Most of the explosions struck areas with large Shiite populations; news agencies report as many as 13 or 14 separate explosions.

Pope Francis has selected the Second Sunday of Easter as the date for their canonization. The ceremony at the Vatican is expected to draw large crowds, especially from John Paul II's native Poland.

Over the weekend, Greek police arrested around two dozen party leaders, including members of parliament, from the Golden Dawn party — one of Europe's most violent political parties. Charges include murder and blackmail.

A protest in the Russian Arctic has dramatized growing problems with oil drilling there. Every country has a stake in the enormously lucrative search for oil and gas in the Arctic, says professor Lawton Brigham. But pollution from reckless attempts at development are evident on an island near the Polar circle.

Sales in commercial real estate here in the U.S. have soared over the past year. Asian nations, particularly China, are scooping up trophy properties and investing in some large, long-term development projects at a record pace.

Some stories from the isolated nation are stranger than government-sponsored fiction. AP Asia correspondent Tim Sullivan brings us unexpected tales, like the North Korean love affair with Gone with the Wind.

Kenyan authorities say they've made another arrest in the deadly attack on an upscale mall that shocked Nairobi last week. But officials are also facing questions over reports of intelligence that may have given warnings about the attack, which ended with at least 67 deaths.

The attack occurred as many students of an agricultural college slept. As many as 50 people may be dead as a result of violence that is being blamed on the group Boko Haram.

Sheikh Saleh al-Luhaydan warned women against driving cars by saying it could affect their ovaries. His comments come a month before a planned day of disobedience, when activists will call for women to drive — a right they do not have in Saudi Arabia.

An explosion has killed at least 37 people in Peshawar, Pakistan, where authorities say they suspect a car bomb was detonated in a street market near a police station. The powerful blast left a scene of devastation, with casualties and severe damage to nearby buildings.