MSNBC: U.S. senator asks FTC to probe Apple, Google
A U.S. senator has urged the Federal Trade Commission to investigate reports that applications on the Apple and Google mobile systems steal private photos and contacts and post them online without consent.
Democrat Charles Schumer's request comes after iPhone maker Apple tweaked its privacy policies last month after prodding from other lawmakers.
The distribution of third-party applications on iPhones and phones running on Google's Android system has helped create a surge in the popularity of those devices in recent years.
However, Schumer said on Sunday that he was concerned about a New York Times report that iPhone and Android applications can access a user's private photo collection.
Guardian: Chinese military spending increases by 11.2% in latest budget
China is to boost its defence spending by 11.2% in 2012, the latest in nearly two decades of double-digit increases each year.
Although the planned figure is less than last year's 12.7% increase, China's military leaders have said they are unhappy with recent moves by the Obama administration to increase the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Only twice since the early 1990s has the increase been less than double digits.
National People's Congress spokesman Li Zhaoxing said China's defence spending would increase by 11.2% over actual spending last year to hit 670.2bn yuan (£67bn/$106.4bn) in 2012, an increase of about 67bn yuan.
AP: Worst train tragedy in Poland in years kills 15
Two trains running on the same track collided head-on in southern Poland late Saturday, leaving 15 people dead and 56 injured — the country's worst train disaster in more than 20 years.
President Bronislaw Komorowski on Sunday said when rescue efforts are over he would make an announcement about a period of national mourning due to the scope of the suffering involved.
Several of the passengers were foreigners, including people from Ukraine, Spain and France, but none of them were among the dead or mostly seriously injured, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said.
Cincinnati Enquirer: Kasich turns down federal disaster aid
Ohio Gov. John Kasich said thanks but no thanks to immediate federal disaster relief Saturday, even as governors in Indiana and Kentucky welcomed the help.
Kasich did not rule out asking for assistance later, but his decision means tornado-ravaged towns in Ohio will not get federal aid now and are not eligible at this time for potentially millions of dollars in payments and loans.
The governor said Ohio can respond to the crisis without federal help and he would not ask federal authorities to declare the region a disaster area.
Huffington Post: Congo Blast: Brazzaville Arms Depot Explosion Kills 200
Around 200 people were killed on Sunday when an arms dump exploded in Brazzaville, capital of the Congo Republic, a senior official in the presidency said, citing hospital sources.
Hundreds more were injured by the blasts which rocked the riverside capital of the oil-producing nation early in the day, flattening houses near the scene and sending a plume of smoke high above the city.
"According to sources at the central hospital we're talking of around 200 dead and many injured," Betu Bangana, head of protocol in the president's office in Brazzaville, told Reuters by telephone.
"Some people are still (trapped) in their houses... They're saying the entire neighbourhood of Mpila has been destroyed."
BBC: Tibetan woman burns herself to death in Sichuan
A Tibetan mother-of-four has died after setting herself on fire in south-west China, activists and exiles say.
The UK-based Free Tibet group said the woman set herself on fire near the Kirti Monastery in Aba prefecture in Sichuan province.
It is the latest in a spate of self-immolations by ethnic Tibetans in apparent protest against Chinese rule.
Security in Tibetan areas of China has been further tightened ahead of sensitive anniversaries.
Richmond Times-Dispatch: 31 arrested in women's rights demonstration at state Capitol
Del. Delores L. McQuinn, D-Richmond, tonight spoke out against the arrests of 31 women's rights demonstrators in a protest at the state Capitol earlier today that drew Virginia State Police in riot gear.
She said the arrests "are just the latest example of government overreach that we’ve seen in recent weeks."
"The men and women who marched on Capitol Square have a right to peacefully protest without the threat that they will be arrested for exercising that right," McQuinn said in a news release. "At several recent women’s rights events, there has been an overabundance of police presence. In fact, the Capitol Police tactical team has been at all of the events," she said.
McQuinn said she had "never seen a similar police presence when guns rights advocates assemble on Capitol Square on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday."
Guardian: Barack Obama tells Israel conference: 'too much loose talk of war'
Barack Obama has admonished Israel for "too much loose talk of war" with Iran and said the world has a responsibility to give sanctions an opportunity to discourage Tehran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
Speaking before a meeting on Monday with the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, Obama sought to head off pressure for him to commit to military action against Tehran if it crosses specified "red lines" in its nuclear programme.
The president told a sceptical audience at the annual conference of America's most influential pro-Israel lobby group that he accepts a "basic truth" that no Israeli government can tolerate Iran developing a nuclear weapon, and that he therefore understands the "profound historical obligation" weighing on the shoulders of Israel's leaders.
Obama said explicitly that he is prepared to use force against Iran to defend US interests if necessary, but he chastised those who appear to be in a hurry for war in comments apparently aimed at Israeli officials who have been making belligerent noises.
BBC: Putin 'elected Russian president'
Vladimir Putin has been elected Russian president for the third time, exit polls suggest, after spending the last four years as the country's PM.
The exit polls gave Mr Putin about 60% of the vote, meaning that he should avoid a run-off with his nearest rival, Communist Gennady Zyuganov.
Officials say turnout was higher than for the last election in 2008.
But opposition groups have reported widespread violations, with many people voting more than once.
ABC: Baby Found in Field Among Dead Family Members Dies in Hospital
The toddler found among the bodies of her family members in a field outside a home in New Pekin, Ind., that was flattened by a powerful tornado, died today of traumatic brain injuries.
Twenty-month-old Angel Babcock was taken to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, Ky., Saturday, where she was placed on life support.
Angel's grandparents and doctors took her off life support because of the severity of her brain injuries, and she died at 4:10 p.m. today, according to the coroner.