Thousands

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A Brazilian government plan to import 6,000 Cuban doctors to practice in needy areas is being greeted with criticism from  local medical professionals. Much of the medical care in Brazil is concentrated in rich, densely populated urban centers, leaving more distant parts of the country, especially the Amazon jungle, underserved. The presence of Cuban doctors in Venezuelan slums has been one of the flagship social programs of the Chavista governments there.

The history of Europe is written in its people's DNA. The Huns and the Slavs made incursions into Eastern Europe about 1,500 years ago. Migrants moved from Ireland to England in recent centuries. Populations in Italy and Spain have been comparatively stable. None of this is breaking news. But scientists were able to see it anew by examining the patterns of genes in 2,257 people now living in 40 countries on the continent. It's surprising "how much past history was still evident in the patterns we've seen," said Peter Ralph, a computational biologist at USC who reported the findings Tuesday in the journal PLOS Biology.

This post has been corrected. See bottom for details. MOSCOW - In the biggest show of opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin since last May, thousands of demonstrators gathered Monday near the Kremlin to demand an immediate release of all political prisoners and new presidential and parliamentary elections. The protesters filled Bolotnaya Square, not far from the site of a mass protest march exactly one year earlier. That demonstration, on the eve of Putin's third presidential inauguration, ended violently, in clashes with police.

From the Bay Area to San Diego, tens of thousands of volunteers throughout California are expected to participate in the nation's largest community service initiative as Big Sunday Weekend , a three-day event, kicks off on Friday. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, Big Sunday's mission is to build community through hundreds of community service projects, including food and blood drives, delivery of meals to seniors and the planting of vegetable gardens on school campuses, organizers said.

A fast-moving brush fire powered by Santa Ana winds raged out of control Wednesday in Riverside County, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes and creating a thick pall of smoke that stretched for miles and affected air quality in the region. The Summit fire, which had charred at least 2,950 acres near Banning, spread quickly after breaking out shortly after noon as hundreds of firefighters struggled to create containment lines and protect homes, officials said. The blaze destroyed at least one home and left one firefighter with minor injuries.

China employs an army of censors. As many as 50,000 well-trained monitors police the Internet, and 12 government departments are empowered to search and seize information and shut down users and sites. They work fast: A recent study conducted by two American computer scientists found that 30% of banned posts are removed within half an hour of posting, and 90% within 24 hours. International corporations must abide by the censors or forgo doing business in China. Paramount Pictures, for example, agreed in April to cut scenes from a new Brad Pitt movie to remove an unflattering reference to China.

The federal court official in charge of running healthcare for California's troubled prison system on Monday directed the state to immediately remove more than a third of the inmates at two state prisons because of the risk of valley fever. The directive from J. Clark Kelso follows an expert's report filed in U.S. District Court last week concluding that the incidence of the potentially fatal fungus poses a "public health emergency. " California corrections officials had no immediate response, though the department said last month it was working on its own valley fever response plan.

Thousands of Angelenos turned out Sunday to enjoy the music and food offered up at the 24th annual Fiesta Broadway.  Many took advantage of picture-perfect weather to stroll the many food, craft and merchandise booths lining Broadway. A number of streets near City Hall are closed for the festival, which runs until 6 p.m. Broadway is closed from Temple to 4th Street; Spring Street from Temple to 1st Street; and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets between Spring and Hill streets. Road closures will be lifted before 5 a.m. Monday.    ALSO: Road closures begin for Fiesta Broadway in downtown L.A. Bellflower man dies after his car veers off Highway 91 in Cerritos Granada Hills wins third national Academic Decathlon competition carlos.lozano@latimes.com

Tens of thousands of Angelenos abandoned their cars Sunday and hopped on their bikes, strapped on their rollerblades or pulled on their walking shoes and took to the streets to rediscover their city as part of the sixth CicLavia. Starting near City Hall, the cyclists, skateboarders, dog-walkers, runners and pedestrians slowly began making their way along the 15-mile, car-free route that will take them from downtown to Venice Beach. Organizers were expecting more than 100,000 people to participate in Sunday's event.

Charles McKay makes a detailed spreadsheet of the authors he wants to hear during the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, typing in his first and second choices and getting tickets ahead of time. Jerry Oborn, from San Diego, said she goes about it another way: “I just wander around.” But McKay and Oborn both said they finish the festival the same way - with a long list of new books to read. MORE: The L.A. Times map of literary Los Angeles “It takes us months to get through all these books by authors who inspired us,” said McKay, who lives in the South Bay. McKay and Oborn were among 150,000 people expected to attend the 18th annual book festival this weekend at USC. Under clear and hot skies Saturday, visitors listened to poetry, watched cooking demonstrations, danced to local bands and shopped at dozens of makeshift bookstores.