World News

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — A volunteer firefighter who died while trying to rescue residents of an assisted living home in suburban New York that was engulfed in flames was identified Wednesday as a 35-year-old father of two young boys.

NAIROBI, Kenya — Kenya says it has given the United Nations 14 days to come up with a plan to close refugee camps in the country that host hundreds of thousands from war-torn neighbouring nations.

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The eruption of a long-dormant volcano in southwestern Iceland has drawn large crowds of visitors eager to get close to the lava flows.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Wednesday named a Chilean survivor of clerical sex abuse to serve on a Vatican commission that advises the pontiff on how to protect children from pedophile priests.

CENTERVILLE, Ohio — Pandemic-weary Americans starved for human interaction and physical touch are taking advantage of a growing wellness option once reserved for Hollywood actors, rock stars and elite athletes: boutique stretching.

VATICAN CITY — Trying to save jobs as the pandemic pummels Vatican revenues, Pope Francis has ordered pay cuts for cardinals and other clerics, as well as nuns, who work at the Holy See.

JERUSALEM — Israel on Wednesday appeared to be barrelling toward another political stalemate after what was shaping up to be its fourth inconclusive election in the past two years.

YANGON, Myanmar — Hundreds of people imprisoned for demonstrating against last month’s coup in Myanmar were released Wednesday, a rare conciliatory gesture by the military that appeared aimed at placating the protest movement.

LONDON — The British government said Wednesday that the national flag should fly on all government buildings, the latest move in a highly visible embrace of the Union Jack by Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

BRUSSELS — The European Union moved Wednesday toward stricter export controls for coronavirus vaccines, seeking to make sure its 27 nations have more COVID-19 shots to boost the bloc's flagging vaccine campaign amid a surge in new infections.