UNITED NATIONS — The United States is urging the United Nations General Assembly to back its resolution to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Monday, oppose any amendments and vote no on a rival text drafted by Ukraine and European allies. In a diplomatic note sent on Sunday and reviewed by Reuters, …
VATICAN CITY — While the Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, they do not apply if he is sick or even unconscious. And there are no specific norms outlining what happens to the leadership of the Catholic Church if a pope becomes totally incapacitated. …
The papal thriller “Conclave” won best ensemble and Timothée Chalamet took best actor at the 31st Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday, a pair of twists that added a few final wrinkles to an unusually unpredictable awards season. In winning the guild’s top award, Edward Berger’s Vatican-set drama triumphed just as the Catholic Church was …
MADRID — Spanish police have smashed a human trafficking ring that lured more than 1,000 women to the country over the past year with false job offers before forcing them into sex work, police said Sunday. The women, who were mainly from Venezuela and Colombia, were told they would be working in the beauty or cleaning …
Read more “Spain smashes sex trafficking gang that exploited more than 1,000 women”
Los Angeles — Former Vice President Kamala Harris stepped on the NAACP Image Awards stage Saturday night with a sobering message, calling the civil rights organization a pillar of the Black community and urging people to stay resilient and hold onto their faith during the tenure of President Donald Trump. “While we have no illusions about …
Read more “Kamala Harris receives prestigious Chairman’s prize at NAACP Image Awards”
Linda Facci has a unique and charming job. Using just a few tools and a lot of felt, she makes hyper realistic sculptures that, if they weren’t so small, it would be hard to tell them apart from the real thing. Anna Nelson met up with Facci to talk about her art. Anna Rice narrates …
Brussels — Estonia has launched a new push to get fellow EU members to agree to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to help Ukraine, dismissing a Russian idea on how the money could be used as part of a peace deal. The Baltic country has sent a discussion paper on the issue to European …
Read more “Estonia pushing for EU to seize Russian assets for Ukraine”
Rome, Italy — An American Airlines flight from New York to New Delhi, India, landed safely in Rome on Sunday afternoon after it was diverted due to a security concern , which later proved to be “non-credible,” the airline said. American Airlines said Flight 292 “was inspected by law enforcement” after landing at Leonardo da Vinci …
Brussels — The leaders of the 27 European Union countries will have an emergency summit on March 6 about next steps for Ukraine and Europe’s security. European Council President Antonio Costa announced Sunday that he is convening the summit in Brussels. “We are living a defining moment for Ukraine and European security,” Costa said in a …
Read more “EU leaders will hold emergency summit on Ukraine and European security “
As U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated the need to put an end to the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he’d be willing to step down to achieve peace. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details. …
New York — “Captain America: Brave New World” soared on opening weekend but crashed down in its second go-around with audiences. “Brave New World,” the latest sign that the Marvel machine isn’t quite what it used to be, remained No. 1 at the box office in its second frame with $28.2 million in ticket sales, according …
Read more “‘Captain America’ dives in 2nd weekend, ‘The Monkey’ boosts Neon’s successes “
The United States and Ukraine said Sunday they are nearing an agreement for Kyiv to give Washington a large share of its rare earth mineral rights as compensation for the billions of dollars in munitions the U.S. sent to Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s full-scale war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a news conference …
Read more “Washington, Kyiv near deal for Ukrainian ‘critical minerals’ rights “
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis, in critical condition battling double pneumonia, had a “tranquil” night, was alert and had rested after a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said on Sunday. The pope was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after experiencing difficulty breathing for several days and subsequently had pneumonia diagnosed in …
Read more “Pope Francis is in critical condition but alert, Vatican says “
BERLIN — German voters are choosing a new government in an election Sunday dominated by worries about the yearslong stagnation of Europe’s biggest economy, pressure to curb migration and growing uncertainty over the future of Ukraine and Europe’s alliance with the United States. The center-right opposition is favored to win, while polls point to the strongest …
Moscow — The Kremlin on Sunday hailed dialogue between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — two “extraordinary” presidents — as “promising,” and vowed it would “never” give up territory seized in eastern Ukraine. Trump broke with Western policy earlier this month by phoning Putin to discuss how to end the conflict in Ukraine — …
Read more “Kremlin hails Putin-Trump dialogue as promising “
Moscow — Myanmar and its close ally Russia signed a memorandum on investment cooperation in a special economic zone in Dawei, including construction of a port and an oil refinery, Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Sunday. The document was signed by the head of the Russian ministry, Maxim Reshetnikov, and Myanmar’s minister for …
Read more “Russia signs memorandum to build port, oil refinery in Myanmar “
ROME — Pope Francis, in critical condition with a complicated lung infection, rested well during a peaceful night following a respiratory crisis and blood transfusions, the Vatican said Sunday. Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni’s one-line statement didn’t mention if Francis was up or eating breakfast. “The night passed quietly, the pope rested.” The brief update came after …
Read more “Vatican: Ailing Pope Francis ‘rested during a peaceful night’”
TOKYO — Yoshiko Abe is about to turn 89, but that hasn’t stopped her from going to the gym every day and trying the free-of-charge makeup course at her housing complex. “It was really helpful,” she said, all smiles and glowing after putting on foundation and pink lipstick, something she hadn’t done in years. …
Read more “Beauty market targets young at heart in aging Japan”
NIOKOLO-KOBA NATIONAL PARK, SENEGAL — The morning sun slants through the canopy of Senegal’s Niokolo-Koba National Park as Sgt. Abdou Diouf and his brigade of rangers march in single file, guns at the ready. They scan the brush for signs of poachers, but today, it seems, the only hunters are the lions themselves, their fresh tracks …
Read more “Mystical beliefs fuel Senegal’s illegal big cat trade”
LOS ANGELES — Sean Baker, whose low-budget movie “Anora” is the front-runner for next weekend’s Oscars, delivered an impassioned plea to “keep indie film alive” as he won top prize at the Spirit Awards on Saturday. The annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony, held in a giant tent at Los Angeles’ Santa Monica beach, only celebrates …
LONDON/PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to Washington next week amid alarm in Europe over U.S. President Donald Trump’s hardening stance toward Ukraine and overtures to Moscow on the three-year conflict. The leaders of Europe’s two nuclear powers, who will be traveling separately, are expected to try to …
Read more “Macron, Starmer to meet Trump, offer ideas for Ukraine security guarantees”
WARSAW, POLAND — Poland said Saturday it has been paying for Ukraine’s Starlink subscription and will continue to do so despite sources saying the United States could consider cutting Ukraine’s access to the satellite internet system. U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to …
Read more “Poland pays for Ukraine’s Starlink subscription, says its deputy PM”
STRASBOURG, FRANCE — One person died and two police officers were seriously injured in a knife attack in eastern France on Saturday that occurred during a demonstration, the local prosecutor said. Three more officers were lightly wounded in the attack in the city of Mulhouse, carried out by a 37-year-old suspect who is on a terror …
Read more “1 dead, several police officers wounded in knife attack in France”
PARIS — Mohamed Amra, a French fugitive known as “The Fly,” who was freed by gunmen in a brazen attack against a prison van in May, was arrested in Romania on Saturday, the French interior minister said. French police had launched a massive manhunt for the fugitive, whose escape resulted in the deaths of two prison …
Read more “France says gangster ‘The Fly’ was arrested in Romania”