AFP - First ladies from seven west African countries gather here Monday for a conference on ways to end female circumcision, a widespread practise in the region despite efforts to end it.

AP - As of Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008, at least 4,181 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

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 - Five years ago, retired Air Force intelligence officer Kirk von Ackermann became the first of 39 Americans to be kidnapped in Iraq. He's still missing, his wife fearing she'll never see him again.

E! Online - She's feeling good now, but Samantha Who? star Christina Applegate reveals on today's Ellen DeGeneres Show that "for about five weeks" after her breast cancer surgery, she kept relatively mum at work.

Reuters - Top executives at American International Group Inc knew of potential problems in valuing derivatives contracts, known as credit default swaps, long before questions about the risky transactions caused its stock to plummet, the Wall Street Journal said, citing documents released by congressional investigators.

AP - An inflatable gorilla beckoned from the roof of Don Brown Chevrolet in St. Louis, servers doled out free bowls of pasta and a salesman urged potential customers to "come on up under the canopy and put your hands on" a new set of wheels.

Reuters - Ignacio Alvarado, 40, is a freelance investigative reporter and Reuters contributor in the northern Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez where he was born and now lives with his wife and two children. He has been a journalist for 20 years -- seven in Mexico City, the rest in Ciudad Juarez.

AP - A month later, piles of Sheetrock, appliances, furniture and family mementos dot most streets in this island town. Electronic road signs in southeast Texas flash, "Watch for cows next 20 miles," a reminder that few fences remain to hem in livestock. Blue tarps cover 11,000 roofs for 100 miles from Houston to the Louisiana line.

Reuters - Three Chinese dairy companies have publicly apologized for their involvement in a toxic milk scandal that has killed at least four children and led to Chinese-made products pulled from shelves around the world.

AFP - Hillary and Bill Clinton launched a campaign blitz of the blue-collar heartland that will decide the White House race, beseeching their supporters to make Barack Obama president.

AFP - British troops are no longer necessary for the security of Iraq and should go home, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said in a newspaper interview published here Monday.

Reuters - Researchers trying to find ways to transform ordinary skin cells into powerful stem cells said on Sunday they found a shortcut by "sprinkling" a chemical onto the cells.

Reuters - The global economy is drawing closer to a dangerous downward spiral and time may be running out for world leaders to find a way to stop it before it inflicts lasting damage.

Reuters - A leading Iranian reformist said on Sunday he would run in next year's presidential election, challenging conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is widely expected to seek a second four-year term.