Police in Australia say an explosives-filled trailer that politicians earlier described as an antisemitic terrorism plot and a foiled mass casualty event was staged by criminals in a complicated hoax.

Pope Francis is taking part in the Vatican’s spiritual retreat from a Rome hospital as he continues his recovery from double pneumonia.

Pope Francis has issued a message thanking volunteers for the “miracle of tenderness” they offer the sick as he continues his recovery from double pneumonia.

A war monitoring group says the death toll from two days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of ousted President Bashar Assad and revenge killings that followed has risen to more than 1,000, including nearly 750 civilians, making it one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence since Syria’s conflict began 14 years ago.

Pope Francis has entered his fourth week in the hospital with double pneumonia.

The Vatican says Pope Francis is responding well to therapy for double pneumonia and has shown a “gradual, slight improvement” in recent days.

Religious leaders, scholars and diplomats have gathered at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana for a conference on Ukraine studies with a theme of hope.

Some 90,000 Palestinians have prayed at the al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City under tight security by Israeli forces.

Police used batons and tear gas to disperse thousands of members of a banned Islamist group as they marched through streets in Bangladesh's capital.

Pope Francis has hit the three-week mark in his hospitalization for double pneumonia.

Officials from USAID say the the Trump administration’s cuts to the U.S. humanitarian agency have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in contractual payments to aid groups.

A 40-day boycott of Target that calls for supporters to give up shopping at the company’s stores during the Lenten period kicked off this week.

Being an organist might seem like a solitary job, but German maestro Leo Krämer never feels too far from his listeners.

Hamas has brushed off President Donald Trump’s latest threat and reiterated that it will only free the remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

A charity kitchen in the occupied West Bank has expanded its usual operations to help displaced Palestinians trying to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Pope Francis recorded a pained and labored audio message to thank people for their prayers for his recovery.

Most Greenlanders are proudly Inuit.

Most Greenlanders are proudly Inuit.

As Pope Francis remains hospitalized in Rome, thousands of faithful from around the world have been gathering by St. Peter’s and by the hospital to pray the rosary for him.

For over four decades Sisters JoAnn Persch, 90, and Pat Murphy, 95, have dedicated their lives to advocating for immigrant rights and the dignity of all people.

White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that U.S. officials have had “ongoing talks and discussions” with Hamas officials, as the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas hangs in the balance.

The Vatican says that Pope Francis has increased his physical activity, called the Catholic parish priest in Gaza and marked the start of Lent by receiving ashes on his forehead.

St. Francis is the medieval Catholic saint whose spirituality focused on loving the poor, creation, and peace.

Israel’s cutoff of food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza’s 2 million people has sent prices soaring and humanitarian groups into overdrive as they try to distribute dwindling stocks to the most vulnerable.

Arab leaders have endorsed Egypt's postwar plan for the Gaza Strip that would allow its roughly 2 million Palestinians to remain in the territory.

A summit of Arab leaders in Cairo have approved Egypt’s plan to rebuild Gaza without expelling the Palestinians.

The Vatican says Pope Francis is in stable condition and breathing with just the help of supplemental oxygen after respiratory crises a day earlier.

Greenlanders have been pushed into the global spotlight in the weeks since U.S. President Donald Trump said America could take over their Arctic homeland.

Greenlanders have been pushed into the global spotlight in the weeks since U.S. President Donald Trump said America could take over their Arctic homeland.

Nearly a decade after Pope Francis plucked them from a refugee camp in Greece, a Syrian couple and their child have carved out a quiet life in suburban Rome.

During Carnival, the small Brazilian town of Sao Luiz do Paraitinga’s calm everyday life transforms into a joyful party known for its deep-rooted traditions, giant puppets and songs known in Portuguese as ‘marchinhas.

The ancient tradition of the Bell People in the Greek village of Distomo marks the end of carnival.

Israel has introduced what it said was a new U.S. ceasefire plan and is trying to force Hamas to accept it by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.

Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo for talks focusing on an Egyptian plan to rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, which is meant to counter President Donald Trump’s proposal to expel Palestinians from the coastal enclave and take it over.

The Vatican says that Pope Francis has suffered two new episodes of acute respiratory crises and has been put back on noninvasive mechanical ventilation.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has remained in stable condition and didn’t need any mechanical ventilation.

Israel faces sharp criticism after barring the entry of all food and other supplies into Gaza.

As Pope Francis remains hospitalized, a group of migrant transgender women are praying for his recovery.

Some restaurants and coffee shops in Syria were closed during the day as observant Muslims began fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

Brazil’s Carnival revelry is ramping up, from the raucous street parties to the glitzy parades.

Israel’s government says it supports a proposal to extend the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza through Ramadan and Passover, though Hamas has insisted on negotiating the truce’s second phase instead.

Pakistani authorities are offering a reward for information about a suicide bomb attack at a mosque in the northwest in which seven people died.

Pope Francis remained in stable condition a day after a respiratory crisis.

There has long been a Vatican taboo against openly talking about a conclave when a pope is sick: It’s considered gauche to speculate about the election of a new pope while the current one is fighting for his life.

Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Pope Francis’ criticism of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

Negotiations on the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Cairo.

Police in northwestern Pakistan say a suicide bomb attack on a mosque at a pro-Taliban seminary has killed a senior cleric and five other worshippers and wounded many other people ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The Vatican says Pope Francis suffered a coughing fit that resulted in him breathing in vomit, requiring non-invasive mechanical ventilation.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians driven from their homes by Israel's month-long offensive in the West Bank have scattered across nearby villages and towns, trying to find shelter.

“Conclave” author Robert Harris isn’t staying up to watch the Oscars.

Cardinal Robert McElroy, the bishop of San Diego who is preparing to take over as archbishop of Washington, D.

The 2025 Carnival Season -- marked by a weekslong pre-Lenten bash and complete with colorful parades, shimmery beads tossed from floats and streets lined with costumed revelers -- is reaching its conclusion on the Gulf Coast.

As Ramadan approaches, keeping healthy fasting practices in mind can make the month more meaningful.

With Morocco’s sheep herds dwindling at an alarming rate, King Mohammed VI made a rare break with tradition by urging families to forgo buying sheep to sacrifice during the upcoming Eid Al-Adha.

The Vatican says that Pope Francis continues to improve from double pneumonia Thursday, though doctors say he needs more days of “clinical stability” before they revise their guarded prognosis.

Thai and Chinese officials have confirmed that a group of 40 Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China.

Hamas handed over the remains of another four hostages early Thursday and Israel released hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Egypt says negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the ceasefire in Gaza have begun in Cairo.

Egypt says negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the next phase of the Gaza ceasefire have begun in Cairo.

The Mennonite population being affected by a measles outbreak in West Texas is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches worldwide with varied beliefs and leadership structures — and with sometimes strained or distant relations with public authorities.

Observant Muslims worldwide will soon be united in a ritual of daily fasting from dawn to sunset as the Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts.

The number of Americans who identify as Christian has declined steadily for years, but that drop shows signs of slowing.

Tens of thousands of Israelis have lined highways holding flags, orange balloons and signs saying “forgive us” in an outpouring of grief as the bodies of a mother and her two small sons who were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip were taken for burial.

Hamas has handed over the bodies of four hostages in exchange for Israel’s release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, days before the first phase of their ceasefire will end.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has shown further slight improvement as he battles double pneumonia, but doctors still say his prognosis is still guarded.

The families of hostages still in Gaza are struggling to maintain hope they'll see their loved ones soon as uncertainty swirls over the future of the fragile ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Israeli and Hamas officials say they have reached an agreement to exchange the bodies of dead hostages for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The Vatican says that Pope Francis remains in critical but stable condition.

Thousands of people have gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for an ailing Pope Francis, expressing sorrow for his suffering, hope for his recovery and gratitude for his efforts to steer the Catholic Church in new directions.

Palestinians who returned to their homes in northern Gaza after the ceasefire began on Jan. 19 are still struggling to find shelter, food, water and other necessities.

The first phase of the ceasefire that paused 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas militants is set to end on Saturday.

A federal judge on Monday blocked immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations in houses of worship for Quakers and a handful of other religious groups.

Two men are on trial in Zambia on charges of practicing witchcraft and possessing charms intended to harm the country’s president.

The Vatican says Pope Francis remains in critical condition but has shown slight improvement in laboratory tests.

The Vatican has detailed laws and rituals to ensure the transfer of power when a pope dies or resigns, but not when he is sick.

Israeli tanks have moved into the occupied West Bank for the first time in decades in what Palestinian authorities call a “dangerous escalation.”.

The Vatican says Pope Francis remains in critical condition and blood tests show early kidney failure but he remains alert and “well-oriented.”.

Each Sunday, Johann Teran goes to worship at a bilingual Lutheran service in suburban Minneapolis.

The Vatican says Pope Francis is in critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen.

Israel says the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners is delayed “until the release of the next hostages has been assured, and without the humiliating ceremonies” at handovers of Israeli captives in Gaza.

Members of Masjid Al-Taqwa, a mosque which burned down in one of the recent Los Angeles-area wildfires, are scrambling to find a space where they can gather, pray and support one another during the holy month of Ramadan.

Pope Francis’ medical team says the pontiff's condition isn’t life-threatening.

Hamas has released the names of six living Israeli hostages who the militants plan to release from Gaza this weekend under the terms of the ceasefire deal.

A federal judge has refused to immediately block the Trump administration’s abrupt halt to funding of the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program.

The pope looms so large in everyday Italian life that there are lots of expressions that make light of even a dark event like his death.

Legend has it the axolotl was not always an amphibian.

Hamas has released four bodies they said were Israeli hostages, including two young children who were long feared dead and have symbolized the nation’s agony following the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Hamas handed over the remains of four more Israeli hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The bodies of the youngest Israelis held hostage by the militant Hamas group have been returned to Israel, dashing the hopes of a nation hoping for a happier ending.

The Vatican says that Pope Francis’ clinical condition is “improving slightly,” adding that he went about his work activities from the hospital where he is recovering from pneumonia.

The Israeli military says the remains of two child hostages have been identified but another body released by Hamas was not the boys’ mother.

An Israeli official says the bodies of the youngest and one of the oldest captives seized by Hamas during the attack that ignited the war in Gaza are expected to be returned on Thursday.

An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appointed a close confidant to lead negotiations for the second stage of the ceasefire with Hamas.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has visited Pope Francis in the hospital and says he’s “alert and responsive” and full of good humor despite his pneumonia.

Catholic bishops are suing the Trump administration over its abrupt halt to funding of refugee resettlement, calling the action unlawful and harmful to newly arrived refugees and to the nation’s largest private resettlement program.

Amnesty International is urging French lawmakers to reject a bill this week that would ban headscarves in all sporting competitions.

Hamas says it will release six living Israeli hostages instead of three on Saturday, as well as the bodies of four others on Thursday.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has developed pneumonia in both his lungs, after new tests showed a further complication in the condition of the 88-year-old pope.

Israeli forces have withdrawn from border villages in southern Lebanon under a deadline spelled out in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement that ended the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

Jewish parents and students in Seminole County are grappling with a challenging decision this year.