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Pope greets Russian Orthodox envoy amid peace mission talk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Wednesday greeted the foreign envoy of the Russian Orthodox Church, just days after revealing a secret “mission” was under way to try to put an end to the war in Ukraine.Metropolitan Anthony attended Francis’ weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square and then greeted Francis at the end. He presented the pope with an icon, which Francis blessed. Anthony was later seen being led off the stage by one of Francis’ aides.Francis devoted his remarks at the audience to a recap of his weekend visit to Hungary, during which he made repeated calls for an end to the war. While in Budapest, he met with Metropolitan Hilarion, Anthony’s predecessor as the foreign envoy of Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian church who has strongly supported the Kremlin’s war and justified it on religious grounds.During a press conference en route home, Francis praised both Hilarion and Anthony as knowledgeable and his main conduits to reach Kirill. He was asked if Hila...

Zelensky dice que se enteró de la filtración de documentos del Pentágono de la guerra en Ucrania por informes de noticias

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Ucrania, Volodymyr Zelensky, no tuvo conversaciones con la Casa Blanca después de que se publicaran en redes sociales un tesoro de documentos clasificados de inteligencia de EE.UU., le dijo a The Washington Post este lunes.En una entrevista con The Washington Post, Zelensky dijo que se enteró de la filtración del Pentágono a través de la cobertura de noticias y afirmó que “no recibió información de la Casa Blanca o del Pentágono de antemano”.“No teníamos esa información. Yo personalmente no lo hice. Definitivamente es una mala historia”, dijo, calificándola de “no rentable” para Ucrania, además de “no beneficiosa para la reputación de la Casa Blanca, y creo que no es beneficiosa para la reputación de Estados Unidos”.Un funcionario estadounidense le dijo a CNN que EE.UU. está “en comunicación constante con nuestros homólogos ucranianos sobre una variedad de temas, incluso sobre las divulgaciones no autorizadas, pero no vamos a entrar en los detalles de ...

Thai candidate resumes campaign 2 days after giving birth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The frontrunning candidate for prime minister of Thailand said Wednesday she’s eager to get back on the campaign trail, just two days after giving birth.Speaking at a news conference at the hospital in Bangkok where she gave birth, Paetongtarn Shinawatra said her new baby boy wouldn’t affect her ability to rally support for her Pheu Thai Party with just under two weeks to go before the polls.“I believe good things come along with children,” she said, sitting beside her husband, Pidok Sooksawas. “I believe that children are my secret power to work, and to lead everyday life.”The newborn, Prutthasin Sooksawas, was brought into the room in a rolling incubator and displayed briefly to the media before being moved out again.Paetongtarn is the youngest daughter of Thaksin Shinawatra, the popular but divisive former prime minister who was ousted by a military coup in 2006. She’s also the niece of Yingluck Shinawatra, whose government met a similar fate eight years later.Thak...

Arrestan a un hombre afuera del Palacio de Buckingham días antes de la coronación del rey Carlos III

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

(CNN) — La Policía Metropolitana de Londres arrestó a un hombre frente al Palacio de Buckingham este martes después de que supuestamente arrojó presuntos cartuchos de escopeta a los terrenos del palacio, pocos días antes de la coronación del rey Carlos III.La Policía llegó al palacio alrededor de las 7 p.m. hora local y arrestó al hombre bajo sospecha de posesión de un arma ofensiva. También tenía una bolsa sospechosa que fue destruida en una explosión controlada, dijo la Policía en un comunicado.“No ha habido informes de disparos, o lesiones a agentes o miembros del público”, dijo el superintendente jefe Joseph McDonald en el comunicado.El príncipe Harry asistirá a la coronación y Meghan Markle se quedará en EE.UU., según el Palacio de BuckinghamLas fuerzas de seguridad vigilan las puertas del Palacio de Buckingham después de que la policía arrestara a un hombre frente al Palacio de Buckingham por arrojar lo que creían que eran cartuchos de escopeta el 2 de mayo de 2023. (Cré...

Surgeon general lays out framework to tackle loneliness and ‘mend the social fabric of our nation’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

(CNN) — US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy released an advisory Tuesday addressing the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” affecting the country and laying out a framework for a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection.”The advisory is part of the Biden administration’s broader efforts to address mental health, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday.“In recent years, about one-in-two adults in America reported experiencing loneliness,” Murthy says in the advisory. “And that was before the COVID-19 pandemic cut off so many of us from friends, loved ones, and support systems.”Research has showed that loneliness and isolation are linked to sleep problems, inflammation and immune changes in younger adults. In older people, they’re tied to symptoms such as pain, insomnia, depression, anxiety and shorter life span. In people of all ages, they may be associated with higher risks of heart diseas...

‘My job is not nearly as sexy’: The hits and misses of Netflix’s ‘The Diplomat’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

State Department employees around the world have been bingeing “The Diplomat,” a new Netflix show starring Keri Russell. And many of them find it preposterous — and utterly amusing.The show — centered on a U.S. ambassador to the U.K. named Kate Wyler — is fiction. But it veers from hyper-specific accuracy (“Did you call the RSO?”) to genuinely ridiculous moments in ways that are keeping even the most jaded foreign policy practitioners coming back for more.“There’s a lot of detail in there that’s really, really smart,” said Aaron Snipe, a spokesperson with the U.S. Embassy in London. But, “as a career diplomat, I must say you’re watching it thinking, ‘Wow, my job is not nearly as sexy as Ambassador Wyler’s romps through foreign policy.’”Staff for “The Diplomat” sat down with officials from the U.S. Embassy during production to try to get details right, and Snipe said the ambassador and the rest of the team were fans of the show.“I loved the show,” said Lewis Lukens, a ...

Russian fuel depot catches fire near key Crimea bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

KYIV — A severe fire broke out Wednesday morning in Russia at a fuel depot near the critical bridge it uses to deliver weapons and soldiers to occupied Crimea — and from there into southern Ukraine.“The fire has been assigned the highest level of severity. According to preliminary information, there are no victims,” Veniamin Kondratiev, Krasnodarsky regional governor, said in a Telegram statement. “Fire brigades, the ministry of emergency situations, and emergency services are on the scene. Everything possible is being done so that the fire does not spread further.” The cause of the fire is unknown. The incident occurred days after an apparent drone strike hit a fuel depot in Sevastopol, a Crimean port city used by the Russian navy. Although Ukraine has not officially taken responsibility for the strike, Natalia Humeniuk, spokeswoman of Ukraine’s Army Command South, said the Sevastopol fire was a preparation for a Ukrainian counteroffensive.“The fac...

Tories fume after ex-official Sue Gray snubs investigation into Labour job

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

LONDON — Conservative MPs took aim at former senior civil servant Sue Gray after she declined to take part in a government probe into her controversial new job with the opposition Labour Party.The Cabinet Office launched an investigation earlier this year after Gray quit her role in the British civil service — which prizes its impartiality — in favor of becoming chief of staff to Labour Leader Keir Starmer.But, despite expectation she’d be criticized in an update from minster Oliver Dowden Tuesday, Dowden told MPs he was “unable at this stage to provide further information” on Gray’s leap to the opposition.And he said Gray had declined the chance to spell out whether she had any contact with the Labour leader while in office.Dowden said the probe into the circumstances surrounding Gray’s exit “involved interviewing relevant persons to establish further details on the contact between Ms Gray and the Leader of the Opposition.”And he added: “I can update the House that Ms Gray was give...

1 person hospitalized with severe burns after fire in Abington

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

One person was hospitalized with severe burns after a fire broke out at an Abington apartment early Wednesday morning.Fire Chief John Nuttall says the fire was contained to one unit in the multi-family home on North Avenue.Nuttall says the cause appears to be accidental. No additional information has been released. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

US Navy: Iran seizes oil tanker in Strait of Hormuz

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:04:07 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the second-such capture by Tehran in recent days, the U.S. Navy said.The Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet identified the vessel as the Niovi. It said Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard seized the ship.The Navy published pictures of a dozen Guard vessels surrounding the tanker. Those ships “forced the oil tanker to reverse course and head toward Iranian territorial waters off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran,” the Navy said.“Iran’s actions are contrary to international law and disruptive to regional security and stability,” the 5th Fleet said in a statement. “Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted, irresponsible and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy.”Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency, believed to be close to the Guard, reported the paramilitary f...