Space station crew lands safely

The International Space Station crew members U.S. astronaut Joseph Acaba, left, Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka, center, and Sergei Revin sit inside the Soyuz TMA-04M capsule shortly after landing Monday near Arkalyk in northern Kazakhstan. A Russian Soyuz capsule landed on the Kazakh steppe, delivering a trio of astronauts from a four-month stint on the International Space Station.

KATE’S CASE GOES TO COURT

NANTERRE, France — A French court was asked on Monday to halt further publication of topless photos of Prince William’s wife Kate. After hearing arguments by lawyers for the British royal couple and for the popular French gossip magazine Closer, the court said it would rule at noon on Tuesday. The royal request was made after Closer printed 14 pictures of the partially-clad Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, in its pages last week. On Monday, the Italian gossip magazine Chi — like Closer owned by Mondadori, the Italian publishing house owned by former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi — published a 26-page spread of photos of Kate without her swimsuit top. An Irish tabloid published more Kate topless photos over the weekend, drawing a vow from Ireland’s justice minister to revise privacy laws there.

VOYEUR COULD FACE JAIL TIME

LONDON — A voyeur who snooped on members of China’s Olympic swimming team was told Monday he risks being sent to prison if he enters a female locker room again within the next 5 years. Declan Crosbie, 25, was sentenced Monday after he previously admitted a charge of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offense. Prosecutors told Leeds Crown Court that Crosbie sneaked into a locker room at a swimming training pool and was caught peeking over the top of cubicles as female Chinese Olympic athletes got changed.

COVER UP EYED IN MURDER CASES

BERLIN — German lawmakers investigating a string of far-right murders said Monday there appeared to have been a cover up by officials who withheld key information on the authorities’ contacts with neo-Nazis linked to the case. Members of the cross-party committee set up to inquiry 10 suspected neo-Nazi killings between 2000 and 2007 have previously voiced frustration that law enforcement agencies appeared to have held back evidence — and in at least two instances shredded material.

MYANMAR GRANTS AMNESTY

YANGON, Myanmar — Myanmar declared an amnesty for 514 prison inmates including some foreigners, the Information Ministry said Monday. “I don’t know yet how many political prisoners were among those receiving the amnesty,” said Bo Kyi, spokesman for the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma. The group estimated there were about 400 political prisoners in Myanmar jails before Monday’s amnesty

TRIAL RESUMES IN SCANDAL

CHENGDU, China — A Chinese court is resuming a trial for a former police chief at the center of a divisive political scandal that shook China’s leadership. The Intermediate Court in the city of Chengdu resumed proceedings against Wang Lijun on Tuesday, a day after holding an unannounced closed-door hearing on charges related to his surprise flight in February to a U.S. consulate. Wang was a headline-grabbing police chief in the nearby city of Chongqing and aide to senior politician Bo Xilai when he fled to the U.S. consulate and told of the murder of a British businessman.

SYRIAN MISSILES HIT LEBANON

BEIRUT — Missiles fired by Syrian warplanes hit Lebanese territory Monday in one of the most serious cross-border violations since Syria’s crisis began 18 months ago, security officials in Beirut and Lebanese state media said. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said four missiles fired by two Syrian jets hit a rugged and remote area on the edge of the Lebanese border town of Arsal. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

WOMAN CONTINUES HUNGER STRIKE

HAVANA — A prominent Cuban dissident completed her first week on a hunger strike with supporters saying her condition is worsening each day and they fear she might die. Pro-government bloggers, meanwhile, denounced the strike as a sham. Martha Beatriz Roque, a 67-year-old, statetrained economist turned dissident leader, was in a “very delicate” condition, said Idania Yanez, a supporter who was standing vigil at her Havana home.