Category: Trends

Comment on this story Comment ROME — Pope Francis appealed for prayers for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, saying the 95-year-old retired pontiff is “very sick” and asking God to console him and sustain him “until the end.” A Vatican statement soon after said that Benedict’s condition had “worsened” because of “advancing age” but remains under […]

Comment on this story Comment VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Wednesday said his predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, is “very sick,” and he asked the faithful to pray for the retired pontiff so God will comfort him “to the very end.” Francis didn’t elaborate on the condition of Benedict, who resigned as pontiff in […]

Comment on this story Comment JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu’s incoming hard-line government has put West Bank settlement expansion at the top of its list of priorities a day before it’s set to be sworn into office. Netanyahu’s Likud party released the new government’s policy guidelines on Wednesday, the first of which is that it will […]

Moscow announced it would ban the sale of its oil to countries involved in capping its price on the global market, even as an official projected the Russian economy would shrink by up to 1 percent in 2023, marking a continuation of its slump this year. The country’s economy has reeled under the effect of […]

Comment on this story Comment HOKKAIDO PREFECTURE, Japan — China’s sudden announcement this week that it will begin reopening its borders on Jan. 8, allowing residents to travel without quarantining upon return, has sent governments and tourism-focused businesses around the world scrambling to prepare for a possible influx of travelers from what had been among […]

Comment on this story Comment NEW DELHI — Police in Indian-controlled Kashmir said government forces killed four suspected militants in a gunbattle on Wednesday. A top police officer, Mukesh Singh, said troops intercepted a truck in the outskirts of Jammu city early Wednesday following its “unusual movement” on a highway. As the troops began searching […]

Comment on this story Comment LYMAN, Ukraine — Tamara Klimashenko stood in what was once her cherished flower garden and pulled out her phone to show photos of the peonies, petunias and chamomiles that once covered this patch of dirt now littered with shrapnel. Her husband, Anatoly Klimashenko, pointed to where the shells exploded: one […]

Comment on this story Comment MANILA, Philippines — The death toll from heavy rains and floods that devastated parts of the Philippines over the Christmas weekend has risen to 25, with 26 others still missing, the national disaster response agency said Wednesday. Nearly 400,000 people were affected, with over 81,000 still in shelters and nine […]

Comment on this story Comment ABUJA, Nigeria — An out-of-control car crashed into a crowd at a large street party in southern Nigeria on Tuesday, leaving seven people dead and many others injured, authorities told The Associated Press. The driver lost control of the car on a packed street in Calabar, Cross River State capital, […]

Comment on this story Comment MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president appealed to the country’s citizens Tuesday not to accept holiday handouts and gifts from drug gangs, after videos posted online showed garish pickup trucks handing out loads of gifts while bystanders described the drivers as members of the Jalisco drug cartel. President Andrés Manuel López […]