BEIJING (AP) — A Tibetan teenager in Sichuan province died after setting himself on fire to protest Chinese oppression in Tibet, the third such self-immolation in three days, a U.S.-based broadcaster said. Washington-based Radio Free Asia reported that an 18-year-old identified only as Dorje set himself ablaze Monday near a local government office in Jia township, in Sichuan’s Aba prefecture. It quoted Kanyag Tsering, a Tibetan monk exiled in India with contacts in Tibet, as saying he shouted “slogans against... Read more

HACKENSACK, N.J. (AP) — A second man charged in a series of attacks on synagogues that included the January firebombing of a house of worship where a rabbi and several family members were sleeping pleaded not guilty on Monday. Aakash Dalal, 19, of New Brunswick, appeared in court shackled at the waist and wearing a prison-issued orange jumpsuit. He is accused of encouraging another defendant, Anthony Graziano, by showing him how to make the bombs, though Dalal is not believed... Read more

HACKENSACK, New Jersey (AP) — A second man charged in a series of attacks on synagogues that included the January firebombing of a house of worship where a rabbi and several family members were sleeping pleaded not guilty on Monday. Aakash Dalal, 19, appeared in court shackled at the waist and wearing a prison-issued orange jumpsuit. He is accused of encouraging another defendant, Anthony Graziano, by showing him how to make the bombs, though Dalal is not believed to have... Read more

HAVANA (AP) — They cast snail shells to read their fortunes, proudly wear colorful necklaces to ward off illness, dress all in white and dance in “bata” drum ceremonies. But although their Afro-Cuban Santeria religion owes much to Roman Catholicism, many are decidedly unenthusiastic about Pope Benedict XVI’s March 26-28 tour of Cuba, even if it is being hailed as a watershed moment for a church seeking to boost its influence on this Communist-run island. Santero priests still remember the... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Imam Qazi Qayyoom says he believes the New York Police Department is keeping his community safe and if that means some Muslims are monitored, so be it. “The police, they come to us and say, ‘Is everything OK? How can we help you?” the Queens marriage officiant said Monday. “They are not trying to hurt us. For this, I want to say thank you and tell them I support them.” Qayyoom and about three dozen other... Read more

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Once, long ago, Evie looked after “Barry” Obama, the kid who would grow up to become the world’s most powerful man. Now, his transgender former nanny has given up her tight, flowery dresses, her brocade vest and her bras, and is living in fear on Indonesia’s streets. Evie, who was born a man but believes she is really a woman, has endured a lifetime of taunts and beatings because of her identity. She describes how soldiers... Read more

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Once, long ago, Evie looked after “Barry” Obama, the kid who would grow up to become the most powerful man on earth. Now, his transgender former nanny has given up her tight, flowery dresses, her brocade vest and her bras, and is living in fear on Indonesia’s streets. Evie, who was born a man but believes she is really a woman, has endured a lifetime of taunts and beatings because of her identity. She describes how... Read more

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — During a sermon last week at Bahrain’s Grand Mosque, the pro-government prayer leader offered sweeping praise for one of the Arab Spring’s counter-revolutions: Gulf rulers bonding together against dissent with powerful Saudi Arabia as their main guardian. The widening Saudi security stamp on the region is already taking shape in Bahrain, where more than a year of Shiite-led unrest shows no sign of easing and the Saudi influence over the embattled Sunni monarchy is... Read more

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The 4,000-member First Presbyterian Church in Colorado has taken another step toward leaving its denomination. KRDO-TV reports (http://bit.ly/xBWP3B) 80 percent of the Colorado Springs congregation on Sunday voted in favor of proceeding with efforts to leave the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Senior Pastor Jim Singleton cited disagreements with the denomination’s direction, including a decision last year to allow the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy in committed relationships. Church leaders are expected to vote this summer... Read more

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Muslim women will have to remove face veils when having their signatures officially witnessed under the latest laws in New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state. State Attorney General Greg Smith said on Monday that officials who fail to check identities will face fines under laws recently approved by the state legislature. The laws are a response to a notorious court case last year in which a Sydney woman was convicted of falsely claiming that a... Read more