MANILA, Philippines - Tropical storm Aere threatened the Philippines' agricultural north Monday after leaving at least nine people dead and pummeling the eastern coast and the capital with fierce winds and rain that sparked floods and landslides, officials said.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Southeast Asian leaders failed to find a solution to a deadly border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia that could undermine peace and stability in the region as it pushes for economic integration.

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan has issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Aere and cautioned residents on the eastern and southern parts of the island to watch out for torrential rain.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Chubu Electric Power Co shares tumbled as much as 14 percent on Monday after Japan's prime minister called for a shutdown of its nuclear plant in central Japan due to worries a large earthquake could trigger another nuclear crisis.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban dissident Juan Wilfredo Soto was buried Sunday amid opposition charges a police beating last week led to his death.

MEXICO CITY - An anti-violence march that began in a central state with a few hundred people and gathered thousands over a four-day trek reached Mexico's capital Sunday, led by a poet whose son was killed by suspected drug traffickers.

AMMAN (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad has sent tanks deep into Syria's third city Homs, escalating a military campaign to crush a seven-week-old uprising against his autocratic rule.

VENICE, Italy - Pope Benedict XVI urged Italy to welcome immigrants fleeing to its shores, invoking the historic role of Venice and the once influential church in nearby Aquileia as a cultural bridges during his two-day visit to northern Italy.

Locked in a federal penitentiary in the Arizona desert, Tai Kuo spends his days helping with the cooking, teaching language classes and tennis, making new friends.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Tourists gathered along Beale Street and gawkers snapped photos of the rising Mississippi River, even as more residents were told Sunday to flee their homes and the river's crest edged toward the city, threatening to soak greater pockets of the city.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's military-led government faced a major challenge after two days of clashes between Muslims and Christians in which state media reported 12 people died and 238 were injured.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libyan rebels fought a fierce battle with forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi near the airport at the western city of Misrata on Sunday as NATO planes targeted government ammunition stores on another front in the war.

WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Osama bin Laden likely had "some sort" of a support network inside Pakistan, President Barack Obama said on Sunday, but added it will take investigations by Pakistan and the United States to find out the nature of that support.