Pope Francis has asked Pyongyang to invite him to North Korea, saying in a televised interview on Friday that he would not turn down a chance to visit and work for peace.. "When they invite me -- that is to say, please invite me -- I won't say no," Pope Francis told South Korea's state broadcaster KBS in an interview that aired Friday.
Australia on Friday tapped a former high court judge to investigate ex-prime minister Scott Morrison's decision to secretly appoint himself to several key ministerial portfolios.. The probe will be led by former high court judge Virginia Bell and will report by November 25.
A two-week negotiating session on a treaty to protect the high seas wraps up Friday, with UN observers holding their breath that the long-stalled deal can cross the finish line.. "I think they have made a lot of progress in the last two weeks on issues that were very controversial," said Klaudija Cremers, a researcher at the IDDRI think tank, which like multiple other NGOs has a seat with observer status at the negotiations.
Christie's announced plans on Thursday to auction the art collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, which it estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.. Christie's did not detail what else is in the collection, but a traveling exhibit in 2016 gave a glimpse of the richness of the Allen art trove.
Asian markets rose Friday after a Wall Street rally ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell that is expected to reiterate his plan to ramp up interest rates to fight inflation.. Most expect him to confirm that more hikes are on the way as officials try to bring inflation down from painful highs not seen in four decades.
Swedish motorists were left puzzled this week after mistakenly receiving an air raid warning, an incident authorities termed "serious" on Thursday given the war in Ukraine and Russia's irritation over Sweden's NATO bid.. Moscow has reacted frostily to Sweden's decision to abandon two centuries of military non-alliance and seek NATO membership following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
As a Taiwanese fighter jet screamed over the lush green fields of eastern Hualien county last week, pomelo farmer Mulin Ou sat in his orchard counting the cost of China's latest push to squeeze the island.. The overall impact of China's latest economic sanctions is limited.
Far-right President Jair Bolsonaro is not exactly known for mild rhetoric, but with Brazil deeply divided heading into elections, he is counting on a more moderate image and economic upturn to win, his communications minister says.. "The president's more moderate tone speaks to voters who had turned against him because they felt the president's style could have been more moderate," said the telegenic 44-year-old, a businessman and ex-congressman brought in to give the administration a communications makeover in June 2020.
Abortion became illegal in three more US states on Thursday, further restricting access to elective terminations for millions of women despite some signs of popular and judicial pushback.. State restrictions range from total bans on elective abortions to bans after six weeks, when many women do not even know they are pregnant.
Two people pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing and selling for $40,000 the private diary of President Joe Biden's daughter Ashley Biden, when he was running for office against Donald Trump in 2020. . The Justice Department announced the guilty pleas by Aimee Harris and Robert Kurlander in court filings that refer to the victim as the daughter of "Candidate-1" -- widely understood to be Biden.
