Pope Francis opened Thursday a landmark summit at the Vatican on fighting child sex abuse, saying that the world expected “concrete measures” on tackling paedophilia in the Catholic Church. The pontiff will dedicate the next three and a half days to discussing the Church’s response to child abuse by members of the clergy with bishops Read more
Denise Buchanan was 17 when she was raped by a seminarian who continued to abuse her when he became a priest in her native Jamaica. The Catholic Church, she says, has offered her nothing but their “prayers”. “I got pregnant and he arranged a clandestine abortion,” Buchanan, still shaking and close to tears 40 years after Read more
The United States and European powers voiced sharply differing views on issues from Mideast security to trade Saturday, laying bare a deep trans-Atlantic rift in the era of President Donald Trump. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders at a three-day international security conference voiced dismay at a range of Trump decisions deemed hostile Read more
Twelve Catalan separatist leaders involved in an attempt to break from Spain went on trial on Tuesday under intense scrutiny, as tensions over the future of the region flare again. The defendants, some of whom have been in pre-trial custody for over a year, sat on benches in the ornate room of Madrid’s Supreme Court, Read more
Ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika declared he will seek a fifth term in April elections in a message published by state media Sunday after he was endorsed by his party and the ruling coalition. The 81-year-old head of state uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013. “Of Read more
Pope Francis held a historic public mass for an estimated 170,000 Catholics at an Abu Dhabi stadium on Tuesday on the first ever papal visit to the Muslim Gulf. The pope waved at an enthusiastic crowd carrying Vatican flags and banners as he drove into Zayed Sports City Stadium, where an altar with a large Read more
British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Sunday she would be “armed with a fresh mandate and new ideas” when she meets European Union negotiators over her Brexit deal. EU officials have insisted that the deal is not open for renegotiation. But May wrote in the Sunday Telegraph that she would be “battling for Britain Read more
President Nicolas Maduro’s grip on power in Venezuela may have been loosened over the past week, but diehard supporters say they are willing to fight “tooth and nail” for him. There is a mood of simmering defiance in some quarters of Caracas, where supporters of the socialist leader are angered by international backing for Juan Read more
British Prime Minister Theresa May unveils her Brexit “Plan B” to parliament on Monday after MPs shredded her EU divorce deal, deepening the political gridlock 10 weeks from departure day. Britain will crash out of the European Union on March 29 unless MPs can force a delay or come up with an alternative plan that Read more
Liverpool moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League as Mohamed Salah’s double inspired a dramatic 4-3 victory over Crystal Palace, while Manchester United stretched their winning streak to seven games as they beat Brighton 2-1 on Saturday. With second-placed Manchester City travelling to bottom of the table Huddersfield on Sunday, Liverpool Read more
