8 mins read

Defying Pope Leo XIV, traditionalists go ahead with bishop consecrations in Switzerland

ECONE, Switzerland | A group of traditionalist Catholics directly defied Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday by consecrating four bishops without his consent, dismissing the resulting excommunications and saying the break with the church was necessary to defend the Catholic faith. The Society of St. Pius X, which opposes modernizing reforms in the Catholic Church, went […]

6 mins read

Ship runs aground in Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state TV reports

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | A ship ran aground in the Strait of Hormuz while using a route not approved by Iran, state television in Tehran reported Wednesday. The vessel was identified as a foreign container ship, with no other details. The report appeared aimed at underlining Tehran’s claims to control the strait, which the […]

5 mins read

Greece bets on space technology to contain wildfires

ATHENS, Greece | In the searing Mediterranean summer, wildfires turn dangerous in minutes. Greece has learned that at a terrible cost. In 2018, a blaze east of Athens moved with ferocious speed, killing more than 100 people. Five years later, a massive fire tore through a remote nature reserve; it was the largest wildfire ever […]

4 mins read

Pope begs breakaway traditionalist group to back off bishop consecrations

ROME | Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday begged a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics to call off its plan to consecrate new bishops without his consent, calling the move a schismatic act and a “sin of extreme gravity.” “I plead with you and ask you with all my heart: please turn back!” Leo wrote in […]

9 mins read

Venezuelans search more earthquake ruins as attention turns to humanitarian crisis

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela | With the window for finding survivors shrinking fast, Venezuelans combed Monday through more ruins of buildings toppled by last week’s powerful back-to-back earthquakes, and attention turned to the country’s humanitarian crisis that could persist for years. Relief organizations say the first 72 hours after a natural disaster is the most crucial […]

5 mins read

Sweltering Midwest heat cancels outdoor plans as cooling centers open and the East braces

DES MOINES, Iowa | Summer camps and other outdoor activities were canceled Monday as tens of millions of people across the Midwest endured a heat wave that is expected to spread eastward this week. Communities opened cooling centers and urged people to take it easy and stay hydrated. Forty-seven million people across big chunks of […]

3 mins read

San Francisco Archdiocese agrees to pay $395 million to settle child sex abuse lawsuits

SAN FRANCISCO | The San Francisco Catholic Archdiocese has agreed to pay $395 million to settle more than 500 lawsuits alleging child sexual abuse by church officials, plaintiffs’ attorneys said Monday. San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will have to write an apology letter to each survivor as part of the settlement. The settlement also requires […]

5 mins read

Israeli troops face resistance from residents as they push into a town in Syria

ABDIN, Syria | As Israeli troops and vehicles entered the town of Abdin in southern Syria, residents blocked the roads with rocks, and some young men and boys threw stones to push back the military patrol. Tensions in this part of the country created by a buffer zone occupied by Israeli forces have flared into […]

3 mins read

US envoys arrive in Qatar for meetings on Iran, with tensions high over Hormuz

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates | Two U.S. envoys arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for talks with mediators about the implementation of an initial deal to end the war in Iran, an official said. The visit by Steve Witkoff, U.S. President Donald Trump’s special Mideast envoy, and Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, comes after a weekend of […]