Nelson Mandela sat beaming in a yellow armchair, his legs propped up on a large stool and covered with a pale yellow blanket. Ten grandchildren crowded around to serenade him with "Happy Birthday" and then smothered him with hugs and kisses. The anti-apartheid icon celebrated his 90th birthday Friday with his family at his home in rural southeastern South Africa and the whole village turned out. [Read More.]

Four Israeli Arabs from east Jerusalem and two from Nazareth have been indicted for allegedly setting up an Al-Qaida cell in the capital and offering their services to global Jihad elements, security officials announced Friday. One of the suspects allegedly made contact with those elements in an attempt to assassinate US President George W. Bush during his visit to Israel in May. [Read More.]

The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court sought an arrest warrant Monday for Sudan's president on charges of waging a campaign of genocide and rape in Darfur, a high-risk strategy that could backfire against the people in the war-torn desert region. The indictment marked the first time prosecutors at the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal have issued charges against a sitting head of state, though President Omar al-Bashir was unlikely to face trial any time soon. [Read More.]

He wore a trendy black shirt just like many of the kids in the crowd. But Nelson Mandela moved slowly, leaning on his wife and on a white cane as he crossed the stage to adoring cheers. Public appearances like the one at the London rock concert in honor of his birthday are rare these days for the anti-apartheid icon. Mandela jokes he has "retired from retirement," but this time it sounds serious. The majestic figure the world saw walking out of prison to freedom 18 years ago is now gray-haired, frail and for the most part silent as he reaches his 90th birthday Friday. [Read More.]

Aid for Africa — and whether enough was coming from the world's major economic powers — was in the spotlight Monday as the Group of Eight nations met with seven African leaders at its annual summit. Activists have accused some G-8 countries, particularly France, Canada and Italy, of skimping on aid to Africa, and urged them to ramp up their contributions. The U.S., Japan, Britain, Germany and Russia make up the other members of the G-8. [Read More.]

President Robert Mugabe said on Friday that although he accepted the need for negotiations to end Zimbabwe's crisis, the opposition must drop their claim to power and accept that he was the country's leader. Returning home after an African Union summit in Egypt that called on Tuesday for him to open negotiations with the opposition of Morgan Tsvangirai, Mugabe struck an intransigent stance. [Read More.]

The U.S. Ambassador to Zimbabwe says about 200 people are seeking refuge at the American embassy in the capital. James McGee said by phone Thursday that the group was from the opposition headquarters in Harare. Opposition supporters have been coming under attack from supporters of President Robert Mugabe. Riot police were seen at the embassy as well as people with small bundles of possessions. Police said they did not have immediate comment. [Read More.]

Spain’s parliament approved a measure Wednesday to extend some human rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans, becoming the first country to explicitly acknowledge the legal rights of nonhumans. The parliament’s environmental committee approved a resolution that commits the country to the Declaration on Great Apes, which states that nonhuman apes are entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and protection from torture. [Read More.]

"What would be most dramatic is if in fact the treasures that are described by the Copper Scroll—and perhaps revealed more fully in the Key Scroll—are in fact from the second temple. Finding them would in fact be the most dramatic archeological discovery of all time." After a Bedouin shepherd stumbled across a cave containing the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947, archaeologists discovered more caves and more scrolls, including one—called the Copper Scroll—that was completely unique. [Read More.]

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga has warned that Zimbabwe could descend into a disaster akin to Rwanda's 1994 genocide if the world doesn't intervene soon. Odinga has also called for the postponement of Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election scheduled for Friday or, failing that, the appointment of a high-profile African mediator. [Read More.]

With violence increasing amid an already turbulent situation in Zimbabwe, we at BCN are asking our readers to be lifting up the country in prayer. According to a BBC report, a summit of southern African countries is urging that the ensuing presidential election be put on hold, citing the escalated disturbance. [Read More.]

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier Tuesday during a meeting with visiting Sarkozy that Jerusalem would never be divided in a future peace agreement with the Palestinians. "Jerusalem is the historic capital of the Jewish people. Jerusalem will not be divided, and only Israeli control in the city will guarantee freedom of worship for all religions," Netanyahu, the chairman of the right-wing Likud party, said. [Read More.]

Violence-wracked Zimbabwe needs United Nations peacekeepers to help prepare the way for new elections, the country's opposition leader said in a call from his haven at the Dutch Embassy. "We need a force to protect the people," Morgan Tsvangirai wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday in London's The Guardian newspaper. [Read More]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, speaking at a special session of the Knesset in his honor, vowed Monday that France would always defend Israel in the face of any existential threat - a direct reference to Iran and its nuclear program, which he called unacceptable. "A nuclear Iran is intolerable," Sarkozy said. "Anyone trying to destroy Israel will find France blocking the way."  [Read More]

Zimbabwe's Morgan Tsvangirai has gambled his political career by pulling out of an election run-off and he must now count on regional action as well as sympathy to have a hope of unseating President Robert Mugabe. In a free election, the opposition leader would have been well placed to win next Friday's vote after beating Mugabe in the first round, but he announced on Sunday that political violence made a fair ballot impossible. [Read More]