World

Under intense pressure from the international community, Liberian President Charles Taylor is due to step down Monday. He's backed away from previous pledges in the past, however, and government officials were warning of "chaos" among unpaid troops and allied militia if Taylor leaves power. Some rebel factions also said they won't recognize Taylor's choice for interim leader: Vice President Moses Blah. But Blah said he's "100 percent sure" he can bring peace to the West African nation after 14 years of civil war.

Hours after Hezbollah shelled northern Israel, Israeli fighter jets bombed suspected militant positions in southern Lebanon, Lebanese officials said. The shelling attack reportedly killed a teenage boy and injured four adults in the border town of Shlomi, the first such deadly incident since Israeli forces withdrew from southern Lebanon three years ago. In claiming responsibility, Hezbollah said it was firing at Israeli warplanes. Israeli security officials denied having aircraft in the area at the time.

NATO assumes control Monday of the international security operation in Kabul, Afghanistan, its first such mission outside Europe. NATO spokesman Mark Laity said while the military alliance is willing discuss calls to expand peacekeeping duties outside the capital, "Our first priority will be to settle in and do the existing job." The handover comes a day after the UN suspended road travel by its staff in a southern Afghan region following a spate of attacks on aid workers.

Anger over power and fuel shortages erupted into two days of riots in Basra, Iraq, where British coalition forces clashed with rock-throwing crowds. At least one Iraqi was killed in Sunday's unrest, though it wasn't clear which side was responsible. British troops were sent to main gas stations to prevent price-gouging, a military spokesman said. Meanwhile, the US military Saturday announced the surrender of another senior figure from the ousted regime. Mahmud Dhiyab Al-Ahmad formerly served as Saddam Hussein's interior minister.

Moving to head off a potential schism in the Anglican Church over its stance on homosexuality, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams - the faith's spiritual leader - announced Friday that he'll convene a global meeting in London in October. Kenya's Anglican Archbishop said he may sever ties with the US Episcopal Church over its confirmation of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as Bishop of New Hampshire.