21:13
Iraq's Deputy Minister of Justice says his country will free Mahmud Faraj Bilal al-Samarrai, the last scientist implicated in Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction program. Al-Samarrai gave himself up to the CIA in 2003 not long before the United States launched its military invasion of Iraq.
20:44
Five people have been killed and three were wounded after gunmen opened fire at a social club in the city of Monterrey in northwestern Mexico, local authorities say. It is not exactly known why the club was targeted but authorities believe one of the reasons could have been a failure to pay protection money to gangsters. Monterrey has become a battleground for two criminal gangs – the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas. Last July, over 20 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at another bar in the town.
17:58
Islamist militants opened fire on a police checkpoint on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula Sunday, killing two policemen and injuring a third, security officials said. Police returned fire on the assailants, but failed to stop them. The gunmen fled the site after the attack. Militant elements have stepped up their activity in Sinai since last year's uprising. The situation is particularly complicated by sour relations between the local Bedouin tribes and the security agencies, who they accuse of mistreating them under the Mubarak regime.
14:09
A number of explosions across Iraq have killed at least five people and wounded scores more. One of the attacks, a car bomb in the northern city of Kirkuk, took place outside a major university. At least one person died and dozens were injured in the blast, according to local security officials. Violence has ebbed in Iraq, but Sunni insurgents still launch attacks to challenge the Shiite-led government.
09:28
Authorities say five people, including two children, are confirmed dead after a tornado hit the northwest Oklahoma town of Woodward. However the details of their deaths and the gender or age of the victims have not been released. The town authorities announced they didn't have a very good storm alert, as most of the sirens were blown off by an earlier tornado. Woodward was among many settlements hit by a series of powerful thunderstorms that swept across the Central Plains.
05:33
At least ten miners were killed in a mine in Chinese northern province of Shanxi. The fate of one missing miner was unknown following the flood Friday morning. And at least five more were killed in an unrelated underground flood in a mine in the central province of Henan on Saturday. An unknown number of miners might be missing.
04:01
About three quarters of Thurman, Iowa has been destroyed, reportedly by a tornado. No casualties or injuries have been reported. Thurman, with a population of about 250 people, was on lockdown on Sunday, local authorities said. While residents hid in shelters or moved to motels or traveled to relatives, a number of them found refuge in City Hall.
03:33
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has made his first public speech, addressing a huge military rally to mark the centennial of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, who founded the nation in 1948. Observers reported that Kim’s voice sounded deeper than that of his late father Kim Jong-il, and noted that the young leader closely read his speech from a prepared script. He also reportedly talked about the rocket launch that failed on Thursday by saying that military might was about more than rockets. Kim was recently made First Secretary of Korea's Workers' Party after being named Supreme Leader last December, shortly after his father’s death. Kim has maintained a low profile and even his exact age is not known, though various sources indicate that he is 27 or 28 years old.
02:17
A prison in the northwestern Pakistani town of Bannu has come under attack by Islamist militants, Reuters reports. Dozens of men armed with guns and rocket propelled grenades attacked the prison early on Sunday. More than 300 inmates escaped the prison following the attack, some of them militants. Pakistan’s Taliban claims it was their members who mounted the assault, adding that they freed hundreds of their "comrades." This information has not been confirmed by other sources.
01:27
Peruvian authorities say 36 construction workers have been let go just several days after being kidnapped by a rebel group called the Shining Path in an Amazon jungle region. Speaking at the Summit of the Americas in Colombia, Peruvian President Ollante Humala said officials believe the workers were released due to pressure from the police and military. Humala also said there were no negotiations with the captors, and that the operations will continue until the kidnappers are captured. Local officials said the rebels had previously demanded a $10 million ransom for the captive workers.
01:24
The left-leaning ALBA bloc of South American and Caribbean nations has condemned the “unjustifiable and unsustainable” exclusion of Cuba from the Summit of the Americas, organized by the 34-member Organization of American States (OLS). ALBA member-states also said they would boycott future summits if the communist island nation is not invited to attend. Colombian President Jose Manuel Santos also advocated an end to Cuba’s continued exclusion. The United States and Canada oppose inviting Cuba to the summit, whose charter contains a clause banning attendance by undemocratic governments. ALBA was set up in 2004 by Venezuela and has since been joined by Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
