World News - The Morning Sun

Pope Francis arrives in a wheelchair in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican where he will celebrate the Easter Sunday mass, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Pope, big crowd mark Easter in flower-adorned Vatican square

Pope Francis is celebrating Easter Sunday along with dozens of prelates and tens of thousands of pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square. Tulips, forsythia and other spring flowers trucked in … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO | 4/9/23

Israeli police escort Jewish visitors marking the holiday pf Passover to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Sunday, April 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Tensions build around Jerusalem shrine after Syria rockets

Israeli warplanes and artillery have struck targets in Syria following rare rocket fire from its northeastern neighbor. Meanwhile, Jewish-Muslim tensions reached a peak Sunday at a volatile Jerusalem … more

By ILAN BEN ZION | 4/9/23

** FILE ** The toppled statue of Saddam Hussein is seen in Firdos Square downtown Baghdad in this April 9, 2003 file photo. The statue was taken down by a US marines and Iraqis as American troops entered the capital. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay/File)

Once everywhere, Saddam's image scrubbed from Baghdad

Iraqis and American Marines pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad’s Firdos Square in April 2003 in an iconic moment in the U.S.-led invasion. TV covered the event live as the Marines … more

By KAREEM CHEHAYEB and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA | 4/9/23

Israelis protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to overhaul the judicial system, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

Israelis protest judicial overhaul despite violence surge

Thousands of Israelis gathered for a weekly demonstration against the government’s contentious judicial overhaul plans despite security concerns stemming from a surge in Israeli-Palestinian … more

4/8/23

Pope Francis holds a Paschal candle as he presides over a Easter vigil ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/ (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis returns to public eye for Easter vigil Mass

Pope Francis is presiding over Easter vigil Mass at the Vatican. The service Saturday night in St. Peter's Basilica began in darkness, then dramatically was bathed in light, after a procession up the … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO | 4/8/23

Shen Hongbing, the director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a press conference on the origins of COVID-19 at the State Council Information Office in Beijing, Saturday, April 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China health officials lash out at WHO, defend virus search

Chinese health officials have defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out at the World Health Organization after its leader said Beijing should have shared genetic and … more

By JOE McDONALD | 4/8/23

FILE - Elephants in the Chobe National Park in Botswana on March 3, 2013. In Africa's Okavango delta, drilling for oil exploration, as well as human-caused climate change, has altered the landscape that so many people and wildlife species rely on. Nearby Chobe National Park has seen a decline in river quality partly due to its burgeoning tourism industry, a study found. (AP Photo/Charmaine Noronha, File)

In Africa's Okavango, oil drilling disrupts locals, nature

In Africa's Okavango delta, drilling for oil exploration, as well as human-caused climate change leading to more erratic rainfall patterns and water abstraction and diversion for development and … more

By WANJOHI KABUKURU | 4/8/23

Altar servers take part in an event marking Good Friday at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, Friday, April 7, 2023. Holy Week commemorates the last week of the earthly life of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion on Good Friday and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Inti Ocon)

In Nicaragua, Holy Week celebrations limited by government

Roman Catholics in Nicaragua have had to hold traditional “Stations of the Cross” and other Holy Week processions on church grounds or inside the churches amid a ban on public demonstrations. … more

By GABRIELA SELSER | 4/7/23

A view of the Lanark Way interface gates on Thursday April 6, 2023 which allow traffic to move between the Republican and Loyalist areas of Belfast, Northern Ireland during limited times of the day and which has been recently painted ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. This month marks 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement largely ended bloodshed that left 3,600 people dead, some 50,000 wounded and thousands bereaved. (Liam McBurney/PA via AP)

Police: Dissidents may try attacks as N. Ireland marks peace

Police have warned that armed dissident groups are planning violent attacks over the Easter holiday weekend as Northern Ireland marks 25 years since the peace accord that ended three decades of … more

By JILL LAWLESS | 4/7/23

FILE - Supporters of Capt. Ibrahim Traore parade wave a Russian flag in the streets of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Oct. 2, 2022. Just weeks after Burkina Faso's junta ousted hundreds of French troops, there are signs that the West African country could be moving even closer to Russia, including the mercenary outfit, the Wagner Group. (AP Photo/Sophie Garcia, File)

After Burkina Faso ousts French, Russia's Wagner may arrive

Months after hundreds of French troops left Burkina Faso, ousted by the ruling military junta, speculation is mounting that the war-torn nation will fill the void with fighters from Russia’s … more

By SAM MEDNICK | 4/7/23

Devotees prepare before taking part during Palm Sunday in Zaragoza, northern Spain, Sunday, April 2, 2023. Millions of Spaniards take to the road in the days leading up to Easter, traveling to see family or for a holiday break. For many, seeing traditional processions with painted religious icons that can weigh over a ton is a cathartic annual ritual, a time to reflect on past sorrows and current ills. (AP Photo/Alvaro Barrientos)

AP PHOTOS: Easter week still a ritual in more secular Spain

SEVILLE, Spain (AP) — The drum beat rises on a packed Seville street as Jose Maria Segura opens his mouth and begins the wail of the “saeta,” a pained, mournful ode to Jesus Christ in … more

By EMILIO MORENATTI and JENNIFER O'MAHONY | 4/7/23

Morning sun filters into the Holy Sepulcher, the site where according to tradition Jesus was crucified and buried, in the Old City of Jerusalem, Thursday, April 6, 2023 during the Holy Thursday Mass. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)

Why do Jerusalem tensions fuel regionwide unrest?

It’s become something of a grim, springtime tradition in the Holy Land. Israeli police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at Palestinians stockpiling rocks and fireworks inside one of the most … more

4/7/23

Pope Francis waves during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

Pope washes feet in Holy Thursday rite at Rome youth prison

VATICAN CITY (AP) — In a Holy Thursday ritual symbolizing humility, Pope Francis washed and dried the feet of a dozen residents of a Rome juvenile prison, assuring them of their dignity and telling … more

By FRANCES D'EMILIO Associated Press | 4/7/23

Wilfredo Salvador, center, and two actors stay on crosses during a reenactment of Jesus Christ's sufferings as part of Good Friday rituals April 7, 2023 in the village of San Pedro, Cutud, Pampanga province, northern Philippines. The real-life crucifixions, a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church, resumes in this farming village after a three-year pause due to the coronavirus pandemic.(AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Filipinos to be nailed to crosses despite church objection

At least 12 Filipinos are to be nailed to crosses to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a gory Good Friday tradition that is rejected by the Catholic church. The tradition draws huge crowds of … more

By JIM GOMEZ | 4/7/23

Members of Japan Self Defense Force watch a Japan Coast Guard ship search for a missing army helicopter off Miyako Island Okinawa prefecture, southern Japan, Friday, April 7, 2023. Japan's coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. (Koji Harada/Kyodo News via AP)

Debris found in search for Japanse army copter with 10 crew

An unused lifeboat, a door and other fragments believed to be from a Japanese army helicopter have been found after the Black Hawk carrying 10 crew members was presumed to have crashed at sea. … more

By MARI YAMAGUCHI | 4/6/23

Rajan, who only uses one name, sits in his home in a forest in the heart of the city in Kochi, southern Kerala state, India, March 3, 2023. For nearly sixty years, Rajan has lived comfortably among the trees, then the surrounding city of Kochi boomed as the state's financial capital and swallowed up once-protected green areas and Rajan's former home. (AP Photo/R S Iyer)

In India, mangrove trees make way for booming city of Kochi

Burrowed between mangroves and a bustling skyline, 70-year-old Rajan, who only uses one name, reminisces about his old home. For nearly sixty years, Rajan has lived comfortably among the trees in … more

By K PRAVEEN KUMAR, Press Trust of India | 4/6/23

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, waves as he inspects the guard of honour, before his meeting with his Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos, in Athens, on Tuesday, April 6, 2023. Reznikov is in Greece on an official visit. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Greece to send more arms to Ukraine, but sets limits

Greece has pledged military assistance to Ukraine for “as long as it takes” but officials cautioned that the country needs to keep much of its Russian-made weaponry for its own defensive needs. … more

By SRDJAN NEDELJKOVIC and DEREK GATOPOULOS | 4/6/23

In this photo provided by Brian Emmenis, people look inside a plane at the Welkom Airport, in Welkom, South Africa, as they search for a venomous snake that the pilot found hiding under his seat midair, Monday April 3, 2023. Rudolf Erasmus had four passengers on board the light aircraft during Monday's flight when he felt “something cold” slide across his lower back. He glanced down to see the head of a fairly large Cape Cobra “receding back under the seat,” he said. (Brian Emmenis via AP)

Snake on a plane! South African pilot finds cobra under seat

A pilot in South Africa made a hasty emergency landing after discovering a highly venomous cobra hiding under his seat. Rudolf Erasmus had four passengers on board the light aircraft during the … more

By GERALD IMRAY | 4/6/23

FILE - Croatian police officers stand as people walk with banners during a protest against the violent pushbacks of migrants, allegedly conducted by Croatian police, near the border crossing between Croatia and Bosnia Herzegovina in Maljevac, Croatia, on June 19, 2021. An independent investigative group on Thursday April 6, 2023 accused Croatian officials and police of using a clandestine WhatsApp group to share sensitive information about migrants trying to enter the country. (AP Photo/Edo Zulic, File)

Report: Croatian officials shared information on migrants

An independent investigative group has accused Croatian officials and police of using a clandestine WhatsApp group to share sensitive information about migrants trying to enter the country. It says … more

4/6/23

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, meets reporters after an army helicopter went missing, at his official residence in Tokyo Thursday, April 6, 2023. Japan's coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. Kishida said the Defense Ministry is investigating and "We will do our utmost to save their lives." (Kyodo News via AP)

Japanese army helicopter carrying 10 crew members missing

Japan’s coast guard says it is searching for an army helicopter carrying 10 crew members that went missing off a southern Japanese island. The coast guard says it received information that a Ground … more

4/6/23