Dec 24 Pope celebrates Christmas Eve Mass as virus surges in Italy By Nicole Winfield, Associated Press A maskless Francis processed down the central aisle of the basilica as the Sistine Chapel choir sang “Noel,” kicking off the Vatican’s Christmas holiday that commemorates the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. Continue reading
Dec 24 South African minister objects to sale of Mandela’s cell key By Andrew Meldrum, Associated Press The key is among Mandela memorabilia being sold by Guernsey’s auction house in New York on Jan. 28. Continue reading
Dec 24 COVID puts a damper on Christmas Eve again around the world By Jack Jeffrey, David Crary, David McHugh, Associated Press Travel plans are being disrupted because of flight cancellations, as the pandemic once again casts a pall on celebrations around the world. Continue reading
Dec 24 Russian court slaps Google, Meta with massive fines By Uliana Pavlova, Associated Press A Moscow court has fined Google nearly $100 million and Facebook's parent company Meta $27 million over their failure to delete content banned by local law. Continue reading
Dec 24 COVID-19 spike worsens Africa’s severe poverty, hunger woes By Farai Mutsaka, Associated Press As 2021 comes to a close, many people in richer parts of the globe are fretting over the risk of contracting COVID-19 and how rising infections are upending their holiday plans. Continue reading
Dec 24 U.S. to lift travel ban on 8 southern African countries By Ashraf Khalil, Associated Press The White House says the U.S. will lift travel restrictions to eight southern African countries on New Year's Eve. Continue reading
Dec 24 Universities remove more Tiananmen massacre memorials in Hong Kong By News Desk Universities in Hong Kong are removing memorials to the bloody suppression of the 1989 Chinese pro-democracy movement centered on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Continue reading
Dec 23 Watch 12:26 A closer look at Russia-Ukraine tensions and the potential for successful diplomacy By Stuart Smith Russia's President Vladimir Putin gave his annual end-of-year press conference Thursday, and had tough words for both Ukraine and NATO. His reprimand comes as Russia has massed tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine, raising international concern. Continue watching
Dec 23 WATCH: Biden signs bills on forced labor in China, ALS research By Darlene Superville, Associated Press President Joe Biden has signed a bill into law to block imports from China's Xinjiang region unless businesses can prove the items were made without using forced labor. Biden also signed a bill into law to fund research for a… Continue reading
Dec 23 In Africa, rescuing the languages that Western tech ignores By Matt O'Brien, CHINEDU ASADU, Associated Press Computers have become amazingly precise at translating spoken words to text messages and scouring huge troves of data for answers to complex questions – as long as you speak English or another of the world's dominant languages. Continue reading