The shock retirement in 2013 of pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95, raised serious questions within the Roman Catholic Church about the extent to which there could be two "men in white" at the Vatican.. "Benedict's interventions... have raised questions regarding whether, given his own infirmity... he is being manipulated by persons eager to undermine the current papacy, even if Benedict himself is not," Gaillardetz said.
Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday aged 95, was the first pope to resign since the Middle Ages after a papacy beset by Church infighting and outcry over paedophilia.. His papacy was also marred by a money-laundering scandal at the Vatican bank, which exposed infighting among Benedict's closest allies.
Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.. "With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he was keen to ramp up military cooperation and hailed the two countries' efforts to counter Western influence.. The Kremlin chief also hailed the efforts of Moscow and Beijing to counter "unprecedented Western pressure and provocations".
Croatia was counting the last hours Saturday before switching to the euro and entering Europe's passport-free zone -- two milestone steps for the country since joining the EU nearly a decade ago.. It will also be the 27th nation in the passport-free Schengen zone, the world's largest, which enables more than 400 million people to move freely around its members.
The world's eight billion people on Saturday prepared to usher in 2023 and farewell a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises and Lionel Messi's world cup glory.. But 2022 is most likely to be remembered for armed conflict returning to Europe -- a continent that was the crucible of two world wars.
A Romanian court on Friday ordered the 30-day-detention of controversial influencer Andrew Tate following his arrest for alleged human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal group.. Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for Romania's anti-organised crime and terrorism directorate (DIICOT), told AFP Friday that four suspects had been placed in pre-trial detention for 30 days following their arrest late Thursday.
A court in Mali has sentenced 46 Ivorian troops whose detention in Mali sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries to 20 years in prison, the public prosecutor said Friday.. The trial of the 46 Ivorian troops had wrapped up earlier on Friday after opening in the capital Bamako on Thursday.
Tesla lost a staggering two-thirds of its market value in 2022, a victim of fears about demand for electric vehicles, dismay at Elon Musk's tribulations as head of Twitter and the end of easy money on Wall Street.. But to some analysts, the problems at Tesla are more serious and unrelated to Twitter -- mainly because the days where it was the sole player on the electric vehicle market are over.
Spain, South Korea and Israel on Friday joined nations imposing Covid tests on travellers from China, after Beijing dropped foreign travel curbs despite surging cases.. Nevertheless, Spain, South Korea and Israel on Friday became the latest countries to impose mandatory coronavirus tests on visitors from China.
