Obama calls jobs report better than expected

President Obama says the new jobs report "is actually better than expected."

A jobs report released Friday said the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent last month as employers shed 36,000 jobs, more than the 26,000 cut in January. Obama blamed snowstorms that buried the East Coast.

Even so, the president said the number of unemployed Americans is "more than we should tolerate" and pushed Congress to pass a jobs bill for immediate relief.

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Body scanners arriving at many U.S. airports

The Transportation Security Administration is spreading airport body-scanner technology across the country.

A TSA official said Friday that units will be fielded next week in Chicago, and in the coming months at Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; San Jose, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; San Diego; Charlotte, N.C.; Cincinnati; Los Angeles; Oakland, Calif.; and Kansas City.

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Britain may force owners to microchip dogs

British dog owners may be forced to microchip their pets and take out insurance, part of a proposed crackdown on the country's dangerous canines.

Postmen are delighted, but civil libertarians grumble that Britain's sprawling surveillance state now wants to track the nation's estimated 8 million dogs. Others complain that the insurance plan would impose a financial penalty on innocent pet owners while criminals who own violent animals will simply shirk the law.

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Dutch bishops order abuse inquiry

Dutch religious leaders have ordered an inquiry into alleged sexual abuses of children by Roman Catholic priests. Earlier, the Vatican defended its response to allegations of child sex abuse against Catholic clergy, saying it reacted rapidly and decisively. In the latest revelations, an Austrian monastery head offered to resign for abusing a boy more than 40 years ago.

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Prince fined over Kenya assault

A German court has fined Princess Caroline of Monaco's husband 200,000 euros (£181,200; $270,000) for assaulting a hotelier in Kenya in 2000.

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U.K. couple kidnapped by pirates may be released

A retired British couple snatched last year from their sailboat by pirates could be released within weeks as Somali communities inside and outside the East African country work for their freedom, a Somali official said Friday.

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US boosts defense against Iran

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran rose Monday after the Obama Administration quietly increased the capability of land and sea-based missile defenses in several Gulf nations to protect American allies against a potential Iranian strike.

Administration officials said over the weekend that the U.S. was speeding up arms sales to a number of Gulf Arab states and that it had also deployed warships capable of knocking down hostile missiles in flight to the region.

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Pastor defends church members held in Haiti

An Idaho pastor condemned child trafficking as a 'wicked and evil practice,' defending members of his congregation detained in Haiti after they tried to bus 33 children into the Dominican Republic.

Central Valley Baptist Church Senior Pastor Clint Henry told church members Sunday the Americans were trying to rescue children from an orphanage in the Haitian capital.

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Pakistan probes reported death of Taliban chief

The death of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud would inflict major damage against an Al Qaeda ally already under pressure from U.S. and Pakistani attacks, but is unlikely to deal a killer blow to an organization blamed for scores of bloody bombings.

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UK author wants to test suicide law

Sir Terry Pratchett says he is ready to be a test case for assisted suicide "tribunals" which could give people legal permission to end their lives.

The author, who has Alzheimer's, says he wants a tribunal set up to help those with incurable diseases end their lives with help from doctors. A poll for BBC One's Panorama suggests most people support assisted suicide for someone who is terminally ill. Sir Terry is due to set out his ideas in the Richard Dimbleby lecture later.

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