JERUSALEM (AP) — A rocket hit the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat near the Egyptian and Jordanian borders Thursday, officials said. Israeli police said it was probably fired from Egypt’s Sinai and the prime minister said the attack meant that the mountainous peninsula was becoming a “terror zone.” There were no injuries reported in the overnight strike against the normally tranquil Red Sea vacation spot. Eilat is set to welcome thousands of visitors this weekend for the Passover holiday.... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — A rocket hit the southern Israeli resort city of Eilat near the Egyptian and Jordanian borders Thursday, Israeli police said. Rocket launches are rare in this part of Israel and police suspect that it came from Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Explosions were heard after midnight in Eilat, a popular tourist destination on the Red Sea that is getting set to welcome thousands of visitors for the Passover holiday. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said no one was injured in... Read more

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — Chile’s Congress passed an anti-discrimination law Wednesday following the killing of a gay man whose attackers beat him and carved swastikas into his body. The House of Deputies approved the law in a close 58-56 vote, seven years after it was first proposed. The Senate passed the law in November. Some passages remain to be finalized in a commission of senators and House lawmakers. President Sebastian Pinera had urged lawmakers to accelerate approval of the law... Read more

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah is warning supporters that Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith could be attacked by Democrats during the presidential campaign. Hatch told state Republican delegates that President Barack Obama’s campaign could make Romney’s religious beliefs an issue. The senator’s campaign manager, Dave Hansen, said Wednesday that the topic came up during a campaign event Tuesday in northern Utah. More than 60 percent of Utah residents are Mormons, and Romney is extremely popular... Read more

CLAREMONT, Calif. (AP) — A married pair of French Roman Catholics started a unique quest when she lost her job. They decided to travel the world on an “interfaith pilgrimage.” Frederic and Anne-Laure Pascal have visited 11 nations from Iraq to Malaysia looking for people who have dedicated their lives to overcoming religious intolerance. They dubbed the trip the “Faithbook Tour” and are blogging about their adventure. They recently began their U.S. leg of the visit at Claremont Lincoln University,... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Easter Bunny has arrived early at the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI was presented Wednesday with an enormous, 250-kilogram (550-pound), 2.2-meter (7.2-foot) tall chocolate Easter egg by Italian chocolatier Tosca, which specializes in oversized cocoa confections. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano said Benedict plans to donate the egg, which features the papal coat of arms, to a juvenile detention center in Rome. In Italy, children traditionally receive a big chocolate egg with a prize inside on... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A 30-year-old man says he was a good student with a bright future until he was molested by a priest he calls a “sexual predator.” The man’s emotional testimony is under way Wednesday in a Philadelphia courtroom. The Rev. James Brennan is charged with assaulting the man when he was a 14-year-old boy in 1996. Brennan is on trial with Monsignor William Lynn, who is the first Roman Catholic official in the U.S. charged with endangering children... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — The head of Egypt’s constitutional assembly said Wednesday the committee will forge ahead with its work despite appeals from liberals, Christians and others who walked out in protest against the Islamist domination of the panel. The walkouts are angry that the Islamist majority parliament appointed a panel that they say is not representative of minorities and other political factions. More than 20 panel members who withdrew, including a representative of Al-Azhar, the prestigious Sunni learning institute, and... Read more

NYPD strengthens security at Jewish sites ahead of Passover holiday NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department is beefing up security at the city’s synagogues and other Jewish sites this week for the Passover holiday following a deadly attack on a religious school in France last month. Authorities stressed that there have been no specific threats reported in the city for the weeklong holiday, which starts at sundown Friday. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said there would be heightened... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — The Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for Egypt’s presidency is lobbying hard for support of ultraconservative Muslim clerics, promising them a say over legislation in the future to ensure it is in line with Islamic law, as he tries to rally the divided Islamist vote behind him. The campaign dealmaking is a sign of how the Brotherhood, which is Egypt’s strongest political movement and presents itself to the public as a moderate force, could be pushed into a more... Read more