World Briefs

QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador officials say a volcano is erupting in the Galapagos Islands and could harm unique wildlife.

The Galapagos National Park says La Cumbre volcano began spewing lava, gas and smoke on uninhabited Fernandina Island on Saturday after four years of inactivity.

BAGHDAD – Iraq's embattled Christians took advantage of improved security and gathered around the country to celebrate Easter Sunday, even as roadside bombings claimed the life of an American soldier.

About 200 Iraqi Christians packed into the Virgin Mary Church in Baghdad's Karradah district, once a predominantly Christian area but now largely Shiite, to attend Easter Mass. Christians have frequently been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists.

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Conservationists have discovered a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia — perhaps as many as 2,000 — giving a rare boost to one of the world's most endangered great apes.

VARADERO, Cuba – Behind the mangroves that skirt the blue waters of Cuba's Bay of Cardenas, a 1,500-slip marina is taking shape as the island's tourism industry braces for what could be its biggest challenge yet.

The Americans are coming -- or they may be, soon.

Rock jetties jut out into the bay and beyond them a plot of land the size of several football fields is taking shape, reclaimed from the water as part of a big new marina project at Varadero, a beach resort 80 miles east of Havana. "It's so close, they're expecting a lot of them," said a security guard.

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI sought to assuage the grief of Italy's earthquake victims during his Easter blessing on Sunday as Christians across the world celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims filled St Peter's Square as the pope issued an appeal for peace in Africa -- fresh from a controversial first tour as pontiff -- and the Middle East, ahead of a trip to Israel and Jordan next month.

BANGKOK – Thousands of Thai anti-government protesters flouted a state of emergency in Bangkok on Sunday, rallying against embattled Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva after he ordered tanks onto the streets. Demonstrators attacked Abhisit's convoy, captured armoured vehicles and roamed the streets of the capital -- a day after forcing the cancellation of a summit of Asian leaders in a major humiliation for the government. The chaos in Bangkok is a virtual replay of last year crisis.