Month: December 2022

Pope Emeritus Benedict served for just eight years before making history by stepping down in 2013, saying he didn’t have the mental or physical strength to run the church. VOA’s Laurel Bowman has more. …

On New Year’s Eve, Russian missiles rained on Ukraine nationwide. At least one person was killed and at least 28 were wounded as eight massive explosions rocked the city of Kyiv. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that at least one person was killed in the western Solomianskyi district, and that among the 11 wounded in …

When Pope Benedict shocked the Roman Catholic Church in 2013 by announcing he would resign instead of ruling for life, he promised to stay in the Vatican “hidden from the world.” He kept only half that promise. Benedict may not have been seen much, but he certainly was heard.  Benedict wrote, gave interviews and, unwittingly …

When Pope Gregory XII, the last pope to resign before Benedict, died in 1417, the world was not watching. Gregory had stepped down two years earlier in 1415 and spent his remaining days in virtual obscurity hundreds of miles from Rome. He was quietly buried in Recanati, a town near the northern Adriatic coast. It …

Behind the frontline near Kreminna, a strategically located Russian-controlled city in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv’s troops say they are facing a tough enemy. “We fight them every day, in any weather. We attack in the direction of Kreminna, but they are not easy to defeat,” said a 24-year-old Ukrainian soldier who goes by the call sign …

The condition of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI remains stable, the Vatican said Friday, as Catholics prayed for the 95-year-old former pontiff whose health has seriously deteriorated. The German, who in 2013 was the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign as head of the worldwide Catholic Church, has become increasingly frail over the years. …

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine continues to endure and repel waves of Russian air attacks and that Ukrainian air defenses have been made “stronger than ever.”  “In the new year,” he added, “Ukrainian air defense will become even stronger, even more effective.” The Ukrainian leader said Ukrainian air defense “can become the …

Romanian authorities have arrested divisive social media personality Andrew Tate on suspicion of human trafficking and rape.   Prosecutors in Bucharest asked a court Friday to extend by 30 days Tate’s detention.   Tate, a former professional kickboxer, was detained along with his brother and two other men.     Tate did not comment but …

As the person who dressed the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood, who died Thursday at 81, was synonymous with 1970s punk rock, a rebelliousness that remained the hallmark of an unapologetically political designer who became one of British fashion’s biggest names. “Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The …

Georgiy Yatsenko was hiding in the basement trying to comfort his anxious grandchildren on Thursday morning when an explosion rocked his normally sleepy street in southern Kyiv. The blast blew out all of his windows, but the scene that greeted him when he stepped outside was even more frightening: half a dozen nearby houses were …

Kosovo has reopened the main border crossing with Serbia, as Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has announced dozens of other roadblocks in Northern Kosovo also would be removed.   Thursday, after days of the crossing between Kosovo and Serbia being blocked by barricades, trucks now can traverse it again. The removal of barricades blocking the main …

A new wave of Russian missile strikes pounded cities throughout Ukraine on Thursday, damaging power stations and other critical infrastructure during freezing winter weather. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said a number of energy facilities were damaged and that “Russia is trying to deprive Ukrainians of light before the new year.” However, the Ukrainian military …