World News - The Morning Sun

Pope Francis waves to faithful at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Nicaragua proposes suspending Vatican ties after comments

Nicaragua ’s government says it has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis compared President Daniel Ortega’s administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship … more

By GABRIELA SELSER and FRANCES D’EMILIO | 3/12/23

Red Cross volunteers carry the body of a civilian, who was killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo North Kivu province village of Mukondi, Thursday March 9, 2023. At least 36 were killed when the Allied Democratic Forces, a group with links to the Islamic State group, attacked the village and burned residents' huts. (AP Photo/Socrate Mumbere)

At least 19 people killed in Congo by suspected extremists

Authorities say rebels in eastern Congo killed at least 19 people and set fire to a health center and houses. The former governor of North Kivu province said in a Sunday interview with state media … more

By JEAN-YVES KAMALE | 3/12/23

FILE - Water buffalo herders in the marshes of Chibayish feed their animals after back to back drought severely reduced available food stocks in Dhi Qar province, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2022. Iraq's prime minister Sunday March 12, 2023 promised sweeping measures to tackle climate change — which has affected millions across the country. Droughts and increased water salinity have destroyed crops, animals and farms and dried up entire bodies of water. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil, File)

Iraqi PM promises action to tackle crippling climate change

Iraq’s prime minister has promised sweeping measures to tackle climate change, which has affected millions across the country. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said Sunday in a speech to open … more

3/12/23

Syrian state media: Israel fires missiles at western city

Syria's state news agency says Israeli missiles have targeted a western city wounding three soldiers. SANA said Sunday the missiles were fired at Masyaf in Hama province at dawn. Other local media … more

3/12/23

Police check a fishing boat with some 500 migrants in the southern Italian port of Crotone, early Saturday, March 11, 2023. The Italian coast guard was responding to three smugglers boats carrying more than 1,300 migrants “in danger” off Italy’s southern coast, officials said Friday. Three small coast guard boats were rescuing a boat with 500 migrants about 700 miles off the Calabria region, which forms the toe of the Italian boot. (AP Photo/Valeria Ferraro)

Italy's coast guard, navy, bring hundreds of migrants ashore

Italian coast guard and navy vessels are ferrying hundreds of migrants to shore after rescues in the Mediterranean. The coast guard said overcrowding on vessels operated by people smugglers and … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO | 3/11/23

Yemen sides begin UN-brokered talks on prisoner exchange

The U.N. says Yemen’s warring sides have begun talks aimed at implementing a U.N.-brokered deal on a prisoner exchange. The discussions between Yemen’s internationally recognized government and … more

By SAMY MAGDY | 3/11/23

FILE - Police stand on the other side of a window at Planalto Palace that was shattered by supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed the official workplace of the President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023. Sources in the army and defense ministry, told The Associated Press they don't see any evidence of another uprising against Lula’s government in the near term, adding the high command has performed its regular duties without question. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Haunted by post-election riot, Brazil's Lula reins in army

When rioters stormed Brazil’s top government buildings in January to dispute the outcome of the presidential election, many soldiers stood by as far-right protesters broke windows, defecated in … more

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and CARLA BRIDI | 3/11/23

In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, at right, shakes hands with Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban, at left, as Wang Yi, China's most senior diplomat, looks on, at center, for a photo during a closed meeting held in Beijing, Saturday, March 11, 2023. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed Friday to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The major diplomatic breakthrough negotiated with China lowers the chance of armed conflict between the Mideast rivals, both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region. (Luo Xiaoguang/Xinhua via AP)

Syria hopes Iran-Saudi agreement will ease regional tension

Syria has welcomed the agreement reached between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations saying it will lead to more stability in the region. Iran has been a main backer of … more

3/11/23

Men watch as Mount Merapi releases volcanic materials during an eruption in Sleman, Indonesia, Saturday, March 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)

Indonesia’s Merapi volcano spews hot clouds in new eruption

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi has erupted with avalanches of searing gas clouds and lava, forcing authorities to halt tourism and mining activities on the slopes of the country’s most active volcano. … more

By SLAMET RIYADI | 3/11/23

A woman chants slogans during a protest against the government of using the nuclear power, joining others gathered across from the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Saturday, March 11, 2023, on the 12th anniversary of a disaster following a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan's Tohoku region. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Japan marks 12 years from tsunami and nuclear disaster

Japan has marked the 12th anniversary of the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster with a minute of silence as concerns grew ahead of the planned release of the treated radioactive water … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 3/11/23

FILE - Upside-down Dutch flags fly in protest against the Dutch government's plans to drastically reduce emissions of nitrogen pollutants by the country's agricultural sector, next to a election billboard for the agrarian political BBB Party, BoerBurgerBeweging, or Farmer–Citizen Movement, in Ooststellingwerf, northern Netherlands, Sunday, March 5, 2023. Thousands of demonstrators are expected to join an anti-government protest by farmers' organizations in The Hague, Netherlands, Saturday, March 11, 2023. The protest comes days before Dutch provincial elections on March 15, in which a party representing farmers' interests is expected to perform well. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)

Tractors head to The Hague, defying ban on farms protest

Farmers are driving tractors toward The Hague in defiance of a ban on the heavy vehicles imposed ahead of a protest against the Dutch government’s plan to reduce nitrate emissions. The municipality … more

By MIKE CORDER | 3/11/23

FILE - Pope Francis holds the pastoral staff as he leaves after celebrating a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, to mark Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2014. Pope Francis celebrates the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, March 13, 2023, far outpacing the "two or three" years he once envisioned for his papacy and showing no signs of slowing down. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

Pope Francis at 10 years: A reformer's learning curve, plans

Pope Francis is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his election Monday, far outpacing the “two or three” years he once envisioned for his papacy. And he's showing no signs of slowing down. On … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 3/11/23

Newly-named Foreign Affairs Minister Albert van Klaveren attends a ceremony at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, Friday, March 10, 2023. President Gabriel Boric changed his cabinet one day before completing his first year in government. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix)

Chile's president shakes up Cabinet, replaces five ministers

Chilean President Gabriel Boric has shaken up his Cabinet, replacing five of his 24 ministers on the eve of beginning his second year in power. He announced the changes Friday, two days after … more

By EVA VERGARA | 3/10/23

Democratic Republic of Congo Defence Forces gather in the North Kivu province village of Mukondi Thursday March 9, 2023. At least 36 were killed when the Allied Democratic Forces, a group with links to the Islamic State group, attacked the village and burned residents' huts. (AP Photo/Socrate Mumbere)

Eastern Congo hit by rebel attacks; 45 civilians killed

Local authorities say the death toll from several attacks this week by extremist rebels in eastern Congo has risen to at least 45 people. Saidi Balikwisha, provincial deputy of North Kivu province, … more

By CHRISTINA MALKIA and JUSTIN KABUMBA | 3/10/23

Armed police officers gather near the scene of a shooting in Hamburg, Germany on Thursday March 9, 2023. Shots were fired inside a building used by Jehovah's Witnesses in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, and an unspecified number of people were killed or wounded, police said. (Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa via AP)

Timeline of shooting at Jehovah's Witnesses hall in Germany

A timeline of the shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses hall in the German city of Hamburg on Thursday evening, according to information provided by authorities on Friday. more

3/10/23

FILE - A mural depicting the late President Jovenel Moise adorns a wall in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 21, 2021. A U.S. financier living in Florida was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, in the slaying of Moise as the U.S. government presses forward with the investigation while the probe in Haiti stalls. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph, File)

Haiti police pursue new suspects in presidential slaying

Authorities in Haiti have identified new suspects in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse. These include a pastor and a well-known gang leader. Police spokesman Gary Desrosiers said in … more

3/10/23

Haze and dust envelops buildings in Beijing, Friday, March 10, 2023. Skyscrapers disappeared into the haze and air quality plummeted as China's capital was enveloped in a dust storm and heavy pollution on Friday. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Beijing air quality plummets amid dust storm, pollution

Skyscrapers in Beijing have disappeared into the haze and air quality plummeted as China’s capital is enveloped in a dust storm and heavy pollution. Concentrations of the tiny PM2.5 particles that … more

3/10/23

A Ghanaian soldier performs in hook and climb drills during Flintlock 2023 on a Spanish frigate at Tema port, Ghana, Thursday, March 9, 2023. Some 1,300 military personnel from 29 countries are training in Ghana and Ivory Coast, amid surging jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group that's killed thousands, displaced millions and plunged countries into crises. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

US trains West African militaries as jihadi threat spreads

As extremist violence in West Africa’s Sahel region spreads south toward coastal states, the United States military has launched its annual military training exercise which will help armies contain … more

By SAM MEDNICK | 3/10/23

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage on the runway of Aleppo International Airport after a suspected Israeli strike there in Aleppo, Syria, Tuesday, March 7, 2023. A suspected Israeli airstrike targeting Aleppo International Airport again tore multiple craters on its runway, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press showed Thursday, March 9, 2023. A United Nations official separately has criticized the attack for hindering earthquake relief for the hard-hit, war-torn nation. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Syria's Aleppo airport resumes flights days after airstrike

The head of Syria's civil aviation says flights at the international airport in Aleppo have resumed, three days after it was put out of service by a suspected Israeli airstrike. The official told a … more

3/10/23

French, British leaders meet in efforts to mend relations

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak are to meet in Paris for a summit aimed at mending relations following post-Brexit tensions; improving military and business … more

By SYLVIE CORBET and JILL LAWLESS | 3/10/23