NOTE: Connecticut, Latvia and Japan briefs may appear as full stories in some editions. Please avoid duplication.

EGYPT

Government chief says negotiations not possible

Egypt’s interim leader on Sunday said that the general public opposes the inclusion of the Muslim Brotherhood in the political process because he said it uses violence. In a wide-ranging interview broadcast on CBC television, Adly Mansour said he can’t open negotiations with the group, which he blamed for the wave of violence that hit Egypt after the outer of President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood leader, because “The whole public would stand against me.” The Brotherhood denies it uses violence in its opposition to Morsi’s ouster, and the government has offered little evidence to prove the link between the attacks and the group.

CONNECTICUT

Newtown charities running low on fund

Some of the charities paying for mental health care for children and families affected by the Sandy Hook massacre are running short of money and officials don’t know how much they’ll need — and for how long — to repair the psychological scars from the mass shooting. Newtown officials are applying for a federal grant and charities are pooling their resources in an attempt to ensure that free long-term mental health care remains available following the December 2012 shooting that left 20 first graders and six educators dead. Officials estimate the need for counseling will continue for 15 years — until the children in the school at the time of the shooting reach adulthood.

IRAN

No final agreement expected in coming talks

Iran’s foreign minister said Sunday his country does not expect to cement a final deal in the coming round of nuclear talks with world powers. Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran and world powers will discuss “dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear activities like uranium enrichment, a heavy water reactor as well as sanctions in the Tuesday and Wednesday talks in Vienna. Iran capped uranium enrichment after a deal in November for a six month period, in return for easing sanctions by the West. That interim agreement is meant to lead to a final accord that minimizes any potential Iranian nuclear weapons threat in return for a full lifting of sanctions.

JAPAN

Couple get first visit with child of abducted daughter

The parents of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea in 1977 have met their Korean-born granddaughter for the first time. The Japanese Foreign Ministry confirmed Sunday that Shigeru Yokota and his wife, Sakie, spent time with 26-year-old Kim Un Kyong over several days last week in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, in what could be a small step toward resuming official government talks between Japan and North Korea. Kim’s mother, Megumi Yokota, was kidnapped in Japan when she was 13, and North Korea claims she has since died.

SERBIA

Nation elects Western-leaning party

Serbs on Sunday gave a clear parliamentary majority to a center-right party that has vowed to overhaul the nation’s struggling economy and push for membership in the European Union. The ruling Progressive Party it is expected to choose its leader Aleksandar Vucic — a former hard-line, pro-Russian nationalist who has become a pro-EU advocate — as prime minister. Serbia this year opened membership talks with the EU after signing a deal normalizing ties with Kosovo, a former province which split in 2008, but whose independence Serbia’s refuses to recognize.

CALIFORNIA

Attorneys general heading to Mexico

Attorneys general from five U.S. states plan to visit Mexico for three days starting March 24 to discuss cross-border crimes. California Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office said Sunday that she will be joined by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto and New Mexico Attorney General Gary King. They and Mexican authorities plan to discuss what joint actions they can take to fight international money laundering. Other topics include the growing involvement of transnational gangs in stealing intellectual property and distributing counterfeit goods, as well as using technology to fight human trafficking, cybercrime and child pornography.

GERMANY

Finance minister wants crackdown on evaders

Germany’s finance minister wants to tighten rules allowing tax evaders to escape punishment if they turn themselves in after the conviction of soccer giant Bayern Munich’s ex-president highlighted the issue. Polls show strong opposition against concessions to tax cheats who confess. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung newspaper the rules are an “effective instrument” but need tightening. People who evade more than 69,500 in tax have to pay 5 percent extra; Schaeuble said authorities want to increase that. He also advocated changing the statute of limitations on money parked abroad.

NIGERIA

16 killed in stampedes for jobs in Nigeria

Officials and activists say at least 16 people died in stampedes when a half million people were invited to apply for fewer than 5,000 Nigerian government jobs. The official News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday quoted Interior Minister Abba Moro as saying the 16 died in five locations around the country. He said they “lost their lives through their impatience.” The Education Rights Campaign blamed his ministry for inviting more applicants than centers could accommodate.

MASSACHUSETTS

Ex-mayor has advanced form of cancer

Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino has been diagnosed with an advanced form of an unknown cancer. The Boston Globe reported that doctors found were unable to find the source of the cancer, which had metastasized. The 71-year-old Menino, the longest-serving Boston mayor who retired from the office a year ago, has had many health problems in recent years.

LATVIA

Amid protests, parade honors Nazi war dead

About 1,500 Latvians on Sunday celebrated Legionnaires Day — which their government abolished in 2000 — by paying tribute to World War II veterans who fought alongside Nazi troops. A few dozen anti-fascist demonstrators, including from Germany and Latvia’s Russian-speaking minority, protested at a nearby park behind police barricades. About 250,000 Latvians fought alongside either the Germans or the Soviets — and about 150,000 Latvians died in the fighting.

AFGHANISTAN

Ex-defense minister withdraws from race

Afghanistan’s former defense minister became the second presidential hopeful to withdraw from the race on Sunday, leaving a field of nine candidates three weeks before the vote to replace Hamid Karzai, who is constitutionally banned from seeking a third term in office. The vote will mark the first democratic transfer of power since the Taliban were ousted by the 2001 U.S.-led invasion. Abdul Rahim Wardak, a longtime defense minister until he was removed by parliament in a vote of no confidence in 2012, gave no reason for his withdrawal.

PAKISTAN

Koran desecration accusation sparks violence

An angry crowd set fire to a Hindu community center in southern Pakistan after allegations circulated that a Hindu had desecrated Islam’s holy book, police said Sunday. The incident in the city of Larkana began after some people said they saw burned pages of the Quran in a garbage bin near the home of a Hindu man, said Anwar Laghari, the area police officer. Violence triggered by allegations of Quran desecration and other allegedly blasphemous acts is common in conservative Pakistan. A controversial Pakistani law imposes the death penalty, but sometimes crowds take the law into their own hands and attacked the accused, often members of a religious minority in the majority Sunni Muslim state.