WORLD

Vatican City, Holy See | AFP | Pope Francis on Sunday called for an immediate end to violence in Syria to allow aid deliveries, especially in the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta which has been hit by regime bombardment. “This February has been one of the most violent (periods) in …

Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Christian leaders took the rare step on Sunday of closing Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built where tradition holds Jesus was buried, in protest at Israeli tax measures and a proposed property law. It was not clear how long the closure of the church, …

Douma, Syria | AFP | New regime air strikes and heavy clashes shook Syria’s rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta on Sunday despite a UN demand for a ceasefire to end one of the most ferocious assaults of Syria’s civil war. After days of diplomatic wrangling, the Security Council on Saturday …

Beijing, China | AFP | The Chinese Communist Party’s leadership has called for the removal of presidential term limits, opening the door for China’s most powerful leader in decades, Xi Jinping, to remain in office beyond 2023. The party’s Central Committee has proposed deleting from the constitution the stipulation that …

Kampala, Uganda | TEREZA PULTAROVA | Researchers have developed a new blood test that can detect eight common types of cancer, including the notoriously elusive liver and pancreatic cancers. Some day, doctors may be able to use this method to spot cancers in their early stages — before the onset of …

United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously demanded a 30-day ceasefire in Syria, as new air strikes on the rebel enclave of Eastern Ghouta took the civilian death toll from seven days of bombing to more than 500. With support from Russia, the …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Around 2,000 Roman Catholic Filipinos protested in Manila on Saturday against a push to legalise divorce, with church groups also using the “Walk for Life” march to slam President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drugs war. The pre-dawn protest was organised by church groups worried about the …

Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Despite unpopularity and a deepening economic crisis, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro seems such a certainty for reelection in April that only an evangelical pastor has found the faith to run against him. “I am the light in the darkness,” said little-known pastor Javier Bertucci, without …

Brussels, Belgium | AFP | European leaders on Friday doubled their funding for a joint African force tackling jihadists in the Sahel at an international conference in Brussels, as fresh violence highlights the region’s fraught security situation. The European Union announced an extra 50 million euros ($61 million) for the …

  United Nations, United States | AFP | The UN Security Council will vote Friday on a draft resolution demanding a 30-day ceasefire in Syria to allow for humanitarian aid and medical evacuations. A slightly amended text was circulated to council members late Thursday but it was unclear whether Russia …