Fidel Castro dons olive green again, state-run website reports

Havana, Cuba (CNN) -- Fidel Castro appeared publicly in his trademark olive green shirt on Saturday for the first time since he fell ill and renounced power four years ago, according to a state-run website.

Castro made his appearance in Artemisa, a town about an hour outside of Havana, also making this his first reported trip outside the capital in four years, according to the website Cubadebate.

A picture of the 83-year-old Castro also appeared on the site. Olive green rebel fatigues were his signature uniform during his nearly 50 years of rule.

State TV later showed him giving a speech to honor rebels killed 57 years ago during the July 26 attack on an army barracks that ended in failure but launched his revolution. He also put flowers on the rebels' tombs, video showed.

Castro handed power to his brother, Raul, in 2006 after undergoing intestinal surgery and disappeared from public view. State media have published occasional videos and photos of the historic leader wearing track suits.

CNN

18 killed amid panic at Germany's 'Love Parade'

(CNN) -- At least 18 people were killed Saturday when chaos broke out at a music festival in Duisburg, Germany, police said.

The panic at "Love Parade 2010" left "many" injured, according to police, who declined to give a specific number because many of those injured were taken to hospitals around the country, including some who had to be airlifted.

Carsten Lueb of CNN affiliate NTV said that the number of injured was possibly into the hundreds.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a statement offering her condolences to the victims' families, saying "my sadness and empathy goes out to them".

"The young people came to celebrate; instead people were killed and injured," the statement said. "I am distraught and sad in the face of the suffering and pain".

Lueb told CNN that some 1.4 million people showed up at the popular festival, which features dozens of DJs spinning techno music for hours. Organizers expected only 700,000 to 800,000 attendees, so they opened an additional event site to accommodate more people.

The deadly crush happened in an underpass between the main event site and the expansion area. Witnesses told NTV that people pushed into the tunnel from both sides until it was dangerously overcrowded. The panic began as festival-goers began to lose consciousness as they were crushed against the walls and each other.

After the panic, a line of emergency vehicles, including helicopters, could be seen parked on the highway leading to the festival site, carrying away people injured in the crush. The festival itself, however, went on. Police were afraid that ending the music altogether could cause further unrest among the massive crowd.

CNN

Protests held worldwide against execution of Iranian woman

(CNN) -- Hundreds of protesters rallied worldwide Saturday against the imprisonment and possible execution of an Iranian woman convicted of adultery.

Sakineh Mohammedie Ashtiani was originally sentenced to death by stoning, but it was put on hold earlier this month after an international outcry.

In London, protesters held posters with Ashtiani's likeness while a speaker criticized Iran's treatment of her. Many demonstrating in Trafalgar Square held signs reading, "No to Stoning. No to Executions". John Lennon's "Imagine" played in the background.

In Stockholm, Sweden, protesters chanted for Ashtiani's release while calling stoning a medieval practice that must end. They also signed a large petition calling for her release.

The case has drawn international attention. Ashtiani was convicted of adultery in 2006 and faces the possibility of execution.

CNN

Birds force Kings of Leon from St. Louis stage

(CNN) -- Pooping pigeons forced the Kings of Leon to abandon their St. Louis, Missouri, concert after just three songs Friday night, the rock band's management said Saturday.

An infestation of the birds in the rafters of the Verizon Amphitheatre bombarded the musicians as soon as they took the stage, according to Andy Mendelsohn of Vector Management.

"Jared (Followill) was hit several times during the first two songs," Mendelsohn said of the band's bassist. "On the third song, when he was hit in the cheek and some of it landed near his mouth, they couldn't deal any longer. It's not only disgusting -- it's a toxic health hazard. They really tried to hang in there".

The group was determined to play for St. Louis fans even though they had fair warning earlier about the pigeon problem. Opening bands The Postelles and The Stills came offstage complaining of getting riddled with large amounts of excrement, their publicist said.

"The Kings of Leon decided to carry on regardless," they said in a statement released Saturday. "The band felt it would be unfair to the fans to cancel the show at that late moment".

"We couldn't believe what The Postelles and The Stills looked like after their sets," Followill said. "We didn't want to cancel the show, so we went for it. We tried to play. It was ridiculous".

Venue managers told the band's representatives earlier Friday about "a significant pigeon infestation problem with summer shows over the years, but they were doing all they could to fix it," the statement said.

"We want to apologize to our fans in St. Louis and will come back as soon as we can," Mendelsohn said.

CNN

Contador extends lead in Tour de France after time trial

(CNN) -- Alberto Contador will take a 39-second lead into the final stage of the Tour de France after fighting off a determined challenge from Andy Schleck in Saturday's deciding time trial stage.

Spain's Contador had an eight-second advantage going into the 52km solo test from Bordeaux to Pauillac and came under pressure from his Luxembourg rival at the early time checks.

For some fleeting moments it seemed possible that Schleck could reclaim the yellow jersey, but as he tired, Contador, considered a far superior time triallist, increased his advantage.

And at the finish, a relieved and tearful Contador had extended his lead by 31 seconds.

"It was a very hard day. I've worked so hard for so many years but today it really came right down to the wire. That's why I'm so emotional," Contador told the official race website.

"In fact, I think it's the first Tour I've won where I've been so emotional.

"I want to thank all the people who have been there for me these last years".

Both the top two were well adrift of the best time of Schleck's Saxo Bank teammate Fabian Cancellara.

CNN

U.S. law targets 'conflict minerals' in Congo

(CNN) -- A new U.S. law aims to ensure that smart phones are not helping fund wars in Congo and neighboring countries.

The provision -- tucked in the financial reform bill passed this week -- requires publicly-traded and electronic companies such as Apple and Intel to submit an annual report outlining what they are doing to ensure their minerals are "conflict-free".

The Democratic Republic of Congo is rich in resources, including cobalt, gold, copper and tantalum.

Some U.S. companies buy minerals used in jewelry, computers and cell phones from the war-ravaged eastern part of the country, where government forces have been battling rebels for years. Rights groups say profits from the minerals help fund the militants.

The bill does not mention the penalty for using conflict minerals, but says companies will have to certify where their minerals come from and what measures were taken to ensure they did not originate from conflict areas.

Results and disclosures would then be posted on the companies' websites, according to the bill.

"This is a step in the right direction," said Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, a senior research fellow at Makerere University in neighboring Uganda, who regularly visits Congo. "It protects the interests of the Congolese ... a lot of minerals are going to be certified, and the law will do away with fly-by-night businesses and introduce bona fide companies that don't infringe on the rights of the the people".

However, he cautioned, there's still work to be done.

CNN

2 missing troops in Afghanistan are Americans

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Two foreign troops who went missing Friday in Afghanistan are Americans who have been abducted, an Afghan intelligence source told CNN Saturday.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force and two U.S. military officials confirmed that the two missing service members are American. NATO said they went missing after leaving their compound in Kabul city Friday afternoon and did not return.

Forces have launched a search for the service members and the military vehicle they were in, ISAF said.

Their duty status is "whereabouts unknown," the U.S. officials said.

The intelligence source told CNN that the two were abducted in Logar province, south of Kabul -- Afghanistan's capital.

The development comes as five U.S. soldiers were killed in bombings in southern Afghanistan on Saturday.

CNN

15 killed amid panic at Germany's 'Love Parade'

(CNN) -- Fifteen people were killed Saturday when chaos broke out at a music festival in Duisburg, Germany, police said.

The panic at "Love Parade 2010" left at least 15 people injured, according to police spokesman Werner Friese. But Carsten Lueb of CNN affiliate NTV said that the number of injured was higher, possibly into the hundreds.

Lueb told CNN that some 1.4 million people showed up at the popular festival, which features dozens of DJs spinning techno music for hours. Organizers expected only 700,000 to 800,000 attendees, so they opened an additional event site to accommodate more people.

The deadly crush happened in an underpass between the main event site and the expansion area. Witnesses told NTV that people pushed into the tunnel from both sides until it was dangerously overcrowded. The panic began as festival-goers began to lose consciousness as they were crushed against the walls and each other.

After the panic, a line of emergency vehicles, including helicopters, could be seen parked on the highway leading to the festival site, carrying away people injured in the crush. The festival itself, however, went on. Police were afraid that ending the music altogether could cause further unrest among the massive crowd.

Witnesses also told NTV that police were warned at least an hour before the incident that the underpass was becoming dangerously crowded. NTV reported that there were 1,400 police officers on hand to monitor the event.

The festival was supposed to take place from 2 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) to midnight. By the evening, the entrance and adjacent roadway remained closed. Thousands inside the venue continued dancing, but many could be seen leaving the area.

The Love Parade was first held in the German capital, Berlin, in 1989.

CNN

Fifteen dead in Love Parade stampede

At least 15 people were crushed to death on Saturday when mass panic triggered a stampede inside a tunnel at the Love Parade techno music festival in the German city of Duisburg, police said.

Another 100 people were lightly injured in the incident. Nine of the dead were women and six were men, police said.

Organisers said 1.4 million people had turned out for the day-long open-air festival in Duisburg, a city of 500,000 just north of Düsseldorf, with most of them unaware of the incident, the NTV television network reported.

The tunnel led to a disused freight railway yard where the festival was taking place. It was not immediately what sparked the initial panic.

Fearing further mass panic, local officials opted against an immediate evacuation of the festival grounds where tens of thousands of revellers were still gathered late in the afternoon, a city spokesman said.

Television footage showed emergency personnel working frantically at the tunnel while a line of revellers filed away slowly from the scene.

Dozens of ambulances and emergency vehicles were parked nearby, while medical tents had been set up. Several helicopters had landed on an elevated motorway bridge near the scene, which police had closed off with bollards.

First held in Berlin in 1989, the Love Parade is one of the biggest techno festivals in Europe, featuring world-renowed DJs spinning their turntables onstage as fans dance and throb to the beat.

It moved from Berlin from 2007 onwards after disagreements with the city authorities over logistics and security and has been held in several other German cities in recent years.

Deadly stampedes of this kind are rare in Europe but have happened elsewhere in the world in recent years.

In May 2009 11 people were killed, most of them women and children, in a stampede at a world music festival in the Moroccan capital Rabat, which featured such pop stars as Kylie Minogue.

The Local DE

McChrystal honored at retirement ceremony

Washington (CNN) -- The Afghanistan commander whose career ended after a controversial profile in Rolling Stone magazine joked about his predicament and his post-military life at his retirement ceremony Friday in Washington.

"For those here tonight that feel the need to contradict my memories with the truth, remember I was there, too. I have stories on all of you, photos on many, and I know a Rolling Stone reporter," Gen. Stanley McChrystal said, poking at the reason for his forced retirement.

McChrystal's illustrious career came to an abrupt end when he resigned as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan after he and his staff were quoted in a Rolling Stone magazine article criticizing and mocking key administration officials.

McChrystal collected his medals and verbal commendations from the top men of the military, White House and the Afghanistan ambassador with a bittersweet smile.

"I left a mission I felt strongly about. I ended a career I love that began over 38 years ago. I left unfulfilled commitments I made to many comrades in the fight -- commitments I hold sacred," he said. "My service did not end as I would have wished".

But, McChrystal said, he and his wife, Annie, will approach the future with "hope and iPhones." He said the couple had spent some years apart but were now reconnected, aided by new technologies like Skype.

The West Point graduate and former Green Beret was a senior official for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen. Between 2003 and 2008, he was the commander of the highly clandestine Joint Special Operations Command, which oversees the military's most sensitive forces, including the Army's Delta Force.

"We say goodbye to Stan McChrystal today with pride and sadness," Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said at the ceremony. "Pride for the remarkable roster of achievement that he has compiled as a man and a soldier. Sadness that our comrade and his prodigious talents are leaving us".

CNN