UNITED STATES-RUSSIA

NEW YORK - Face-to-face for the first time in nearly a year, President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday will confront rising tensions over Moscow's military engagement in Syria, as well as the stubborn crisis in Ukraine. Underscoring their deep differences, the U.S. and Russia couldn't even agree on the purpose of the meeting, which will occur on the sidelines of an annual United Nations summit. The White House said it would focus on Ukraine and getting Moscow to live up to a fragile peace plan. The Kremlin said Ukraine would be discussed only if time allowed, with Syria and the fight against the Islamic State dominating the discussions. 

US-POPE

In Congress and at a parish school, at the United Nations and a city jail, Pope Francis spent a whirlwind U.S. visit bridging the realms of the disadvantaged and elite, trying to turn the attention of the mightiest nation on earth away from ideological battles and toward a world he said desperately needs help. From his very first appearance, he wove together issues that are rarely linked in American public life. 

UNITED NATIONS SUMMIT

UNITED NATIONS - About 160 world leaders are converging on the United Nations to address Middle East unrest and other global issues related to peace and international security. They will speak at the U.N. General Assembly which groups all of the world body's 193 U.N. member states. While some are arriving specifically for the session that opens Monday, others already have spoken at a separate three-day U.N. summit that ended Sunday and was focused on new U.N. development goals.

UN-UNITED-NATIONS-SUMMIT-IRAN

UNITED NATIONS - Iran's president said Sunday that Syrian leader Bashar Assad must remain in power to fight extremist groups like the Islamic State group and must not be weakened, putting him at odds with the United States and key nations who insist Assad must go in order to achieve peace. Hassan Rouhani told a meeting with scholars and think tank experts that Iran will cooperate with any country that puts fighting and defeating "terrorism" as its top priority - but he said it cannot work with any government that makes a change in Syria's regime its top priority. 

UNITED NATIONS-LIBYA-INTERVIEW

UNITED NATIONS - The leader of Libya's parliament says the elected House of Representatives will continue talks past the Oct. 20 deadline for its mandate to expire if a peace deal with the divided country's rival government isn't reached by then. Ageila Saleh, who represents the internationally recognized government in the oil-rich but chaotic North African nation, gave no sign that an agreement was near, even though the U.N. says the final draft of a peace deal was handed to both sides in recent days. He spoke to The Associated Press on Sunday evening on the sidelines of back-to-back U.N. gatherings of world leaders. By Cara Anna. AP Photos.

UNITED NATIONS-SUMMIT-UKRAINE

NEW YORK - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he wants Monday's planned meeting between President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin to lead to better implementation of an accord aimed at halting war in eastern Ukraine. Poroshenko, in New York to attend the annual U.N. General Assembly, told The Associated Press after a dinner reception on Sunday night that talks between the U.S. and Russian president might produce "a firmer incentive" for Moscow to comply with international agreements agreed earlier this year and last year in Minsk, Belarus, calling for a cease-fire and weapon pullbacks by all sides. 

UNITED NATIONS-SUMMIT-WOMEN'S EQUALITY

UNITED NATIONS - World leaders pledged money and political clout to achieve equality for women by 2030 at a U.N. meeting Sunday co-chaired by China's President Xi Jinping who has faced strong criticism for cracking down on women's rights activists. 

US-UNITED-STATES-IMMIGRATION-PATTERNS

WASHINGTON - In a major shift in immigration patterns over the next 50 years, Asians will have surged past Hispanics to become the largest group of immigrants heading to the United States, according to estimates in a new immigration study. The study looks in detail at what will happen by 2065, but the actual tipping point comes in 2055. 

ARGENTINA-OVERLOOKING CORRUPTION

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - In many countries, the jaw-dropping corruption allegations against the government would sunder the presidential campaign of any ruling party candidate. With the Oct. 25 election on the horizon, Argentine voters appear to be looking past allegations that the Cabinet chief ordered the assassination of three men, that the vice president is being tried for bribery and even that properties owned by President Cristina Fernandez are being investigated for money laundering.