AP - Elsie McLean thought she might have lost her ball on the par-3, 100-yard fourth hole at Bidwell Park. Instead, the 102-year-old Chico woman became the oldest golfer ever to make a hole-in-one on a regulation course.

AP - Jimmy Lee Smith, the lifelong criminal whose role in the 1963 kidnapping and killing of a police officer inspired Joseph Wambaugh's true-life crime novel 'The Onion Field,' has died in jail at age 76, a state prisons official said.

AFP - A former political prisoner and onetime guerrilla fighter, both little-known abroad, pose a serious challenge to the globetrotting Prime Minister Jose Ramos-Horta in Monday's East Timor presidential election, analysts say.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran refused to allow a plane carrying Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on a trip to Asia to cross its airspace overnight, a senior adviser to the Iraqi leader said on Sunday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran said on Sunday it would not discuss its 'obvious right' to master the nuclear fuel cycle but was open to talks that could reassure the West that its atomic plans were not aimed at producing bombs.

AP - A recently born infant girl was found in a garbage bag on a back porch in a Brooklyn neighborhood, and the apparent mother and her two sisters were arrested, police said.

Reuters - Iran refused to allow a plane carrying Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on a trip to Asia to cross its airspace overnight, a senior adviser to the Iraqi leader said on Sunday.

Reuters - Iran said on Sunday it would not discuss its "obvious right" to master the nuclear fuel cycle but was open to talks that could reassure the West that its atomic plans were not aimed at producing bombs.

Reuters - Northwest Airlines canceled a flight set to leave from Las Vegas to Detroit after the captain cursed on a cell phone in a bathroom, then swore at one of the 180 passengers on the plane, officials said on Saturday.

AFP - A high-level US delegation led by former UN ambassador Bill Richardson was due in North Korea on Sunday, days ahead of a key deadline under a six-party deal to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

AFP - The political crisis in Ukraine intensified on Sunday as President Viktor Yushchenko vowed to press ahead with early elections in a fighting speech aimed at his rebellious prime minister.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iran refused to allow a plane carrying Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on a trip to Asia to cross its air space overnight, a senior adviser to the Iraqi leader said on Sunday.

GAZA (Reuters) - Hamas has handed over the names of Palestinian prisoners it demands Israel release in exchange for an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza gunmen 10 months ago, the Islamist group said on Sunday.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - The Iranian authorities are trying to discover what has happened to a U.S. citizen who Washington said it believed went missing several weeks ago while on private business in Iran, an Iranian official said on Sunday.

AP - A truck bomb exploded Sunday near a hospital south of Baghdad, killing at least 12 people, the Iraqi military said.

AP - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Easter Sunday Mass on the flower-adorned steps of St. Peter's Basilica as thousands of pilgrims and tourists jammed St. Peter's Square to join in the service and later receive his blessing.

AP - A worldwide scientific effort to catalog every living species has topped the 1 million milestone.

AP - Donald Trump is using his assistant-grooming reality show to sell units in his second Las Vegas condominium tower.

Reuters - Iran refused to allow a plane carrying Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on a trip to Asia to cross its air space overnight, a senior adviser to the Iraqi leader said on Sunday.

Reuters - Hamas has handed over the names of Palestinian prisoners it demands Israel release in exchange for an Israeli soldier seized by Gaza gunmen 10 months ago, the Islamist group said on Sunday.

Reuters - The Iranian authorities are trying to discover what has happened to a U.S. citizen who Washington said it believed went missing several weeks ago while on private business in Iran, an Iranian official said on Sunday.

AFP - Solomon Islanders prayed Sunday for tsunami victims while voters in East Timor hoped for a peaceful election day as millions of Christians in the region celebrated Easter.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in his Easter message, made an impassioned call for world peace on Sunday that lamented the 'continual slaughter' in Iraq and the growing unrest in Afghanistan.

AP - A pickup truck packed with artillery shells was detonated Sunday near a hospital south of Baghdad, killing at least 15 people. The blast left a crater 10 yards wide, the Iraqi military said.

AP - In his Easter message on Christianity's most joyous day, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday decried suffering in the world, lamenting the 'continual slaughter' in Iraq and expressing worry over unrest and instability in Afghanistan.

AP - The 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran for nearly two weeks were granted permission to sell their stories to the media, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday.

AP - U.S. presidential candidate Bill Richardson arrived Sunday in North Korea for a rare visit to the isolated country by a prominent American official.

Reuters - Pope Benedict, in his Easter message, made an impassioned call for world peace on Sunday that lamented the "continual slaughter" in Iraq and the growing unrest in Afghanistan.

AFP - A high-level US delegation led by former UN ambassador Bill Richardson arrived in North Korea Sunday, days ahead of a key deadline under a six-party deal to dismantle Pyongyang's nuclear programme.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI decried the "suffering in the world" in his traditional Easter address on Sunday, dwelling on the plight of many Africans and despairing over the situation in Iraq.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Northwest Airlines canceled a flight set to leave from Las Vegas to Detroit after the captain cursed on a cell phone in a bathroom, then swore at one of the 180 passengers on the plane, officials said on Saturday.

AP - The renegade cleric Muqtada al-Sadr urged Iraqi forces to stop cooperating with the United States and told his guerrilla fighters to concentrate their attacks on American troops rather than Iraqis, according to a statement issued Sunday.

AP - Thousands of people marched through downtown on Saturday, demanding a way for the country's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants to become citizens and condemning President Bush's latest proposal.

AP - An unseasonable cold snap put a chill on Easter Sunday services across the Southeast and much of the rest of the country, moving some events indoors and adding layers over spring frocks.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stem cells will be at the top of the agenda for the U.S. Senate when it returns on Tuesday with supporters of the research hoping they can change the president's mind on the issue and opponents hoping to have a say about their stand.

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's Defence Ministry came under fire on Sunday for allowing 15 sailors and marines held by Iran for 13 days to sell their stories to the media.

HAVANA (Reuters) - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has jumped back into the limelight with two newspaper columns attacking the United States that point to a future role as elder statesman for the 80-year-old revolutionary.

AP - In an Easter litany of the world's suffering, Pope Benedict XVI lamented that 'nothing positive' is happening in Iraq and decried the unrest in Afghanistan and bloodshed in Africa and Asia.

AP - An unseasonable cold snap put a chill on Easter Sunday services across the Southeast and much of the rest of the country, moving some events indoors and adding layers over spring frocks.

AP - A cruise ship captain indicted on negligence charges after his vessel sank in the Aegean Sea blamed strong currents for the accident, state-run television reported Sunday.

Reuters - Stem cells will be at the top of the agenda for the U.S. Senate when it returns on Tuesday with supporters of the research hoping they can change the president's mind on the issue and opponents hoping to have a say about their stand.

Reuters - Britain's Defence Ministry came under fire on Sunday for allowing 15 sailors and marines held by Iran for 13 days to sell their stories to the media.

Reuters - Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel Castro has jumped back into the limelight with two newspaper columns attacking the United States that point to a future role as elder statesman for the 80-year-old revolutionary.

AFP - Taliban militants have beheaded an Afghan reporter kidnapped last month with an Italian journalist, after the government refused to negotiate his release, a militant spokesman said Sunday.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqis streamed to the holy southern city of Najaf on Sunday in response to a call by fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for a big anti-American protest on Monday.

KABUL (Reuters) - Six NATO soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Sunday when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a roadside bomb, a coalition spokesman said. At least one soldier was injured.

AP - Joining a growing list of Republicans, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should consider resigning. The possible presidential candidate said the botched firing of U.S. attorneys has destroyed Gonzales' credibility as the nation's top law enforcer.

AP - The Senate will not stop paying for the Iraq war or relent from insisting that President Bush keep pressing the Baghdad government for a negotiated end to the violence, a top Democrat said Sunday.

AP - Roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan on Sunday left seven NATO soldiers dead, the alliance said, as its forces continued an anti-Taliban offensive in the world's most fertile opium-producing region.

AP - It was a balmy night, the sort that brings the homeless out from the shelters, when the police were summoned to America Street. On the driveway of a condo, just a few paces from the gutter, lay a man. A dying man.

AP - Betty and Bob Matas have retired and are moving to Arizona, but like many New Yorkers they don't drive, and they don't want their cats to travel all that way in an airliner cargo hold.

AP - Activists who believe Latinos deserve more recognition for their contributions during World War II have created an agonizing political problem for PBS and filmmaking star Ken Burns.

Reuters - Thousands of Iraqis streamed to the holy southern city of Najaf on Sunday in response to a call by fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for a big anti-American protest on Monday.

Reuters - Six NATO soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Sunday when the vehicle they were travelling in was hit by a roadside bomb, a coalition spokesman said. At least one soldier was injured.

TORONTO (Reuters) - Six soldiers killed in Afghanistan when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb were Canadians, the Department of National Defense said on Sunday.

AP - Six soldiers were killed on Sunday, the U.S. military reported.

AP - Joining a growing list of Republicans, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Sunday that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales should consider resigning. The possible presidential candidate said the botched firing of U.S. attorneys has destroyed Gonzales' credibility as the nation's top law enforcer.

AP - From Moscow to Washington, Rome to Jerusalem, Christians of the Orthodox and Western faiths celebrated Easter on Sunday, prayed for a better future and relished ancient rituals on the same day this year as their religious calendars coincided.

AP - Movie audiences were more interested in light comedy over Easter weekend than in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's 'Grindhouse,' a double-feature ode to bloody exploitation flicks.

AP - The stock market appears to be regaining its health after a weak first quarter, but a full recovery may be far off if upcoming data suggests inflation is a growing concern for the Federal Reserve.

Reuters - Six soldiers killed in Afghanistan when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb were Canadians, the Department of National Defense said on Sunday.

AFP - Afghan officials have confirmed that the Taliban militia executed an Afghan reporter who was abducted with an Italian journalist last month, an Afghan news agency reported Sunday.

KABUL (Reuters) - Six Canadian soldiers were killed in southern Afghanistan on Sunday when their vehicle was blown up by a roadside bomb, a coalition spokesman said. At least two soldiers were injured.

AP - The powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militiamen on Sunday to redouble their battle to oust American forces and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating 'your archenemy.' The U.S. military announced the weekend deaths of 10 American soldiers, including six killed on Sunday.

AP - Tiger Woods grabbed the lead in the final round of the Masters on Sunday, then let it go just as quickly. Woods had two bogeys on the front 9 and bogeyed again on 10 to fall into a tie for seventh place and sits 4 strokes behind leader Zach Johnson, who made birdie on 13 and again on 14 to take the lead at 1-over par.

AP - The average cost of self-serve regular gasoline rose about 18 cents per gallon nationwide over the past two weeks, according to a survey released Sunday.

AP - Roadside bombs in southern Afghanistan on Sunday left seven NATO soldiers dead, the alliance said, as its forces continued an anti-Taliban offensive in the world's most fertile opium-producing region.

AP - In a rueful reflection on what might have been, an Iraqi government insider details in 500 pages the U.S. occupation's 'shocking' mismanagement of his country — a performance so bad, he writes, that by 2007 Iraqis had 'turned their backs on their would-be liberators.'

AP - A strange week at the Masters saved the biggest surprises for the end Sunday — unheralded Zach Johnson won the green jacket, and beat Tiger Woods to do it.

AP - Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning 'B.C.' comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died at his home on Saturday. He was 76.

AP - From Moscow to Washington, Rome to Jerusalem, Christians of the Orthodox and Western faiths celebrated Easter on Sunday, prayed for a better future and relished their ancient rituals.

AP - Officials announced plans Sunday to beef up security at a sanctuary for rare Asiatic lions after 13 poaching deaths over the past two months raised fears for the future of the species.

AFP - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday lamented "suffering" in the world's strife-torn and poorest regions as millions across the globe marked Easter, the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

LONDON (Reuters) - The only woman among 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran said in an interview published on Monday she had been asked how she felt about dying for her country and feared she was being measured for a coffin.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's president has promised to disclose news about Iran's nuclear program when he visits its uranium enrichment facility on Monday where the West says Iran is mastering the skills needed to make atomic bombs.

AP - The powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militiamen on Sunday to redouble their battle to oust American forces and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating 'your archenemy.' The U.S. military announced the weekend deaths of 10 American soldiers, including six killed on Sunday.

AP - In a rueful reflection on what might have been, an Iraqi government insider details in 500 pages the U.S. occupation's 'shocking' mismanagement of his country — a performance so bad, he writes, that by 2007 Iraqis had 'turned their backs on their would-be liberators.'

AP - Don Imus will appear on the Rev. Al Sharpton's radio show on Monday, five days after Imus made racially charged comments his own show about the Rutgers women's basketball team, Sharpton and MSNBC announced Sunday.

AP - It all seemed surreal to Zach Johnson. Three clutch birdies on the back nine at the Masters. His name atop the leaderboard. Toppling Tiger Woods. Slipping on the green jacket.

AP - From Moscow to Washington, Rome to Jerusalem, Christians of the Orthodox and Western faiths celebrated Easter on Sunday, prayed for a better future and relished their ancient rituals.

AP - Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning 'B.C.' comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died Saturday while working at his home in Endicott. He was 76.

AP - Every week, Janet Sisk rises as early as 5 a.m. and drives nearly 100 miles to spend her Sundays with a teenager who was just 12 when he murdered his grandparents in their sleep.

Reuters - The only woman among 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran said in an interview published on Monday she had been asked how she felt about dying for her country and feared she was being measured for a coffin.

Reuters - Iran's president has promised to disclose news about Iran's nuclear program when he visits its uranium enrichment facility on Monday where the West says Iran is mastering the skills needed to make atomic bombs.

NAJAF, Iraq (Reuters) - Fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's call for a big anti-U.S. protest on Monday was answered by thousands of Iraqis who flocked to the southern holy city of Najaf.

AP - The powerful Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr ordered his militiamen on Sunday to redouble their battle to oust American forces and argued that Iraq's army and police should join him in defeating 'your archenemy.' The U.S. military announced the weekend deaths of 10 American soldiers, including six killed on Sunday.

AP - In a rueful reflection on what might have been, an Iraqi government insider details in 500 pages the U.S. occupation's 'shocking' mismanagement of his country — a performance so bad, he writes, that by 2007 Iraqis had 'turned their backs on their would-be liberators.'

AP - The 15 British sailors and marines held by Iran for nearly two weeks have permission to sell their stories to the media, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday, citing 'exceptional' interest.

AP - Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning 'B.C.' comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, has died. He was 76.

AP - A teenager once arrested alongside her mother in a prostitution case has been accused of running an escort service out of her suburban Chicago home using the popular Web site Craigslist.

Reuters - Fiery Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's call for a big anti-U.S. protest on Monday was answered by thousands of Iraqis who flocked to the southern holy city of Najaf.

AFP - Four years after US tanks rolled into Baghdad, only military vehicles cruised the streets of the capital on Monday as the authorities tried to prevent insurgents marking the anniversary with deadly car-bomb attacks.