WORLD BRIEFS

THE KOREAS: Military drills rattle North

South Korea began live-fire military drills Monday from front-line islands near its disputed sea border with North Korea, despite Pyongyang's threat to attack. The drills, scheduled to last two hours, were in an area that was the target of a North Korean artillery attack in 2010 that killed four South Koreans. Soon after Seoul informed Pyongyang of the training plan Sunday, North Korea's military called the drills a "premeditated military provocation" and warned it would retaliate for an attack on its territory.

AFGHANISTAN: Senators confront Karzai

Five visiting U.S. senators took a hard line with President Hamid Karzai on Sunday, outlining the issues that could endanger a long-term partnership between the two nations and emphasizing the importance of American-led night raids as U.S. forces withdraw from the conflict. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he was encouraged by "significant military advances on the ground" but was unsympathetic to Karzai's demand that the United States curb its use of night operations, which Karzai says result in dozens of civilian casualties each year. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said that handing over detention operations to Afghans, another key Karzai demand, would "put American lives in danger." Karzai has said repeatedly that without an end to night raids and a handover of U.S.-run detention facilities, he won't sign an agreement. The delegation included Sens. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

BRITAIN: Murdoch's plan for Sunday

Rupert Murdoch's News International said Sunday its "The Sun on Sunday" will begin next Sunday. The plan was disclosed to staff by chief executive Tom Mockridge. It replaces the News of The World, closed in July after revelations that staff routinely hacked into phones and paid bribes to score exclusives, leading to dozens of arrests and resignations. News International is a subsidiary of Murdoch's New York-based News Corp.