Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air Mass before about 1.2 million people in Madrid, where he praised Spain’s religious traditions and urged Catholics to serve the poor and forsaken. The visit is his first to an EU country outside Italy and the first papal trip to Spain in about 15 years.
Posts tagged as “AFP”
The Palestinian Health Ministry said seven-month-old Sam Fahd Abu Haikal was killed when Israeli troops fired on his family’s car near Hebron. The Israeli military said soldiers believed the vehicle was accelerating toward them and that an initial inquiry found the wounded were uninvolved civilians.
French prosecutors have opened a preliminary investigation into suspected torture and war crimes after activists accused Israeli authorities of abusing Gaza flotilla detainees. Israel denies the allegations, while several allied governments have condemned the treatment of their nationals.
Nepali guide Dawa Sherpa was found alive near the Khumbu Icefall after six days missing on Mount Everest. His family had already begun funeral rituals before learning he had survived.
Russian missile and drone strikes killed at least nine people across Ukraine, including four in Kyiv, as officials reported fires, blackouts and damaged apartment buildings. The assault followed warnings from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Moscow was preparing a major attack.
On Tuesday, South Korea's military fired warning shots in response to an incursion by approximately 10 armed North Korean soldiers who crossed the military demarcation line at the eastern border. The North Korean troops retreated after South Korea issued warning broadcasts, highlighting the ongoing tensions between the two nations, which remain technically at war. Following the incident, South Korea reaffirmed its commitment to regional security and stability, emphasizing the heavily fortified nature of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and the fragile state of inter-Korean relations.
At least 12 people have been killed in an Israeli shell strike on a hospital in Gaza, with almost 3,000 people sheltering inside the facility. The plight of 39 premature babies in the hospital has been highlighted, with 28 of them being evacuated to Egypt for medical care. The conflict in Gaza has caused immense suffering to the people living there, and a resolution is urgently needed.
Negotiations are underway for a three-day humanitarian cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, potentially involving the release of 12 hostages, half of them Americans. The White House National Security Council has expressed concern that Hamas will discourage or prevent civilians from fleeing the area during the pauses, and is working to ensure humanitarian aid is provided to the people of Gaza. Negotiations are ongoing and the outcome of the cease-fire remains uncertain.