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Associated Press Washington – President Bush signed an executive order Friday spelling out new interrogation techniques for terrorism suspects that bar cruel and inhumane treatment, humiliation or denigration of prisoners’ religious beliefs. The White House declined to say whether the CIA currently has a detention and interrogation program, but said if it did, it must…

United Press International Rome, Jul 19, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) — Jewish leaders in Italy praised the Vatican Thursday for contemplating the removal of a Latin mass prayer that calls for the conversion of Jews. The praise from the nation’s Jewish community comes after Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the secretary of state for the Vatican, said…

Karachi, Pakistan – July 19, 2007, Pakistan’s turmoil spread from the Afghan frontier to the south, where a suicide bomber struck a convoy carrying Chinese workers – one of three suicide attacks that killed at least 51 people Thursday. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf called for national unity against extremists enraged by the army’s bloody assault…

Boston – July 19, 2007, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick filed legislation Thursday that would put $1 billion (euro720 million) over the next 10 years into life science research, including creating what he called the world’s largest repository of new stem cell lines. The plan, which Patrick announced in May, would make Massachusetts a global leader…

Council Bluffs, Iowa – – July 18, 2007, Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani, a proponent of abortion rights, said Wednesday he would not use a judicial nominee’s stand on the issue or the landmark Supreme Court decision as a litmus test. On a campaign swing through conservative western Iowa, the former New York mayor pledged…

Associated Press Vatican City – July 18, The Vatican’s No. 2 official defended Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday following a flurry of hard-line Vatican documents, saying he was a sweet, respectful “volcano of creativity.” Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, gave a press conference on a broad array of topics after meeting with…

Associated Press Vatican City – July 17, Catholic clergy in China have named a new bishop for Beijing, reports said Wednesday – the first appointment since Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Chinese Catholics urging them to unite under his authority. The Vatican had no comment on the reports, which said Bishop Joseph Li…

RNS Adelle Banks An interfaith coalition of religious leaders is congratulating the Bush administration for reaching an agreement with North Korea to shutdown its nuclear weapons facilities. “The agreement with North Korea demonstrates the value of diplomacy in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons,” the leaders said in a statement released Tuesday. The statement was…

RNS MICHELLE RINDELS When planning Vacation Bible School activities, Nicole Carmines decided it wasn’t enough to require background checks on volunteers and to inspect photo IDs at child pickup time. So she decided to hire two uniformed police officers to stay on church premises for the entire week. Excessive? Carmines doesn’t think so. “We constantly…

Associated Press Albuquerque, New Mexico – July 17, School leaders in a New Mexico district will not face federal sanctions for allowing a high school project on racism in which students posted signs reading “Whites Only” and “People of Color” above water faucets, federal officials said. But the school district will have to implement procedures…

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