Talks possible between US, Iran

Talks possible between US, Iran

WASHINGTON

Iran and the United States are making plenty of friendly gestures, but real progress is going to be harder. A notable first meeting between the two nations’ presidents suddenly seems possible, but without nuclear concessions, the U.S. is unlikely to give Tehran what it wants: an easing of punishing sanctions that have resulted in soaring inflation and unemployment.

President Barack Obama and Iran’s new president, Hasan Rouhani, both will be in New York next week for the U.N. General Assembly. And a recent flurry of goodwill gestures has raised the prospect that they will meet face to face.

Syria outlines weapons program

THE HAGUE, Netherlands

Syria has sent the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons an “initial declaration” outlining its weapons program, the organization said Friday, in keeping with the agreement Russia and the U.S. brokered to have Syria give up its chemical-weapons arsenal.

Michael Luhan, the organization’s spokesman, told The Associated Press the declaration is “being reviewed by our verification division,” but details of it will not be released.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States and other nations that have joined the chemical-weapons organization “will be making a careful and thorough review of the initial document.”

Pope speaks out against abortions

VATICAN CITY

Pope Francis offered an olive branch of sorts to the doctrine-minded, conservative wing of the Catholic Church on Friday as he denounced abortions as a symptom of today’s “throw-away culture” and encouraged Catholic doctors to refuse to perform them.

Francis issued a strong anti-abortion message and cited Vatican teaching on the need to defend the unborn during an audience with Catholic gynecologists.

It came a day after he was quoted as blasting the church’s obsession with “small-minded rules” that are driving the faithful away. In an interview that has sent shock waves through the church, Francis urged its pastors to focus on being merciful and welcoming rather than insisting only on such divisive, hot-button issues as abortion, gay marriage and contraception.

NASA declares end to comet mission

LOS ANGELES

A spacecraft that gave scientists their first peek into a comet’s icy interior will explore no more, NASA said Friday.

The space agency declared an end to the Deep Impact spacecraft after it unexpectedly fell silent. Engineers tried for a month to regain contact but lost hope. Mission scientist Jessica Sunshine of the University of Maryland said she was “saddened at the loss of an old friend.”

Al-Qaida attacks kill 38 in Yemen

ASANAA, Yemen

Under a heavy fog, al-QaidaSFlbmilitants disguised in military uniforms launched car-bomb attacks on three security and military posts in southern Yemen on Friday, killing 38 soldiers in the group’s biggest attack in the country since last year.

The coordinated attacks point to how al-Qaida is exploiting the continued weakness of Yemen’s military to rally back here at a time when the group’s branches across the region grow more assertive. More than two years after a U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden, factions of the group he led are taking advantage of turmoil in multiple Arab nations to expand their presence and influence.

Associated Press