President Joe Biden's administration tried Friday to defuse heated Chinese warnings against a possible trip to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as Beijing announced live-fire military drills in the Taiwan Strait.. The temperature has been steadily rising in Beijing over the prospect of a Pelosi trip.
Pope Francis on Friday was to fly to Nunavut, the territory that covers most of the Canadian Arctic, on his final stop in a landmark tour apologizing for the abuse of Indigenous children in Catholic-run schools.. - 'Should be doing more' - From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada's government sent about 150,000 children into 139 residential schools run by the Catholic Church.
Pope Francis on Friday was to fly to Nunavut, the territory that covers most of the Canadian Arctic, on his final stop in a landmark tour apologizing for the abuse of Indigenous children in Catholic-run schools.. From the late 1800s to the 1990s, Canada's government sent about 150,000 children into 139 residential schools run by the Catholic Church.
The World Bank said Friday it would not offer new funding to Sri Lanka unless the bankrupt island nation carried out "deep structural reforms" to stabilise its crashing economy.. "This requires deep structural reforms that focus on economic stabilisation, and also on addressing the root structural causes that created this crisis."
Moscow and Kyiv on Friday accused each other of bombing a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian-held territory, with Russia saying 40 prisoners and eight prison staff were killed.. - 'Petrifying war crime' - Following the strike on the prison, Russian state-television showed what appeared to be destroyed barracks and tangled metal beds but no casualties could be seen.
A UK judge Friday effectively branded England footballer's wife Rebekah Vardy a liar as she rejected her "Wagatha Christie" libel suit against Coleen Rooney, following a trial that lifted the lid on celebrity skullduggery.. Coleen, the childhood sweetheart of England's leading goal scorer, was dubbed "Wagatha Christie" after she set up an elaborate sting to try to determine who was behind the leaks, then announced her findings publicly.
ExxonMobil's profits nearly quadrupled to $17.9 billion in results released Friday that underscored the elevated state of oil and natural gas prices amid commodity market tightness.. ExxonMobil's results were also boosted by a strong performance in its downstream business amid high gasoline prices and limited refining capacity.
French leader Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman agreed to work "to ease the effects" of the Ukraine war, Macron's office said Friday, after talks in Paris that marked the full diplomatic rehabilitation of the Saudi leader.. A French statement made no reference to any agreement but said the two men had agreed to "intensify their cooperation to ease the effects (of the war) in Europe, the Middle East and the world".
Spanish prosecutors said Friday they would seek a prison sentence of more than eight years against global music superstar Shakira, after she rejected a plea deal on accusations of tax evasion.. Shakira, who has sold over 60 million albums, rejected a plea deal on Wednesday, saying in a statement through her lawyers that she was "absolutely certain of her innocence" and had decided to let the case go to court, "confident" that her innocence would be proven.
A Norwegian woman remains on course to climb the world's 14 "super peaks" in the shortest time ever, her Instagram account said, after she summitted Pakistan's Broad Peak, the ninth mountain on her quest.. Pakistan is home to five of the world's 14 super peaks -- those over 8,000 metres (26,246 feet).
