WASHINGTON, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, announced Saturday its split from the liberal US Episcopal Church, chiefly in protest over the ordination of gay bishops and blessing of same-sex marriage.

JERUSALEM, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - The Israeli government voted on Sunday to hand over Sergei House, a Jerusalem property of the Romanov family which ruled Tsarist Russia, to the Russian state, government spokesman Mark Regev said.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is expected to announce the long-anticipated news, which follows complex negotiations, when he visits Russia on Monday.

SOFIA, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - The 13th-century master who painted what has been listed by UNESCO as one of the world's finest collections of medieval frescoes at the Boyana church on the outskirts of Sofia has finally been identified.

ATHENS, Greece, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - The Greek finance ministry on Friday took steps to reverse a controversial monastery property deal which had caused public outrage and badly embarrassed the ruling conservative party.

ALEOSAN, Philippines, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - Felimon Cayang says he is ready to die to save his native southern Philippine island from the Muslim separatist rebels spreading terror through its Christian communities.

BHUBANESWAR, India, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - Police have arrested four people for the alleged rape of a nun during Hindu-Christian clashes in eastern India that have left 33 dead since August, a senior official said Friday.

The nun was reportedly assaulted on August 25, days after the murder of a Hindu priest sparked the violence in Orissa's Kandhamal district.

MONT-SAINT-MICHEL, France, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - France's stunning Mont-Saint-Michel, the coastal abbey set atop a tidal island, was erected in 708 to warn unbelievers of the terrible power of the Christian God.

MONT-SAINT-MICHEL, France, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - France's stunning Mont-Saint-Michel, the coastal abbey set atop a tidal island, was erected in 708 to warn unbelievers of the terrible power of the Christian God.

NEW DELHI, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - Amnesty International has urged India to act on its words and end what it said were ongoing attacks by hardline Hindu nationalists against the country's minority Christian community.

GENEVA, Oct 2, 2008 (AFP) - A Swiss court has denied residency to the French head of the controversial Rael sect, which believes extraterrestrials created Earth, after a canton said he posed a public order.