LONDON, June 8, 2008 (AFP) - England's Nick Easter's Tour of New Zealand has come to an end after failing to recover from a fracture of his right hand, British media reported on Sunday.

The 29-year-old Harlequins number eight is to return home without treatment, having initially hurt his hand in England's victory over the Barbarians last weekend.

EREZ BORDER CROSSING, Gaza Strip, April 27, 2008 (AFP) - Some 500 Palestinian Christians were allowed to leave the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday to celebrate Easter in the West Bank, an Israeli army spokesman said.

JERUSALEM, April 26, 2008 (AFP) - Thousands of Orthodox Christians converged on Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Saturday to witness what they believe is the miraculous appearance of 'holy fire' on the eve of Orthodox Easter.

JERUSALEM, April 20, 2008 (AFP) - Israeli police rushed into Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulchre to break up fist fights between dozens of Greek and Armenian worshippers on Orthodox Palm Sunday, witnesses said.

Some 20 officers intevened after Armenian worshippers threw a Greek Orthodox priest out of the church, sparking a free-for-all, they said.

NAIROBI, March 25, 2008 (AFP) - Some 83 people were killed and about 500 injured in Kenyan road accidents during the Easter holidays, police said Tuesday.

The accidents -- which killed 41 passengers, 33 pedestrians and four drivers -- were caused by overloading, speeding and faulty vehicles on the roads, said Traffic Commandant Aggrey Adoli.

BERLIN, March 24, 2008 (AFP) - About 60,000 Germans attended traditional peace marches during the Easter weekend, in protests against German troop involvement in Afghanistan, among other issues, organisers said Monday.

A total of 70 rallies took place in dozens of cities between Saturday and Monday, a spokesman for the organisers said in Frankfurt.

CARACAS, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - From the streets of Caracas to a rain-soaked Saint Peter's Square, Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday amid messages of renewal, peace and hope.

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI called for 'solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good' in Tibet, the Middle East and Africa during his traditional Easter message.

CARACAS, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - From the streets of Caracas to a rain-soaked Saint Peter's Square, Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday amid messages of renewal, peace and hope.

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI called for 'solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good' in Tibet, the Middle East and Africa during his traditional Easter message.

PANJWAYI-ZHARI, Afghanistan, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - With a bombing that killed two soldiers, rockets attacks and a suspicious parcel, Easter passed almost unnoticed for Canadian troops at this base in southern Afghanistan.

LONDON, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - The Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the worldwide Anglican communion, used his Easter Sunday sermon to warn against nations' greed for oil, power and land.

PARIS, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - From the foothills of the Himalayas to a rain-soaked Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican, Christians around the world celebrated Easter Sunday, hearing messages of renewal, peace and hope.

VATICAN CITY, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged peaceful solutions in the world's hot spots including Tibet, the Middle East and Africa during his traditional Easter message.

VATICAN CITY, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged 'solutions that will safeguard peace and the common good' in Tibet, the Middle East and Africa during his traditional Easter message.

JERUSALEM, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Christian pilgrims from around the world on Sunday flocked to celebrate Easter in Jerusalem's Old City where many believe Jesus to have been resurrected after his crucifixion.

Thousands of faithful filled every nook and cranny of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where most churches believe Jesus to have been buried.

VATICAN CITY, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday celebrated Easter mass before tens of thousands of pilgrims huddled under umbrellas in St Peter's Square on the holiest day of the Christian calendar.

ROME, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Italian editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi Allam, who converted to Catholicism from Islam and was just baptised by Pope Benedict XVI, on Sunday branded his former faith as intrinsically violent.

'I had to do this (abandon Islam)', Allam wrote in a long letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

ROME, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Italian editor and critic of Islamic extremism Magdi Allam, who converted to Catholicism from Islam and was just baptised by Pope Benedict XVI, on Sunday branded his former faith as intrinsically violent.

'I had to do this (abandon Islam)', Allam wrote in a long letter to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

KHARTOUM, March 22, 2008 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Sudanese Christians marked Easter in Khartoum on Sunday, still suffering from discrimination under Islamic sharia law three years after a peace deal radically improved their lot.

VATICAN CITY, March 23, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI was set to celebrate on Sunday an open-air Easter mass in St Peter's Square, followed by his traditional 'urbi et orbi' (to the city and the world) blessing.

The mass and blessing beginning at 0930 GMT were due to be broadcast live in 57 countries.

VATICAN CITY, March 22, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday baptised a former Muslim among seven converts to Roman Catholicism during an Easter vigil mass at St Peter's Basilica.

Magdi Allam, a 55-year-old Italian journalist of Egyptian origin, is an editorial writer and deputy publisher of the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

VATICAN CITY, March 22, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI was to baptise a former Muslim among seven converts to Roman Catholicism during an Easter vigil mass on Saturday at St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican spokesman said.

Magdi Allam, a 55-year-old Italian journalist of Egyptian origin, is an editorial writer and deputy publisher of the daily Corriere della Sera.

ZAGREB, March 22, 2008 (AFP) - A Croatian man claimed Saturday that he has built the biggest castle made of chocolate after working for 24 hours on his candy construction in a central Zagreb square, national television reported.

The three-meter (10 feet) high construction with six-by-two-meter base was made of chocolate bars from a local producer Kras.

SAN PEDRO DE LA LAGUNA, Guatemala, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Devout indigenous Guatemalans carried an effigy of Christ on the cross and pilgrims descended on Jerusalem as Christians worldwide marked Good Friday, the most sombre day of their calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Christ.

ROME, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Facing driving wind and rain, Pope Benedict XVI opted out of carrying a cross symbolising the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to conclude a traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum.

ROME, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Under driving wind and rain, Pope Benedict XVI opted out of carrying a symbolic cross of Jesus Christ to conclude a traditional Good Friday procession.

The 80-year-old pope had already decided to take part in only the final three of the 14 Stations of the Cross commemorating the path Jesus took to his crucifixion.

ROME, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Events in Tibet cast a shadow on Friday over the Vatican's Easter observances, which have Chinese overtones this year to reflect Pope Benedict XVI's advocacy of greater freedom for China's tiny Catholic minority.

JERUSALEM, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Devout Filipinos nailed themselves to crosses and pilgrims descended on Jerusalem as Christians worldwide Friday marked the most sombre day of their calendar, commemorating the crucifixion of Christ.

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - US President George W. Bush and his wife Laura sent greetings Friday to Christians celebrating the Easter holiday and prayed for US troops fighting abroad.

'Laura and I send greetings to all those celebrating the joyful holiday of Easter,' Bush said in a statement.

JERUSALEM, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Psalms and incense filled the air of the Holy City of Jerusalem on what is known as Good Friday, as thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world prayed along the traditional route Jesus took to his crucifixion.

JERUSALEM, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Tens of thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world set off in procession in Jerusalem's walled Old City on Friday to retrace the steps tradition says Jesus took to his crucifixion, remembered on this day.

VATICAN CITY, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI's observance of the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum will have distinctly Chinese overtones at a time of delicate relations between the Vatican and Beijing.

VATICAN CITY, March 21, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI's observance of the traditional Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum will have distinctly Chinese overtones at a time of delicate relations between the Vatican and Beijing.

VATICAN CITY, March 20, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Holy Thursday with twin masses as part of Easter celebrations that will culminate in his traditional 'urbi et orbi' (to the city and the world) message on Sunday.

The pope said in his homily Thursday morning at St Peter's Basilica that one could not be truly free without submitting to the will of God.

MANILA, March 19, 2008 (AFP) - Philippine health officials Wednesday warned people taking part in Easter crucifixions and self-flagellation rituals to get a tetanus shot first and sterilise the nails to avoid infections.

VATICAN CITY, March 18, 2008 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI will sit out most of the traditional Way of the Cross procession on Good Friday in Rome's Colosseum, the Vatican said Tuesday.

VERSAILLES, France, Oct 2, 2007 (AFP) - Four years ago Nick Easter was just one among millions of England fans left shouting at their television sets when Ben Kay dropped the ball with a try at his mercy during the World Cup final against Australia.

But come this Saturday the Harlequins No 8 is set to be a member of the same England pack as Kay when champions England face the Wallabies in the quarter-finals of this World Cup in Marseille.