SILAO, Mexico (AP) — Tens of thousands of people gathered Sunday to attend the highlight of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to this violence-troubled country: an open-air Mass in the shadow of the Christ the King monument, one of the most important symbols of Mexican Catholicism. The pope flew over the monument in a Mexican military Superpuma helicopter on his way to the Mass in nearby Bicentennial Park. Benedict wanted to come to Guanajuato state specifically to see and bless the... Read more

SILAO, Mexico (AP) — Thousands of Mexicans are gathering to attend the highlight of Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to this violence-troubled country: an open-air Mass in the shadow of the Christ the King monument. Pilgrims are walking for miles with plastic lawn chairs, jugs of water and knapsacks full of food to the sun-parched park where Benedict will celebrate Mass with bishops and cardinals from across the Americas. Roads were closed Sunday for security. Benedict will fly over and bless... Read more

SILAO, Mexico (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI urged Mexico’s children to be messengers of peace, then prepared for the highlight of his visit to this violence-troubled country: Sunday’s open-air Mass in the shadow of the Christ the King monument, one of the most important symbols of Mexican Catholicism. Benedict wanted to come to Guanajuato state specifically to see and bless the statue, which Pope John Paul II always wanted to visit but never did, said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev.... Read more

GUANAJUATO, Mexico (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI reached out to the future of the church in Mexico on Saturday, telling a gathering of children to be messengers of peace in their often-violent country. The pope reserved his only public remarks of the day for a gathering of about 4,000 children and their parents massed in Peace Plaza in the city of Guanajuato, telling them that they are each a “gift of God to Mexico and the world.” Referring indirectly to... Read more

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that he has begun radiation therapy in Cuba as part of cancer treatment one month after undergoing an operation that removed a tumor. Chavez said in a phone call broadcast live on Venezuelan television that he had his first radiation session after he arrived late Saturday. He said that would be the first of five daily treatments and that he expects to be back in Venezuela for a three-day break... Read more

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez flew to Cuba late Saturday to begin radiation therapy one month after undergoing surgery that removed a cancerous tumor. Chavez will be in Cuba at the same time as Pope Benedict XVI, who arrives on the communist-governed island on Monday after a visit to Mexico. But Chavez didn’t refer to the pope’s upcoming visit to Havana. The 57-year-old president describes himself as a Christian. He has regularly clashed with Roman Catholic leaders... Read more

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said he’s flying to Cuba to begin radiation therapy Sunday, one month after undergoing surgery that removed a cancerous tumor. That will put him in Cuba at the same time as Pope Benedict XVI, who arrives on the communist-governed island on Monday after a visit to Mexico. Chavez has been recovering from a Feb. 26 surgery in Havana that removed a tumor from the same spot in his pelvic region where another... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — A summit of Arab leaders, held here for the first time in a generation, is a prime opportunity for Iraq to reassert itself as a political player in the Arab world after years of war, isolation and American occupation. It also puts Iraq’s Shiite leadership under pressure to pick a side in the bitter sectarian politics dividing the region. The top item on the agenda — the crisis in Syria — is seen by Iraq’s suspicious Arab... Read more

BEIJING (AP) — A state-run Chinese website has launched a bitter attack on the Dalai Lama by accusing the exiled Buddhist leader of “Nazi-style” racial policies and of inciting Tibetans to set themselves on fire. The commentary on China Tibet Online, also carried Saturday by the Xinhua News Agency, is one of the strongest reactions from Beijing to a string of protests in ethnic Tibetan areas in China. About 30 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Islamists looked poised Saturday to dominate a key lever of power that will help determine the country’s political future as parliament selected a panel to draw up the country’s new constitution. Liberal lawmakers denounced the process as a “farce” and walked out in protest. The constitution, which will be written by the 100-member committee, will determine the balance of power between Egypt’s previously all-powerful president and parliament, and define the country’s future identity, including the role... Read more