CHICAGO (AP) — The tip was a surprise when it arrived on the desk of Ted Wasky. Had it not come, the former FBI agent fears five Muslim men in northwest Ohio might have pulled off a plot to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The source of the tip? A fellow group of Muslims living in Toledo. “They were talking about Jihad and wanting to defend their … brothers in the Middle East against American aggression,” Wasky said. “The community... Read more

CHICAGO (AP) — The tip was a surprise when it arrived on the desk of Ted Wasky. Had it not come, the former FBI agent fears five Muslim men in northwest Ohio might have pulled off a plot to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq. The source of the tip? A fellow group of Muslims living in Toledo. “They were talking about Jihad and wanting to defend their … brothers in the Middle East against American aggression,” Wasky said. “The community... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top U.S. officials all the way up to President Barack Obama are predicting the Syrian regime’s days are numbered, but recent U.S. intelligence reports suggest that the Syrian leader commands a formidable army that is unlikely to turn on him, an inner circle that has stayed loyal and a Syrian elite that still supports his rule. While intelligence officials would not be drawn on a timeline for the regime’s possible collapse, their sober assessment hinted at a... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite the Obama administration’s predictions that the Syrian government’s days are numbered, recent U.S. intelligence reports suggest President Bashar Assad commands a formidable army that is unlikely to turn on him, an inner circle that has stayed loyal and an elite class that still supports his rule. The assessment hinted at a continuing campaign lasting several months, if not longer, with more Syrians dying. For the past year, Assad’s government has tried to crush a popular uprising... Read more

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The head of Tibet’s government in exile has blamed China for a recent wave of self-immolations by Tibetans, saying Saturday that they have been denied the right to hold conventional protests. Lobsang Sangay said Tibetans were left with no choice but to take extreme action by setting themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule. There have been 14 cases of self-immolations reported in the past 2 1/2 months to protest what Sangay called China’s suppression of... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo supporting the Egyptian military’s crackdown on international pro-democracy groups clashed Friday with demonstrators rallying against the country’s military leadership. Dozens of people were injured. The issue of the pro-democracy groups has been at the center of one of the most divisive chapters of U.S.-Egyptian relations in recent decades. Egyptian officials alleged the groups were using foreign funding to foment unrest in Egypt and were pursuing a legal case against dozens... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Police Department collected information on businesses owned by second- and third-generation Americans specifically because they were Muslims, according to newly obtained secret documents. They show in the clearest terms yet that police were monitoring people based on religion, despite claims from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to the contrary. The NYPD has faced intense criticism from Muslims, lawmakers — and even the FBI — for widespread spying operations that put entire neighborhoods under surveillance. Police... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI is telling U.S. bishops to beef up their teaching about the evils of pre-marital sex and cohabitation and denouncing what he calls the “powerful” gay marriage lobby in the United States. As debate over health care coverage for birth control rages on in the U.S., Benedict told visiting U.S. bishops on Friday there was an urgent need for Catholics in America to discover the value of chastity. Benedict says a weakened appreciation for... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt officially started on Saturday the process of holding its first-ever free presidential elections, with the door opening for candidates to submit their applications. Politicians from the era of deposed president Hosni Mubarak, ex-military officers, and moderate and hardline Islamists are expected to become the front-runners in a vote that is scheduled to start May 23. The elections follow decades of authoritarian rule, with all of the country’s former presidents elevated from the ranks of the military... Read more

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Tens of thousands of anti-government protesters flooded a major highway in Bahrain on Friday in one of the largest opposition rallies in months against the Gulf nation’s rulers. Security forces fired tear gas at smaller groups attempting to reach a heavily guarded square that was once the hub of the uprising. The march was called as a show of resolve by a Shiite-led rebellion against Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy more than a year after the Arab Spring-inspired... Read more