LONDON (AP) — A Jordanian prince will urge soccer’s rulemakers Saturday to overturn a ban on Islamic female players wearing hijabs, insisting they are not religious garments. Five years after headscarves were deemed unsafe for games, FIFA Vice President Prince Ali wants them approved with Velcro openings so players can uphold their cultural traditions. Since banning the hijab, FIFA last year extended the safety rule to include neck warmers, which also were judged a possible choking threat. But before traveling... Read more

LONDON (AP) — FIFA Vice President Prince Ali will urge football’s rulemakers on Saturday to overturn a ban on Islamic female players wearing hijabs, insisting they are not religious garments. Five years after headscarves were deemed unsafe to be worn in matches, the Jordanian prince wants the International Football Association Board to sanction them with Velcro openings so players can uphold their cultural traditions. Since banning the hijab, FIFA last year extended the safety rule to include neck warmers, which... Read more

LONDON (AP) — The Church of England has offered an apology for failures to act to prevent child sexual abuse within the church. Bishop Paul Butler, who heads the church’s safeguarding effort, issued the apology Wednesday following the release of a report on failures of the church in the cases of two priests, Colin Pritchard and the late Roy Cotton, who were both convicted of abusing children. Cotton was expelled from a theological college following a conviction for child abuse... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — In an election year battle mixing birth control, religion and politics, Democrats narrowly blocked an effort by Senate Republicans to overturn President Barack Obama’s order that most employers or their insurers cover the cost of contraceptives. The 51-48 vote on Thursday killed a measure that would have allowed employers and insurers to opt out of portions of the president’s health care law they found morally objectionable. That would have included the law’s requirement to cover the costs... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday defeated a GOP effort to roll back President Barack Obama’s policy on contraception insurance coverage in the first vote on an issue that raised questions of religious and women’s rights and riled Americans in this volatile election year. The 51-48 vote killed an amendment that would have allowed employers and insurers to opt out of portions of the president’s health care law they found morally objectionable. That would have included the law’s requirement... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday defeated a Republican effort to roll back President Barack Obama’s policy on contraception insurance coverage in the first vote on an issue that raised questions of religious and women’s rights and riled Americans in this volatile election year. The 51-48 vote killed an amendment that would have allowed employers and insurers to opt out of portions of the president’s health care law they found morally objectionable. That would have included the law’s requirement... Read more

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian and Chinese foreign ministers met Thursday ahead of a summit of leaders from five emerging economies that are pushing for a bigger voice in global financial affairs. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are members of the grouping, known as BRICS, set up nearly six years ago. New Delhi will hold the fourth BRICS summit March 28-29, said India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin. Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi faced a protest demonstration... Read more

ABA, China (AP) — China’s stifling lockdown of this Tibetan town has not only been about patrolling its sleepy streets, but also policing the minds of a community at the center of self-immolation protests against Chinese rule. Soldiers with helmets, rifles, sticks and shields march in rows along this monastery town’s main road against a backdrop of snow-speckled mountains, while police stare at passing cars, scanning license plates and faces of passengers for unwelcome visitors. In school dormitory rooms in... Read more

BEIJING (AP) — Officials on Thursday raised the death toll from a clash this week in China’s heavily Muslim far west to 20, with police having shot a higher number of assailants from the Uighur ethnic group than previously reported. The Xinjiang province’s state-run website said nine assailants charged and slashed a crowd of civilians during Tuesday’s violence in the Xinjiang community of Yecheng, killing 13 and injuring many others. Police then fatally shot seven attackers and detained two others,... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats and Republicans, both eager to rouse their respective political bases in an election year, fought Thursday over President Barack Obama’s mandate that health insurers cover the cost of contraceptives. GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney lent little clarity to the debate. Senate Democrats scheduled a vote Thursday on a measure by Republican Sen. Roy Blunt that would allow employers and insurers citing moral or religious grounds to opt out of the requirement under Obama’s implementation of the... Read more