AP - United Nations inspectors have verified that North Korea has shut down its sole functioning nuclear reactor, the chief of the watchdog agency said Monday, confirming the isolated country had taken its first step in nearly five years to halt production of atomic weapons.

AP - A 6.7-magnitude earthquake jolted northwestern Japan on Monday morning, killing at least three people and injuring more than 400 others. The quake flattened dozens of wooden houses and triggered a fire at a nuclear power plant.

AP - Militants in northwest Pakistan disavowed a peace pact with the government and launched two days of suicide attacks and bombings that killed at least 70 people, dramatically escalating the violence in the al-Qaida infiltrated region.