A European Union aid plan for Iran sends "the wrong message at the wrong time" to the government in Tehran, the US State Department said Friday. The $20.7 million EU assistance package "perpetuates the regime's ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy...

The sexual abuse scandal dogging the Catholic Church is the result of a "cultural problem" that will take time to remedy, the Vatican's chief spokesman told Irish broadcaster RTE on Friday. Pope Francis is due to arrive in Ireland on Saturday for a historic two-day visit, but spokesman...

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said some members of oil producer group OPEC were acting in accordance with U.S. policies, Iran's Khaneye Mellat news agency reported Friday. "Some members are interpreting the latest OPEC decision on oil output differently ... and are acting in...

A Palestinian journalist with a Hamas-linked television channel has been released from Israeli custody but banned from working for two months, his family said Friday. Alaa Rimawi, director of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) TV network in the West Bank, was freed Wednesday after being detained in...