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Pope Francis on Saturday updated a 2019 church law aimed at holding Catholic hierarchs accountable for covering up cases of sex abuse, expanding the norms to cover lay Catholic leaders and reaffirming that vulnerable adults can also be victims of abuse when they are unable to consent. Francis reaffirmed and made permanent the temporary provisions of the 2019 law that were passed in a moment of crisis for the Vatican and Catholic hierarchy. That law had been praised at the time for laying out precise mechanisms to investigate complicit bishops and religious superiors, but its implementation has been uneven and the Vatican has been criticised by abuse survivors for continued lack of transparency about the cases. READ MORE: Anti-trans activist Posie Parker leaves NZ after c...

Two Cuban migrants used a motorised hang glider to fly the approximately 145 kilometres from the communist island to Key West on Saturday, Florida officials said. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the duo landed safely at Key West International Airport at about 10:30 am and were turned over to the US Border Patrol. Border Patrol officials in South Florida did not answer a phone call Saturday seeking comment. READ MORE: 'Turning point': What comes next for Liberals after history-making loss Overwhelmed by Cubans and other migrants arriving at the Mexican border and into Florida by boat, the Biden administration in early January implemented a policy change that makes them request a permit, or parole, online before arriving with the sponsorship of a relative ...

Protesters have filled the streets of Paris and other French cities, with violence marring several marches, a day after President Emmanuel Macron further angered his critics by standing strong on a bill raising the retirement age that his government forced through parliament without a vote. Strikes upended travel as protesters blockaded train stations, Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, refineries and ports. More than 250 protests were organised across the country and union leaders praised the "significant" mobilisation. READ MORE: World athletics bans transgender women, tightens rules for Caster Semenya In Paris, street battles between police and black-clad, masked groups who attacked at least two fast food restaurants, a supermarket and a bank reflected inten...

A top Russian security official has warned about the rising threat of a nuclear war and blasted a German minister for threatening Russian President Vladimir Putin with arrest, saying such action would amount to a declaration of war and trigger a Russian strike on Germany. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council chaired by Putin, said in video remarks to reporters that Russia's relations with the West have hit an all-time bottom. Asked whether the threat of a nuclear conflict has eased, Medvedev responded: "No, it hasn't decreased, it has grown". READ MORE: Ukrainian civilians killed by Russian missiles and drones In this file photo taken from a video distributed by the Russian Defence Ministry Press Service, a ground-based intercontinent...

Many of the world's most iconic structures come with unusual stories. French intellectuals and artists at first hated the "monstrous" Eiffel Tower; the British hid the Taj Mahal under bamboo scaffolding to stop it being bombed by the Luftwaffe during World War II; and it took a big leap of faith for the Golden Gate Bridge to be painted its now iconic, but then unorthodox, burnt orange. If Saudi Arabia's proposed one-kilometre-high Jeddah Tower ever gets finished, architectural historians will also have a rich storybook to dig into. An architectural rendering of a finished Jeddah Tower, and the actual building which has not moved at all since 2017. (Jeddah Economic City) READ MORE: Transgender athletes banned from track and field But, right now, that seems a big if....

Friends and family desperately tried to save New Zealand man Mike Worley when he began choking at a barbecue. Despite their best efforts, he died in hospital four days later. The 55-year-old Christchurch man was a passionate family man, sport enthusiast and was "larger than life", brother Anton Worley said. READ MORE: Protesters fill French streets as anger at President Macron mounts On March 3, Worley was at a barbecue at his brother's home. He was eating leftover steak in the kitchen when some of the meat obstructed his throat. "He sort of said 'I'm choking' and at that stage there were two other good mates there. Straight away we started first aid on him," his brother said. Anton Worley and a friend who was there both had their current fi...