Iran on Monday slammed a US pastor's burning of a Koran, calling it provocative and demanding US authorities take action to prevent any recurrence.Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency that it "strongly condemns this ridiculous, insulting and provoking act by a so-called American priest in overt contempt of the holy Koran."The condemnation was in reac

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Once a tense rivalry, the relationship between President Barack Obama and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton has evolved into a genuine political and policy partnership. Both sides have a strong incentive in making the alliance work, especially in an election year.For Obama, Bill Clinton is a fundraising juggernaut, a powerful reminder to voters that a Democrat ran the White House the last time the economy was thriving. For the spotlight-loving former president, stronger ties with

German lawmaker Dorothee Baer plans to go back to work eight weeks after the birth of her third child at the end of the minimum maternity leave, as she did for her first two children.But that has not stopped the 34-year-old conservative vociferously speaking out in favor of a proposed new benefit system which, she says, would help parents raise their children according to their own values and circ

One of Australia's richest men, Clive Palmer, has unveiled plans for a 21st century version of the Titanic to be built in China, with its first voyage from England to New York set for 2016.Palmer, a self-made mining billionaire, said he has commissioned state-owned Chinese company CSC Jinling Shipyard to construct Titanic II with exactly the same dimensions as its predecessor."It will be every bit

21 killed in north Nigeria church service attacksKANO, Nigeria (AP) -- Gunmen attacked worship services at a university campus and a church Sunday in northern Nigeria, killing at least 21 people in coordinated assaults that saw panicked Christians gunned down as they tried to flee, witnesses and officials said.The deadlier attack targeted an old section of Bayero University‘s campus in the city of Kano where churches hold Sunday services, with gunmen killing at least 16 people and wounding at le

Sudan declared a state of emergency along its border with South Sudan on Sunday after month-long border clashes, as four foreigners allegedly arrested in the Heglig oil region remained in custody.President Omar al-Bashir issued a resolution declaring the emergency in the border states of South Kordofan, White Nile and Sennar, the official SUNA news agency said. Other parts of the border were alrea

NEW YORK (AFP) ― So you recycle, drive a small car, and try to eat organic. But what about running an eco-sustainable fish farm combined with a naturally fertilized vegetable patch in your kitchen?Christopher Toole and Anya Pozdeeva, two former New York bankers who founded the Society for Aquaponic Values and Education (SAVE), are there to help.“We call it ‘beyond organic,’” Pozdeeva, 39, said.Aquaponics is a technique with ancient roots for breeding tank fish, recycling their effluent-filled wa

MIAMI (AFP) -- Two Cuban cast members of an award-winning film who disappeared en route to New York for a film festival have emerged in Miami and will apply for political asylum in the United States.“In Cuba, we were talking about it, to stay,” actor Javier Nunez Florian told the Miami-based, Spanish-language channel America TeVe in an interview that aired late Friday, appearing alongside actress Anailin de la Rua.On a stopover in Miami on their flight Wednesday from Havana to New York for the T

BEIJING (AFP) -- Blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who has escaped from house arrest, gained worldwide acclaim for exposing abuses under China‘s draconian family planning policy.Blinded after an illness in his infancy, Chen, 40, grew up in China’s eastern province of Shandong on classical Chinese tales of courageous heroes who fought wicked officials to help powerless ordinary people.The stories, passed on to him by his father, inspired Chen to help others and to embark on his civil rights crusade

RIYADH (AP) ― Saudi Arabia closed its Cairo embassy Saturday and recalled its ambassador following protests over a detained Egyptian human rights lawyer in a sharp escalation of tension between two regional powerhouses already on shaky terms due to uprisings in the Arab world.The unexpected Saudi diplomatic break came following days of protests by hundreds of Egyptians outside the Saudi Embassy in Cairo and consulates in other cities to demand the release of Ahmed el-Gezawi. Relatives and human

KUALA LUMPUR (AP) — A massive street rally demanding electoral reforms in Malaysia raised questions Sunday about whether the long-ruling coalition government will delay calling elections in the face of such a strong show of force by the opposition.Police used tear gas and chemical-laced water Saturday against some 50,000 people and arrested more than 450 at the demonstration. Officials said three demonstrators and 20 police were injured, and all those arrested were released by Sunday.The rally w