Chicago Sun-Times

Bombs at mosques in northwest Pakistan kill 15

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:34:01 -0500

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Bombs that exploded outside two mosques in a village in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 15 people Friday, underlining the challenge of militant violence facing a new government set to take power under the leadership of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Tunisia bans conservative Islamist conference

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:32:00 -0500

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia’s Interior Ministry on Friday banned a conference by the North African country’s most prominent ultraconservative Islamic group, setting up the possibility of a confrontation over the weekend.

AP PHOTOS: Cuba’s LGBT community celebrates

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:28:00 -0500

HAVANA (AP) — A week of drag shows, colorful marches and social and cultural events in Havana culminates Friday with celebrations of the International Day Against Homophobia.

Bombs targeting Sunnis kill at least 76 in Iraq

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:18:00 -0500

BAGHDAD (AP) — Bombs ripped through Sunni areas in Baghdad and surrounding areas Friday, killing at least 76 people in the deadliest day in Iraq in more than eight months. The major spike in sectarian bloodshed heightened fears the country could again be veering toward civil war.

Canada abuzz over purported crack video of mayor

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:16:00 -0500

TORONTO (AP) — A video purportedly of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack has caused an uproar in Canada. Ford on Friday called the allegations “ridiculous.”

Egypt security forces clash with Cairo protesters

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:14:00 -0500

CAIRO (AP) — Egyptian security forces have fired tear gas at protesters hurling firebombs at them in central Cairo, hours after hundreds of opponents of Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi rallied peacefully in the streets denouncing his rule and demanding early presidential elections.

Bombs kill 9 inside elite Afghan housing complex

Fri, 17 May 2013 17:12:01 -0500

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Two bombs hidden in a motorcycle and a car exploded inside an elite gated community linked to the family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday evening, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70 near the southern city of Kandahar, an official said.

Woman describes Berlusconi’s ‘bunga bunga’ fests

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:58:55 -0500

MILAN — Silvio Berlusconi’s private disco featured women dressed not just as sexy nuns and nurses but also as President Barack Obama and a prominent Milan prosecutor the former Italian premier has accused of persecuting him. Those are some of the details that have emerged Friday during the first public sworn testimony by the Moroccan woman at the center of the sex scandal involving Berlusconi. Karima el-Mahroug testified Friday at the trial of three former Berlusconi aides charged with recruiting her and other women for prostitution. They deny the charges. The trial is separate from the one in which Berlusconi …

$1 million in jewels stolen near Cannes film fest

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:56:01 -0500

PARIS — A French police official says jewelry worth about $1 million has been stolen from a safe in a Cannes hotel room, against the backdrop of the Riviera resort town’s film festival. Cmdr. Bernard Mascarelli, a judicial police spokesman in the nearby city of Nice, said a culprit or culprits ripped the safe out of the wall of the Novotel hotel room overnight where an employee of the Swiss-based watch and jewelry maker Chopard was staying. A Paris-based spokeswoman for Chopard said the company declined comment. Melissa Levine, a spokeswoman for Accor, the French hospitality giant behind the Novotel …

Son of ‘disappeared’ Arab in Mali also arrested

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:46:00 -0500

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Relatives say Mohamed Ould Ali, an employee of the International Committee of the Red Cross, has been arrested in Mali’s capital. He had been attempting to sue the Malian military for his father’s recent disappearance.

Mystical branch of Islam has resurgence in Somalia

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:58:02 -0500

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Sufism, a mystical branch of Islam, is having a major comeback since al-Shabab, an armed militant Islamic group, was pushed out of Somalia’s capital in August 2011.

Watchdog: Israel trying to legalize settlements

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:50:01 -0500

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli watchdog group on Thursday accused the government of taking steps to legalize four unauthorized settlement outposts in the West Bank, days before the U.S. secretary of state is set to arrive on a new peace mission.

Japan mayor: Lack of sensitivity caused sex flap

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:46:01 -0500

TOKYO (AP) — An outspoken Japanese mayor who outraged many with remarks about Japan’s wartime and modern sexual services stood by his comments Thursday, but said he may have lacked “international sensitivity.”

Car bombs, shooting in Iraq leave 21 dead

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:44:00 -0500

BAGHDAD (AP) — Car bombs hit Shiite neighborhoods of the Iraqi capital for the second day in a row on Thursday, part of a series of attacks across the country that left 21 people dead and raised concerns over a return to sectarian bloodshed.

Merkel, Hollande at odds over Europe’s way forward

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:42:01 -0500

BERLIN (AP) — Germany and France recognize that their cooperation is key to overcoming Europe’s persistent economic crisis, but comments Thursday by the leaders of the continent’s No. 1 and 2 economies suggested they still have diverging priorities.