LONDON (CNN) -- India has launched a rocket it hopes will allow it to join an elite group of space explorers to Mars.

(CNN) -- The U.S. ambassador to France meet with French diplomats Monday over allegations that the National Security Agency intercepted more than 70 million phone calls in France over a 30-day period.

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday invited Pope Francis to travel to the Middle East.

Opposition fighters who attacked Alawite villages near the Syrian city of Latakia, killing at least 190 civilians, committed "serious abuses" that may amount to crimes against humanity, rights group Human Rights Watch said Friday.

Pope Francis has called for mutual respect between religions in a message addressed to Muslims as they prepare to celebrate Eid al-Fitr next week, at the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

A Muslim Portlander, born on the Fourth of July, Ahmed-Shafi's career and community activism typified a love of country and a love of community even when the two at times seemed to be at odds with each other.

Security for Pope Francis' visit to Brazil has been raised after an incident involving his motorcade, a Brazilian federal official told CNN.

A bomb hidden in a Sunni mosque exploded while worshipers listened to a sermon Friday in northeastern Iraq, killing at least 18 people and injuring 56, police and health officials said.