Media accreditation opens for World Urban Forum in Baku
Media accreditation has opened for the 13th session of the World Urban Forum, the United Nations’ flagship conference on sustainable urban developme...
Pope Francis marks the 12th anniversary of his election while recovering from double pneumonia at Rome's Gemelli hospital. The Vatican says his condition is improving, but no discharge date has been set. His illness has reshaped how Catholics observe the milestone.
Pope Francis will mark the 12th anniversary of his election on Thursday from Rome's Gemelli hospital, where he has been treated for double pneumonia since mid-February. The Vatican has reported improvements in his condition but has not confirmed a discharge date.
Elected on 13 March 2013, Francis, the first pope from the Americas, has focused on modernising the Church, reforming the Vatican’s bureaucracy, and addressing social issues. His tenure has included 47 foreign trips, over 900 canonisations, and groundbreaking decisions, such as allowing priests to bless same-sex couples and appointing women to key Vatican roles. However, his approach has drawn criticism from some senior clergy, particularly regarding Church teachings and handling of clerical abuse.
Despite health concerns and limited mobility, Francis continues working from hospital. While speculation about a possible resignation persists, his associates insist he has no plans to step down. His schedule for 2025 includes the Catholic Holy Year and a planned visit to Türkiye for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.
Many Catholics hope he will continue advocating for key global issues, including immigration and conflict resolution.
The Turkish Defence Ministry has voiced its support for recent military operations by Syrian government forces against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which enjoy the support of the United States.
Tens of thousands of users were left unable to access Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Friday, with outages reported across multiple countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday (17 January) that concerns over security in Greenland should be addressed within the framework of NATO, describing a ground military intervention as highly unlikely.
Ashley St. Clair, mother of one of Elon Musk’s children, has filed a lawsuit against Musk’s company xAI, alleging that its AI tool Grok generated explicit images of her, including one portraying her as underage.
The Kremlin has welcomed recent signals from several major European capitals suggesting a renewed openness to dialogue with Moscow, calling the shift a “positive evolution” in Europe’s stance towards Russia.
The European Union faced calls to implement a never-before-used range of economic countermeasures known as the 'Anti-Coercion Instrument' as part of the bloc's response U.S. President Donald Trump’s plans to impose tariffs on European countries in connection with Greenland.
Six people have been killed after a massive fire tore through a shopping centre in Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi, authorities said, as firefighters battled through the night to contain the blaze.
The world is entering a more unstable and fragmented phase as global cooperation declines and rivalry between major powers intensifies, the World Economic Forum has warned.
The Trump administration has denied a report that countries would be required to pay $1bn to join a proposed U.S.-backed peace initiative, after Bloomberg News said a draft charter set out a membership fee.
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