Congress readies Iran sanctions if diplomacy fails (AP)

AP - Congress is poised to act swiftly to impose tough new sanctions on Iran if international talks on Tehran's nuclear program show signs of faltering. Already, some lawmakers are demanding that the United States strike immediately with new penalties rather than wait for an uncertain multinational consensus.

Brown falls out with media (AFP)

AFP - Prime Minister Gordon Brown's relations with the country's notoriously aggressive media hit an all-time low this week, recalling for some the way the press abandoned one of his doomed predecessors.

Manmohan Singh guest at Obama's first state dinner (Reuters)

Reuters - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the guest at President Barack Obama's first state dinner, to be held Nov. 24.

Republicans visit Honduras despite US coup policy (AP)

AP - Honduras' coup-installed president told a U.S. congressional delegation Friday that full civil liberties would be restored within days, a spokesman for one of the lawmakers said following a meeting that challenged Washington's attempts to isolate the interim government.