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World briefs: March 22
Andrew Medichini / AP Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing to the faithful during the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession, at the ancient Colosseum in Rome on Friday.
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Italy
Pope presides over evening procession
ROME — Pope Benedict XVI presided over the Good Friday nighttime Way of the Cross procession but did not carry the cross as planned during the tradition, which this year paid tribute to Catholics who are persecuted.
The pope wore a long white coat as he stood sheltered from the cold, pelting rain under a canopy erected on the Palatine Hill overlooking the Colosseum.
At the end of the procession, Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini handed Benedict the tall, slender, lightweight cross. The pope gripped the cross briefly. Then, in a strong voice, he blessed the crowd of thousands being drenched by the rain and buffeted by gusty winds and told them: "Thank you for being patient under the rain. Happy Easter to you."
In brief
Turkey
Talks will resume on uniting of Cyprus
ISTANBUL — Leaders of Greek and Turkish Cyprus agreed Friday to restart talks on uniting the island, the first serious effort in two years to erase the 1974 division.
Demetris Christofias, the newly elected president of the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot state, met Mehmet Ali Talat, the leader of the Turkish community, in Nicosia, the divided capital.
They agreed on a timeline for resuming talks and to open a pedestrian crossing on Ledra Street, a thoroughfare that traces the division of the capital and has symbolized the separation that began more than 30 years ago, when Turkey sent in troops to prevent a Greek-inspired military takeover.
Iraq
New battles strain Shiite cease-fire
BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces battled Shiite gunmen south of Baghdad on Friday, raising tensions among rival factions of the country's majority religious community and straining a seven-month cease-fire proclaimed by the biggest Shiite militia.
Also Friday, an American soldier was killed and four others were wounded in a rocket or mortar attack south of the capital, the military said.
At least 3,993 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war five years ago, according to an Associated Press count.
—From wire reports
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