BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — Anti-government protesters occupying Bangkok’s international airport have allowed more than three dozen commercial aircraft to leave for a naval base where stranded passengers can try to catch flights back home, an airport authority spokeswoman said Monday.

By Monday afternoon, 37 aircraft had left the Suvarnabhumi international airport, where hundreds of demonstrators have brought air traffic in the capital to a halt. All but one airplane, which flew empty to Shanghai, landed at the U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield about 140 km (90 miles) southeast of Bangkok, spokeswoman Monrudee Gettuphan said.

Authorities have estimated 100,000 passengers have been stranded since protesters led by the opposition People’s Alliance for Democracy seized the airport on Tuesday. The alliance also has taken over another, smaller airport the government had been using as its temporary office after being shut out of its headquarters by other demonstrations.

At times, the protests have turned violent. A pair of explosions injured 49 people — three of them seriously — when what was believed to be a grenade was launched at protesters at the Thai government house, said Dr. Petchpong Kumjornkijjakarn, director of the Eruwan Rescue Center. The government house has been under the control of the protesters for the past three months.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading to India in the wake of terror attacks that killed more than 180 people, including six Americans, in Mumbai, the White House said Sunday.

Rice was scheduled to depart Sunday night for an already scheduled trip to London, said Press Secretary Dana Perino in a statement. Rice will attend the NATO meeting on Tuesday before traveling to India, where she is expected to arrive in New Dehli on Wednesday.

Earlier Sunday, President Bush spoke to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Noting that U.S. citizens were among those killed, the president “said that we would all be working together, with the international community, to go after these extremists,” according to a statement from National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

(CNN) — Space shuttle Endeavour landed safely Sunday afternoon at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

The shuttle landed at 1:25 p.m. (4:25 p.m. ET).

(CNN) — The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season ended Sunday, marking the finish of one of the busiest and costliest hurricane seasons ever.

The damage caused by this year’s Atlantic hurricanes is estimated at $54 billion, according to the National Climatic Data Center. That’s second only in recorded history to 2005, the year Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast. The total that year was an estimated $128 billion.

Government studies have noted that, when adjusted for inflation and other factors such as population density in coastal areas, some hurricane seasons from early last century could be seen as more expensive

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — Clashes between militants and security forces in northwest Pakistan Saturday night killed four people, a police officer told CNN.

The clashes in Bannu district, in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, began around 11 p.m., when militants fired rockets on a police check point, Muhammad Alam Shanwari of the Bannu district police told CNN.

One police official was killed, and seven others were wounded, Shanwari said.

(CNN) — More than 340 people have been killed in the last three days in violence stemming from a disputed election in Jos, Nigeria, a local religious leader said.

Since Friday, locals have delivered 346 bodies to the main mosque in the central Nigerian city, said Sheikh Khalid Abubakar, the imam of the mosque.

Abubakar said the violence stems from a local election for a “government council” in which a Muslim candidate was running against a Christian candidate.

(CNN) — NASA officials will attempt to land space shuttle Endeavour in California, after waving off two opportunities for the shuttle to land in Florida because of poor weather conditions.

Wind, rain and reports of thunderstorms within 30 miles of the shuttle landing facility at Kennedy Space Center prompted NASA to cancel the two landing attempts, which had been scheduled for 1:19 p.m. and 2:54 p.m. ET.

After determining Monday’s weather forecast at Kennedy Space Center was equally unpromising, flight controllers decided they would try to land the shuttle and its seven astronauts at Edwards Air Force Base, in California, NASA officials said.

(CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama plans to name his selections for head of homeland security, U.N. ambassador, and attorney general on Monday, two Democratic officials close to the transition said Sunday.

Obama will name Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano as secretary of homeland security, Susan Rice as U.N. ambassador, and Eric Holder as attorney general, the officials said.

(CNN) — NASA officials waved off Sunday two opportunities for space shuttle Endeavour to land in Florida, citing poor weather conditions.

Wind, rain and reports of thunderstorms within 30 miles of the shuttle landing facility at Kennedy Space Center prompted NASA to cancel the two landing attempts, which had been scheduled for 1:19 p.m. and 2:54 p.m. ET.

Flight controllers were still deciding whether to land the shuttle and its seven astronauts at Edwards Air Force Base, in California, and are evaluating Monday’s forecast at Kennedy Space Center before making a final decision, NASA officials said.
The landing opportunities available Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base are 4:25 p.m. and 6 p.m. PT.

MUMBAI, India (CNN) — India’s Home Minister Shivraj Patil submitted his resignation Sunday as the country investigated alleged Pakistani ties to the terrorist attacks that killed 183 people in Mumbai.

The fallout from the attacks is damaging the tenuous relationship between India and Pakistan, said CNN sister station in India, CNN-IBN.

The Indian government is considering suspending the five-year old cease-fire with Pakistan and perhaps even ending the dialogue process with the country, sources told CNN-IBN.

The 60-hour wave of violence began Wednesday night as gunmen surged into at least nine locations in Mumbai, killing 183 people and wounding about 300.

(CNN) — NASA officials waved off Sunday the first opportunity for space shuttle Endeavour to return to Earth, citing poor weather conditions.

Wind, rain and reports of thunderstorms within 30 miles of the shuttle landing facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida prompted NASA to wave off the first landing attempt, which had been scheduled for 1:19 p.m. ET.

The shuttle and its seven astronauts will have another opportunity to land at Kennedy Space Center at 2:54 p.m. ET.

(CNN) — Pirates have reached a deal with the owners of a Ukrainian ship loaded with arms that was seized more than two months ago, an official with the Kenya Seafarers Association said Sunday.

Talks on how to deliver the ransom money are ongoing, said Andrew Mwangura of the association told CNN.

It is not clear how long those talks will take, but the ship could be freed as soon as an agreement has been reached.

From Yousif Bassil
CNN

BAGHDAD, Iraq  (CNN) — Iraq police recovered at least 38 bodies from a mass grave Saturday and Sunday, and expect to find more as they continue digging, police officials said Sunday.

The bodies showed signs of torture, and some were blindfolded with their hands tied, police said. Some had been decapitated.

They all appeared to be adult men, and some were wearing what appeared to be Iraqi Security Forces uniforms, CNN video showed. Police said they believed most of the victims were those of civilians kidnapped at fake checkpoints in the area.

(CNN) — A suicide bomber on a bicycle detonated explosives Sunday near a car from the German Embassy in Kabul, a local police official said.

Two people were killed and three were injured, said Ali Shah Paktiawal, the police chief in charge of investigations for the city of Kabul. The German embassy car was slightly damaged, but the occupants were not hurt. It is not clear if the German ambassador was in the car.

JERUSALEM (CNN) — Israel’s Cabinet voted Sunday to release 250 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli custody as a show of goodwill to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office said.

(CNN) — U.S. and Afghan forces killed 17 people they called “armed militants” in Afghanistan, and detained another 10, they announced in a joint statement Sunday.

One person was killed and 10 seized in one incident in Zadran district, south of Kabul, while 16 were killed in a second encounter in Sorobi district, east of the capital.

The Zadran operation Saturday targeted a militant associated with the radical Haqqani network who assisted foreign fighters, the joint statement said. He is thought “to coordinate and assist with the movement of Islamic Jihadist Union (IJU) and other foreign fighters into Afghanistan.” He was among the 10 people detained, according to the statement.

MUMBAI, India (CNN) — Indian Home Minister Shivraj Patil, saying he would take “moral responsibility” for the Mumbai attacks, submitted his resignation to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a Home Ministry spokesman said.

Patil was been widely criticized even before terrorists stormed hotels and other locations in Mumbai on Wednesday night, beginning a three-day siege that killed at least 184 people.

N. Ram, editor-in-chief  of The Hindu — a major Indian newspaper — said Patil’s departure was overdue.

“This man has been widely criticized for not being up to it and it was simply impossible that he could stay on after this,” Ram said.

The criticism of Patil was “that he has been very slow, that they haven’t delivered in the promise to improve intelligence.”

With general elections mandated by next May “this government is really fighting for its political life,” he said.

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — President-elect Barack Obama is planning to officially nominate at least three key members of his national security team at an event in Chicago on Monday — including Sen. Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, according to two Democratic officials.

The officials said Obama is also expected to confirm he is keeping Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his current post and naming retired Marine Gen. Jim Jones as his National Security Adviser at the White House.

The officials said that after much contemplation, Jones has privately indicated in the last few days that he plans to take the job. But a source close to Jones said he still has to have one more private meeting Sunday that will finalize the decision one way or the other.

CNN has previously reported Clinton and Gates were on track for the State and Defense posts.

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) — A pair of explosions injured dozens of people in Bangkok early Sunday, as protests against the Thai government continued.

At midnight, 49 people were injured — three of them seriously — when what was believed to be a grenade was launched at protesters at the Thai government house, said Dr. Petchpong Kumjornkijjakarn, director of Eruwan Rescue Center.

The government house has been under the control of the protesters for the past three months. Later, police said there was another blast in a road in front of Don Mueang Airport, the smaller of two airports also being occupied by protesters from the People’s Alliance for Democracy, which has vowed not to leave the buildings until the current government administration resigns.

Police said it was unclear what caused the 4 a.m. blast and that two passers-by suffered minor injuries.

LONG ISLAND, N.Y. (CNN) — The death of a temporary Wal-Mart worker trampled by customers on the frantic Black Friday shopping day could have been avoided, the union that represents retail workers said Saturday.

Jdimytai Damour, 34, was crushed as he and other employees attempted to unlock the doors of a Long Island, New York, store at 5 a.m. Friday, police said.

“This incident was avoidable,” said Brice Both, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500, the state of New York’s largest grocery worker’s union. “Where were the safety barriers? Where was security? How did store management not see dangerous numbers of customers barreling down on the store in such an unsafe manner?

“This is not just tragic; it rises to a level of blatant irresponsibility by Wal-Mart,” he said.

Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar said Saturday the company had no response to the union’s comments, referring CNN to a written statement the retailer released Friday.

The statement said the store added additional internal security, brought in outside security, erected barricades and worked with Nassau County police in anticipation of heavy crowds.

MUMBAI, India (CNN) — The Taj Mahal Hotel had been warned about the possibility of a terrorist attack before a 60-hour rampage began Wednesday, leaving at least 183 people dead, the chairman of the company that owns the hotel said Saturday.

The hotel heightened security as a result, Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata said in a taped interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN’s “GPS” that will air Sunday.

There were indications, though, that the hotel relaxed the security before the attack.

“It’s ironic that we did have such a warning and we did have some measures,” Tata said. “People couldn’t park their cars in the portico where you had to go through a metal detector,” he said, explaining one of the measures. “But if I look at what we had — which all of us complained about — it could not have stopped what took place. They didn’t come through that entrance,” he said, referring to the entrance that had a metal detector. He did not identify which entrance had the security device.

“They came from somewhere in the back. They planned everything,” he said of the attackers. “I believe the first thing they did, they shot a sniffer dog and his handler. They went through the kitchen, they knew what they were doing.”

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Bush pledged Saturday the full support of the United States as India investigates the attacks in Mumbai that killed at least 183 people.

Bush, speaking after returning from Camp David, said his administration was monitoring the situation closely.

He said President-elect Barack Obama has been informed of developments for the attacks, which Bush called “an assault on human dignity.”

MUMBAI, India (CNN) — As investigators work to unmask the group responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks that killed at least 183 people, police and soldiers continued their room-by-room sweep of the Taj Mahal Hotel late Saturday to make sure all trapped guests had been evacuated and no gunmen remained hidden.

Indian authorities also were investigating whether some of the attackers may have gotten away, blending into Mumbai’s 20 million residents.

A top official said at a news conference Saturday the carnage could have been worse.