Category: Trends

Pope Francis used his Christmas message Sunday to lament the “icy winds of war” buffeting humanity and to make an impassioned plea for an immediate end to the fighting in Ukraine, a 10-month-old conflict he decried as “senseless.” At noon in Rome, Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (Latin for “to the city and […]

Could the COVID-19 surge in China unleash a new coronavirus mutant on the world? Scientists don’t know but worry that might happen. It could be similar to Omicron variants circulating there now. It could be a combination of strains. Or something entirely different, they say. “China has a population that is very large and there’s […]

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Witcher: Blood Origin For anyone looking to ring in the holiday season with some good old-fashioned mayhem and monster-killing, Netflix’s The Witcher: Blood Origin, out Dec. 25, is a must-watch. Blood Origin, a prequel to The Witcher, Netflix’s series about a witcher named Geralt of Rivia, who finds himself embroiled […]

Comment on this story Comment JOHANNESBURG — South Africa was coming to grips Sunday with the full extent of the destruction and deaths caused by a Christmas Eve tanker truck explosion near Johannesburg as officials reported the death toll rising to 15. The truck was carrying gas when it got stuck under a low-lying bridge […]

Comment on this story Comment VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis used his Christmas message Sunday to lament the “icy winds of war” buffeting humanity and to make an impassioned plea for an immediate end to the fighting in Ukraine, a 10-month-old conflict he decried as “senseless.” At noon local time, Francis delivered the traditional “Urbi […]

Comment on this story Comment BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Dozens of hungry and weak Rohingya Muslims were found on a beach in Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh on Sunday after weeks at sea, officials said. The group of 58 men arrived on Indrapatra beach at Ladong, a fishing village in Aceh Besar district, early Sunday, […]

Comment on this story Comment KABUL, Afghanistan — The U.S. has condemned the Taliban for ordering non-governmental groups in Afghanistan to stop employing women, saying the ban will disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions. The Taliban takeover last year sent Afghanistan’s economy into a tailspin and transformed the country, driving millions into poverty and […]

Comment on this story Comment As Russia has launched relentless strikes on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, leaving millions without electricity, water and heat, towns across Russia have been beset by their own, utility-related disasters. A huge gas pipeline explosion outside St. Petersburg last month, major fires in two separate Moscow shopping malls allegedly caused by dodgy […]

The grisly pre-Christmas killings of two young men and their uncle at an early 1900s house in Mexico City cast attention on the dark side of the capital’s booming real estate market, fed by a lack of legal documents and gangs that illegally seize properties. Actor Andrés Tirado, his musician brother Jorge Tirado and an […]

Family members of Brazilian soccer great Pelé are gathering at the Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo where the 82-year-old global icon has been since the end of November. Doctors said earlier this week that Pelé’s cancer had advanced, adding the three-time World Cup winner is under “elevated care” related to “kidney and cardiac dysfunctions.” […]