Ann Holmes Redding has what could be called a crisis of faiths. For nearly 30 years, Redding has been an ordained minister in the Episcopal Church. Her priesthood ended Wednesday when she was defrocked. The reason For the past three years Redding has been both a practicing Christian and a Muslim. "Had anyone told me in February 2006 that I would be a Muslim before April rolled around, I would have shaken my head in concern for the person's ...

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, facing an international arrest warrant, is paying the price for pandering to the West, al Qaeda's second-in-command said in an audio statement released Tuesday. "I am not defending Omar al-Bashir or his regime, nor am I defending what it has done in Darfur and elsewhere," Ayman al-Zawahiri said in the statement released by al Qaeda's production company, as-Sahab Media. But, he said, "the issue isn't one of Darfur and solving its problems; the issue ...

The threat from terrorists using chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons is growing, Britain said Tuesday, warning advances in technology will enable extremists to conduct more lethal attacks in the future. The predictions came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government's laid out its anti-terrorism policies and strategy in a document containing previously-classified information. In it the government also warned that although the al Qaeda organization of Osama bin Laden, was likely to fragment in coming years, the group's ideology will ...

Tens of thousands of people packed a soccer stadium in Cameroon Thursday, including President Paul Biya and his wife, for the first large-scale mass of Pope Benedict XVI's first visit to Africa. Africa is the last continent that Benedict had left to visit, and one he could not avoid, said David Gibson, a biographer of the pope. "He knows he has to do this. He knows Africa is the future of the (Roman Catholic) Church, as it is for all ...

Prosecutors have issued an indictment for 56 suspects accused of membership in an alleged ultranationalist plot to overthrow the Turkish government, Turkey's official news agency reported Tuesday. "You are the last nation that has the right to speak about civilians and killing civilians," the five said in a response this month to the U.S. government's war crimes charges. "You are professional criminals, with all the meaning the words carry," the response said. "Therefore, we will treat you the same. We ...

Guess who's sitting on Chris Isaak's lap? Not a dazzle-eyed dame hoping to be serenaded by the hunky crooner (and yes, at 52, he's still hunky). No, curled up on Isaak's knees is a beady-eyed, shaggy-haired Maltese terrier named Rodney. But Rodney's not your average lapdog. No sir, this four-legged critter is as versatile as they come, serving as the "Wicked Game" singer's travel companion, sounding board and, most recently, TV co-host. Rodney is Isaak's regular sidekick on the ...

Relief teams dug through rose gardens at the headquarters of the Bangladesh Rifles Sunday, looking for more than 70 army officers still missing -- and presumed killed -- after a deadly uprising by paramilitary forces last week. By late Saturday night, 72 bodies had been found floating in a river or in three mass graves inside the compound of the Rifles, or BDR, in the capital city, Dhaka, the Home Ministry said. Fifty of the dead were confirmed to be ...

A right-wing Dutch politician arrived in the U.S. Thursday to show his controversial film attacking Islam. Geert Wilders says he fears the Islamization of Europe but his short film on the subject has provoked death threats, Muslim protests and led the UK to refuse him entry. In the U.S., Wilders is touring with the film "Fitna" and meeting with lawmakers in Washington. The 16-minute documentary juxtaposes passages of the Quran with the mass murder of 9/11 and other acts by ...

A mutiny by members of a paramilitary force appeared to have spread beyond the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, to other towns, as Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Cabinet members met in an emergency session Thursday. Police in about six other towns reported shooting incidents involving Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops, as a standoff at their Dhaka headquarters entered its second day, a government official told CNN. The incidents do not appear to have resulted in casualties. The official did not ...

At least 50 officers and civilians were feared dead after Bangladeshi paramilitary troops staged a mutiny, taking dozens of high-ranking officers and military brass hostage, the country's law minister said Thursday. As dawn broke, the rebelling troops with the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) allowed government officials entry into the headquarters in the capital city of Dhaka -- the scene of a day-long standoff Wednesday. The troops agreed to lay down their arms after Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina agreed to offer ...