Pope meeting with Fidel Castro is ‘possibility’: Vatican

  (AFP)  —  Pope Benedict XVI is “available” to meet Fidel Castro during his trip to Cuba this month but will not hold talks with dissidents who occupied a Catholic church this week, the Vatican said Friday. Benedict XVI will travel to Cuba from March 26-28, where he will see President Raul Castro, and while […]

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Head of Anglican church to step down

  London (CNN) – Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head of the 85 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion, announced Friday he will step down from his post at the end of the year. Williams has been archbishop of Canterbury, the top role in the Church of England, for 10 years. He has accepted the position of master […]

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North Korea rocket plan condemned as ‘provocation’

  (BBC)  —  The US and regional neighbours of North Korea have condemned Pyongyang’s plans to launch a rocket-mounted satellite as an act of provocation. North Korea will launch the rocket to mark the 100th birthday of its late former President Kim Il-sung in April, state media reported. The US said the launch would threaten […]

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Arab Gulf states to shut embassies in Syria

    All six Arab Gulf states will close their embassies in Syria in protest against the year-long crackdown in the country, said Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) head Abdullatif al-Zayani early Friday. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait took the step, he said, citing the regime’s “massacring its people, choosing the […]

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North Korea to Launch Satellite for Kim Il Sung’s Birthday

  North Korea will launch an earth observation satellite next month to mark the 100th birthday of its late founding leader Kim Il-sung, the state news agency KCNA reported on Friday. The Unha-3 rocket carrying the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite will lift off from a launch pad in Cholsan, a coastal town in the country’s northwest, between […]

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