Nigeria: Killings, violence come as election looms (AP)

AP - Violence targeting politicians and their aides appears to be increasing in northern Nigeria as next year's elections draw closer in Africa's most populous nation.

France to step up deportations of foreign thieves, beggars (AFP)

AFP - France said Monday it will step up deportations of foreigners caught stealing or begging aggressively as part of a high-profile crackdown on the Roma minority that has sparked condemnation around the world.

N.Korea leader nods to new generation in power (AFP)

AFP - North Korea's ailing leader Kim Jong-Il emphasised the "rising generation" during a visit to China that analysts said was part of an elaborate transition to his nation's second dynastic succession.

Walesa shuns Solidarity 30th anniversary sessions (AP)

AP - Solidarity founder Lech Walesa shunned several of the movement's 30th anniversary sessions Monday, saying he is tired and disillusioned with the Polish trade union's current state.

Iran state media call French first lady prostitute (AP)

AP - Iranian state media called France's first lady, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, a "prostitute" on Monday in an unusual attack on the wife of a world leader that shows deep anger over her support for an Iranian woman who faced death by stoning on an adultery conviction.

Indonesian volcano erupts after 400 years of quiet (AP)

AP - Tens of thousands of people packed emergency shelters Monday after a long-dormant volcano in western Indonesia spewed clouds of hot ash and smoke more than a mile (several kilometers) into the air — an eruption that caught scientists off-guard.

7 US troops die in bombings in violent south (AP)

AP - Roadside bombs killed seven American troopers on Monday — including five in a single blast in Kandahar — raising to more than a dozen the number who have died in the last three days.

Biden in Iraq to mark formal end to US combat (AP)

AP - Vice President Joe Biden returned to Iraq Monday to mark the formal end to U.S. combat operations and push the country's leaders to end a six-month stalemate blocking formation of a new government.

Hurricane Earl lashes Caribbean, threatens US (AP)

AP - Hurricane Earl lashed the northeastern Caribbean on Monday as a still-growing Category 3 storm, tearing roofs off buildings and cutting power to islanders on a course that could threaten the eastern United States this week.

Gunman kills 7, wounds 15 in Slovakia (AP)

AP - A gunman went on a rampage in Slovakia's capital on Monday, killing seven people and wounding 15, then committed suicide, officials said.

Iraqi Citizens Angry After U.S. Combat Troop Withdrawal (Time.com)

Time.com - Iraqi citizens are angry and incredulous that the U.S. has withdrawn its combat troops, with the belief that Iraq is ready to fend for itself

Alleged Cricket Fraud Leaves Pakistan Shocked, Outraged (Time.com)

Time.com - After weeks of enduring the misery wrought by unprecedented floods, the country has been hit by allegations that its national cricket heroes deliberately performed poorly in exchange for money

Food crisis looms after floods in Pakistan (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — The worst floods in Pakistan's history already have swept through the nation's most important breadbasket provinces, destroying cotton and corn crops, vegetables and orchards, and leaving many people in need of emergency food.

Attack on China whistleblower shows risk of unveiling corruption, fraud (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - A bungled attack on a whistleblower famous for his exposés of fraud and pseudoscience has drawn fresh attention to the vexed issues of academic dishonesty and popular gullibility in China.

Australia immigration prison riot hits second day (AFP)

AFP - More than 100 alleged people-smugglers from Indonesia launched a second day of protests at an Australian immigration prison Monday, defying police negotiators and remaining on the roof, officials said.

Outrage Grows Over Failure to Protect DRC Civilians (OneWorld.net)

OneWorld.net - UNITED NATIONS, Aug 28 (IPS) - As details emerged this week of the U.N.'s knowledge of rebel activity in the villages where nearly 200 women were systematically gang raped by armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) late last month, human rights groups are demanding an investigation into the U.N.'s failure to prevent the raid from occurring.