Aussie PM says she will lead government to victory (AP)

AP - Embattled Prime Minister Julia Gillard insists she will lead her unpopular government to victory at elections next year despite persistent media reports that Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd is plotting to overthrow her in an internal power struggle.

Anger after Russia, China block U.N. action on Syria (Reuters)

Reuters - Western and Arab states voiced outrage Sunday after Russia and China vetoed a U.N. resolution that would have backed an Arab plan urging Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to give up power, and Washington vowed harsher sanctions against Damascus.

Glencore offers 8 percent premium to Xstrata to seal merger: FT (Reuters)

Reuters - Shareholders in global miner Xstrata Plc are set to receive 2.8 shares in commodities trader Glencore International for each share held as the two firms try to seal an $88 billion deal, the Financial Times reported on Monday.

France, German leaders meet amid euro, Syria crises (Reuters)

Reuters - The French and German leaders meet on Monday in Paris for annual talks in which they will seek further economic coordination in the crisis-hit European Union and discuss the escalating violence in Syria.

Panama police, indigenous clash over blockade (AP)

AP - Police fired tear gas Sunday to clear blockades of the Pan-American highway by indigenous groups protesting changes to the mining law. One person was killed and 39 injured in the resulting clashes.

Ex-Panama strongman Noriega hospitalized, stable (Reuters)

Reuters - Manuel Noriega, Panama's drug-running military dictator of the 1980s, was taken from prison to a public hospital on Sunday after suffering a possible stroke, but a top health official said he was stable.

Obama says risky to attack Iran, wants diplomatic fix (Reuters)

Reuters - President Barack Obama said on Sunday there were important risks to consider before any military strike against Iran and made clear he does not want to see more conflict in the oil-producing Gulf region.

CommVault says will go it alone, despite M&A buzz (Reuters)

Reuters - CommVault Systems Inc has managed to skirt rampant consolidation in the fast-growing storage software market, and CEO Bob Hammer is planning to keep it that way.

Greek parties face Monday EU bailout deadline (Reuters)

Reuters - Greece's coalition parties must tell the European Union on Monday whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal as EU patience wears thin with political dithering in Athens over implementing reforms.

Abbas proposed as PM in interim unity government (AP)

AP - Hamas on Sunday endorsed a proposal by Qatar that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas assume the role of prime minister in an interim Palestinian unity government that would prepare for general elections in the West Bank and Gaza, according to two officials close to the contacts.

Deep-sea filmmakers killed in Australia helicopter crash (Reuters)

Reuters - Two award-winning filmmakers working on a documentary with renowned Hollywood director James Cameron were killed in a helicopter crash in Australia on Saturday, according to National Geographic.

GM, Ford feud over Super Bowl ad (Reuters)

Reuters - A simmering feud between General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co heated up on Sunday as Ford objected to GM's Super Bowl advertisement for its Chevy Silverado pickup truck.

Concession fails to quell violent Egypt clashes (Reuters)

Reuters - Egypt's army-backed government said it was preparing to move ousted President Hosni Mubarak to a Cairo prison hospital in an apparent bid to calm protests, but clashes continued with police firing tear gas at demonstrators hurling rocks and broken tiles.

Olympus ex-CEO Woodford sees more revelations (Reuters)

Reuters - Official investigations into a massive fraud at Japan's Olympus Corp are highly likely to lead to further revelations on the scandal soon, according to the firm's former chief executive, Michael Woodford, who blew the whistle on the affair.

Europe's cold snap claims more victims, travel hit (Reuters)

Reuters - Bitterly cold weather sweeping across Europe claimed more victims Sunday, brought widespread disruption to transport services, and left thousands without power with warnings that low temperatures would continue into next week.

Pro-EU Niinisto wins Finnish presidency (Reuters)

Reuters - Pro-Europe politician Sauli Niinisto won Finland's presidency on Sunday in an election that showed voters want to keep the country in the euro zone despite misgivings over European Union bailouts.

NGO worker cases sent to Egypt court in funding row (Reuters)

Reuters - The cases of 40 foreign and Egyptian activists, including 19 Americans subject to travel bans over their work for pro-democracy and other groups, have been referred to court, judicial sources said Sunday, deepening a row with the United States.

Sierra Club Received Millions from Natural Gas Industry (ContributorNetwork)

ContributorNetwork - According to a blog post from Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, the environmentalist organization accepted millions of donated dollars from the natural gas industry to fight against coal-fired plants nationwide. Here are the details.

Canadian Muslims issue fatwa against "honor killing" (Reuters)

Reuters - A group of Canada's leading Muslim clerics has issued a fatwa against so-called "honor killings," just a week after three members of an Afghan Canadian family were convicted of a gruesome quadruple murder that triggered a national debate about cultural values.

Greek crisis talks for debt deal pushed to Monday (AP)

AP - Crisis talks on a debt deal for Greece among the three leaders of parties supporting the coalition government were suspended and will continue Monday.

With sparse data, focus returns to Europe (Reuters)

Reuters - Europe will again be at the center of investors' focus this week as the U.S. earnings season passes the halfway mark and there is little on the economic calendar to give the market direction.

Massacre in Syria: Reports of Hundreds Killed in Homs, While Diplomats Fiddle at the U.N. (Time.com)

Time.com - Friday night, Syrian security forces carried out what the opposition Syrian National Council called a "horrific massacre" targeting Homs in one of the worst in the 11-month uprising.

Egyptian Protesters Confront Police After Soccer Riots (Time.com)

Time.com - Four more die in a day of violent clashes, as anger over alleged police complicity in a stadium tragedy unleashes pent-up frustrations

Palestinians call for PM's fall over taxes (AP)

AP - Hundreds of Palestinian protesters have called for their prime minister's resignation over recent tax and price increases.

Romney focuses on Obama, Gingrich on Romney in NV (AP)

AP - A confident Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of failing to do enough to create jobs as he campaigned Friday ahead of GOP presidential caucuses this weekend in a state with sky-high unemployment and foreclosure rates. Newt Gingrich, who is fighting for a respectable showing here, rolled out a fresh line of criticism by comparing the former Massachusetts governor to Obama.

New York sues banks over electronic mortgage system (Reuters)

Reuters - New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman on Friday sued three major U.S. banks, accusing them of fraud for using an electronic mortgage database that resulted in deceptive and illegal practices.

Jobless rate at 3-year low as payrolls surge (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months in January and the unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to a near three-year low, giving a boost to President Barack Obama.

Facebook on collision course with new EU privacy laws (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - With its initial public offering this week, Facebook is roaring ahead. However, new European Union privacy regulations are taking aim at Internet companies' ability to profit through control of personal information â the key to their tremendous online advertising profits.

A banker's punishment: Sir Fred Goodwin is now just Fred (The Christian Science Monitor)

The Christian Science Monitor - In the good times he was the doyen of British banking. Wealthy and courted by decision makers and knighted by Queen Elizabeth for services to his industry, Sir Fred Goodwin, head of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), seemed invincible.

Aon Q4 profit rises, but margin pressures persist (Reuters)

Reuters - Aon Corp posted a higher quarterly profit that narrowly beat market estimates, but the world's largest insurance broker continued to face margin pressures in its Aon Hewitt segment for the second-straight quarter.

Markets rally after forecast-busting US jobs data (AP)

AP - Stocks spiked sharply higher on Friday after forecast-busting U.S. jobs figures reinforced hopes that the recovery in the world's largest economy is gathering pace at a time when other regions, notably Europe, may be heading back into recession.

Euro zone sales tumble at Christmas, no sign of growth (Reuters)

Reuters - Retail sales in the euro zone tumbled unexpectedly in December, the biggest drop in the Christmas period in three years, data showed on Friday, with rising joblessness and stubborn inflation undercut signs of a stabilization in Europe's economy.