AP - Four U.S. service members were killed in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan, NATO forces said Monday.

AP - Philippine troops found 21 bodies in the country's restive south after dozens of gunmen on Monday hijacked a convoy of politicians and supporters filing their nominations for next year's elections, officials said.

AP - A Chinese dissident was sentenced Monday to three years in prison after criticizing the government's response to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that killed about 90,000 people.

AP - Rescuers plucked a woman from choppy waters Monday, some 25 hours after she jumped from a crowded ferry that sank in a storm off Indonesia's Sumatra island. At least 29 people drowned and 20 others were missing.

AP - A French amphibious assault ship like the one Russia hopes to buy arrived Monday in St. Petersburg, fueling concern in Georgia and other ex-Soviet nations that Russia is upgrading its navy to intimidate its neighbors.

Time.com - Talking with the Taliban

AP - Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is returning to London's Downing Street for good — in the form of a portrait installed at the country's official leader's residence.

AP - Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack, state TV reported, as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel.

AP - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is seeking a new source of legitimacy while making his first visit to Brazil, a nation that maintains close ties to the U.S., Israel and other countries trying to halt Iran's nuclear push.

AFP - Two Congolese militiamen accused of seeking to wipe out a village blocking a strategic route in an ethnic war, enter the dock in The Hague Tuesday for the International Criminal Court's second trial.

AP - An Australian man was in stable condition Monday after being slashed across the abdomen and face by a kangaroo that was holding his dog underwater.

Reuters - Canada's ruling Conservatives and the main opposition Liberals both lost ground in a poll published on Friday as the left-leaning New Democrats enjoyed a surprising surge in public support.

AP - A man who blames the Church of Scientology for his brother's suicide added his voice Monday to calls for an Australia Senate inquiry into the religion.

McClatchy Newspapers - More than 200 Afghanis waited in line for several hours, enduring a harsh, cool wind and blowing sand.

The Christian Science Monitor - A senior Kurdish leader on Friday moved to defuse the latest threat to Iraq's imperiled elections – a possible Kurdish boycott – saying ongoing discussions with Iraqi leaders and political party blocs were close to resolving their differences.

Time.com - Russia has pledged to clean up its police forces -- again -- after whistleblowers posted videos online complaining of corruption, low pay and poor working conditions

OneWorld.net - DEARBORN, Nov 20 (Arab Detroit / New America Media) - In the Facebook world, November 20th is a day of importance. It is the official "Hug an Arab Day," an event that has only been circulating the social website for the past two weeks, but has thus far managed to confirm 13,593 members.