World News

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has recalled moments of "joy and light" during his papacy but also times of great difficulty in an emotional, final general audience in St. Peter's Square before retiring. Benedict thanked his cardinals, colleagues and ordinary faithful for their support and for respecting his decision to become the first pope in 600 years to resign...

A hot air balloon carrying a group of tourists near Luxor, Egypt, exploded in mid-air Tuesday, killing 18 people in the deadliest accident ever of its kind.

In stunning news, Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday morning from the Vatican that he will resign his position as head of the Catholic Church, effective on February 28. This has already set off a flurry of speculation, largely because no pope has voluntarily done so since the year 1415. The news is still coming in, but here's what we know so far:

ROME (AP) — A United Nations agency says prices of basic foods fell by 1.5 percent last month, with the international prices of all commodities except dairy products dropping. The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization said Thursday that the decline puts the value of its November index nearly 3 percent below a year ago...

A federal Homeland Security Department official says a dinosaur skull seized from a Wyoming home is related to an investigation into fossil smuggling from Mongolia.

GENEVA (AP) — The world now has nearly as many cell phone subscriptions as inhabitants. The U.N. telecom agency says there were about 6 billion subscriptions by the end of 2011 — roughly one for 86 of every 100 people. In a report Thursday, the International Telecommunication Union said China alone accounted for 1 billion subscriptions, and India is expected to hit the 1-billion mark this year...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — President Barack Obama is condemning an anti-Muslim film and the violence in the Middle East that has followed its release, saying there is "no speech that justifies mindless violence." Obama says in a speech Tuesday before the U...

NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday will challenge the world to confront the root causes of rage exploding across the Muslim world, calling it a defining choice "between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes we hold in common." ...

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon predicts that this week's session of the U.N. General Assembly and its sideline events will be among the busiest ever, reflecting "the tumultuous time in which we live. President Barack Obama and more than 120 other presidents, prime ministers and monarchs will meet in New York under heavy security, to discuss crises such as the civil w

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's top leader is urging the West to show it respects Muslims by blocking a film that mocks the Prophet Muhammad and has touched off rage across the Islamic world. State TV quotes Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying Western leaders must prove they are not "accomplices" in a "big crime...