PESHAWAR, Pakistan
Sunni-Shiite clashes leave 40 people dead
Gunfights between majority Sunnis and minority Shiites left at least 40 people dead and 43 hurt in remote northwestern Pakistan after men opened fire on Shiite Muslims, an official said Saturday.
Arbab Mohammed Arif Khan, secretary for law and order in Pakistan’s semiautonomous tribal regions, said officials had imposed a round- the-clock curfew to control the situation in the province bordering Afghanistan.
TEHRAN
Freed envoy claims CIA tortured him
An Iranian diplomat freed two months after being abducted in Iraq accused the CIA of torturing him during his detention, state television reported Saturday.
Jalal Sharafi said the CIA questioned him about Iran’s relations with Iraq and assistance to various Iraqi groups.
“Once they heard my response that Iran merely has official relations with the Iraqi government and officials, they intensified tortures,” he said.
Sharafi was seized Feb. 4 in a Shiite-controlled district of Baghdad. He was freed Tuesday. Iran alleged that he had been abducted by an Iraqi military unit commanded by American forces. U.S. authorities denied any role in his disappearance.
VATICAN CITY
Pope Benedict starts Easter celebrations
Pope Benedict XVI presided over a candlelit Easter Vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday night, ushering in the most important event of the Catholic Church calendar with a service attended by thousands.
The church considers the period between Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, and Easter Sunday, which marks his resurrection, as the most important vigil.
Tens of thousands of faithful are expected to flock to St. Peter’s Square early this morning for the pope’s Easter Mass and later to hear his “Urbi et Orbi” message. The message – “to the city and to the world” – is an occasion for the pope to talk about the leading concerns of the church.
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan
Software billionaire rides into space
A Russian rocket carrying the American billionaire who helped develop Microsoft Word roared into the night skies over Kazakhstan on Saturday, sending Charles Simonyi and two cosmonauts soaring into orbit on a two-day journey to the international space station.
The Soyuz TMA-10 capsule lifted off at 11:31 p.m. local time and was set to rendezvous with the station Monday.
