World

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican Museums chief warned that dust and polluting agents brought into the Sistine Chapel by thousands of tourists every day risk one day endangering its priceless artworks. Full Story »

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hundreds of angry Afghans burned a U.S. flag and chanted "Death to the Christians" on Thursday to protest plans by a small American church to torch copies of the Muslim holy book on the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Full Story »

On the eve of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the hottest event on New YorkCity's couture calendar, TIME takes a look inside the grueling auditionprocess for hundreds of high-fashion hopefuls Full Story »

LONDON (AFP) - The Bank of England kept its key lending rate at a record low level of 0.50 percent for the eighteenth month running on Thursday, as data showed Britain's recovery from recession is stalling. Full Story »

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran says it will release 1 of 3 jailed Americans on Saturday. Full Story »

HAVANA - Cuba's communist economic model has come in for criticism from an unlikely source: Fidel Castro. Full Story »

• Slideshow: Fidel Castro

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed two African Union peacekeepers and a number of civilians at Mogadishu's airport on Thursday in the latest attack on the Somali capital by al Qaeda-linked rebels. Full Story »

• Slideshow: Somalia Unrest

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Army spokesman says the top U.S. and NATO intelligence officer in Afghanistan is on his way to another job. Full Story »

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Conservative government has seen its lead over the main opposition Liberals evaporate in public opinion polls following recent controversies and the two parties are now running neck and neck, though an election is not seen in the near term. Full Story »

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian regulators rejected National Australia Bank's 12.2 billion US dollar bid for financial firm AXA Asia Pacific on competition concerns Thursday, in a move welcomed by rival suitor AMP. Full Story »

WASHINGTON — With concerns growing about hostile or even violent international reaction to a Florida pastor's plans to burn the Koran on Saturday, the Obama administration is stepping up its efforts to mitigate the damage. Full Story »

Frankfurt, Germany - The young man playing with kids at the Main Krokodile preschool here isn't your typical caregiver. He's among the tens of thousands of Germans who fulfill their military service by working with children, the elderly, or the disabled. The head of the school, Berndt Niedergesäss, is all for it: "The children love dealing with men," he says. Full Story »

While China has been showing off its new hardware, a potentially more important military advancement has gone largely unnoticed -- a major breakthrough in quantum teleportation Full Story »

KRALENDIJK, Bonaire - A huge fire caused by a lightning strike has halted operations at a Venezuelan fuel terminal on the Dutch island of Bonaire. Full Story »

SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea celebrated its 62nd anniversary Thursday with odes to supreme leader Kim Jong Il and pilgrimages to his late father's statue amid hints that a political meeting believed aimed at promoting his son as successor is imminent. Full Story »