Ciid wanaagsan &
Camal la aqbalay..

AP - Firefighters backed by water-dumping helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown.

AP - Republican John McCain vowed Sunday to "whip" Democratic rival Barack Obama's "you-know-what" when the two presidential candidates meet Wednesday in their final televised debate.

AP - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden on Sunday accused the McCain campaign of trying to distract Americans from their economic woes by launching "unbecoming personal attacks" at Barack Obama.

Reuters - Nations from Europe to Australia rushed out plans on Sunday to shore up their banks, trying to halt a markets crash with pledges to back lending, buy stakes in financial institutions and take other emergency steps.

Reuters - Israel's Kadima and Labour parties are close to a deal on a coalition government led by Tzipi Livni, a move that sets her on course to form a new centrist administration, Army Radio said on Sunday.

AP - Jason Elam made the most of his second chance, kicking a 48-yard field goal on the final play to give the Atlanta Falcons a stunning 22-20 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Reuters - The Federal Reserve on Sunday gave its stamp of approval to the takeover of Wachovia Corp by Wells Fargo & Co of San Francisco, which had battled New York-based Citigroup for ownership of the wounded bank.

AFP - European Union leaders hammered out a plan Sunday to confront the financial crisis which will involve hundreds of billions of dollars of new initiatives to head off a feared "meltdown".

AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

AP - The World Bank agreed Sunday to help developing countries strengthen their economies, bolster their financial systems and protect the poor against the financial turmoil in international markets.

AP - Suicide car bombers struck twice Sunday in the northern city of Mosul, killing at least six people and wounding dozens of others, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. A car bomb killed seven other people in Baghdad.

Reuters - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is considering rolling out a new comprehensive economic package to tackle the U.S. financial crisis, one of his closest supporters said on Sunday.

Reuters - Despite its best efforts to fortify its defenses, Morgan Stanley's fate hangs in the balance after the market's relentless assault last week.

AP - An adorable talking dog remained just the sort of escapist movie hero audiences wanted after a week of awful economic news. Disney's family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," with Drew Barrymore providing the voice of the pooch, was the No. 1 flick for the second-straight weekend with $17.5 million, raising its 10-day total to $52.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

AP - Texas rode its resounding Red River Rivalry upset right to No. 1. The Longhorns leapfrogged No. 2 Alabama on Sunday and sit atop The Associated Press Top 25 in the regular season for the first time in 24 years after beating Oklahoma 45-35.

Reuters - The United States needs a new economic stimulus plan that pumps billions of dollars into infrastructure projects and budget relief for cash-strapped state and local governments, Democratic lawmakers said on Sunday.

AP - North Korea said Sunday it will resume disabling its key nuclear complex after the U.S. dropped the country from a terrorism blacklist — a breakthrough expected to help energize stalled talks aimed at ending the country's atomic ambitions.

AFP - Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai threatened Sunday to pull out of a power-sharing deal with Robert Mugabe after the president handed key ministries to his own party.

Reuters - A global AIDS vaccine conference this week will seek fresh strategies against the HIV virus, with experts weighing the value of basic laboratory research against large-scale human clinical trials after a string of disappointments.

Reuters - President Dmitry Medvedev oversaw the test firing of an intercontinental Topol missile on Sunday and vowed to commission new generation weapons for Russia's armed forces.