Abducted Indian priest rescued in Yemen after 18 months

An Indian Catholic priest who was kidnapped by militants from a home for senior citizens in Yemen has been rescued after 18 months, an Indian official said Tuesday.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Twitter that Tom Uzhunnalil had been rescued, saying later Tuesday that he had reached Vatican City. He is expected to meet Pope Francis. Swaraj gave no other details.

Uzhunnalil had worked for more than four years as a chaplain at the home in Aden in southern Yemen established by Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity.

AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from the Middle East

Pakistani boys take part in a rally marking the birthday of Islam's Prophet Muhammad in Islamabad, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015. Thousands of Pakistani Muslims celebrated by participating in religious ceremonies and distributing free meals for the poor.  

World Cup entangled with Mideast conflicts

With the World Cup in faraway Brazil coming at a time of unprecedented sectarian violence and soaring tension in the Middle East, some Arab football fans have been reduced to watching matches in secret or even — and this is where it gets complicated — on a TV channel owned by Israel.