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Belleville, Ontario • A commander who was a rising star in Canada's military pleaded guilty Monday to the murders of two women, the sexual assaults of two others and dozens of breaking and entering charges in which he stole panties from the bedrooms of girls as young as 11.

Col. Russell Williams, who once flew prime ministers and served as a pilot to Queen Elsizabeth II during a 2005 visit, was the commander of Canada's largest Air Force base until he was charged earlier this year.

He pleaded guilty Monday to two first-degree murder charges, two sexual assaults and 82 breaking and entering charges in a Belleville, Ontario court. The 47-year-old faces an automatic sentence of life in prison with no possibility for parole for at least 25 years.

Queen gets rock from collapsed mine

London • Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Monday gave Britain's queen and prime minister each a rock taken from the bottom of the collapsed San Jose mine — a symbol of his effort to turn the disaster-turned-success story into an international image makeover.

The rescue of 33 men from the stricken mine, where they'd been trapped for more than two months, united Chileans and elicited a wave of sympathy around the world. Pinera's European tour, which began over the weekend in London, may help brighten the image of a country many here still associate with the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Iran enters Afghan peace talks

Rome • Iran took part in a high-level meeting on Afghanistan on Monday after the United States said it has no problem with its participation. The international "contact group" met in Rome amid a renewed push to end the 9-year-old war in Afghanistan, including bringing Taliban into peace talks. The group gathers the Afghan government, NATO, the E.U., U.N. and other key players — including Iran this time — to assess progress in Afghanistan.

Representatives attending the talks said Iran was invited as part of efforts to have a comprehensive approach and include regional players in the discussions over the future of Afghanistan.

Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Washington was asked about possible Iranian involvement and responded it had no problem with it. He and other representatives stressed the talks are limited to Afghanistan and do not touch on the contentious issue of Tehran's nuclear dossier.

Seven die in U.S. missile attacks

Mir Ali, Pakistan • Intelligence officials say American missiles have killed seven people in a militant stronghold near the Afghan border.

Monday's attack struck the Datta Khel region of North Waziristan.

The officials provided no further details of the strike, and did not give their names because their agency does not allow them to.

The United States has stepped up missile attacks on al-Qaida and Taliban targets inside northwest Pakistan over the last two months. There have been 17 strikes this month, according to an Associated Press count.

Washington does not acknowledge the attacks or say who it is targeting or killing.

Angry mob storms Kuwaiti TV station

Cairo • An armed mob stormed the offices of a privately owned Kuwaiti TV station and destroyed its equipment after the channel aired shows critical of the country's ruling family, employees said Monday.

At least 100 people wielding guns and knives broke into Scope TV's studios on Sunday, cameraman Fahad al-Rashed said.

"They forced us off the air and started smashing computers, sets, studio equipment and cameras," he said.

Kuwait has some of the most vibrant political debate and media freedoms in the Gulf, but censorship is widespread across the Middle East and journalists often face tight controls.

The Associated Press