Pope Francis experienced “two episodes of acute respiratory failure,” the Vatican said Monday, marking the latest in a series of medical crises the 88-year-old pontiff has endured since he was first hospitalized last month. Monday’s episodes were caused by “significant accumulation of endobronchial mucus” and a consequent narrowing of the…
It’s not unusual to see superheroes in the streets when it’s Carnival time in Brazil. Batman, Superman and Spider-Man are common sights on the streets of São Paulo during what’s sometimes called the world’s biggest party. But among the many people dressed in figure-hugging colorful lycra for this year’s festivities,…
There are three major hurdles to holding new elections, officials said. Only three quarters of Ukraine’s polling stations are operable at present and preparations to get elections to “international standards” would take six months, said the deputy head of Ukraine’s electoral commission, Serhiy Dubovyk. Ukraine’s constitution also mandates, upon the…
Japan is fighting a forest fire that has damaged dozens of homes and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate in a northeastern coastal city. The fire has burned about 2,100 hectares (5,190 acres) of forest in Ofunato since it started Wednesday, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. The…
Warning: This report contains details of sexual assaults. Reader discretion is advised. Armed forces in Sudan’s ongoing civil war are perpetrating systematic sexual violence against young children, with one-year-olds the youngest survivors of rape, according to a new report from UNICEF, the United Nations’ (UN) children’s agency. The UNICEF report,…
As President Donald Trump unleashes sweeping changes across the US government and overturns decades of American foreign policy, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to hold a major political gathering designed to project something else: tightly-controlled stability. Thousands of delegates are arriving in the Chinese capital this week for the…
Japan’s Prince Hisahito, the second in line to the throne, held a debut news conference on Monday, telling reporters he would try to balance official duties and his university studies and research about the dragonfly. Hisahito turned 18 last September, becoming the first male royal family member to reach adulthood…
Dozens of construction workers have been pulled alive from metal containers after they were trapped by a deadly Himalayan avalanche for around 36 hours, according to authorities in northern India. The Indian Army launched a rescue operation after heavy snowfall triggered the avalanche last Friday near a construction site in…
Social media platform Bluesky says it has gained 700,000 new users in the week following the US election. Bluesky, which was originally conceived as part of Twitter by its former chief executive Jack Dorsey, says the new sign-ups are largely from the US and UK. The company has increased its…
The UK has unveiled a punchy new climate goal to slash its emissions by 81% by 2035. The government said it is on a mission to “tackle the climate crisis in a way that makes the British people better off”, by investing in clean, home-grown power and cutting ties with…