JERUSALEM -- Israeli and Egyptian officials Monday had talks aimed at producing a cease-fire between the Jewish state and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip.Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met for 40 minutes in Tel Aviv with Egypt's chief intelligence officer who presented Cairo's proposal, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.Barak told Egypt's Omar Suleiman that the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured in June 2006, must be included in the truce.He also said Israel ... [full story]

BEIJING -- Local Chinese officials said up to 5,000 people died and another 10,000 were injured Monday in a powerful earthquake in the southwestern part of the country."This is a very dangerous earthquake," Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, told CNN.Provincial disaster relief officials said local officials were the sole source of the death toll estimates, and put the figure at between 3,000 and 5,000 in Beichuan County in Sichuan province, Xinhua, ... [full story]

VIENNA -- At least 40 countries expressed interest in starting nuclear power programs, prompting experts to voice concern about possible nuclear weapons proliferation.U.S. and international officials said about half of the countries indicated they planned to enrich or reprocess nuclear fuel, leading to possible expansion of the worldwide supply of plutonium and enriched uranium, The Washington Post reported Monday.Rising fuel cost is driving some of the decisions, experts said. But in oil-rich Middle East, interest ... [full story]

EDMONTON, Alberta -- An off-duty Canadian police officer in Edmonton, Alberta, faces multiple charges, including drunken driving, after a fiery weekend car crash.City police said a BMW with four people inside hit a Ford F-150 pickup truck broadside at an intersection with enough force to roll the truck, the Edmonton Sun reported Monday.There were also four people in the truck in the 2:15 a.m. Sunday crash, three of whom escaped when it caught fire. The ... [full story]

YANGON, Myanmar -- The first U.S. military plane carrying relief supplies to cyclone-devastated Myanmar arrived in the Asian country Monday, officials said.The plane was loaded with 28,000 pounds of supplies including water, mosquito netting and blankets."One flight is much better than no flights," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. "And we're going to keep on working to provide as much assistance as possible."U.S. disaster teams, however, still haven't been issued visas, Johndroe said.International relief agencies ... [full story]

TORONTO -- A woman was recovering in a Toronto hospital Monday, a day after slipping in front of an oncoming subway train and only being grazed.Theresa Kelly, 46, suffered a gash on her head, several broken ribs and a hip injury, her husband, Randy Isenberg, who was with her, told the Toronto Star.Isenberg, 48, said he thought for sure his wife was dead because all he saw was blood and that she was covered with ... [full story]

BAGHDAD -- Deadly skirmishes were reported in Baghdad's Sadr City despite word of a cease-fire between the Iraqi government and followers of Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.Three people were killed separate incidents as violence flared Sunday night into Monday morning, CNN reported.U.S. troops were fired upon and in the ensuing fight killed one person, officials said. Later, military officials said a "criminal" attacked U.S. soldiers with a rocket-propelled grenade and was shot and killed. In a ... [full story]

ALBANY, Australia -- An Australian swimmer says he survived a weekend shark attack by poking the beast in the eye after it dragged him underwater.Authorities said the 13-foot white pointer that chomped on Jason Cull's leg Saturday was probably drawn to the Middleton beach area near Albany by a sick dolphin, The Australian reported. It was one of three sharks seen circling the area.The 37-year-old man was swimming about 250 feet offshore when the shark ... [full story]

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- Police in Nepal arrested more than 500 people Sunday protesting Chinese policy in Tibet outside the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu.Tibetans began demonstrations in March. Scores of Buddhist nuns joined Sunday's demonstration, which was almost entirely women, Nepal News said.Usually, those detained during protests are released within a few hours.The coming Olympics in Beijing are being proceeded by massive protests around the world. In some cities, demonstrators have been trying to keep the ... [full story]

BELGRADE, Serbia -- The party of pro-western Serbian President Boris Tjadic was the top vote-getter in Sunday's parliamentary elections, a monitoring group said.The group, a coalition led by Tjadic's Democratic Party, had 39 percent of the vote, The New York Times reported. Under Serbian law, Tjadic now has 90 days to form a government and will lose that right to the far-right nationalist Radical Party if he fails.Tjadic said he expects to form a government ... [full story]

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will meet the Dalai Lama at Lambeth Palace instead of 10 Downing Street, a spokesman for Brown said. By talking to the Dalai Lama at the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London instead of receiving him at his own official residence, Brown will be meeting with him as a "spiritual representative," the spokesman said. The Dalai Lama is a sensitive issue for western leaders. German Chancellor ... [full story]

LONDON -- The mother of a London teenager who bled to death in a bakery after his throat was cut with a piece of glass said Sunday he probably knew his killer.Jimmy Mizen, who celebrated his 16th birthday Friday, was remembered during mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, where he was baptized and served as an altar boy, The Guardian reported."I have never seen a parish so numb," the Rev. Edward Perera said. "After mass, ... [full story]

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Fighting broke out Sunday east of Beirut between supporters of the Lebanese government and followers of the militant group Hezbollah, officials say.The fighting in the Shouf and Aley districts in the mountains overlooking Beirut followed clashes in the northern city of Tripoli that left at least two people dead and five wounded, The New York Times reported.In Beirut, where there had been heavy fighting between Sunnis and Shiites since Wednesday, there was ... [full story]