AFP - British Prime Minister Tony Blair will make a major foreign policy address Monday in a rare appearance before a joint sitting of Australia's parliament, as he faces political controversy at home and lingering doubts about his future.

AP - Israel's election next week could have deep repercussions for Palestinians: One candidate for prime minister wants to start talks for a final peace deal, another advocates unilaterally setting Israel's borders and the third wants all peace efforts frozen until violence ends.

Tens of thousands march in Bangkok in a bid to get Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to quit.

AP - Thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took their message to shoppers in the heart of the capital Sunday, forcing at least one luxury mall to temporarily close its doors.

AFP - Indonesian anger at Australia's decision to grant asylum to refugees from Papua province will not damage an improvement in relations over recent years, Prime Minister John Howard has said.

Reuters - Israeli interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, sketching a post-election strategy, said on Sunday he would hold talks with the United States and other countries before any unilateral pullback in the West Bank.

Reuters - Thousands of anti-government protesters marched to Bangkok's busy shopping district on Sunday in a second day of demonstrations aimed at ousting Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Waving placards and shouting "Thaksin get out," people marched to the glitzy Siam Paragon Mall, snarling traffic on one of the city's busiest streets, on the second day of a three-day "final push" against the Thai leader.

AFP - Thousands of protesters have marched on Bangkok's ritzy shopping district following an overnight rally pressing for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to quit, one week ahead of trouble-plagued elections.

Reuters - Ukrainians began voting in parliamentary polls on Sunday, providing the first electoral test for President Viktor Yushchenko's liberal team that rose to power through the 2004 "Orange Revolution."

AP - About 200 people held a free-speech demonstration in central London on Saturday, with several carrying posters of the Danish caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that infuriated much of the Muslim world.

Mahmoud Abbas tells Hamas he is prepared to intervene to protect the interests of the Palestinian people.

AP - Worn down by a bloody five-year Palestinian uprising, Israelis look set for a seismic shift in Tuesday's election, discarding their polarizing dreams of either settling Jews in a Greater Israel of biblical dimensions or trading much of that land for peace with the Palestinians.

AP - Students on Saturday boycotted France's prime minister's invitation for talks about a contested jobs law making it easier to fire young workers, bringing a threatened nationwide strike a step closer.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife Cherie cheer on athletes in Australia in the first call of a three-country tour.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair is due to arrive in Australia in the first call of a three-country tour.

AP - Worn down by a bloody five-year Palestinian uprising, Israelis look set for a seismic shift in Tuesday's election, discarding their polarizing dreams of either settling Jews in a Greater Israel of biblical dimensions or trading much of that land for peace with the Palestinians.

AP - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas hinted on Saturday that he was prepared to bring down Hamas' incoming government if the group's anti-Israel policies hurt the Palestinian people.

AFP - French unions prepared a new round of strikes and demonstrations for next week to protest aginst Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's youth jobs plan, as the premier hinted at hopes for compromise.

Reuters - Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will visit Dublin within weeks to see what he can learn from the Irish peace process after the Basque separatist group ETA's ceasefire declaration.

Reuters - French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Saturday he wanted to find a solution via dialogue to the two main objections from student organizations to his planned new law for youth jobs.