Daniel Tovrov

Youcef Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 for the crime of apostasy because he allegedly abandoned Islam for Christianity. As a pastor, Iranian clerics believe that

In Saudi Arabia, the woman sentenced to flogging for driving a car has been pardoned by King Abdullah.

Typhoon Nesat, known as Typhoon Pedring to locals when it hit the Philippines earlier in the week, has reached China. Markets and schools were shut in Hong Kong and the storm is moving across the coast to the Hainan Province.

Youcef Nadarkhani, a Christian pastor in Iran, faces the death penalty if he refuses to convert to Islam. Nadarkhani, who was arrested in 2009, has been given three chances to repent and convert to Islam. All three times he has refused. Nadarkhani will be given his fourth and final chance to give up Christianity on Wednesday, which he again declined.

Al-Qaida voiced its opinion via its English language magazine Inspire, in an editorial which claimed that Ahmadinejad might have been jealous of Iran's inability to attack the United States itself.

In Syria, anti-government protesters continue undeterred as President Bashar al-Assad intensifies his forceful crackdown against demonstrations. Over the last five days, at least 76 people have been killed in the northern cities of Homs and Hama and in the southern Daraa region, according to activist reports.

Iran's navy will send ships into the Atlantic Ocean, state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported Tuesday. The vessels will sail out of the Persian Gulf and toward the United States' East Coast as retaliation for American ships in the Persian Gulf.

Shanghai metro officials said the subway crash in the city on Tuesday was the result of a power failure and manual error. The Metro company claims that controllers failed to follow proper protocol after the shortage.

Typhoon Nesat's path drove it off of the Philippines and into the South China Sea on Wednesday, but many parts of the country are still unsafe.

National Transitional Council troops are currently fighting for control of Sirte, Gadhafi's birthplace, where loyalist fighters are putting up a fierce resistance. Meanwhile, U.N. officials claim that uranium yellowcake was found in the south of the country.

Oktoberfest 2011 ends in six days, with the final keg being tapped on Monday, Oct. 3. Hottest pictures below.

Amanda Knox, who was convicted of murdering Meredith Kercher in 2007, waits for a judge to hand down a verdict in her appeals trial. Knox has been in prison since 2009.

In Shanghai, China, a subway train crash on Tuesday injured around 270 commuters after a signal failure on a track in central Shanghai caused two trains to collide.

A dog surfing competition held in Del Mar, Calif. on Sunday was won by Buddy, a hall of fame pooch who has won the past five contests.

Typhoon Nesat slammed the Philippines on Tuesday, flooding parts of the capital of Manila and killing at least 12 people nationwide.

Doritos inventor and Frito-Lay marketing executive Arch West will be buried along side the snack that made him rich. West, who died at the age of 97 last week, was cremated and will be buried in Dallas on Saturday.

In Borivali, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Mumbai, leopards prowl the streets and alleys at night, eating stray dogs, chickens and livestock. The cats come into the area almost every evening, and locals have to keep their children indoors to protect them.

Catalonia's last bullfight took place on Monday. A sold-out crowd watched some of Spain's most famous matadors dance around charging bulls at the Moorish-inspired La Monumental arena in Barcelona.

On Sunday, France's Socialist Party took control of the upper house of parliament, taking the senate majority from the hand's of President Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right Union for a Popular Movement.

Odyssey Marine will keep 80 percent of the silver it pulls from the S.S. Gairsoppa, which was struck by a Nazi U-boat. The British government will claim the rest.

Facebook isn't charging a membership fee from its users, and according to the social media site, it never will.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah decreed that women will have the right to vote and run for local elections, starting in 2015. Saudi Arabia included, there are at least five countries that still don't allow women to vote for various reasons.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's proclamation that he will again run for President has angered his longtime Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin. On Saturday, Kudrin responded by saying that Putin's decision will not allow me to be a part of the new government.

Jennifer Aniston has again made celebrity news magazine headlines after she purchased a $450,000 painting with her boyfriend Justin Theroux at an auction on Thursday.

The Cultural Landscape Foundation published it's Landslide list on Saturday, which tracks the places of highest environmental risk in the United States.

Cain, who is new to politics but made a name for himself in the private sector as the chief executive of Godfather Pizza, has felt disenfranchised by the Republican base. Before the Florida Straw poll, the conservative Cain was considered a long shot to be the GOP's presidential candidate.

The latest from Mexico's drug war: A missing female journalist was found decapitated in Nuevo Laredo, a city near the Texas border.

S.N.L. takes on Perry, Bachmann, Romney and whole Republican cast on the opening of the show Saturday night.

Oktoberfest 2011 is currently underway in Munich, Germany. The festival from Sept. 17 to Oct. 3. Here are the five most important things to know about the festival.