AFP - At least 17 people were killed and 45 wounded when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into a police station in northwest Pakistan on Monday, destroying the building, police said.

AFP - At least 10 African heads of state and tens of thousands of Rwandans gathered Monday for the swearing in of Paul Kagame, who won a landslide victory in last month's presidential elections.

AFP - British Airways and Iberia have identified 12 airlines as potential takeover targets once their own tie-up is finalised, as they bid to create the world's biggest carrier, newspapers reported on Monday.

AP - A Taliban suicide bomber detonated a car in an alley behind a police station in a strategically important town in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 17 police and civilians in an explosion that shattered the station and neighboring homes.

AP - Hundreds of Afghans railed against the United States and called for President Barack Obama's death at a rally in the capital Monday to denounce an American church's plans to burn the Islamic holy book on 9/11.

AP - Israel's hard-line foreign minister said Sunday that his party will try to block any extension of Israel's settlement slowdown, a move that could derail the recently launched Mideast peace negotiations.

AP - Edward Nino Hernandez is in many ways a typical 24-year-old Colombian male. He loves to dance reggaeton, dreams of owning a car — preferably a Mercedes_ and wants to see the world.

Reuters - Australia's top investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd warned investors it would miss profit forecasts after weak markets took a toll on its trading and advisory business, sending its shares to a 15-month low.

AP - Group of 20 leaders should use their November summit to make a serious push for the conclusion of stalled global trade negotiations, the head of the WTO said Monday.

Reuters - Australian Labor Prime Minister Julia Gillard will know on Tuesday if she can form a new minority government with the support of three independents, ending more than two weeks of uncertainty after the August 21 elections.

Reuters - Encouraging news about the U.S. employment picture continued to spill over onto financial markets on Monday, lifting world stocks on hopes that a slip back into recession could be avoided.

AP - Only one of Nidal Haidar's six sisters is married. She has given up on ever getting hitched.

Reuters - President Barack Obama launches several economic initiatives this week aimed at generating some desperately needed U.S. job growth and limiting predicted Democratic losses in November 2 congressional elections.

AP - A third man survived last month's massacre of 72 migrants by suspected drug traffickers in Mexico and is now in the United States, Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes said Sunday.

Reuters - The U.S. economy appears to be trudging along, neither booming nor busting, growing steadily enough to diminish double-dip recession fears but not quickly enough to bring down unemployment.

AP - Investigators looking into what went wrong in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are a step closer to answers now that a key piece of evidence is secure aboard a ship.

Reuters - The U.S. government is likely to take a loss on General Motors Co in the first offering of the automaker's stock, six people familiar with preparations for the landmark IPO said.

Reuters - The world economy is recovering moderately but still faces challenges such as the need for medium-term fiscal consolidation, the IMF's First Managing Director, John Lipsky, said on Sunday.

AP - A strong economy needs bustling Main Streets and a thriving middle class, not just a healthy stock market, President Barack Obama said in paying tribute to the American worker.

AFP - Brazil's Petrobras unveiled one of the world's biggest share offerings Friday, a sale of up to 64 billion dollars in new stock to finance oil exploration aimed at turning Brazil into a leading oil exporter of the 21st century.

AP - Summer is rarely a hot sales season for Campbell Soup Co., and this year's sweltering June and July made that even more true, but the company said Friday that cost-cutting and strong drink sales helped its net income climb.

Reuters - U.S. regulators probing the May flash crash are focusing on a trading practice known as "quote stuffing", in which large numbers of rapid-fire orders to buy or sell stocks are placed and canceled almost immediately.