Pope visits Italian quake zone

Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday visited two towns hit hard by the recent earthquake in central Italy, meeting with survivors and offering prayers. The pope flew by helicopter from Vatican City to a tent camp near the village of Onna, where he led a prayer for the hundreds killed in the April 6 quake. The camp houses hundreds of families left homeless when the magnitude-6.3 quake destroyed their homes

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China: Pentagon military report distorted

China on Thursday accused the United States of distorting facts in a Defense Department report on Beijing’s military power. The report — called the “Military Power of the People’s Republic of China” — said the country is developing longer-range ballistic and anti-ship missiles that are “shifting the balance of power in the region.” Such military expansions could help Beijing secure resources or settle territorial disputes, said the report, released by the Pentagon on Wednesday. “This is a gross distortion of the facts and China resolutely opposes it,” ministry spokesman Qin Gang told journalists in Beijing.

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Obama: U.S. looking for dialogue with Iran

The United States is looking for opportunities for "face-to-face" dialogue with Iran after nearly three decades without diplomatic ties, President Barack Obama said Monday, but still has "deep concerns" about Tehran’s actions. “There’s been a lot of mistrust built up over the years, so it’s not going to happen overnight,” Obama said during his first prime-time news conference Monday night.

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