World News - The Morning Sun

FILE - President Truman's envoy to the Vatican, Myron C. Taylor, left, has an audience with Pope Pius XII at Castelgandolfo near Rome, on Aug. 26, 1947. The Vatican has long defended its World War II-era pope, Pius XII, against criticism that he remained silent as the Holocaust unfolded, insisting that he worked quietly behind the scenes to save lives. Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Kertzer’s “The Pope at War,” which comes out Tuesday, June 7, 2022 in the United States, citing recently opened Vatican archives, suggests the lives the Vatican worked hardest to save were Jews who had converted to Catholicism or were children of Catholic-Jewish “mixed marriages.” (AP Photo/Luigi Felici, File)

Vatican's Pius XII archives begin to shed light on WWII pope

The first scholarship is beginning to emerge about the World War II-era Pope Pius XII, two years after the Vatican opened its archives. For the Vatican, Pius worked quietly behind the scenes to save … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 6/7/22

Pilgrims walk in the Donana National Park on their way to the shrine of El Rocio in Almonte, Spain, on Friday June 3, 2022, during the annual pilgrimage in which hundreds of thousands of devotees of the Virgin del Rocio converge in and around the shrine. After a two-year hiatus forced by the pandemic, tens of thousands of pilgrims – many of them outfitted in tiered flamenco dresses, crisp riding suits and wide-brimmed Cordoba hats – descended on the tiny Spanish village of El Rocío to take part in riotously colorful and ancient festival, la Romería del Rocío, or the Rocío virgin pilgrimage. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)

Spain's Rocío pilgrimage party returns after COVID hiatus

After a two-year hiatus forced by the pandemic, tens of thousands of pilgrims — many of them outfitted in tiered flamenco dresses, crisp riding suits and wide-brimmed Cordoba hats — descended on … more

By JOAN MATEU PARRA | 6/7/22

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman speaks to media after a meeting with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul Tuesday, June 7, 2022. (Jung Yeon-je /Pool Photo via AP)

US official vows 'forceful response' if N. Korea tests nuke

The U.S. deputy secretary of state warned of a forceful response if North Korea carries out its first nuclear test explosion in nearly five years. Wendy Sherman traveled Tuesday to Seoul to meet with … more

By KIM TONG-HYUNG | 6/7/22

FILE - A portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan and Turkish flags are seen on a building in the Turkish occupied area at the Turkish Cypriot breakaway north part of divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Wednesday, March 10, 2021. The president of ethnically divided Cyprus says he will lodge a complaint with the United Nations over Turkey’s new financial assistance deal with breakaway Turkish Cypriots. (AP Photo/Nedim Enginsoy, File)

Cyprus to UN: Turkey seeks full control of breakaway north

The president of ethnically divided Cyprus says he will lodge a complaint with the United Nations over Turkey’s new financial assistance deal with breakaway Turkish Cypriots. He claims the deal … more

6/6/22

Pastor Harry Knoesen, appears in the Magistrates court, in Middelburg, South Africa, Tuesday, May 10, 2022. A South African court has convicted a pastor of plotting to overthrow the government and to kill thousands of Black people in the country. Harry Johannes Knoesen, 61, a leader of the National Christian Resistance Movement, was on Monday found guilty of high treason, incitement to carry out violence, and recruiting people to commit attacks. (AP Photo/Leon Sadiki)

South African pastor found guilty of treason, racist plot

A South African court has convicted a pastor of plotting to overthrow the government and to kill thousands of Black people in the country. Harry Johannes Knoesen, 61, a leader of the National … more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME | 6/6/22

FILE - A group of women's rights activists protest against Poland's strict anti-abortion law, outside the top constitutional court, in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 26, 2022. The government of Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, faced accusations Monday, June 6, 2022, of creating a “pregnancy register” as the country expands the amount of medical data being digitally saved on patients. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski, File)

Poland, with near-total abortion ban, to record pregnancies

The right-wing government in Poland, where a near-total abortion ban is in place, now faces accusations it is creating a “pregnancy register.” Poland is expanding the amount of medical data being … more

By VANESSA GERA | 6/6/22

FILE - This 2003 electron microscope image made available by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows mature, oval-shaped monkeypox virions, left, and spherical immature virions, right, obtained from a sample of human skin associated with the 2003 prairie dog outbreak. British health officials reported 73 more monkeypox cases on Monday, June 6, 2022, raising the total to more than 300 across the country. (Cynthia S. Goldsmith, Russell Regner/CDC via AP, File)

UK: 73 new monkeypox cases, biggest outbreak outside Africa

British health officials have reported another 73 cases of monkeypox. That raises the U.K. total to more than 300. The U.K. has the biggest identified outbreak of the disease beyond Africa, with the … more

By MARIA CHENG | 6/6/22

Spain honors Penélope Cruz for contribution to cinema

Penélope Cruz has won one of Spain’s top cinema awards for her contribution to Spanish film. The jury of the 2022 National Cinema award was unanimous in its decision to honor the Madrid-born star. … more

6/6/22

Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi speaks during a news conference with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi at the Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo, on May 19, 2022. Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, on June 3, 2022, paid a brief visit to Israel, which has long accused Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons and is opposed to any return to the 2015 nuclear agreement between Tehran and world powers.(AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

UN nuclear watchdog urges Iran to comply with monitoring

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog has urged Iran to cooperate with his inspectors amid a standoff over its atomic program and a threat by Western nations to censure Tehran over its … more

By EMILY SCHULTHEIS | 6/6/22

FILE - FIFA president Sepp Blatter is greeted by UEFA President Michel Platini, right, after Blatter's re-election as president at the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 29, 2015. Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini enter a criminal court Wednesday charged with defrauding world soccer body FIFA. It's an 11-day trial of two men once the most powerful in the world's favorite sport. (Patrick B. Kraemer/Keystone via AP, File)

Blatter, Platini finally going to court in FIFA fraud trial

Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini’s 11-day trial on charges of defrauding soccer governing body FIFA starts Wednesday. The case finally brings the epic downfall of soccer’s former world leaders … more

By GRAHAM DUNBAR | 6/6/22

FILE- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, front, performs Hindu rituals sitting at Sangam, the confluence of the Rivers Ganges and Yamuna, at Allahabad, India, Dec. 16, 2018. India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim countries after top officials in the ruling Hindu nationalist party made derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet, drawing accusations of blasphemy across some Arab nations that have left New Delhi struggling to contain the damaging fallout. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh, File)

Muslim nations slam India over insulting remarks about Islam

India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim countries after two top officials in the ruling Hindu nationalist party made derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet. At least five Arab … more

By SHEIKH SAALIQ | 6/6/22

US WWII veteran Ray Wallace, of the 507th PIR 82rd Airborne, looks on as World War II history enthusiasts parade in WWII vehicles to commemorate the 78th anniversary of D-Day that led to the liberation of France and Europe from the German occupation, in Sainte-Mere-L'Eglise, Normandy, Sunday, June, 5, 2022. On Monday, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, home to the gravesites of 9,386 who died fighting on D-Day and in the operations that followed, will host U.S. veterans and thousands of visitors in its first major public ceremony since 2019. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

Crowds honor WWII veterans at Normandy D-Day celebrations

Several dozen World War II veterans were expected to attend D-Day commemoration ceremonies Monday in France. For two years, D-Day ceremonies were reduced to a minimum amid COVID-19 restrictions. This … more

By SYLVIE CORBET and JEFF SCHAEFFER | 6/6/22

Ukraine's Roman Yaremchuk applauds the fans following the World Cup 2022 play-off final soccer match at Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales, Sunday June 5, 2022. Wales won 1-0. (Mike Egerton/PA via AP)

Ukraine's World Cup quest ends with loss to Wales amid war

Ukraine has missed out on qualifying for the World Cup after the war-disrupted team lost 1-0 to Wales in the European playoff final for the FIFA soccer showpiece. Andriy Yarmolenko inadvertently … more

By ROB HARRIS | 6/5/22

FILE - Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, wearing a traditional Paresi Indigenous headdress, leaves after participating in a ceremony where he was decorated with the Medal of Indigenous merit, at the Ministry of Justice, in Brasilia, Brazil, March 18, 2022. The accolade scandalized environmentalists, human rights activists and Indigenous groups who see the president’s push for development within Indigenous territories as profoundly damaging. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

Bolsonaro using medals to celebrate allies, family, himself

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has been bountiful in decorating ideological allies, ministers, loyalists and family members with medals and honors. He's even received six himself from his own … more

By MAURICIO SAVARESE and DÉBORA ALVARES | 6/5/22

In this photo released by official website of the office of Iranian Senior Vice-President, on Friday, May 27, 2022, ruins of a tower at under construction 10-story Metropol Building remains after it collapsed on Monday, in the southwestern city of Abadan, Iran. Rescue teams at the site of the tower pulled five more bodies from the rubble on Friday, bringing the death toll in the disaster to 24. (Iranian Senior Vice-President Office via AP)

Death toll in Iran building collapse rises to at least 38

State TV says the death toll in a catastrophic tower collapse in southwestern Iran has risen to at least 38. The report Sunday says emergency workers pulled another body from the rubble amid fears … more

6/5/22

Firefighters operate during a wildfire in Voula suburb, in southern Athens, Greece, Saturday, June 4, 2022. A combination of hot, dry weather and strong winds makes Greece vulnerable to wildfire outbreaks every summer. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)

Greek firefighters battle blaze near Athens for second day

Greek firefighters are battling a wildfire for a second day near two Athens suburbs. Local media reported some damage to houses as well as vehicles with 65 fire engines and 283 firefighters still … more

By DEMETRIS NELLAS and THEODORA TONGAS | 6/5/22

FILE - Pope Francis arrives on a wheelchair for an audience with children in the San Damaso courtyard at the Vatican, Saturday, June 4, 2022. Pope Francis added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate on Saturday by announcing he would visit the central Italian city of L'Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope Celestine V, one of the few pontiffs who resigned before Pope Benedict XVI stepped down in 2013. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

Pope Francis fuels new speculation on future of pontificate

Pope Francis has added fuel to rumors about the future of his pontificate. The Vatican announced Saturday he would visit the central Italian city of L’Aquila in August for a feast initiated by Pope … more

By NICOLE WINFIELD | 6/5/22

Gen. Maj. Bajram Begaj salutes the members of the Parliament after being elected as president, in the Parliament, in Tirana, Albania, Saturday, June 4, 2022. (AP Photo/Franc Zhurda)

Albania elects top general as the country’s new president

Albania’s parliament elected its top military official as the country’s new president. That took place Saturday after no candidates were nominated for three rounds of voting. Gen.-Maj. Bajram … more

By LLAZAR SEMINI | 6/4/22

5th victim found in train wreckage in southern Germany

Police in Germany say the body of a fifth victim has been been found beneath a train that derailed Friday in the Alps in southern Germany. The man’s body was discovered after initial attempts to … more

6/4/22

Numerous emergency and rescue forces are in action after a serious train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Friday, June 3, 2022. According to the authorities, at least three people have been killed and many injured. (Josef Hornsteiner/dpa via AP)

At least 4 killed as train derails in southern German Alps

Authorities say a train accident in the Alps in southern Germany on Friday left at least four people dead and many more injured. Police said the regional train headed for Munich appears to have … more

6/3/22