1. Quake hits Himalayas

Soldiers, rescue teams and medical personnel raced to a corner of the eastern Himalayas on Monday after a major earthquake collapsed* buildings and caused landslides* that buried roads, killing at least 55 people in northeastern India, Nepal and China's Tibet and damaging more than 100,000 homes.

The quake, which struck on Sunday night in the mountainous region near the town of Mangan in India's Sikkim state, registered 6.9 on the Richter scale*. China confirmed that seven people had died and 22 were injured in southern Tibet.

2. Yemen conflicts

Medical officials in Yemen said at least 20 people were killed by snipers* and other pro-regime* forces in the capital, Sanaa, on Monday.

The killings took to nearly 50 the number of people killed by government forces and snipers since Sunday night. It is the bloodiest assault in months on demonstrators calling for the president's ouster*.

3. Palestinian U.N. bid

With the future of the Middle East in the balance, the United States and Europe are scrambling* for a way to avoid a jarring* showdown* over whether to admit an independent Palestine as a new U.N. member. Instead, they are trying to guide Israel and the Palestinians back into the tough bargaining on a long-sought peace agreement.

4. Plane crash

The death toll in the terrifying crash of a World War II-era plane during an air race in the United States has risen to at least nine people, including the pilot and eight spectators, authorities said on Saturday.

The deaths include seven who were killed on the tarmac* and two others who died at hospitals, said police in Reno, Nevada, where the accident happened.

5. Kabul attack group

The United States accused Pakistan on Saturday of having links to a militant group Washington blames for an attack on the U.S. Embassy and other targets in Kabul and said the government in Islamabad must cut those ties. Pakistani officials were not immediately available for comment.

6. Train collision

Sri Lanka police say the death toll in a three-train collision has risen to five. Another 37 were injured.

A passenger train rammed* into an observation car at the back of another train on Saturday evening near a railway station in Alawwa, about 60 kilometers northeast of capital, Colombo. Police spokesman Maxi Proctor said a French national was among the dead but did not give his name.

7. Libya's UN seat

Libya's interim* government said on Saturday it will soon take control of the whole country as its troops are expected to reverse the ground situation in Sirte and other remaining bastions* of militants royal to Moammar Gadhafi.

On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly approved Libya's NTC (National Transitional Council) as the legitimate holder of the country's U.N. seat.