The chief United Nations weapons inspector, Hans Blix, said that Iraq had failed to fully cooperate with U.N. mandated inspections of its weapons programs. In a separate report, the head of the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency said that he had found no evidence that Iraq was attempting to develop nuclear weapons, and asked for more time to complete his inspections. (NYT, WaPost) In response, world leaders reiterated the same positions they had taken last week. (BBC)

At the request of both North and South Korea, the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency postponed indefinitely a meeting to discuss North Korea's nuclear program. Korean diplomats are meeting in North Korea this week. (Canada.com/AP)

The Iranian government said it had lifted the house arrest of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, a popular cleric who has been critical of Iran's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Montazeri, 81, is reported to be in failing health, and other Iranian leaders had appealed that he be freed. (Guardian/AP)

China executed a Tibetan activist after a closed trial. Lobsang Dhondup, 28, was convicted of involvement in bombings that took place in southwest China between 1998 and 2002. China said the trial was closed to protect state secrets. (BBC)

The pilot of a U.S. spy plane that crashed near Seoul yesterday apologized for the incident. The crash badly damaged a car repair shop and caused minor injuries to three people on the ground. South Koreans had accused the U.S. military of not responding appropriately last year when two Korean schoolgirls were killed in an accident. (Reuters)

In a brief television address, Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo asked his supporters to end their violent demonstrations against the peace deal brokered in France last week. Gbagbo's backers object to the power the agreement concedes to three rebel groups and have been protesting since it was announced on Saturday. (BBC) The peace deal ended four months of civil war. (WaPost, BBC)

The Washington Post reported that an economic crisis may have prompted North Korea to threaten to reactivate its nuclear weapons program in hopes of winning concessions from the international community. North Korea is suffering from high inflation and shortages of food and goods, six months after attempting to reform its economy. (WaPost)

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday told world leaders that the U.S. was prepared to act against Iraq with or without international support. The U.S. has said it is concerned that U.N. weapons inspections will not be sufficient to disarm Saddam Hussein. (NYT, WaPost)

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) accused President Bush of saying things that weren't true and said that Bush's economic policies were no good. (UPI) Daschle also demanded that Bush present his evidence that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. (CBS News)

The pilot of a U.S. spy plane that crashed near Seoul yesterday apologized for the incident. The crash badly damaged a car repair shop and caused minor injuries to three people on the ground. South Koreans had accused the U.S. military of not responding appropriately last year when two Korean schoolgirls were killed in an accident. (Reuters)

The New York Times reported that the U.S. is developing a computerized monitoring system to analyze health data in eight major U.S. cities for patterns that may indicate disease outbreaks and possible bioterror attacks. Early detection of an outbreak could save great numbers of lives, depending on the nature of the outbreak. The health monitoring system will be run by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and will be designed not to track individual patients, sources said. (NYT)

The Los Angeles Times reported that analysts believe the $2 billion to $3 billion the Bush administration may allocate to domestic security is too little to adequately protect the U.S. from terrorist attacks. (LAT)

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Sunday told world leaders that the U.S. was prepared to act against Iraq with or without international support. The U.S. has said it is concerned that U.N. weapons inspections will not be sufficient to disarm Saddam Hussein. (NYT, WaPost)

Stock markets dropped world wide. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index closed down 1.4 percent. European markets fell to near six-year lows, and Britain's FTSE 100 ended at its lowest point since 1995. In the U.S., the Dow dropped 1.74 percent, to 7,989.56; the Nasdaq lost 1.26 percent and closed at 1,325.27, and the S&P 500 closed at 847.48, down 1.62 percent. The price of gold hit its highest point in six years. (Reuters, FT, Reuters)

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Mattel Inc.'s appeal of a U.S. Circuit Court finding that the 1997 pop song "Barbie Girl" did not violate Mattel's Barbie trademark. Mattel brings in some $1.5 billion each year from Barbie products. (Newsday/AP)