Pope meets with Holy Land rabbi, imam, Druse

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A delegation of Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Druse religious leaders in Israel met Thursday with Pope Benedict XVI in a high-profile display of their efforts to promote interfaith peace initiatives in the region.

The Council of Religious Leaders in Israel was created in 2007 in Jerusalem to bring together Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders in Israel to raise awareness about the need for interfaith dialogue and cooperation in the Holy Land.

The audience with the pope was designed in part to boost the profile of the council, which counts among its members representatives of Israel's Islamic, or Sharia courts.

Sheik Kiwan Mohamad, who heads an …

Rays top pick David Price injured by shattered bat

Tampa Bay Rays prized left-hander David Price, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, left Wednesday's game against the Boston Red Sox in the bottom of the second inning after being hit on the right hand by the barrel of a shattered bat.

With no outs and Kevin Youkilis on first base for the Red Sox, Adrian Beltre's bat splintered on a pitch from Price. The barrel headed toward …

Report: queen will OK Charles-Camilla union

LONDON--The queen of England has agreed to the marriage of theprince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles, but not until after herGolden Jubilee, according to an article in the current issue of theBritish magazine The Spectator.

To overcome the sensitivities of the Church of England, the couplemay undergo a civil ceremony, the magazine reports.

Quoting an unnamed palace observer,'' Peter Oborne, a politicaljournalist, writes, After the jubilee the royal marriage will be thenext thing on the agenda.''

The article says that while courtiers are in despair about thereligious, legal and constitutional difficulties such a union wouldcause, they also are aware it is …

Democratic senators want help for young immigrants

WASHINGTON (AP) — Twenty-two Senate Democrats are pressuring President Barack Obama to delay deportations of certain young immigrants in the U.S. illegally.

The senators ask in a letter for deferrals of any deportations of the young immigrants brought to the U.S. by parents who arrived or stayed illegally.

The senators also suggest smaller steps the president can take to help the young …

Bailout bill slapped aside; record stock plunge

In a vote that shook the government, Wall Street and markets around the world, the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, leaving both parties' lawmakers and the Bush administration scrambling to pick up the pieces. Dismayed investors sent the Dow Jones industrials plunging 777 points, the most ever for a single day.

"We need to put something back together that works," a grim-faced Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said after he and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke joined in an emergency strategy session at the White House. On Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders said the House would reconvene Thursday, …

Peregrine Falcons and water voles back in gorge

Spring is here and after the long winter months of absence andhibernation Cheddar Gorge is full of signs of young animal life.

Along with all the new Soay lambs and feral goat kids we areagain seeing our two most spectacular residents, the water voles,famed as Ratty in Kenneth Grahame's book The Wind in the Willows,and the fastest animal in the world, the peregrine falcons.

Once again the voles can be seen going about their business ofeating and dragging weed back into their burrows in preparation forthe start of their breeding season.

There will be disputes, male fighting male for the female'sattention and female fighting female for the prime …

Venezuela Pulling Out of IMF, World Bank

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez announced Monday he would pull Venezuela out of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, a largely symbolic move because the nation has already paid off its debts to the lending institutions.

"We will no longer have to go to Washington nor to the IMF nor to the World Bank, not to anyone," said the leftist leader, who has long railed against the Washington-based lending institutions.

Venezuela, one of the world's top oil exporters, recently repaid its debts to the World Bank five years ahead of schedule, saving $8 million. It paid off all its debts to the IMF shortly after Chavez first took office in 1999. The IMF …