Aaron's Daily WWW Newspaper

JERUSALEM - The Vatican defended the pope Tuesday from a growing chorus of Israeli critics who accused the German-born Benedict XVI of failing to express enough remorse for the Holocaust — a controversy that threatened to eclipse a papal pilgrimage aimed at building bridges between faiths.

WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit rose in March for the first time since last July as the global recession cut sharply into sales of American exports. The politically sensitive deficit with China increased.

WASHINGTON - Federal regulators have been investigating and are close to filing lawsuits against companies believed to be behind a national wave of spam "robocalls" that warn people that their auto warranties are about to expire and they need to sign up for new service plans.

CHICAGO - "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell says he thinks Adam Lambert will win this season of the popular Fox singing competition show.

ATLANTA - The Cleveland Cavaliers were able to complete a four-game sweep that put them in the NBA's conference finals. The Denver Nuggets did not. LeBron James pumped in 27 points as the Cavaliers pulled out an 84-74 triumph in Atlanta to complete their second consecutive four-game sweep. The Cavs led by just four until James converted a three-point play with 2:03 remaining, igniting a game-ending 8-2 run.

KOTA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Helicopter-borne Pakistani soldiers swooped into a Taliban stronghold in a remote corner of Swat on Tuesday, after the United Nations called for help for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the fighting.

OSLO (Reuters) - The world faces disputes over the seabed from the South China Sea to the North Pole at a May 13 U.N. deadline for claims meant as a milestone toward the final fixing of maritime boundaries.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration's fiscal stimulus plan will meet previous estimates to save 3.5 million U.S. jobs by the end of 2010, but the unemployment rate at that time may be higher due to further deterioration in the economy, a senior administration official said on Monday.

MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - Accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk arrived in Germany from the United States on Tuesday to face charges he helped kill 29,000 Jews in 1943, raising the prospect of Germany's last major Nazi trial.

KABUL (Reuters) - Four suicide bombers blew themselves up and gun battles broke out in southeastern Afghanistan after militants tried to storm provincial government buildings on Tuesday, Afghan officials said.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan troops broke through Tamil Tiger defenses on Tuesday and the government brushed off Western criticism of civilian deaths as a rebel-orchestrated bid for a last-minute reprieve.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The new H1N1 flu virus could still mutate into a more virulent form and spark an influenza pandemic that could be expected to circle the globe up to three times, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

BEICHUAN, China (Reuters) - Mourners crowded ruins in southwest China on Tuesday to mark one year since an earthquake shattered the region, while President Hu Jintao called reconstruction efforts a testament to national strength.

MUNICH, Germany (AFP) - Former Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk arrived in Germany from the United States on Tuesday to face charges that he assisted in the murder of over 29,000 Jews, police told AFP.

TEHRAN (AFP) - US-born reporter Roxana Saberi, who was freed from an Iranian jail, said on Tuesday she has no immediate plans for the future and for now merely wants to "relax" with her family.

COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels accused government forces of killing at least 47 people Tuesday in an artillery and mortar attack on a hospital, a charge fiercely denied by the island's military.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (AFP) - US astronauts on Tuesday sped toward a high-risk mission to service the Hubble telescope for the last time, extending the life of a tool that has revolutionized the study of the universe.

BEICHUAN, China (AFP) - Chinese President Hu Jintao led the nation in a minute's silence on Tuesday at the epicentre of the powerful Sichuan earthquake that flattened homes and communities one year ago.

JERUSALEM (AFP) - The survival of Christian communities in the Middle East is of "vital importance," Pope Benedict XVI told a gathering of Catholic bishops in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

CANBERRA (AFP) - Australia will post a record 57.6 billion Australian dollar (44.1 billion US) deficit in 2009-10 as it battles the worst global recession since the Great Depression, Treasurer Wayne Swan said Tuesday.