• Muslim minority riots erupt in China's west
  Protesters from a Muslim ethnic group clashed with police in China's far west Sunday, with activists saying police fired shots in the air and used batons to disperse a crowd that had swelled to nearly 1,000.

• Taiwan islands blossom as China tensions ebb
  On this front line of the standoff between China and Taiwan, Cold War tensions are being trumped by the Chinese crested tern.

• Church of England bishop says gays should 'repent'
  A senior Church of England bishop has angered gay-rights campaigners by saying homosexuals should repent.

• Russian pagans from ancient cult greet solstice
  Tambourine throbbing in hand, Velislav chants to gods whose cult has almost been obliterated by a millennium of Christianity in Russia.

• From Haiti, a surprise: good news about AIDS
  When Micheline Leon was diagnosed with HIV, her parents told her they would fit her for a coffin.

• Pakistan: Jets target N. Waziristan, up to 6 die
  Pakistani fighter jets targeted suspected Taliban hide-outs in a tribal region near Afghanistan on Sunday, killing as many as six people and raising the odds of a future military offensive there, intelligence officials said.

• Queen Noor pushes US, Russia for nuke cuts
  Jordan's Queen Noor, a founder of an international initiative to eliminate nuclear weapons, called on the presidents of the United States and Russia to advance the cause at their Monday summit by agreeing to significant cuts in their arsenals.

• Estonians sing to lift spirits amid slump
  More than 20,000 choir singers gathered Sunday to fill the air with positive vibes as Estonians took their minds off a crippling recession in a mass celebration of folk songs.

• Russian president: We want better Vatican ties
  Russia's president says Moscow plans to improve its ties with the Vatican.

• Spain: 3 arrested Basque suspects were armed
  Three suspected members of the Basque separatist group ETA who were captured in France were wanted for violent acts within Spain and had been on the run from police for months, the interior minister said Sunday.

• Israel's Barak seeks peace 'understanding' with US
  Israel's defense minister said Sunday he hopes to reach a "wider understanding" on regional peace when he meets Washington's Mideast envoy this week, but gave no indication the sides have resolved a dispute over settlement construction in the West Bank.

• Zimbabwe vows to pull troops out of diamond fields
  Zimbabwe has promised to withdraw its soldiers from diamond fields in the east, an official newspaper reported Sunday - a week after a rights group alleged the military was committing killings and abuses in the area.

• Iraqis skeptical about significance of US pullback
  Iraqis are skeptical that much will change after last week's pullback of U.S. combat troops from Baghdad and other cities, a sentiment not shared by their government.

• Somali fighting kills at least 12 in Mogadishu
  Heavy shelling between Somali rebels and government forces near the presidential palace killed at least 12 people on Sunday, witnesses said, and the prime minister looked for help from more African Union peacekeepers.

• Poll: Bulgaria's right-wing opposition wins vote
  Bulgaria's right-wing opposition party has won Sunday's parliamentary election by a wide margin over the corruption-tainted governing Socialist coalition, an exit poll reported.

• Obama backs Medvedev's judicial reforms
  President Barack Obama said strengthening human rights and the rule of law in Russia should be a part of the much-heralded "reset" in U.S.-Russian relations, according to an interview with an embattled Russian opposition newspaper.

• Iran: British-Greek reporter held for weeks freed
  Iran said Sunday it has released a British-Greek journalist held for more than two weeks following its disputed presidential elections as dissent continued in Iran with the son of a prominent Iranian revolutionary icon making a rare public push for President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's removal from office.

• French: Sub hears signal from Yemenia black boxes
  A submarine scouring the Indian Ocean on Sunday picked up the signal beacons of the two black boxes of a Yemenia Airways flight that crashed off the Comoros Islands, the French aviation agency said.

• Greek, Russian Orthodox leaders show unity
  The spiritual leaders of the Orthodox Christian churches in Istanbul and Russia led Sunday prayers together in a show of unity after years of jostling for influence.

• UK spy chief's family details posted on Facebook
  He's the spy who came in from the beach.

• First Asian elephant born in Australian zoo
  A 265-pound (120-kilogram), big-eared and long-nosed bundle of joy was welcomed in Australia as an important step in helping to save the endangered Asian elephant.

• SKorea says NKorean missiles can hit key targets
  The ballistic missiles that North Korea test-fired this weekend were likely capable of striking key government and military facilities in South Korea, a defense official said Sunday, amid growing concerns over Pyongyang's firepower.

• 2 British soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan
  A roadside bomb and a rocket-propelled grenade in southern Afghanistan killed two British soldiers, while gunmen in the east abducted 16 mine-clearing personnel working for the United Nations, officials said Sunday.

• Despite U.S. tactical shifts in Afghanistan, Taliban terror continues
  1st Lt. Chip Heidt, his wire spectacles sliding down his wet nose in the hot midday sun, was walking with a purpose amid a stretch of the 20-foot-high mud walls in this Afghan town opposite Pakistan's lawless Waziristan tribal area. Heidt, 25, a scion of the Scripps newspaper family in Cincinnati, was on a foot patrol to gather local intelligence.

• Report says NKorea's Kim convalescing by the sea
  North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been living at an east coast villa since mid-May and is likely convalescing after reportedly suffering a stroke last year, a newspaper said Sunday citing U.S. and South Korean intelligence.