DMX couldn’t quite keep up with the Joneses. Or at least with the charade of pretending to be one. The trouble-prone rapper was arrested (again) in a Phoenix mall Saturday afternoon on suspicion of felony identity theft, stemming from an April hospital stay in which he allegedly used a fake name and Social Security number to avoid paying a $7,500 medical bill. Read the full story

Batman film The Dark Knight has set a box office record for best opening weekend ever at the US box office, distributor Warner Bros has said.

The sequel took $155.3m (£77.7m) in North America, beating the record set last year by Spider-Man 3, which took $151.1m (£75.5m). Batman, which opened on Friday, took $66.4m (£33.2m), which was also a single-day box office record. Directed by Christopher Nolan, it cost $185m (£92.5m) to make. Read the full story

Five bombs exploded in northern Spain on Sunday causing damage but no injuries, officials said. A person, claiming to be speaking on behalf of Basque separatist group ETA, had phoned in warnings about four of the bombs. The first detonated without warning around 5 a.m. outside a bank in the Basque town of Getxo, damaging a cash dispenser and breaking windows, the regional Interior Ministry said in Bilbao. Read the full story

Car ban forces Beijing residents to take public transport in clean air bid

Half of Beijing’s drivers left their cars at home and took public transportation instead on Monday, the first workday under new restrictions meant to clear this city’s notoriously polluted skies before next month’s Olympics. Under a two-month plan that started Sunday, half of the capital’s 3.3 million cars will be removed from city streets on alternate days, depending on whether the license plate ends in an odd or even number. Read the full story

US Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has arrived in Iraq on the second stage of a major foreign tour.

Mr Obama, who is visiting as part of a Congressional delegation, will meet senior Iraqi officials, military leaders and US embassy officials. They will also meet service personnel and civilian staff working in Iraq. On Sunday, Mr Obama said during a visit to the Afghan capital, Kabul, that the country had to be the central focus in the battle against terrorism. Read the full story

The European Union (EU) has offered to cut its farm tariffs by 60% to kick-start trade talks in Geneva.

EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said this was the best offer yet from Brussels on the crucial farming issue. Mandelson urged emerging economies such as Brazil, India and China to reciprocate by slashing their industrial tariffs. Read the full story

A four-year-old French girl is in a critical condition after her father was found beating her head against a monument in Rome, officials say.

The man was restrained by passers-by and a traffic officer, but not before he had smashed his daughter’s head so badly that she slipped into a coma. A police spokesman said the man, in his late 30s, was arrested.

Witnesses said blood still stained the Vittoriano monument in Piazza Venezia on Sunday, a day after the attack. Read the full story

A BBC investigation has found that there are serious question marks over a key drug test just two weeks before the start of the Beijing Olympics.

The BBC has seen indications that labs are classing positive tests for the blood-boosting drug EPO as negatives. Some samples have been described as suspicious - giving rise to fears that no action will be taken against cheats. “Copycat” versions of the drug are available on the internet for as little as $50 - and according to experts are often undetectable. Read the full story

The police are investigating an incident during which Special Constable Scipio was stabbed to his chest about early Sunday Morning at Main and Pitt Streets, New Amsterdam, Berbice.

Investigations revealed that Scipio’s brother became involved in an argument with a taxi-driver over an allegation that he had struck the vehicle while riding his bicycle. Read the full story

Sunday Yadram Bhopaul, 38 years of Betsy Ground, East Canje , Berbice was shot and injured to his left thigh by an armed policeman who was responding to a report of Assault Causing Actual Bodily Harm received at the Reliance Police Station.

Investigations revealed that upon arriving at the scene at Betsy Ground, the policeman saw Yadram Bhopaul beating his wife Irene Chatura, 39 years, with a piece of wood. The rank intervened and attempted to arrest Yadram Bhopaul who chucked the policeman and held on to his neck while attempting to disarm him. Read the full story