Pope Francis considers a recent controversy with his predecessor, Benedict XVI, regarding priestly celibacy “closed,” a media report said on Thursday. Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of the leftist La Repubblica newspaper, is an atheist who has struck up a surprising friendship with Francis. His paper, however, published his interview. Scalfari, using indirect speech, said the […]

United Nations (UN) investigators on Thursday called for thousands of children of jihadists who fought for the Islamic State group to be repatriated from Syria. The UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria said in a report that the children were in a “particularly precarious” situation since they often lacked official papers. “This, in turn, jeopardises […]

Russian lawmakers approve Putin’s pick, Mikhail Mishustin as new Prime Minister. On Wednesday Putin nominated the little-known tax chief as the new prime minister after he unveiled sweeping constitutional changes and the government of his loyal lieutenant Dmitry Medvedev resigned. Mishustin, the 53-year-old prime minister-designate, also said authorities need to restore confidence with the business […]

A suspect armed with a rifle opened fire in a Russian courthouse killing one man and injuring a woman. The attack according to report occurred early morning on Thursday. A male court officer suffered a gunshot wound to his stomach in the attack and died in an ambulance en route to the hospital. The prosecutor’s […]

The billionaire daughter of Angola’s ex-president, Isabel dos Santos, has said she would consider running for president in the next election in 2022. Dos Santos has been targeted in an anti-graft campaign led by her father’s successor President Joao Lourenco, who has vowed to fight corruption and rebuild the economy of sub-Saharan Africa’s second-biggest oil producer. […]

Iran’s president said Thursday dialogue with the world remained “possible” despite high tensions with the United States, and stressed that Tehran was working daily “to prevent military confrontation or war”. The country attacked US military targets in Iraq on January 8 to retaliate against Washington’s targeted killing of a key Iranian general five days earlier […]

Brutal attacks that have killed nearly 300 people in less than two months have propelled the Islamic State to the status of the Sahel’s most-feared jihadist group, eclipsing al-Qaeda, experts say. The vast fragile region on the southern rim of the Sahara has been battling an escalating insurgency by violent Islamists, beginning in Mali in […]

Articles of impeachment charging United States President, Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress were delivered to the Senate Wednesday, setting in motion a historic trial that threatens the US leader with removal from office. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell announced that the articles would be formally read to the chamber Thursday […]

Rain fell across parts of bushfire-ravaged eastern Australia on Thursday and more wet weather was forecast, giving some relief following months of catastrophic blazes fuelled by climate change. The fires, unprecedented for Australia in terms of duration and intensity, have claimed 28 lives and killed an estimated billion animals. Sustained hot weather and only very […]

A young doctor who ran an underground hospital in the besieged region of eastern Ghouta during the Syrian civil war has been awarded a European prize for extraordinary humanitarian acts. Amani Ballour, a paediatrician was named this year’s recipient of the Council of Europe’s Raoul Wallenberg prize, awarded in honour of a Swedish diplomat who […]