AP - Paul Krugman, the Princeton University scholar, New York Times columnist and unabashed liberal, won the Nobel prize in economics Monday for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect international trade patterns.

AP - North Korea on Monday lifted its ban on U.N. inspections of the plutonium-producing plant it used to set up an atomic test blast and announced it will resume deactivating a linked facility within days, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.

AP - Canada's Conservative prime minister and his Liberal rival planned to crisscross the country Monday in a final day of campaigning, with voters concerned the ruling party is out of touch but also that the opposition's leader has trouble communicating in English.

AP - The family of a baby whose death has been blamed on toxic milk filed suit against one of China's largest dairies Monday, while another dairy ensnared in the scandal said it was a victim of unscrupulous subcontractors.

AP - The first photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il released in two months show him in a setting very similar to photographs from August.

AFP - Prime Minister Gordon Brown's plan to extend the length of time suspected violent extremists can be held without charge suffered a heavy blow Monday when the House of Lords voted against it.

AP - Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami is hosting a high-profile conference uniting former U.N. chief Kofi Annan and other dignitaries this week — a rare visit seen as a reformist effort to position him for a comeback ahead of crucial elections.

AP - The gate at the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey was pockmarked with bullet holes Monday, a day after assailants shot at the building and threw a grenade that failed to explode. No one was injured.

AFP - Africa has only one neurosurgeon for every 1.2 million people, a challenge topping the agenda at an international neurosurgery conference held in South Africa, organisers said Monday.

AFP - Australia is considering declaring Sri Lanka's separatist Tamil Tigers a terrorist group, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Monday, while also calling for a political solution to the island's civil war.