JERUSALEM (AP) — All but lost amid the heated talk about a possible Israeli attack on Iran’s suspect nuclear program are the thousands of Jews who live in the Islamic Republic and could be caught in the middle. Although Iran has a history of treating its Jewish minority fairly well, some Iranian Jews who have emigrated to Israel worry that an Israeli attack could expose family and friends still in Iran to retaliation. Iran’s government is “unstable and unpredictable. If... Read more

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — Lobsang Sangay is the prime minister of a country that doesn’t exist. His government fills a moldy cluster of yellow brick buildings clinging to an Indian hillside. His budget depends on donor countries and wealthy supporters. But with his well-tailored suits and carefully practiced soundbites, Sangay is something new in this tattered hill town, home to Tibet’s government-in-exile. He is an openly ambitious politician in a culture that traditionally frowns on self-promotion. He is comfortable in... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Roman Catholic bishops say the Obama administration’s promise to soften a birth control mandate is dubious. Bishops say they’ll continue to fight for a broader religious exemption to the rule. The policy announced in January requires nearly all employers to provide insurance coverage that includes free birth control for workers. Churches are exempt, but religious charities aren’t. Many religious groups protested, so President Barack Obama said insurance companies would pay for the coverage instead of religious... Read more

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the permit it issued to the Northern Arapaho Tribe allowing it to kill up to two bald eagles for religious purposes is the first of its kind ever issued to an American Indian tribe. Matt Hogan is assistant regional director for the federal agency in Denver. Hogan stated Wednesday that to the best of his agency’s knowledge, the permit it issued last week to the Wyoming tribe is the... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — From plumbers to lawyers, dessert chefs to retired master spies, hundreds are trying to join the race for president in what is shaping up to be Egypt’s most exciting vote in living memory. The vote is the first since last year’s ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising. And Egyptians are reveling in the anything-goes atmosphere after the restricted votes of the past, though most of the would-be candidates won’t qualify to run and... Read more

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus’ finance minister says a longstanding tax dispute with the island’s influential Orthodox Christian church has been resolved under a new deal taxing future church property transactions and writing off tens of millions of euros in back taxes. Kikis Kazamias says the deal, which the Cabinet approved Wednesday, improves on a stalled 2005 accord and obligates the church to pay tax once it buys, sells or exchanges a property from now on. It also scraps the... Read more

PARIS (AP) — President Nicolas Sarkozy has told French Muslims that they have “the right to live their faith” in France and expressed hope that a divisive debate over halal meat in the presidential campaign has not been hurtful. Sarkozy spoke Wednesday at the Grand Mosque of Paris where he inaugurated a memorial to Muslim soldiers who died for France during World War I. Far-right National Front candidate Marine Le Pen criticized what she claims is an inundation of halal... Read more

HAVANA (AP) — Thirteen Cuban dissidents have holed up in a Roman Catholic church in Havana to press for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI when he visits in two weeks, saying they want to air their grievances about human rights on the island. The Church of Charity in teeming Central Havana was semi-shuttered Wednesday and only pilgrims visiting an image of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Cuba’s patron, were permitted inside. There was no sign of any police... Read more

Omaha City Council passes extended anti-bias protections to gay, transgender people OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The Omaha City Council has approved an ordinance that would extend protections to gay and transgender people. The proposal, put forward by Councilman Ben Gray, would apply to employers, employment agencies, job training programs, labor groups, public accommodations and businesses that contract with the city. It also would provide exemptions for religious groups. A similar proposal failed in October 2010 on a 3-3 vote, but... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s where the nation’s capital gathers to mourn, to pray and to seek comfort during tragedies. Now the Washington National Cathedral needs help weathering its own financial emergency. The church has long been a spiritual center for the nation, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors and worshippers each year. It’s the burial site of President Woodrow Wilson and for Helen Keller. It’s hosted funeral services for Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and other presidents. And during ordeals such... Read more