Syrian security forces opened fire Tuesday, killing seven people as they tried to disperse thousands of protesters rallying against the regime on the first day of the three-day Muslim holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, activists said.

The activists said security forces fired at protesters in the southern province of Daraa, in the central city of Homs and in the Damascus suburbs following morning prayers marking Eid al-Fitr.

Nineteen coal miners were pulled to safety Tuesday after being trapped underground for a week in northeastern China, while rescuers searched for their three missing colleagues.

Twenty-six miners were trapped in galleries relatively close to the surface when water poured into a shaft on Aug. 23 from an adjacent mine that had flooded. Three were pulled out alive Saturday and one body was recovered.

Japan's parliament elected former Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as the new prime minister on Tuesday — the country's sixth leader in five years.

A fiscal conservative, Noda faces a host of daunting problems, including the post-tsunami recovery and nuclear crisis, and a sluggish economy and the yen's surge, which hurts Japan's exporters.

The International Organization for Migration said Monday that it has evacuated 850 more stranded foreign workers, including Lebanese, from the Libyan capital Tripoli aboard a chartered ferry.

The Geneva-based organization said the foreigners include women and children and are headed to the eastern port city of Benghazi, from where they will be taken to Egypt and then to their home countries.

The fantasy of seeing banknotes fluttering down from the sky came true for Dutch motorists after a package containing cash apparently fell from a bank transport truck and broke open.

The incident triggered a dangerous scramble for the euro bills Monday on the busy A2 highway near Maastricht, as people parked cars on the road's shoulder and ran to scoop up loose notes.

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free countries and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia.

A mutant strain of H5N1, which can apparently sidestep defenses of existing vaccines, is spreading in China and Vietnam, Tthe U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement Monday. It urged greater surveillance to ensure that any outbreaks are contained.

BEYONCE'S SURPRISE DATE: Beyonce made a big announcement that practically upstaged the MTV Video Music Awards — and she did it without saying a word.

The 29-year-old superstar announced her pregnancy on the red carpet by cupping her stomach in an "I'm expecting" sort of way. Wearing a blond ponytail and flowing red gown, she used her hands to show the tiniest beginnings of a baby bump.

Manchester United handed Arsenal its heaviest loss under Arsene Wenger on Sunday with Wayne Rooney scoring a hat trick in a humiliating 8-2 drubbing in the Premier League that only compounded the London club's early-season troubles.

Having seen cross-city rival Manchester City thrash Tottenham 5-1 earlier in the day, United responded in style with Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Nani and Park Ji-sung joining Rooney on the scoresheet.

Oil prices rose to near $86 a barrel Monday in Asia after a hurricane left minimal damage among refineries along the U.S East Coast.

Benchmark oil for October delivery was up 46 cents to $85.83 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose 7 cents to settle at $85.37 on Friday.

World stock markets rose Monday, with buying appetite getting a boost from Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's prediction that the U.S. economy will eventually return to full health.

Oil prices lingered above $85 a barrel in Asia after Hurricane Irene did little damage to refineries along the U.S. East Coast. The dollar was lower against the yen and the euro.