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Ex-pope Benedict is 'lucid', condition stable: Vatican
Former pope Benedict XVI is "lucid and alert" and his condition remains serious but stable, the Vatican said Thursday, the day after revealing the 95-year-old's health had deteriorated.
Bolivia prosecutor seeks 6-month detention for key opposition figure
A Bolivian prosecutor said Thursday he had requested six months of pre-trial detention for a key opposition leader and former presidential candidate detained a day earlier on charges of "terrorism."
Ethiopian federal police deploy in Tigray after peace deal
Ethiopia's federal police began to deploy on Thursday in the capital of war-torn Tigray for the first time in 18 months, the police said, marking the latest step in a nearly two-month-old peace deal.
Death of ex-pope would put Vatican in uncharted territory
The death of a pope usually sets in motion time-honoured traditions, but with ex-pontiff Benedict XVI in failing health the Vatican is on unfamiliar ground.
Prayers and emotion in ailing ex-pope Benedict's German home region
The declining health of former pontiff Benedict XVI has sparked a wave of emotion in the region of Bavaria where he was born, while the controversies that marked his time in office remain vivid for many.
G7 tells Taliban to 'urgently reverse' ban on women aid workers
G7 foreign ministers on Thursday called on the Taliban to "urgently reverse" a ban on women working in Afghanistan’s aid sector.
Ex-pope Benedict's health serious but stable: media
Former pope Benedict XVI remains in a serious but stable condition, Italian media reported Thursday, the day after the Vatican revealed the 95-year-old's health had deteriorated.
At least 19 killed, scores injured in hotel-casino fire at Cambodian border
At least 19 people were killed and many others are feared dead in a fire at a Cambodian casino, with a rescuer describing how victims hurled themselves from a ledge in a desperate bid to escape the flames.
Ten killed, scores injured in hotel-casino fire at Cambodian border
At least 10 people were killed and many others are feared dead in a fire at a Cambodian casino, with a rescuer describing how victims hurled themselves from a ledge in a desperate bid to escape the flames.
Ten killed, scores injured in huge hotel-casino fire on Cambodian border
About 10 people are dead and more than a dozen on life support after a fire at a Cambodian border casino, with photos from the scene showing people desperately huddled on ledges and perched on windowsills in a bid to escape the flames.
What is the link between winter storms and global warming?
The world is getting warmer, winters included. The United States, however, has experienced severe winter storms in recent years, and experts are taking a closer look at the link between these extreme cold events and climate change.
Ten killed, 30 injured in huge hotel-casino fire on Cambodian border
As many as 10 people have died in a fire at a Cambodian hotel-casino on the border of Thailand, with photos showing groups desperately huddled on ledges as fierce flames surround them.
Global alarm grows over China's Covid surge
The United States is the latest in a growing number of countries to impose restrictions on visitors from China after Beijing abruptly removed a major impediment to overseas travel despite surging Covid cases at home.
Pope urges prayers for 'very ill' ex-pontiff Benedict
Pope Francis said Wednesday that Benedict XVI, who in 2013 became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries, is "very ill" and urged people to pray for him.
I.Coast hands down four life terms for 2016 jihadist attack
A court in Ivory Coast on Wednesday handed down life terms to four men convicted of abetting a jihadist attack on a resort that left 19 people dead.
Russia scraps pomp in New Year revelry amid Ukraine fighting
Russians are used to celebrating the New Year -- the country's main holiday -- with pomp, joy and high spirits.
Pope says ex-pontiff Benedict 'very ill'
Pope Francis said Wednesday that former pontiff Benedict XVI, 95, is "very ill", and urged people to pray for him before going to be by his side.
Pope says ex-pontiff Benedict 'very ill', asks for prayers
Pope Francis said Wednesday that former pontiff Benedict XVI, 95, whose health has steadily been deteriorating, is "very ill" and called on the faithful to pray for him.
Hong Kong asks Japan to reverse 'hasty' Covid flight curbs
Hong Kong authorities on Wednesday asked Japan to remove restrictions on direct flights from the city, which were imposed following the explosion of coronavirus cases in mainland China.
Republican US lawmaker-elect admits fabricating resume
A Republican elected to Congress in November was facing a growing clamor for his resignation Tuesday after admitting that he made up large parts of his biography -- but refusing to give up his seat.
US Supreme Court keeps controversial border policy in place
The US government's two-year-old policy of invoking Covid-19 precautions to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants at the Mexican border will remain in place for now, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
US Supreme Court keeps in effect health policy used to block migrants
The US Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a pandemic-era measure used since 2020 to block hundreds of thousands of migrants from entering the country should remain in place.
US digs out from monster storm as death toll passes 50
The monster storm that killed dozens in the United States over the Christmas weekend continued to inflict misery on New York state and air travellers nationwide Tuesday, as stories emerged of families trapped for days during the "blizzard of the century."
UN urges Taliban to end 'terrible' restrictions on women
The Taliban must immediately revoke their policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, the UN rights chief insisted Tuesday, condemning their "terrible" consequences.
Mystery endures in 2013 Paris murder of Kurd activists
The unsolved 2013 murder of three Kurdish women activists in Paris has been an open wound for their community, with lingering frustration over France's failure to bring those responsible to justice.
'Proud and strong': Solo protest against Taliban university ban
An 18-year-old Afghan student endured Taliban taunts and insults at the weekend as she staged a solo protest against the ban on women attending university.
Suspect charged with deadly shooting of Kurds in Paris
France charged a suspected gunman on Monday with last week's murder of three Kurds in Paris, as hundreds of people marched in the French capital to pay tribute to the victims.
Historic winter storm leaves nearly 50 dead across US
US emergency crews counted the grim costs of a colossal winter storm that brought Christmas chaos to millions, especially in hard-hit western New York, where the death toll reached 25 Monday in what authorities described as a "war with mother nature."
Suu Kyi lawyers set to make final arguments in junta trial
A Myanmar junta court is expected to hear closing arguments for the last remaining charges against jailed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday, after the UN Security Council called for her release.
Savage US blizzard leaves 32 dead, power outages, travel snarls
A brutal winter storm brought Christmas Day danger and misery to millions of Americans Sunday as intense snow and frigid cold gripped parts of the eastern United States, with weather-related deaths rising to at least 32.
Philippines floods force tens of thousands to flee homes
Christmas Day floods in the Philippines forced the evacuation of nearly 46,000 people from their homes, civil defence officials said Monday.
Five killed in Spain after bus plunges into river
Five people died after a bus plunged into a river overnight while crossing a bridge in Spain's northwestern Galicia region, officials said Sunday.
Paris shooting suspect admits 'pathological' hatred of foreigners
A French man suspected of killing three Kurds in a Paris shooting has confessed to a "pathological" hatred for foreigners, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Sunday.
Brother and sister's future separated after Taliban university ban
Marwa was just a few months away from becoming the first woman in her Afghan family to go to university -- instead, she will watch achingly as her brother goes without her.
Salvadoran troops encircle capital district in second gang crackdown
More than 1,000 soldiers surrounded a district in El Salvador's capital on Saturday as part of President Nayib Bukele's war on gangs, the second such operation this month in the Central American country.
Taliban order NGOs to stop women employees from working over 'hijab'
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers ordered all national and international NGOs to stop their women employees from working after "serious complaints" about their dress code, the economy ministry told AFP on Saturday.
Deadly winter blizzard leaves US in pre-Christmas deep freeze
A fearsome winter storm that pummelled the United States with blinding snow and powerful Arctic winds left 1.7 million customers without power Saturday as thousands of cancelled flights stranded travelers making last-minute dashes for Christmas.
Taliban ban women from working in national, international NGOs
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers ordered all national and international NGOs to stop their women employees from working after "serious complaints" about their dress code, the Ministry of Economy told AFP on Saturday.
Twenty-two killed in fire at nursing home in Russia
A fire erupted overnight in a private illegal nursing home in the Siberian city of Kemerovo, killing 22 people, Russia's investigative committee said Saturday.