Pope Leo has named Bishop Aldon Ronald Hicks as the next archbishop of New York. Bishop Hicks, who - like the pope - is from the Chicago area and served in Latin America, will lead one of the Roman Catholic Church's most populous and important postings in the United States. The 58-year-old replaces»»»

The US House of Representatives has passed legislation that would criminalize performing gender transition treatments on minors, approving a bill sponsored by Georgia Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The measure passed the House by a narrow 216-211 vote on Wednesday. To become law, »»»

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., is seen February 18. The board of trustees voted Thursday to rename the facility to also honor President Donald Trump. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy»»»

Doha: During the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2025 final at Lusail Stadium, Media City Qatar revealed the new song ‘Nabd Qatar’ as the centerpiece of this year’s ‘Qatar SoundBeat’ campaign, in the presence of national leadership, government officials, visiting dignitaries, and football fans. The premiere to»»»

Hyundai Rotem has made a deal to sell T 54 K2 main battle tanks like the one shown and 141 K808 armored personnel carriers to Peru with an expected value that exceeds $1.4 billion, File Photo by Yonhap Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Peru signed a strategic agreement with South Korean defense firm Hyundai Rotem f»»»

New York, Dec.19 (SANA) Permanent Representative of the Syrian Arab Republic to the United Nations, Ibrahim al-Olabi, said on Thursday that in another achievement for Syrian diplomacy at international forums, the United Nations General Assembly today adopted the resolution entitled “The Situation o»»»

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has apologized to people in Asia after several politicians, including members of his governing coalition, posted photos of themselves with slanted eyes. The scandal began in November, after 22-year-old beauty queen Sarah Dzafce was stripped of her Miss Finland ti»»»

Meg O'Neill will be the new CEO of BP. Image courtesy of BP Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Meg O'Neill will take the reins as CEO of BP starting in April, as Murray Auchincloss steps down as CEO and board director effective Thursday. Carol Howle, executive vice president of supply, trading and shipping of BP, wi»»»

This is the second part of RT's special investigation on Igor Kolomoysky. You can find Part 1 here to read about Kolomoysky's rise to the status of godfather of Ukrainian corruption, his involvement in the Maidan revolution and the following years leading up to Vladimir Zelensky's election. Zelensk»»»

French first lady Brigitte Macron is facing a legal complaint after being filmed referring to feminist protesters as “stupid b***hes” at a Paris theatre earlier this month. A group of feminist associations filed a complaint against France’s first lady for public insult on Tuesday, “on behalf of 343»»»

The United States is sanctioning two more International Criminal Court judges for targeting Israel with politicized lawfare, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday. Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The State Department has sanctioned two more International Cri»»»

The parliamentary Committee on Internal Security and Public Order Thursday unanimously approved at first reading, with 18 votes in favour, a bill amending and supplementing the National Service for Protection (NSP) Act concerning the provision of security for Members of Parliament. The bill was tab»»»

More than two months after a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect in Gaza, the group has steadily reasserted some security control in areas under its authority. Yet for Gaza’s residents, daily economic hardship and deteriorating living conditions show little sign of easing. Hamas’»»»

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A small plane crashed Thursday at a regional airport north of Charlotte, N.C., killing multiple people, local and federal authorities said. The Cessna C550, a light corporate jet, had six people on board when it crashed at Statesville Regional Airport in Iredell County around 10:15»»»

A British man was sentenced to 13 years by a Russian court after he fought for Ukraine and was captured. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A British man has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in Russia after he fought for Ukraine and was captured. Hayden Davies, 3»»»

When bullets began flying at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday, strangers Wayne and Jessica found themselves in the same nightmare scenario. They couldn't find their three-year-olds. In the chaos, separately, they desperately scanned the green. People who'd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanuk»»»

The EU wants to retain proceeds from frozen Russian assets by introducing a “Buy European” boost for its own defense industry as it arms Ukraine, and is moving to lock in strict procurement rules for a potential loan for Kiev, Bloomberg has reported. EU members have long debated tapping Russian cen»»»

DOHA: The FIFA Arab Cupended on the highest of notes as Morocco fought back to defeat Jordan 3-2 in a thrilling final in front of a capacity crowd at Lusail Stadium. It was another spectacular decider at the venue which staged the epic FIFA World Cup 2022final. Oussama Tannane gave Morocco the lead»»»

At a ceremony marking the 35th anniversary of the Democratic Party (PD) branch in Kavajë, the party’s leader, Sali Berisha, called on citizens to join a nationwide protest scheduled for Monday, 22 December. Speaking to supporters, Berisha praised the role played by Kavajë’s democrats in the overthr»»»

Nigerian Air Force officials said 11 military personnel detained in Burkina Faso following an emergency landing by an NAF cargo aircraft on Monday have been released. File Photo courtesy U.S. Africom Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Officials in Burkina Faso released 11 members of the Nigerian military after seizi»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Any actions to expropriate Russian assets in the West will receive a response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. "We have repeatedly stated that any actions related to the expropriation of our assets will be met with a response," Peskov told the Rossiya 1 broadcas»»»

After Egypt’s Foreign Ministry launched a white paper outlining the principle of strategic balance in Egyptian diplomacy, Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on a broad range of regional crises in which Cairo is engaged as a mediator, partner and diplomatic actor. Abdelatty des»»»

It is crunch time for Ursula von der Leyen and her Brussels-based cabal who have attempted to bend and break EU law in order to force through a dubious legal claim for the use of sovereign Russian wealth to further fund Ukraine’s military. Kiev is long past broke, owes the EU some €45 billion and f»»»

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Closing arguments began Thursday in the trial for Judge Hannah Dugan after the court heard testimony from fellow Milwaukee County judicial officials about a lack of court policy on immigration arrests in public areas. The testimony came on Day 4 of Dugan's trial. She pleaded not gu»»»

The Department of Health and Human Services announced new rules that will ban Medicare and Medicaid coverage for hospitals that provide gender-affirming care for minors. File Photo by Shawn Thew/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced new regu»»»

Questions about social support dominate the messages sent by Russians to Vladimir Putin’s year-end press conference, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media. More than two million questions have already been submitted. “Social welfare issues are at the top, along with concerns affec»»»

The future of the economy can sometimes be seen in minor gestures of a Bank of England governor, such as the arch of his eyebrows. So what to make of Andrew Bailey sporting a rather exuberant festive tie full of Christmas trees at the moment he delivered his so-called "Santa cut"? It probably means»»»

The European Union on Thursday said it would drastically reduce asylum claims from seven nations in Africa, the Middle East and Asia by considering them safe countries of origin, prompting widespread outrage from human rights groups on International Migrants' Day. An agreement between European Parl»»»

Citizens have gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the government. The demonstration, which was registered with Sofia Municipality, was organized by Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) under the slogan "Don’t Feed the Pig with Your Money, Vol. 3." It is the latest in a series»»»

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Pope Leo XIV pictured in May in St Peter's square in the Vatican. On Thursday, the U.S. born pontiff accepted the resignation of New York's archbishop and appointed Ronald Hicks, formerly bishop of Joliet in the pope's native Illinois, as his successor to lead one of America's largest Catholic dioc»»»

The parliamentary Committee on the Internal Security and Public Order unanimously approved at first reading on Thursday, with 18 votes in favour, a bill amending and supplementing the National Service for Protection (NSP) Act concerning the provision of security for Members of Parliament. The bill »»»

Brazilian opposition senators celebrate during a Senate session in Brasilia, Brazil, on Wednesday after a bill passed that could reduce the sentences of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison, and other participants in the coup plot that followed the 2022 elections»»»

LONDON —The Bank of England cut its key interest rate to 3.75 per cent on Thursday after UK inflation eased faster than expected and as the economy weakens."We've passed the recent peak in inflation and it has continued to fall, so we have cut interest rates," BoE governor Andrew Bailey said.The wi»»»

New plaques have appeared under the portraits of former US presidents at the White House. Unlike Donald Trump's previous statements about his predecessors, which have been delivered through speeches, interviews and social media posts, these plaques - installed outside the West Wing - represent a mo»»»

The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged Thursday for the fourth meeting in a row as the economy in the 20 countries that use the euro increasingly looks strong enough to get by without the stimulus of lower borrowing costs for businesses and consumers. Bank President Christine Lagar»»»

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced on Thursday that the new Oreshnik missile system was put on combat duty in Belarus on December 17. "The first positions are equipped with the Oreshnik missile system; we received it yesterday and it is now on combat duty," Lukas»»»

The Rwandan-backed AFC/M23 armed group said Wednesday it had begun withdrawing its troops from Uvira, a strategic town in eastern DR Congo that it captured in early December. The AFC/M23 began withdrawing on Wednesday from the eastern DR Congo city of Uvira, which fell to the Rwanda-backed mil»»»

One of the highlights of the Christmas season here in France is the food. The main feast usually happens on Christmas Eve and the traditional dessert is the incredible Yule log or bûche de Noël. More than eight million Yule logs are sold in France every year, with three quarters of them purchased i»»»

Thai fighter jets on Thursday struck a building in the Cambodian border city of Poipet, a casino hub popular with Thai gamblers, amid renewed clashes between the neighbouring countries just months after they agreed to a truce brokered by the US and regional powers. Thailand on Thursday bombed a bui»»»

A husband and wife have died after being trapped in a private sauna room that caught fire in Japan on Monday. Tokyo police are investigating whether a faulty doorknob trapped the couple inside the room at Sauna Tiger, in the city's Akasaka district, local media has reported. Investigators also foun»»»

Brian Walshe was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife, Ana Walshe. File Photo by CJ Gunther/EPA Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Brian Walshe was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for the murder of his wife Ana Walshe. Walshe was also sentenced to no less than 19 years for lying to police and »»»

Saturday marks the 45th Powerball drawing in the current jackpot streak and the longest in game history. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo Dec. 18 (UPI) -- The Powerball prize has risen again with $1.5 billion now up for grabs this weekend with an estimated to be $686.5 million in ca»»»

Vazrazhdane leader Kostadin Kostadinov and MPs Dimo Drenchev and Georgi Georgiev have held a meeting with representatives of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Podkrepa Confederation of Labour, the party's press centre said on Thursday. The trade unions were r»»»

The opposition coalition “We Continuing the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” (WCC-DB) is testing whether the momentum of public demonstrations can be sustained even after the resignation of Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s government. Thousands have gathered in Sofia. Their demand is for fair elections»»»

President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order that would expand access to cannabis, a long anticipated move that would mark the most significant shift in US drug policy in decades. The order is expected to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I narcotic, to a Schedule III drug - plac»»»

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the US was sanctioning two judges of the International Criminal Court for targeting Israel. "Today, I am designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, pursuant »»»

Two of Italy’s top newspapers, La Repubblica and La Stampa, are likely to be sold to Greek media tycoon Theodore Kyriakou, whose political and business links abroad have sparked concern over editorial independence. The proposed sale, which involves foreign investment from Gulf allies and has drawn »»»

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A bus driver in Brisbane, Australia, spotted a koala darting through traffic on a busy road and brought the animal aboard the vehicle to wait for rescuers. Koala Rescue Brisbane South said on social media that the Brisbane CityGlider bus driver spotted the koala on Wiles Street at »»»

The head of the UN refugee agency in Lebanon said Thursday that the move by the United States to lift sweeping sanctions on Syria could encourage more refugees to return to their country. The US Senate voted Wednesday to permanently remove the so-called Caesar Act sanctions after the administration»»»