Pope calls for universal ban on surrogacy in global roundup of threats to peace and human dignity
ROME (AP) — called Monday for a universal ban on what he called the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity.
In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Francis lamented that 2024 had dawned at a time in which peace is “increasingly threatened, weakened and in some part lost.”
Citing , the , , and the “immoral” production of nuclear
China intelligence agency says it has detained individual accused of collecting secrets for Britain
BEIJING (AP) — China says it has detained an individual accused of collecting state secrets on behalf of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6.
The Ministry of State Security posted on social media Monday that Britain had been cooperating since 2015 with the person, who it said was a citizen of a third nation and had the surname Huang.
The ministry said Huang had received training in intelligence gathering, was provided with equipment and had collected numerous state secrets on repeated visits to China. No further information on
Live updates | Fighting near central Gaza hospital prompts medics, patients and others to flee south
A senior commander of the militant group Hezbollah was killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, raising concerns of a wider Mideast war as fighting raged .
The strike targeting an SUV driven by Wissam al-Tawil comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting regional capitals in a bid to head off an expanded conflict.
In Gaza, Israel says it has largely concluded major operations in northern part of the territory and is now focusing on the central region and the southern city of Khan Younis.
Medical
Vietnam’s VinFast to build a $2 billion EV plant in India as part of its global expansion
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese automaker VinFast says it plans to spend up to $2 billion to build an electric vehicle factory in India, the world’s third-largest auto market by sales.
The factory in southern India’s Tamil Nadu state will be the company’s first foray into India and follows VinFast’s launch of sales in the United States and other major markets.
The plan highlights the company’s commitment to a “vision of a zero-emission transportation future,” Tran
Palestinians flee from central Gaza’s main hospital as fighting draws closer and aid groups withdraw
BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike killed an elite Hezbollah commander Monday in southern Lebanon, the latest in an escalating exchange of strikes across the border that have raised fears of another Mideast war even as exacts a mounting toll on civilians.
The strike on an SUV killed a commander in a secretive Hezbollah unit that operates along the border, according to a Lebanese security official who spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations. The commander, , was a veteran of the Iranian-backed Lebanese force who took part in
In the news today: Trudeau to join mourners at memorial for victims of downed plane
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…
Mourners to mark fourth anniversary of PS752
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will join mourners in Richmond Hill, Ont., this afternoon to mark four years since the Iranian military shot down Flight PS752.
Everyone aboard was killed when Iranian officials shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jetliner in January 2020 shortly after its take-off from Tehran.
Most of the passengers
Report expected on Manitoba intersection where crash claimed 17 lives
DAUPHIN, Man. — The Manitoba government is promising $12 million to improve a highway intersection where a crash last year killed 17 people on a minibus on their way to a casino.
“We cannot make things right or make you whole, but we are going to work our hardest to ensure that something like this does not happen again,” Premier Wab Kinew said at a news conference Monday.
Kinew, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor and government officials met with some of the victims’ families and the
Mourners to mark fourth anniversary of downing of PS752 by Iranian military
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is remembering the victims of Flight PS752 four years after the Iranian military shot it down.
Trudeau issued a statement voicing his solidarity with those who have lost loved ones in this and other air disasters before going to join mourners in Richmond Hill, Ont., to mark the grim anniversary.
Everyone aboard was killed when Iranian officials shot down the Ukraine International Airlines jetliner in January 2020 shortly after its take-off from Tehran.
Most of the passengers were bound for
Economists see ‘turning point’ in housing market this year as interest rate cuts loom
After a year marked by caution and shifting expectations spurred by rising borrowing costs, economists believe the Canadian housing market could be in for a rebound in 2024.
That’s largely dependent on forecasts that the Bank of Canada could begin cutting its key interest rate from the current level of five per cent as early as the second quarter of this year.
“We’re obviously watching for a turning point in the market,” said TD Bank economist Rishi Sondhi.
“We’ve had some, I
Former Gambian interior minister on trial in Switzerland over alleged crimes against humanity
BELLINZONA, Switzerland (AP) — A former interior minister of Gambia was going on trial Monday in Switzerland on charges including crimes against humanity for his alleged role in years of repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator.
Advocacy groups hailed the trial of Ousman Sonko, Gambia’s interior minister from 2006 to 2016 under then-President Yahya Jammeh, as an opportunity to reach a conviction under “universal jurisdiction,” which allows the prosecution of serious