SOUTH AFRICA

President calls for end to corruption

President Jacob Zuma, addressing the opening session of the ruling African National Congress' national conference, accused party members of vote-buying and vote fraud. He expects to be returned to party leadership, and the presidency.

CUBA

Fidel is nominated for parliament Retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro, 86, is being nominated for a seat in the country's parliament. Sunday afternoon's TV news broadcast announced he heads a list of 25 names from the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba. There was no indication of whether he intends to accept. Castro stepped down temporarily as president in 2006 due to a near-fatal illness and left the presidency for good in 2008. His younger brother Raul has been in charge since.

Oil rig arrives for new offshore exploration A Norwegian-owned platform arrived in waters off Cuba's north-central coast for exploratory drilling by the Russian oil company Zarubezhneft, renewing the island's search for petroleum after three failed wells this year. Geologic surveys say 5 billion to 9 billion barrels of oil may lie off Cuba's coast.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Obama leans to Kerry for secretary of state President Obama is leaning strongly toward naming John Kerry, the Massachusetts senator and unsuccessful Democratic nominee for president, to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, the New York Times reported. But the announcement will be delayed, at least until later this week and maybe beyond, because of the Connecticut school shooting.

RHODE ISLAND

Couple charged with DWI on same night A husband and wife both face charges of drunken driving after they were stopped separately on the same night. Police said Stephanie Souza, 43, of Warwick, was stopped on Friday, and a chemical test indicated she was drunk. Then Michael Souza, 44, was pulled over while driving to get his wife. He was taken into custody, and a test indicated he was also driving drunk.

CALIFORNIA

50 shots fired prompt mall lockdown A man was arrested after firing about 50 shots in the parking lot of a Southern California shopping mall, prompting a lockdown of stores crowded with holiday shoppers. The 42-year-old Garden Grove man was taken into custody at the open-air Fashion Island mall. Police said he had fired into the air and onto the ground in the parking lot near Macy's in Newport Beach. No one was injured.

INDIANA

Gun collector accused of threats

A man who police said had 47 guns, many of them collectables, and ammunition in his home was arrested after threatening to "kill as many people as he could" at an elementary school near his Cedar Lake home, police said. The man also threatened to set his wife on fire after she fell asleep, according to police. He is being held without bail.

NEWS SERVICES