Some Russian activists have sued Madonna for millions of dollars, claiming they were offended by her support for gay rights during a recent concert in St. Petersburg.

Anti-gay sentiment is strong in Russia, particularly in St. Petersburg, where a law passed in February makes it illegal to promote homosexuality to minors. The author of that law has pointed to the presence of children as young as 12 at Madonna's concert on Aug. 9.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has described as “very foolish” a decision by Air France to land a plane in Damascus following tensions near the Beirut airport on Wednesday.

In remarks carried by Le Parisien on its website on Saturday, Fabius said: “Imagine for a second if the Syrian authorities decided to inspect the plane to check the identities of the passengers.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Saturday to discuss the rising number of "insider" attacks in which Afghan security forces have turned their guns on American and other coalition troops.

Spokesman George Little said Panetta encouraged Karzai to work with U.S. commanders to ensure more rigorous vetting of Afghan recruits. Little said Panetta and Karzai agreed that American and Afghan officials need to work together to address a problem that has intensified in recent days.

Health officials in Indiana and Kentucky say they are investigating farms, distributors and retailers after an outbreak of salmonella that has killed two and sickened at least 141 people nationwide was linked to cantaloupe grown in southwestern Indiana.

Officials Friday advised all Indiana residents to discard cantaloupes purchased since July 7.

Robin Van Persie became the latest big-name player to slip from Arsenal's grasp when the Netherlands striker completed his move to Manchester United on a four-year deal on Friday.

Van Persie agreed personal terms and passed a medical examination to complete a transfer that is believed to have cost United about 24 million pounds ($38 million).

The Santa Fe Opera has announced its 2014 season will feature the American premiere of a work by Chinese-born composer Huang Ruo.

His opera, "Dr. Sun Yat-Sen," is about the leader of China's revolution that overthrew the monarchy in 1911 and established a republic.

Production on "Iron Man 3" is on hold after star Robert Downey Jr. hurt his foot during filming.

Marvel Studios said Thursday that Downey was injured while performing a stunt and "there will be a short delay in production while he recuperates." The 47-year-old actor is shooting the third installment in the superhero franchise in North Carolina.

Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray was brought back to earth on Thursday with a surprise defeat by unseeded Jeremy Chardy at the Western and Southern Open.

While his regular rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic won through to the quarterfinals, Murray lost 6-4, 6-4 to Chardy, an opponent he'd beaten easily the four previous times they'd played.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said Luka Modric is training on his own while the midfielder holds discussions with Real Madrid about a move to the Spanish champions.

The Croatia international is widely reported to be on the verge of joining Madrid in the coming days, ending his four-year spell at Tottenham.

The United States has expressed deep concern on the Syrian civil war’s spill over into Lebanon and called on all sides to exercise restraint following a string of kidnappings.

“We are deeply concerned about spillover from the Syrian crisis that could impact on the stability, on the sovereignty of Lebanon, and we firmly condemn kidnapping as a tactic,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Thursday.