The pope on Friday approved a miracle attributed to Pope John Paul II's intercession and set May 1 as the date for his beatification, an event that will be a major morale boost for a church reeling from a wave of violence against Christians and fallout from the clerical sexual abuse scandal.

Pope Benedict XVI declared in a decree that a French nun's recovery from Parkinson's disease was miraculous, the last step needed for the beloved pontiff's beatification.

The international tribunal will hold a public hearing on Friday to discuss former Lebanese security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed's demand to see the evidence that led to him being jailed as a suspect in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case for nearly four years.

The hearing at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Hague will play out against a backdrop of political turmoil in Beirut after Hizbullah and its allies brought down the government.

Caretaker Prime Minister Saad Hariri is seeking international support after Hizbullah brought down his government.

On Friday Hariri discussed the political turmoil in Lebanon with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Prince William's fiancee was on Sunday celebrating her last birthday before she officially becomes British royalty.

Royal officials said this week that Kate Middleton would be marking her 29th birthday privately, giving no further details.

Mark Twain was the kind of man who might tell an off-color joke, then grievously apologize, who wrote stories and essays he knew would offend and kept others private for the same reason.

A century after his death, Mark Twain remains censored, and uncensored.

With Arjen Robben set to return from injury, Bayern Munich officials can't wait for the Bundesliga and Champions League to resume after Germany's winter break.

Robben hasn't played since the Netherlands' World Cup final loss to Spain because of a hamstring injury, but is back in training at a camp in Qatar and is expected to play in the team's friendly against local club Al-Wakrah on Saturday.

Terry Anderson says he rarely recalls the anniversary of being kidnapped and held captive in Lebanon for nearly seven years, a crisis that he revisits in a new National Geographic special.

Instead, he's reminded of the date by others who call or e-mail when it rolls around.

Jordan’s Transport Minister said Thursday that Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey have moved closer to economic integration.

The official Petra agency said that the countries signed an agreement establishing a committee to unify their legislation to enhance economic integration.

Everyone curses the tax man, but Romanian witches angry about having to pay up for the first time are planning to use cat excrement and dead dogs to cast spells on the president and government.

Also among Romania's newest taxpayers are fortune tellers — but they probably should have seen it coming.

Russian investigators say Boney M singer Bobby Farrell died of heart disease.

Farrell, a 61-year-old native of Aruba, was found dead Dec. 30 in his hotel room in St. Petersburg, where the group had come for a performance.