WORLD

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s newly created independent Orthodox Church held its first service in Kiev on Monday after a historic break with the Russian Orthodox Church that has enraged Moscow. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attended the service in Kiev’s most ancient church, the 11th-century Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, as …

Washington, United States | AFP | World Bank President Jim Yong Kim announced Monday he would step down next month, more than three years before his current term was due to expire. The decision ends Kim’s six-year tenure and may give US President Donald Trump decisive influence over the future …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | Japan on Monday started levying a 1,000 yen ($9.22) departure tax on each person leaving the country, a measure aimed at raising funds to further boost tourism. The International Tourist Tax will cover everyone regardless of nationality — from business people to holidaymakers older than …

Tokyo, Japan | AFP | The case of auto tycoon Carlos Ghosn has gripped Japan and the business world since his stunning arrest in November, and now he is finally getting his day in court. Ghosn will be able to make his first public statement at a brief hearing on …

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis vowed justice for victims of clerical sex abuse Monday, describing paedophilia as one of the “vilest” crimes ahead of a historic global meet on the crisis roiling the church. “I cannot refrain from speaking of one of the plagues of our …

Paris, France | AFP | French police were Monday hunting for a ex-professional boxer who was filmed at the weekend punching an officer on a bridge in central Paris during a demonstration by “yellow vest” protesters. The shocking images show the heavily built man land several punches on a policeman …

Bethlehem, Palestinian Territories | AFP | Hundreds of Orthodox Christians began marking Christmas in Bethlehem Sunday, as protesters demonstrated against the sale of church land to Israelis. Greek Orthodox patriarch Theophilos III arrived at the Church of the Nativity, built on the traditionally recognised site of Jesus’s birth, as a …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | US President Donald Trump’s national security adviser said Sunday that conditions such as guarantees on the safety of Kurdish allies must be met before American troops are withdrawn from Syria, NBC News said. John Bolton told journalists travelling with him on a trip to Israel …

Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump said Sunday negotiations are underway on the location of his next summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, while remaining evasive on its timing. Trump, who held a historic summit with Kim in Singapore in June, said earlier in …

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | AFP |  Saudi courts will notify women by text message when they get divorced, in a new regulation that took effect on Sunday, officials said. The measure approved by the justice ministry appears aimed at curbing seemingly rampant cases of men secretly ending marriages without informing …