Native American inmates challenge South Dakota prison tobacco ban in federal lawsuit SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A Lakota traditional healer is arguing that tobacco is an integral part of Native American religious ceremonies and denying its use is akin to taking away the Bible from a Christian. Richard Moves Camp testified during a federal trial challenging a South Dakota prison policy banning ceremonial tobacco use. Camp said tobacco has been a central part of prayer for thousands of years.... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s central bank chief wants more Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews in the work force to spur economic growth. Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer says the government must help to make that happen. In his annual report on Wednesday, Fischer called for better schooling to help these two fast-growing sectors enter the labor market. Discrimination and substandard education have long limited economic opportunities for Israel’s Arabs. Many ultra-Orthodox Jewish men opt for a life of religious study,... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — A panel tasked with drawing up Egypt’s new constitution held its first meeting Wednesday, despite a boycott by liberal members who accuse the Islamists that dominate the committee of trying to hijack the charter-writing process. The bitter dispute over the makeup of the panel erupted over the weekend after parliament, where the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis hold an overwhelming majority, named nearly 60 of their supporters to the committee and only six women and six Christians.... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — A panel tasked with drawing up Egypt’s new constitution convened Wednesday for the first time, despite a boycott by liberal members who accuse the Islamists that dominate the committee of trying to hijack the charter-writing process. The bitter dispute over the makeup of the panel erupted over the weekend after parliament, where the Muslim Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salifis hold an overwhelming majority, named nearly 60 of their supporters to the committee, but only six women and six... Read more

NEW DELHI (AP) — A Tibetan exile who set himself on fire in India to protest a visit by China’s leader died Wednesday, while hundreds of other activists were being held without charge before the president’s arrival. Jamphel Yeshi, 27, set himself on fire Monday at a demonstration in New Delhi. He ran screaming past other protesters and the news media before falling to the ground, his skin and clothing burned and melted together. He was taken to a hospital,... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — Arab leaders gathering here Thursday will call for Syria to implement a cease-fire, but there’s little faith that President Bashar Assad will do anything to halt his crackdown on the year-old uprising. That could set the stage for Gulf Arab nations, eager to see Assad’s downfall, to take stronger action on their own. Arab governments are divided over how strongly to intervene to stop the bloodshed in Syria, and their divisions illustrate how the conflict has become... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — Arab countries, divided over how to stop Syria’s bloodshed, plan to call for the Syrian regime to halt its crackdown on civilians, let in humanitarian groups and free detainees, according to recommendations Wednesday by foreign ministers preparing for a summit this week. Even before Arab heads of state began their Thursday summit in the Iraqi capital, Syria sharply rejected any measures they take. A Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Jihad Makdessi, said Damascus would “not deal with any... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — Arab League foreign ministers meeting in Baghdad on Wednesday will ask their heads of state to send a strong message to the Syrian regime to halt its crackdown on civilians and allow humanitarian groups into the country. A draft of the recommendations by the top diplomats of the 22-member League, obtained by The Associated Press, reinforces earlier proposals by the organization for the end the one-year conflict in Syria, where the U.N. says more than 9,000 people... Read more

HAVANA (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI demanded more freedom for the Catholic Church in communist-run Cuba and preached against “fanaticism” in an unusually political sermon before hundreds of thousands at Revolution Plaza, with President Raul Castro in the front row. Later, the president’s brother, revolutionary leader Fidel, grilled the pontiff on changes in church liturgy and his role as spiritual leader of the world’s Catholics, a Vatican spokesman said. Benedict’s homily was a not-so-subtle jab at the island’s leadership before... Read more

HAVANA (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI is demanding greater freedom for the Catholic Church in Cuba during a Mass in the shrine of the island’s communist revolution. He also denounces fanaticism that tries to impose its truth on others. Benedict’s homily was an unusually politicized papal message during Mass. Benedict said people find freedom when they seek the truth that Christianity offers. He added, “On the other hand there are those who wrongly interpret this search for the truth, leading... Read more