Top Stories - AFP

HEGANG (China) (AFP) - Relatives of victims angrily demanded answers Monday as hopes of finding more survivors after China's worst mining disaster in two years took a blow with the death toll rising to 104.

PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Lawyers for Khmer Rouge victims Monday accused the regime's jailer of duping Cambodia's war crimes court with "crocodile tears" as he faces final arguments over "Killing Fields" atrocities.

TANJUNG BALAI, Indonesia (AFP) - The captain of an Indonesian ferry which sank killing 29 people rejected claims of overcrowding Monday and blamed a freak storm for the disaster, as officials launched an investigation.

SYDNEY (AFP) - More than 100, and possibly hundreds, of Antarctic icebergs are floating towards New Zealand in a rare event which has prompted a shipping warning, officials said on Monday.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Spanish bank BBVA may boost its current stake in China Citic Bank with a 1.6 billion dollar investment, a report said Monday citing sources close to the matter.

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan plans to restrict Chinese stock investment in strategic sectors, as it seeks to keep control of its economy amid rapidly growing ties with the mainland, local media said Monday.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Ryan Lochte beat out superstar Michael Phelps and veteran Aaron Peirsol for male swimmer of the year Sunday at USA Swimming's Golden Goggles awards.

SEATTLE, Washington (AFP) - Real Salt Lake stunned David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy, winning the Major League Soccer title 5-4 on penalties after the MLS CUP championship match ended 1-1 after extra time.

MADRID (AFP) - Two women were slightly hurt when they were struck by bulls that escaped the set of a new film that stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, local police and officials said.

HEGANG, China (AFP) - The death toll from China's deadliest coal mine blast in two years has climbed to 104, local authorities said early Monday, according to state media.

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said on Sunday that Tehran wants a guaranteed supply of fuel for a research reactor as a military chief warned that any attack on its nuclear sites would be crushed.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli President Shimon Peres said on Sunday there has been "progress" in talks to free soldier Gilad Shalit, held captive by Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip for the past three years.

BUCHAREST (AFP) - Romania's incumbent president and his Social-Democrat rival will face a run-off after Sunday's first round election, exit polls showed, as the country aims to recover from a political crisis and a deep recession.

OSLO (AFP) - After wind, sun, currents and tides, a company is preparing to make clean electricity by harnessing another natural phenomenon, the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater.

MADRID (AFP) - With Spain facing its worst recession in decades, the government will approve this week a sweeping package of reforms aimed at changing the nation's economic growth model, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Sunday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has voiced confidence that the US economy will make a strong recovery and poured cold water on talk of dropping the dollar as the key global currency.

LONDON (AFP) - Jermain Defoe scored five goals as Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Wigan Athletic 9-1 at White Hart Lane here on Sunday, a record victory for the hosts in the top-flight.

BALTIMORE, Maryland (AFP) - Indianapolis eked out yet another narrow win on Sunday while New Orleans rolled past Tampa Bay as the Colts and Saints remained unbeaten in the National Football League.

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - French videogame powerhouse Ubisoft will have a virtual fitness coach whipping Wii users into shape starting Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Barack Obama's signature drive to remake US health care was on track to clear a key Senate hurdle Saturday, as the last wavering Democrats agreed to vote to formally open debate on the bill.

HALIFAX, Canada (AFP) - Despite fierce public pressure to end the war in Afghanistan eight years on, politicians and experts on Saturday decried calls for setting an exit date they say would embolden the Taliban.

COCKERMOUTH, England (AFP) - Britain's flood-hit northwest braced Saturday for more devastation after river levels rose again and forecasters warned of more rain following unprecedented torrential deluges.

PARIS (AFP) - Swine flu vaccines are still effective despite reported cases of mutations in the A(H1N1) virus, health experts in Europe and North America said Saturday.

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams sought to ease tensions between the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches at "cordial" talks at the Vatican on Saturday.

SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday strongly backed President Dmitry Medvedev's call for economic modernisation, moving to smother talk of differences between the two leaders.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Back from an Asia tour, President Barack Obama called Saturday for the United States to produce more goods to sell across the Pacific, touting trade as a way to revive the troubled US economy.

MADRID (AFP) - Barcelona dropped two costly points in a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to fall a point behind new leaders Real Madrid ahead of next Sunday's eagerly-anticipated 'El Clasico' at Camp Nou.

ROME (AFP) - Inter Milan got back to winning ways in Serie A on Saturday with a convincing 3-1 win over Bologna at the Dall'Ara stadium extending their lead at the top to eight points ahead of Sunday's games.