Daily News

The United States military is ramping up its presence in Japan, Guam and Hawaii as tensions with China grow over Taiwan. A new documentary reveals how this buildup is affecting local communities. In a region that is also a staging ground for potential conflict, how are some residents pushing back?

Pope Francis wielded enormous global influence and his words often resonated beyond the Church. That's why his comments on Israel's war on Gaza were so significant. They marked a sharp break from the Vatican's historically cautious stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Pope Francis condemned attacks on civilians and directly criticised Israel, using words like 'terrorism' and 'genocide' – remarks that quickly drew backlash from Israel and its supporters.

Nearly a million Rohingya refugees have been living in Bangladesh for several years after fleeing violence in Myanmar. Many are struggling to cope, especially after recent cuts to vital humanitarian aid. But a growing number of women are learning essential vocational skills to help them earn a living.

An Israeli army report admits “errors” were made, in the killing of 14 Palestinian medics, and a UN employee in southern Gaza last month. They were shot dead by Israeli soldiers, buried in a shallow grave and found a week later. The army denies trying to cover up the killings.

Breaking News: Pope Francis dies at age 88 The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died. He was 88 years old. Born in Argentina, he was the first Latin American to take the post. Pope Francis was broadly popular - appealing to both conservatives with his orthodox views on religious doctrine and reformers with his liberal views on social justice.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is facing one of the world’s largest displacement and humanitarian crises. Instability and violence have killed at least 7,000 people and forced millions to flee their homes since the start of this year. Rwandan-backed M23 rebels have taken large areas in the east including the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province. And there are fears the tense and fragile situation could worsen after former president Joseph Kabila returned from exile. Kabila says he returned to DRC to 'participate in peace efforts'. But President Felix Tshisekedi's government accuses him of backing M23. So, wow will Kabila's return affect the shaky security environment? And what can the Congolese government do to deal with the crisis??

Donald Trump’s public musings about how Canada should become the United States’ 51st state, has Canadians rallying around their flag. The Listening Post’s Ryan Kohls discusses the Trump effect and the unprecedented impact it is having on Canadian nationalism and politics.

An Israeli probe into the killings of Palestinian paramedics that sparked international outrage has found “no evidence to support claims of execution,” the army has said in a statement. “Such claims are blood libels and false accusations against [Israeli] soldiers,” it said. That’s despite multiple testimonies and evidence of execution-style killings, and the Israeli army only changing its account of the killings after a video emerged contradicting its claim that the convoy had approached “suspiciously”. In fact, the footage revealed that the convoy – ambulances, a fire truck and a UN vehicle, were clearly marked and had their lights on. The Israeli statement added that a deputy commander would be fired after the examination “identified several professional failures, breaches of orders, and a failure to fully report the incident.”

Palestinian pastor Mitri Raheb—a theologian and founder of Dar al-Kalima University in Bethlehem, and author of Decolonising Palestine: The Land, The People, The Bible—spoke in an interview on Al Jazeera about the deepening crisis facing Palestinian Christians. He described Israel’s harsh restrictions during Holy Week, with only 6,000 permits granted for Jerusalem and clergy blocked from entering holy sites. He pointed to a surge in settler violence, including 43 attacks on Christians this year, and the near-erasure of Gaza’s Christian community, where 3% have been killed in airstrikes. In the West Bank, more than 900 checkpoints isolate Bethlehem, deliberately strangling daily life. Raheb condemned what he called the “Judaization” of Jerusalem, noting how settlers flooded the Old City during Passover while Christians were denied access, even Vatican diplomats were humiliated. He criticised the global church’s silence as complicity, urging Christians worldwide to stand against genocide in Gaza and colonisation in the West Bank. Without urgent action, he warned, Christianity in its birthplace risks becoming nothing more than a “theme park” with no living believers.

Millions of Sudanese are suffering from lack of food and other basic supplies, even in areas that have returned to government control. And with foreign aid unable to meet requirements, Sudanese charities and individuals have launched their own initiatives to help.