President Trump met privately with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine on Saturday in Vatican City, the White House said, the first time the two leaders have met since their televised argument in late February in the Oval Office exacerbated the deep breach between the two countries. The meeting took place in St. Peter’s Basilica, the…
In response to a White House proposal to end the war in Ukraine that critics say would grant the Kremlin much of what it wants, Ukraine’s leadership has drafted a counteroffer — one that in some ways contradicts what President Trump has demanded, but also leaves room for possible compromises on issues that have long…
I never had the chance to say hello. But I stood in line to say goodbye. After Pope Francis died, my editors asked me to fly to Italy in advance of a move next month to take up the post of Rome bureau chief. I recently finished an eight-year tour in Tokyo and had thought…
Mourners will bid a final farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday during his funeral Mass, which is expected to draw international leaders as well as cardinals, archbishops and priests from around the world to the Vatican. The rites will be broadcast by news networks around the globe. Until the funeral, his body, dressed in papal…
As the world Pope Francis consistently called for — one that cared for migrants, safeguarded the health of the planet and protected human rights — collapsed around him in recent years, Francis would react to the newest setback by going quiet. When Francis was “disappointed by certain political choices that governments are making,” Archbishop Paul…
For a pope known for unexpected gestures, Francis’ brief swing through St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday might be the most audacious yet — at least in his attire. “Pope with a poncho, revolution in a photo,” read the caption of the photograph on the front page of the Rome daily newspaper Il Messaggero, showing Francis…
The pope’s doctors did not think he was going to make it. “It’s terrible,” Pope Francis gasped during a breathing crisis last month. The pope, his hand bruised with needle pricks and his oxygen saturation dipping to a dangerously low 78 during his long hospitalization, acknowledged in a failing voice that he might die. He…
Pope Francis made his first, brief, appearance in more than six weeks on Sunday, appearing on the balcony of a Rome hospital to greet hundreds of people gathered in the square in front. Looking frail, Francis gave a thumbs up. “Thank you everyone,” he said in a wisp of a voice. The pope later left…
Some travelers were headed to weddings, some to funerals. Others were leaving for a Disneyland Paris vacation, taking a business trip to Britain, returning home from a honeymoon in Italy or moving to Australia. Instead, on Friday, they found themselves sitting on airport floors, riding on buses or checking in to hotels as tens of…
Some travelers were headed to a wedding, some to a funeral. Others were leaving for a vacation in Iceland, taking a business trip to Britain or returning home from a honeymoon in Italy. But on Friday, tens of thousands of passengers in Europe and beyond were stranded hundreds of miles from their destinations as a…