help in calming the escalating violence in neighboring Iraq.
A mortar attack ignited a huge fire Monday night at an oil facility in northern Iraq, shutting down the flow of crude oil to a major refinery, and a U.S. Air Force jet with one pilot aboard crashed in Anbar province, a hotbed of the Sunni-Arab insurgency, officials said.
Britain said it expects to withdraw thousands of military personnel from Iraq by the end of next year, and Poland and Italy announced the impending withdrawal of their remaining troops.
President Bush will press for an increase in defense spending at a NATO summit this week. Aides say many U.S. allies are ill-equipped for modern military operations.
Turkey's Prime Minister will meet Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday, a change of plans that appears to signal openness to a visit that has angered many Turks. Authorities said security measures for the pope will be tighter than they were for President Bush's visit in 2004.
Robert Gates will likely assume his Pentagon post before year's end if he is confirmed by the Senate as expected. Gates, who will replace Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary, could face a Senate vote by Dec. 12 or 13.
Myanmar has ordered the Red Cross to close five key field offices in the country, also known as Burma. Closing the offices would make it "impossible for the organization to carry out most of its assistance and protection work," the Red Cross said.
A fire gutted a group home for the mentally ill in southwest Missouri early Monday, killing 10 people and injuring 25, authorities said. The dead ranged in age from early 20s to the elderly, Highway Patrol spokesman Kent Casey said.
Sen. Barack Obama acknowledged Sunday he was considering a run for president in 2008, backing off previous statements that he would not do so.
The Sudanese government Sunday ordered the chief U.N. envoy out of the country after he wrote that Sudan's army had suffered major losses in recent fighting in Darfur.
The Israeli army dropped phosphorous bombs on Hezbollah guerrilla targets during their war in Lebanon this summer, an Israeli Cabinet minister said Sunday.
Workers recovered more human remains Saturday from several manholes near ground zero as New York City began a new search for Sept. 11 victims.
A referendum to expand the Panama Canal appeared headed for easy approval Sunday, with most endorsing the largest modernization project in the canal's 92-year history.
A Malawaian man who gave up his 13-month-old son to be adopted by Madonna expressed doubts about the adoption, saying he had not realized he was signing away custody "for good."
Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Spencer of New York said Sunday that his rival Hillary Clinton would make a "tremendous" 2008 presidential candidate if she chose to run.
