International Top Stories from Associated Press (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) , This should be the time of year that nut shop owner Mohammad Ahmadi counts his profits, after the recent Persian new year holiday when Iranians scarf up huge amounts of their iconic snack, pistachios. Instead, he and others in the trade are staring at piles of unsold nuts.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) , Two foreign tourists were held for hours, brutalized and one of them sexually assaulted aboard a public transport van they boarded in Rio de Janeiro's showcase Copacabana beach neighborhood, police said in a statement.

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) , Al-Qaida's local chapter took responsibility for an attack on Timbuktu this weekend, as French and Malian forces Monday continued to hunt down the jihadists who infiltrated the ancient, northern Malian town.

The Student Government Association at Johns Hopkins University has denied a pro-life group official club status at the Baltimore school for fear the group will make students feel uncomfortable. "They...

JOHANNESBURG (AP) , Former South African President Nelson Mandela had a restful day in a hospital Sunday and is improving following treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the government said. ...

HUSSAN, West Bank (AP) , Mahmoud Abbas' government in the West Bank is getting tougher with critics, interrogating, prosecuting and even jailing several journalists and bloggers in recent months for allegedly "defaming" the Western-backed Palestinian leader.

On Easter Sunday, the most holy day of the Christian calendar, believers attended religious services , whether among the packed crowds before a new pope in St. Peter's Square, at sunrise services in India and Pakistan, or at churches flanked by blast walls and security cordons in Iraq.

VATICAN CITY (AP) , Following is the official English language translation provided by the Vatican of Pope Francis' Easter Sunday message, delivered in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica. ___ Dear brothers and sisters in Rome and throughout the world, Happy Easter! Happy Easter!

VATICAN CITY (AP) , Pope Francis delivered a plea for peace in his first Easter Sunday message to the world, decrying the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East and on the Korean peninsula after celebrating Mass at an outdoor altar before more than 250,000 people in flower-bedecked St. Peter's Square.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) , For most people in Myanmar, it will be a novelty when privately run daily newspapers hit the streets on Monday. Many weren't even born when the late dictator Ne Win imposed a state monopoly on the daily press in the 1960s.

One can offer myriad explanations for how the Syracuse Orange in three weeks transformed from a slumping squad to regional champions. There was the stingy execution of the 2-3 zone. Plenty of clutch play. Daylight saving time. Improved shooting. Wait, daylight saving time? Perhaps that one requires some elaboration.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) , Former South African President Nelson Mandela remained in a hospital on Easter Sunday while receiving treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the government said. South African presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said there are no updates on 94-year-old Mr. Mandela since an official statement Saturday on his condition.

JERUSALEM (AP) , Catholics and Protestants flocked to churches to celebrate Easter on Sunday in the Holy Land and across the broader Middle East, praying, singing and rejoicing as a new pope pleaded for peace in the region.

VATICAN CITY (AP) , Pope Francis celebrated a trimmed back Easter Vigil service Saturday after having reached out to Muslims and women during a Holy Week in which he began to put his mark on the Catholic Church. Francis processed into a darkened and silent St.

VATICAN CITY (AP) , The Shroud of Turin went on display for a special TV appearance Saturday amid new research disputing claims it's a medieval fake and purporting to date the linen some say was Jesus' burial cloth to around the time of his death.