Far and Wide

Pope reaches out to China

(AP Photo/Elizabeth Dalziel)

The Pope is reaching out to China.

Pope Benedict XVI made the unprecedented move of revoking 1988 Vatican regulations that had called for limiting contact with China's official clergy. Benedict called the government-sanctioned church "incompatible" with Catholic doctrine for appointing bishops without Vatican approval.

The attempt to unite the country's 12 million Catholics came in a letter translated by the Vatican into five languages, including Mandarin in both traditional and simplified characters.

But it doesn't look like it will reach the wide audience that Benedict had hoped for. Liu Bainian, vice chairman of the state-run China Patriotic Catholic Association, said Saturday the church had no immediate plans to read it to the faithful or distribute it.

--Ryan Pearson

A 'Sicko' fact check

(AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Does this guy have his facts straight?

Michael Moore makes some pretty outrageous claims in his new health care documentary "Sicko." But the health care industry is indeed pretty outrageous.

AP reporters Kevin Freking and Linda A. Johnson comb through his assertions -- and the hard data he uses to make them -- in this article.

--Ryan Pearson

UK on critical alert

(AP Photo/ Alistair Robertson/PA)

Britain is on critical alert.

A day after police found two cars packed with nails and gasoline parked on London streets, a Jeep Cherokee, in flames, rammed into Glasgow's airport. Officials say two men were inside and one was burned by the flames. There were no other reports of injuries as the SUV was blocked from a terminal by security barriers.

"This is being treated as a terrorist incident," said Scottish Police Chief Constable Willie Rae.

The incidents come just days after Gordon Brown took over the office of the prime minister from Tony Blair -- and a week before the anniversary of the July 7 London transit attacks, which killed 52 people.

The airport was shut down. In the U.S., the Homeland Security department said it was increasing security over the July 4th holiday period.

AP reporter Ian Stewart, reporting from Glasgow, has more in this story.

--Ryan Pearson

One last iPhone posting

(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Oh, no. What are we doing? We ... just ... can't ... help ... ourselves from MENTIONING THE DANG IPHONE AGAIN!!

Here he is: Mr. George E. Kennedy Jr., whose 15 minutes of fame will forever be that time he was the first in line to purchase the new iPhone in Tysons Corner, Va.

Far and Wide congratulates you, George. We love this picture. Almost as much as you love touch-screen.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Paw Prints: animals in today's news

   (AP Photo/Chris Polk)

DONKEYS: Yesterday, adult film actor Ron Jeremy pet (petted? pat?) a pink donkey as he arrived to the opening of the Pink Taco restaurant in Los Angeles. The Pink Taco Web site says, "You won't find any corporate punks in our borders and we wouldn't dare turn politically correct." (Clearly. They dye animals pink! That just ain't right.)

The following stories need no introductions other than their fabulous headlines ...

DEER: Pair in Separate Vehicles Hit Same Deer

ALLIGATORS: Woman Wrangles Gator Into Guinea Pig Pen

MOOSE: Water Hazards, Sand Traps and 3 Moose?

-- Hillary Rhodes

iFinally

(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

We know, we know. It's finally out, and all the techies will be whispering sweet nothings into their new iPhones' ear(buds?) tonight.

Read the full AP story by May Wong here.

For everybody else, there's this.

Photo: Patrick Scoble, 13, wears a homemade Apple iPhone shirt as he waits in line for the new iPhone in Palo Alto, Calif.

-- Hillary Rhodes

Second unexploded London car bomb confirmed

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

The latest from London, where authorities discovered a terror attack in the making: Officials have confirmed they found a second unexploded car bomb.

The first was found filled with gasoline, propane and nails in the city's bustling nightclub district, where authorities said it could have harmed or killed hundreds. The second car had a similarly lethal mix in it when it was towed from a nearby street. The contents were discovered as the car sat in an impound lot.

Stay up on the latest from London with this AP story.

--Jonathan Drew

PHOTO SPOTLIGHT: Hot day in Romania

AP photo wire caption: A boy runs on the edge of a fountain spraying red water at the end of a hot day in Bucharest Romania Friday June 29 2007. A Romanian artist spiced up the downton Bucharest landscape by adding red, green and blue paint to the city fountain water. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

The war in Iraq: Ask us anything

Ever have questions about the Iraq war that you don't see addressed in the day-to-day news stories?

Questions you might be embarrassed to ask friends because you worry they're too, well, obvious? Or maybe stuff you're just curious about -- like what Iraqis like to eat or read or watch on TV?

Now, you can get your answers. Far and Wide will soon be introducing a question-and-answer column about Iraq and the war, with the answers coming from the AP journalists who cover the war every day.

So please send your questions -- on anything from the war to everyday life to what it's like to go on patrol with Marines -- to [email protected]. As the questions roll in, we'll pick a few and do our best to answer them.

So check back with Far and Wide in the coming days and weeks to see the AP's answers to your Iraq questions.

Mickey Mouse rip-off 'Farfour' beaten to death

(AP Photo)

A Mickey Mouse rip-off who preached Islamic domination to children on a Hamas-affiliated television program was beaten to death today in the show's final episode.

The giant rodent with big black ears, white hands and a high-pitched voice, shown above, was called "Farfour," or "butterfly," and was killed by an actor posing as an Israeli official trying to buy Farfour's land. Farfour called the Israeli a "terrorist" before he was slain.

"Farfour was martyred while defending his land," said Sara, the teen presenter. He was killed "by the killers of children," she added.

The weekly children's show "Tomorrow's Pioneers" drew worldwide attention because Farfour urged Palestinian children to fight Israel. The show was broadcast on Al Aqsa TV, a station affiliated with the Hamas militant group.

For more on the demise of Farfour, read this report from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

--Paul Chavez