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NEW DELHI - Myanmar President Thein Sein released some 20 political prisoners Friday, days before a historic summit with President Obama in Washington early next week, according to officials and prisoner rights groups. The ex-general's government denied that the releases were linked to the visit, and activist groups said the nation's leadership had not gone far enough. But the release follows last month's pardon of dozens of political prisoners - one day after the European Union agreed to end most economic sanctions against the former pariah state.

Krupali Tejura wants a frozen banana stand in Newport Beach. No, not Dad's or Sugar 'N Spice or any of the other venerable spots around town. She wants  that  banana stand. Earlier this month, it was announced that  Netflix would promote new episodes of the revived TV comedy "Arrested Development"  by touring the show's fictitious Bluth's Original Frozen Banana stand in the United States and England. Apparently, though, the promotion doesn't include a stop in Newport, where the series takes place.

Zack Greinke returned to the Dodgers' rotation this week, recovering from surgery on his left shoulder in five weeks, three ahead of schedule. Hanley Ramirez came back last month from a broken thumb two weeks earlier than expected. But head trainer Sue Falsone has little time to celebrate how cutting-edge procedures and rehabilitation methods accelerated Ramirez's and Greinke's recoveries. The Dodgers are in last place not only in the standings, but also in injury prevention.

BEIJING -- A senior aide to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived Tuesday in North Korea, but neither country gave a reason for the unannounced visit that followed weeks of high tension in the region over the North's nuclear and missile tests. The sudden trip by Isao Iijima touched off speculation in the Japanese media that Abe was seeking to revive the long-standing issue of North Korea's abduction of Japanese citizens, as well as perhaps to prepare the stage for a visit to Pyongyang by the prime minister.

Prince Harry has a future in American football if that whole royal heir/third in line to the throne thing doesn't work out. The young royal set out on his U.S. visit over last week and, over the weekend, he partook in a very  American pastime: football. The pigskin kind, not the soccer kind. On his Sunday visit to the U.S. Air Force Training Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., Prince William's younger brother threw the ball around with a few cadets and helped support the cheerleaders by acting as the base to a human pyramid topped by the academy's Falcon mascot, E!

WHEATON, Ill. - I'm standing in a cemetery, which is probably better than lying in one. I came to Chicago to write about the Angels, and while I seem to be focused on the dead, this has more to do with Mother's Day. My mom is here. This isn't the first time I've set out to write about the Angels and found myself mentioning my mother. Maybe the name Angels triggers her memory, or maybe I'm always trying to avoid writing about the Angels. Funny how the mention of Angels, though, never brings back memories of my father.

Re "Wilde about California," Opinion, May 5 Roy Morris Jr. opens his otherwise interesting piece on Oscar Wilde's 1882 trip to San Francisco with a most unfortunate analogy. If readers come away with the impression that Wilde was of the same ilk as Paris Hilton or the "Jersey Shore" gang, he has done a disservice to Wilde and to your readers. Wilde left us plays that are routinely enjoyed more than a century after he wrote them. Hilton and Snooki will have left us only embarrassment at the vacuousness of our popular culture.

BEIJING -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured Shanghai on Tuesday, paying tribute to the city's role sheltering Jews during World War II and conveniently avoiding Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was visiting Beijing. The concurrent visits to China of the Middle East antagonists created some diplomatic awkwardness. Although the official Chinese Communist Party newspaper Global Times suggested the two might hold an impromptu meeting, Netanyahu's itinerary apparently was arranged to avoid that possibility.

HOUSTON - A visit to Dr. James Andrews, the orthopedic surgeon who performs more than 200 Tommy John surgeries per year, can cause great consternation for big league pitchers and their teams, but Sean Burnett actually got some good news after being examined by Andrews in Florida on Monday. “Everything came back good,” the Angels reliever said in a text message. “Just some forearm inflammation and some nerve irritation. He gave me a shot, and I will need to take a few days off from throwing.” Burnett had a 1.04 earned-run average in 11 appearances before being put on the 15-day disabled list April 28 because of forearm irritation.

The Los Angeles Orienteering Club will hold its next meet May 19 at Schabarum Regional Park in Rowland Heights. To register or get more information, visit losangelesorienteering.org.