AP - Individual European governments issued a cascade of deposit guarantees to shore up their banks but fell short of any coordinated action Monday to deal with the crisis sweeping financial markets, even as stock markets crashed and the euro sank to its lowest level for over a year.

Reuters - European governments struggled on Monday to shelter banks and bank depositors from a global financial crisis that is eroding confidence, endangering the economy and challenging their ability to respond as one.

AFP - Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Monday that a key by-election in Scotland would be held November 6.

AP - A bad electrical connection likely caused the malfunction that sidelined the world's largest atom smasher days after it was launched with great fanfare, a senior scientist said Monday.

AFP - The government vowed Monday to do "whatever is needed" to keep its financial system stable, including the possibility of extending a guarantee on bank deposits, but resisted pressure for more unilateral action.

AP - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert came to Moscow on Monday aiming to focus on Russian arms sales to Israel's enemies at meetings Russia hopes will bolster its image as a Middle East peacemaker.

AFP - Brussels ground to a virtual standstill Monday with international train services halted and government offices closed as thousands of workers across Belgium protested against rising living costs.

Time.com - For all the rhetoric about a common front, Germany leads a new run of unilateral action to save institutions and reassure depositors

Reuters - A dropped 'h' landed English-speaking French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in trouble on Sunday after he was mistakenly quoted as saying Israel could gobble up Iran if it wanted to.

AP - The son of a former French president, an Israeli-Russian billionaire and a tycoon with ties to Arizona's jet set were among the headliners Monday as 42 defendants went on trial in Paris, accused in a worldwide web of trafficked arms to Angola, money laundering and kickbacks.

AP - Russia and Georgia could be suspended from Europe's top human rights body unless the two countries uphold their obligations to prevent abuses in the aftermath of their short but fierce war, the group's head said Monday.

AP - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic wants U.N. war crimes prosecutors to turn over any evidence they have about an alleged deal he cut to avoid prosecution, saying he wants to use it in a motion to have his indictment dismissed.

Russian forces stepped up preparations Monday to withdraw from bases and checkpoints surrounding two separatist regions in Georgia, four days before a deadline being closely watched by the West.

In this strongly patriarchal society where for centuries women had virtually no standing, sworn virgins enjoyed the same rights and respect as men.