Guardian: Aung San Suu Kyi greeted by thousands on trip out of Rangoon
Thousands of well-wishers lined roadsides in Burma to welcome the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she tested the limits of her freedom on Sunday by taking her first political trip into the countryside since being released from house arrest.
The military-dominated government had warned that her journey could trigger riots, but it took place peacefully in two towns north of Rangoon.
The last time she travelled out of the city to meet supporters, assailants ambushed her entourage. She escaped harm but was detained and placed under house arrest for seven years, from which she was released last November.
On Sunday, Aung San Suu Kyi opened public libraries in Bago, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Rangoon, and in the nearby town of Thanatpin, where she gave a 10-minute speech calling for unity and asking people to continue to support her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Guardian: Libya rebels claim Tripoli advance
Libyan rebels claim to be advancing on Tripoli on three fronts and meeting only sporadic resistance.
Thirty-five miles west of the city, television pictures appeared to confirm reports that they are in control of much of the town of Zawiya, including the coastal highway to the Tunisian border.
Fifty miles to the south, opposition fighters say they have pushed out of the Nafusa mountains to capture Ghariyan, cutting one of only two main highways linking Tripoli to the rest of Libya.
To the east, rebel forces in Misrata have this weekend completed their capture of Tawarga.
BBC: Afghanistan: Many die in assault on governor's compound
Militants in Afghanistan have launched a gun and suicide bomb attack on the governor's compound in Parwan, witnesses and officials say.
Powerful explosions followed by bursts of gunfire were heard in the regional capital Charikar, an hour's drive north-west of Kabul, witnesses said.
The governor, Abdul Basir Salangi, told media from inside the compound that the assault was still under way.
Unconfirmed reports say as many as 16 people were killed and 29 injured.
CNN: Early returns show Fernandez likely to win Argentina's primary
Early returns in Argentina's presidential primary Sunday showed President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is likely to win, moving her closer to re-election.
With nearly 20% of ballots counted, Fernandez, who has led Argentina since December 2007, had 49% of the vote, the Interior Ministry reported.
Ricardo Alfonsin garnered 13.3%, while former President Eduardo Duhalde claimed 12.1% of the vote in the country's first-ever presidential primary, according to early results.
The three will likely face off against four other candidates in the presidential election on October 23. Candidates must get at least 1.5% of the overall vote Sunday to be on the October ballot.
BBC: Mubarak trial: Ex-Egyptian president due back in court
The trial of Egypt's former President Hosni Mubarak is expected to resume in the capital, Cairo.
Mr Mubarak, 83, faces the death penalty if found guilty of ordering the killing of protesters in this year's uprising.
He is also accused of corruption. The former leader - who was wheeled on a hospital bed into the courtroom earlier this month - denies all the charges.
Mr Mubarak is being tried with his sons Alaa and Gama, who are also accused of corruption. They deny the charges.
Richmond Times-Dispatch: Aung San Suu Kyi greeted by thousands on trip out of Rangoon
The number of major crimes involving firearms at bars and restaurants statewide declined 5.2 percent from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, compared with the fiscal year before the law went into effect, according to crime data compiled by Virginia State Police at the newspaper's request.
A total of 145 reported crimes with guns occurred in Virginia bars and restaurants in fiscal 2010-11, or eight fewer than the 153 incidents in fiscal 2009-10. State police track all murders, non-negligent manslaughters, aggravated assaults, forcible sex crimes and robberies in more than two dozen categories, including "bars/nightclubs" and "restaurants."
"Most folks obey the law, and that's a good thing," said McEachin, who remains staunchly opposed. "But I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that just like drinking and driving doesn't mix, guns and drinking don't mix."
Tom Lisk, a lobbyist who represents the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association, still believes it's a bad idea to mix alcohol and firearms, and he says the crime numbers essentially affirm his initial position on the issue.
Guardian: Somali refugees abandon babies at Dadaab camp
Some parents fleeing conflict and famine in Somalia are abandoning their babies after arriving at the vast refugee complex at Dadaab, Kenya, a charity has said .
Save the Children said it had placed record numbers of unaccompanied children with foster families in recent months, including a small number of babies abandoned by their families after arriving at the camps.
Staff say it is unclear why the babies were left, but they believe it is probably a result of the desperation felt by parents who have often walked for weeks without food, water or shelter.
Nasib, a two-month old infant, was found on a roadside by a woman who took him to a police station. The woman was asked by police to care for the child while they investigated the case. Another baby, Naifin, was left in the home of a registered refugee by his mother who had just arrived from Somalia.
BBC: China protest closes toxic chemical plant in Dalian
Authorities in the north-eastern Chinese city of Dalian have ordered the closure of a chemical plant after a mass protest over pollution.
Scuffles had broken out on Sunday between police and thousands of protesters calling for it to be moved. About 12,000 residents took part in the protest, some of them moving across the city chanting slogans and waving banners.
Officials ordered the plant's closure "immediately" and pledged to relocate it, state news agency Xinhua said. Xinhua said the city's top official, Tang Jun, had tried to calm the crowd on Sunday but the protesters showed no sign of dispersing.
Calls for protesters to gather on Sunday for a "group stroll", as the rally was termed, had reportedly been circulating on social networks. "Group strolls" have become a favoured tactic for Chinese people to show discontent with the government.
CNN: Tropical Storm Gert threatens Bermuda
Tropical Storm Gert is gaining strength as it barrels toward the Atlantic island of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said Sunday.
The storm system was about 255 miles south-southeast of Bermuda and "slowly strengthening" as it heads north, according to a 5 p.m. advisory from the center, which is part of the National Weather Service.
Equipment aboard U.S. Air Force aircraft recorded maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, with stronger gusts reported.
Gert's eye is forecast to go near or just east of Bermuda on Monday afternoon, prompting a tropical storm warning for the island. No other islands are similarly threatened, and the storm is expected to eventually turn northeast back out over open sea.
Washington Post: Perry welcomed Chinese firm despite security concern
After a months-long courtship that included a trip to China, where he dined with the company’s chief executive, Perry announced that telecom firm Huawei Technologies would base its U.S. operations in Plano. In a video of that October 2010 event — now playing on YouTube, courtesy of the governor’s office — Perry praised the company’s “really strong worldwide reputation” and its chairman, Ren Zhengfei, whose straight talk he said reminded him fondly of West Texans.
While Perry focused on Huawei’s ability to create jobs in a sluggish economy, national security experts in both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations had concluded that the global telecom giant poses a potential cybersecurity risk to U.S. military and businesses. Three times since 2008, a U.S. government security panel has blocked Huawei from acquiring or partnering with U.S. companies because of concerns that secrets could be leaked to China’s government or military.
Perry campaign spokesman Mark Miner said that “if there are national security issues surrounding this company, they should be fully looked at.” He characterized Perry’s main involvement with Huawei as just “a ribbon-cutting for a company that was creating jobs here.
CNN: Crews sifting through debris, search for answers to stage collapse
Crews on Sunday sifted through debris of a concert stage that collapsed at the Indiana State Fair, trying to determine what caused the accident that killed five people and injured 40, authorities said.
The fairgrounds were closed Sunday as investigators began the search for answers. The state fair was expected to reopen to the public Monday following a public memorial service to remember those who were killed and injured, said Cindy Hoyne, the fair's executive director.
Forecasters warned heavy rain and strong winds would hit the fair nearly two hours before the storm moved through, causing the collapse of the stage Saturday night. The National Weather Service estimated winds at 60 to 70 mph.
Metal scaffolding fell onto the "Sugarpit," a section usually occupied by Sugarland's most ardent fans, about four minutes after authorities took the stage to warn the crowd to seek shelter, according to a timeline of events released by investigators Sunday.
Guardian: Bill Bratton says he can lead police out of 'crisis' despite budget cuts
The former US police chief Bill Bratton has said he is a "progressive" who can lead British policing out of "crisis", reduce crime despite budget cuts, and bring about "transformational" change in the aftermath of last week's UK riots.
In an interview with the Guardian, Bratton said he was "seriously" interested in the vacant post of commissioner of the Metropolitan police but that the home secretary, Theresa May, had been "adamant" in banning foreign nationals from applying.
Bratton – credited with turning around troubled police departments in New York and Los Angeles – is understood to have been David Cameron's choice to run Scotland Yard. Instead he will advise the prime minister on gangs and crime after the Home Office insisted that candidates must be British.
According to Whitehall sources, Bratton has also told friends that he was so keen to take the job he would be prepared to take British citizenship if it made the difference. Cameron's courting of Bratton continued to provoke criticism by senior British officers on Sunday.
Guardian: Tim Pawlenty quits race for Republican presidential nomination
Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination on Sunday, hours after finishing a disappointing third in the Iowa straw poll.
"I wish it would have been different, but obviously the pathway forward for me doesn't exist so we are going to end the campaign," Pawlenty said on ABC's This Week programme.
He had told supporters on a conference call shortly before the broadcast interview that he was ending his White House bid.
CBS: Tainted beef leads to grocery recalls
At least three major grocery store chains are recalling certain packages of ground beef due to possible E. coli contamination.
The recalls at Winn-Dixie Stores Inc., Publix Super Markets Inc. and Kroger Co. mainly in the southeastern U.S. stem from meat from National Beef Packaging Co. of Dodge City, Kan.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Friday that National Beef was recalling more than 60,000 pounds of beef after the Ohio Department of Agriculture found the bacteria.
The recalls affect products sold mainly in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee, but the meat could have been distributed nationwide.
CNN: Opposition: At least 21 dead after Syrian naval forces shell port city
At least 21 people were killed in a Syrian military crackdown on anti-government protesters in the northwestern port city of Latakia Sunday, opposition groups said.
Tens of people were injured when naval forces shelled the city Sunday and security forces opened fire in residential neighborhoods, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, a network of opposition activists operating from inside Syria, said that at least 25 people were killed, including three children.
The crackdown in Latakia is the latest in a series of military actions to target protesters calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad.