Pope Francis delivers his address from the window of the apostolic palace during the weekly Angelus prayer on Jan 22, 2023 in the Vatican. (ANDREAS SOLARO / AFP) VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis will have an operation on his abdomen on Wednesday afternoon at Rome's Gemelli hospital, the Vatican said in a statement, adding that the 86-year-old pontiff was expected to spend several days in hospital. …

A journalist captures images of the Christophe de Margerie icebreaking liquefied natural gas carrier at the Port of Sabetta in the Autonomous Okrug of Yamlo-Nenets, March 30, 2017. (PHOTO / XINHUA) VLADIVOSTOK – Russia has unveiled plans to invest 2 trillion rubles (about $24.58 billion) in the development of its Northern Sea Route (NSR) over the next 13 years, and a draft law prepared by …

The Hyundai logo is displayed on the facade of a dealership, Feb 6, 2023, in Manchester, New Hampshire. (PHOTO / AP) NEW YORK – New York City on Tuesday sued Hyundai Motor Co and Kia Corp, accusing the South Korean automakers of negligence and creating a public nuisance by selling vehicles that are too easy to steal. The most populous US city joined several other …

Richmond Interim Chief of Police Rick Edwards (center) gives a news briefing about a shooting that happened at the Huguenot High School graduation on June 6, 2023 in Richmond, Va. (PHOTO / AP) A man armed with four handguns killed two people and wounded five others when he fired into a crowd outside a high school graduation ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, police said. …

UN General Assembly President Csaba Korosi (left) presides over a meeting to elect non-permanent members of the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 6, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA) UNITED NATIONS – Algeria, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, and Slovenia were elected non-permanent members of the UN Security Council on Tuesday for a two-year term. The newly elected members …

This undated photo shows a galaxy named Messier 85, captured by the NASA Hubble Space Telescope. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ESA / HUBBLE & NASA, R. O'CONNELL) LOS ANGELES – NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a galaxy about 50 million light-years away that holds some surprises, the agency said. The galaxy, named Messier 85, contains some 400 billion stars, most of which are very old. …

Smoke fills the air as the city of Montreal is seen from the chalet on top of the Mont Royal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on June 5, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) OTTAWA – Authorities in New York, Toronto and Ottawa on Tuesday warned residents about the health risks from air polluted by smoke from unprecedented early summer wildfires in western Quebec and northern Ontario near Canada's …

This photo taken on March 29, 2023 shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. (PHOTO / XINHUA) VIENNA / UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations, Russia and Ukraine have all condemned the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant as a humanitarian and environmental catastrophe, while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) excluded immediate safety risks to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. IAEA Director …

Residents cross the submerged Route Nationale 2 at L'Acul in the Arrondissement of Léogâne 23 mi (or 37 km) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 3, 2023, during heavy rains. (PHOTO / AFP) Flooding from torrential rains in Haiti has left at least 42 people dead over the past couple days and dozens more missing and injured, officials said on Monday. Over 13,600 homes are also …

Prince Harry arrives at the High Court in London, June 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) LONDON – Prince Harry launched a fierce attack on the "vile" press on Tuesday, blaming tabloids for destroying his adolescence and later relationships, as he gave evidence against a tabloid publisher whose titles he accuses of unlawful activities. Harry, the fifth-in-line to the throne, became the first senior royal to …

This handout picture released by the state-owned company Ukrhydroenergo shows the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam which was damaged in Nova Kakhovka, near Kherson, on June 6, 2023. (HANDOUT / AFP) VLADIVOSTOK/KIEV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russian forces had destroyed the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam in southern Ukraine. All services are working to eliminate the consequences of the incident, Zelensky said …

In this file photo dated Oct 11, 2022, a crew member prepares a grain analysis for a control made by members of the Joint Coordination Center (JCC) onboard the Barbados-flagged ship "Nord Vind" coming from Ukraine, loaded with grain and anchored in Istanbul. (PHOTO / AFP) LADIVOSTOK/BRUSSELS/KYIV – The European Union has extended to Sept 15 restrictions on imports of Ukrainian grain demanded by five …

Prince Harry arrives at the High Court in London, June 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AP) LONDON – Prince Harry will become the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for more than a century when he appears on Tuesday in his lawsuit against a publisher whose titles he accuses of phone-hacking and other unlawful activities. Harry, the fifth-in-line to the throne, failed to …

Smoke billows behind buildings from a reported fire in Khartoum, on June 5, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) KHARTOUM — Shelling and heavy clashes hit areas of Sudan's capital on Monday, residents said, with reports of spreading lawlessness in Khartoum and in the western region of Darfur after more than seven weeks of conflict between rival military factions. Fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid …

French MP of the 1st constituency of the Somme department Francois Ruffin attends a unity rally of left-wing personalities on the theme of France's pension reform, in Paris, on Jan 10, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP) PARIS — French unions will stage on Tuesday a 14th day of protests against government plans to raise the retirement age to 64, in what could be a final attempt …

In this Dec 23, 2021 photo, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov moderates Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual press conference at the Manezh exhibition hall in central Moscow, Russia. (PHOTO / AFP) MOSCOW – Russia remains open to a dialogue with the United States on arms control as it is "extremely important," but Moscow is waiting for specific proposals from Washington, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday. …

This picture taken on June 3, 2023 shows a wild elephant eating rubbish mixed with plastic waste at a dump in the eastern district of Ampara, Sri Lanka. (PHOTO / AFP) UNITED NATIONS – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for concerted global action to reduce plastic pollution. Every year, over 400 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide, one-third of which is used …

Attendees wave placards during a rally to protest the one-year anniversary of Colorado's abortion law, the Reproductive Health Equity Act, April 4, 2023, outside the State Capitol in downtown Denver. (PHOTO / AP) GENEVA – Millions of women and girls across the United States have suffered an alarming deterioration in access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, following the US Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional …

This file photo shows Former US Vice-President Mike Pence speaks at a campus lecture hosted by Young Americans for Freedom at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, on April 12, 2022. (PHOTO / AFP) WASHINGTON – Former US Vice-President Mike Pence on Monday declared himself a candidate in the 2024 Republican race for the White House, setting up a fight against former President Donald …