AP - Charles Taylor once broke out of a prison in Massachusetts and nearly slipped away this week before Nigeria could hand over the former Liberian president to an international court.

AFP - The Sun was to be briefly blotted out near here on Wednesday at the start of a total eclipse due to race from tropical northeastern Brazil to the grasslands of Mongolia.

AP - Tourists and scientists were gathering at spots around the world for the first total eclipse in years, a solar show that will sweep northeast from Brazil to Mongolia and blot out the sun across swathes of the world's poorest lands.

AFP - Sitting astride his horse in a warlike pose, the bronze Genghis Khan in the middle of the Inner Mongolia University campus emits a clear signal.

AFP - Mongolia's ex-communists nominated their party chairman as the new prime minister, days after they ousted pro-market premier Tsakhia Elbegdorj, a legislator said.

AFP - Mongolia's former communist rulers hav met to discuss who should become the next prime minister after the central Asian country was thrown into disarray with the ouster of reform-minded Tsakhia Elbegdorj.

AP - Mongolia's parliament dissolved the country's 15-month-old coalition government after the country's biggest political party pulled out of the government amid complaints about poverty and corruption.

AFP - Mongolia's political crisis entered a crucial period on as parliament began a debate that was expected to seal the downfall of Prime Minister Tsakhia Elbegdorj's democratic government.

AP - Hundreds of protesters stormed the headquarters of Mongolia's biggest political party on Thursday, reportedly forcing the party to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the ruling coalition, a move that would topple the government.