Nation gets a 'Pastafarian' pastor

New Zealand has officially recognized its first marriage celebrant from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, a pirate-costumed "Pastafarian" who said on Tuesday that all were welcome to join the offbeat religion.

Women, girls face 'invasive tests'

Afghan women and girls accused of so-called moral crimes are often forced to endure invasive and scientifically questionable "virginity tests" by government doctors, according to human rights advocates.

France starts destroying 'Jungle'

Clashes broke out between French riot police and migrants on Monday as authorities began destroying makeshift shelters in the grim shantytown on the edge of Calais known as the "Jungle".

Petrobras corruption investigation targets Lula

Federal prosecutors who uncovered a huge corruption scandal at oil company Petrobras are looking into whether Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva received undue favors from engineering companies they are investigating.

Nanny waving child's severed head detained in Moscow

Moscow police arrested a nanny on Monday for beheading a young girl in her care, with witnesses saying the black-clad woman was carrying a severed head and threatening to "blow everyone up".

Money in politics deepens social divide

A dozen US states were holding their primaries on Tuesday to decide the candidates to represent the Republican and Democratic parties in the November 2016 presidential election.

IN BRIEF (Page 12)

Iranian restaurants give food for thought

Iran and Saudi Arabia's rivalry has played out in proxy wars across the region, and escalated further after the two severed diplomatic and trade ties last month.

'Capital of the revolution' now a ghost town

Two years after the last Syrian rebels left the besieged Old City of Homs, voices echo through the shells of bombed-out buildings, their upper floors tilted at odd angles as though frozen in time.

Former executives charged in Fukushima disaster

Three former Japanese utility executives were formally charged for alleged negligence in the Fukushima nuclear disaster on Monday, becoming the first ones from the company to face a criminal court.

Glitch halts nuclear reactor in Japan days after restart

A Japanese utility on Monday said that a glitch switched off a nuclear reactor just days after it was turned on again after a nationwide shutdown following the 2011 Fukushima crisis.

Rhinos flourish in South African wildlife reserve

During the rescue of a South African rhino calf whose mother was killed by poachers, six heavily perspiring men squeezed the sedated orphan into a helicopter whose seats and doors had been removed to make more space, according to a witness account. The rhino's behind stuck out of the aircraft a bit, but the improvised airlift in February was a success.