RELIGION December 12, 2016 Attorney General: Hate crimes are stain on America's "soul" Attorney General Loretta Lynch says hate crimes tear at the fabric of American communities and are a stain on our "nation's very soul." Lynch spoke Monday at a mosque in Virginia amid a large spike in hate crimes targeting Muslims.
Europe December 12, 2016 Pope urges new culture of nonviolence for world politics Pope Francis is calling for a renewed culture of nonviolence to inform global politics today, saying military responses to conflicts only breed more violence.
World December 12, 2016 Amid rise of nationalistic sentiments and women's rights criticism, Sharia law under fire in UK Supporters of Shariah courts say they are nothing more than arbitration panels - authorized to apply Islamic law and teachings to matters such as divorce and inheritance. Critics, however, argue that the courts are overstepping their bounds and represent a dangerous erosion of national jurisprudence, culture and even sovereignty.
RELIGION December 12, 2016 Rights groups blast sentence against Bahrain Shiite activist Human rights groups are sharply criticizing a Bahraini appeal court's ruling upholding a nine-year prison sentence against the country's leading Shiite opposition figure.
RELIGION December 12, 2016 Pakistanis attack mosque of religious minority Pakistani officials says thousands of Sunni Muslims marking the Prophet Muhammad's birthday have attacked a mosque belonging to the Ahmadi religious minority, wounding several people.
GLOBAL ECONOMY December 12, 2016 The Latest: Egypt says church attack was a suicide bombing The Latest on the church bombing in Egypt (all times local): 2:45 p.m.
RELIGION December 12, 2016 Even if IS ousted, Christians' return to Mosul unlikely Authors of a report on minority groups in Iraq and Syria say the possible ouster of the radical Islamic State group from the Iraqi city of Mosul won't be enough alone to encourage to Christians who have long faced inter-communal tensions there to return from exile.
Europe December 12, 2016 Pope to Egypt Copts: "United in the blood of our martyrs" Pope Francis has phoned the Coptic patriarch of Egypt to offer his condolences for the 25 Christians killed in a church bombing in Cairo.
RELIGION December 12, 2016 Blast at Egypt's main Coptic Christian cathedral kills 5 Egypt's official news agency says a blast at Cairo's main Coptic Christian cathedral has killed five people.