RELIGION

The US is preparing to make a statement on Sunday, an highly unusual move, to announce that it has the body of Osama Bin Laden.

Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, beatified Pope John Paul II on Sunday at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, calling him Blessed, before throngs of faithful, putting the pope who died in 2005 one step from sainthood within the Church.

Thousands of demonstrators march during a May Day around the World; Istanbul, Ankara, Paris, Berlin... May Day occurs on May 1. In many countries, May Day is synonymous with International Workers' Day, or Labour Day, a day of political demonstrations and celebrations organised by communists, anarchists, socialists, and activist groups. May Day is also a traditional holiday in many cultures.

A massive crowd -- with the majority consisting of young people -- sang, prayed and celebrated as they waited for Sunday's beatification.

The former Pope John Paul II will be beatified tomorrow in a ceremony at the Vatican.

The Justice Department has announced that Johnny Mathis, 47, of Lecompte, La., pleaded guilty to two federal crimes for shooting at the home of three Hispanic men living across the street from him because of the victims' race and national origin.

U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter have sentenced Jeremy Matthew Moro, 33, and Joshua James Moro, 23 pursuant to their January 2011 guilty pleas to conspiring to violate the civil rights of an interracial couple by burning a cross near their home in Athens, La., in October 2008.

President Barack Obama, the governor of Alabama and Mayor of Tuscaloosa and other officials toured the massive wreckage of major thunderstorms and tornadoes that hit the city on Wednesday and vowed to press forward to help in recovery efforts while sounding a hopeful not despite the tragedy.

A dissident IRA group, called “Oglaigh na hEireann” or “Real IRA” has warned that the Queen is not welcome on Irish soil and is branding her a “war criminal.”

The top after-market NASDAQ Stock Market gainers are: SunPower, Netgear, LodgeNet Interactive, TeleNav, Skyworks Solutions, Silicon Motion Technology, Ancestry.com, On Assignment, and True Religion Apparel.

Rev. Franklin Graham's comments on President Barack Obama's birth certificate, views on presidential politics and his charge that the Muslim Brotherhood has influence in U.S. State Department and military have come into the spotlight this week.

Every year thousands of Hindus from Pakistan and India gather to attend a four-day ritual at the Hinglaj Mata Temple in Balochistan.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, probably the most well known civil rights activist in the U.S., believes the birther issue against President Barack Obama is purely driven by racism and represents part of a wider scaling back of civil rights gains by black Americans.

High and mighty of India turn up for the funeral of Sathya Sai Baba, who was laid to rest with state honors at his ashram in Puttaparthi on Wednesday. Scroll down to see photos of the spiritual leader's departure:

The Obama Administration has fired back at comments made over the weekend by Franklin Graham, son of famed evangelist preacher Billy Graham that the President might not have been born in the U.S.

Thousands of devotees gathered in Puttaparti to to pay last respects to Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba amid reports of 'miracles' and hopes of reincarnation.

Thousands of devotees, some of them politicians, cricket players and Bollywood stars, thronged Puttaparthi to see the body of Indian spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba who passed away on Sunday morning at 6.40 am.

The Chinese crackdown on perceived dissent took another familiar turn when 20 Christians of a protestant sect were arrested even as they prepared to hold an Easter service in Beijing.

Terry Jones, the Florida pastor infamous for instigating burning of the Islam holy book Koran leading to a backlash across the globe, has reportedly landed in jail for planning a protest outside a mosque.

The happiest countries and happiest U.S. states tend to have unusually high rates of suicide, a new research suggests.

An Egyptian court has decreed that the names of deposed President Hosni Mubarak and his wife Suzanne should be removed from all public places.