June 15, 2016 Orthodox Synod to take place despite new pullout, by Russia The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians says a historic meeting of church leaders — the first in more than a millennium — is to take place despite a pullout by Russia, the fourth Orthodox church to say it won't attend the June gathering in Crete.
June 15, 2016 Jerusalem OKs new building for Jews in Arab neighborhood Jerusalem's municipality has approved construction of a new building for Jews in the heart of an Arab neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
June 15, 2016 Benedict to mark 65th anniversary as priest amid confusion Retired Pope Benedict XVI will mark his 65th anniversary as a priest at a Vatican ceremony June 28 attended by Pope Francis amid fresh confusion over the roles played by the current and former pontiffs.
June 15, 2016 The Latest: Sources;police killer had previous conviction The Latest on killing of two police officers in France (all times local): 9:15 a.m.
June 15, 2016 Islamic cleric leaves Australia before visa canceled An Islamic cleric has left Australia after comments he made against homosexuality sparked a government review of his visa, officials said Wednesday.
June 15, 2016 Price hikes in Egypt bite hard during holy month of Ramadan Shop owner Hassan Mahmoud laid out his heaps of dried fruits and nuts at a multicolored Ramadan tent in the Egyptian capital to catch shoppers' eyes for the holiday, like he does every year.
June 14, 2016 Moscow Patriarchate hopes for delay of pan-Orthodox meeting A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church says it is waiting for the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarchate to respond to its proposal to delay a historic meeting of all the world's Orthodox churches.
June 14, 2016 It's a boy! Vatican leaks trial takes new turn with birth The Vatican's trial over leaked documents has taken a complicated but expected turn with the birth of a baby named Pietro.
June 14, 2016 Bahrain suspends main Shiite opposition party amid crackdown Bahrain says it has suspended all activities by the tiny island kingdom's largest Shiite political group amid a widening crackdown on dissent, five years after the country's Arab Spring protests.