Pope concludes Lenten retreat with prayer and reflection – Vatican News

  1. Pope concludes Lenten retreat with prayer and reflection  Vatican News
  2. Church governance begins with holiness, not bureaucracy, Bishop Varden says at Curia retreat  OSV News
  3. A ‘chatbot’ can’t replace angels, Bishop Varden tells Pope Leo, Roman Curia  Crux
  4. Bishop Varden tells Vatican retreat: Not every fall ends in joy  EWTN News
  5. An Angel Is a ‘Guardian of Holiness,’ Explains Bishop Varden  National Catholic Register
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Marco Rubio orders US officials to stop commentary that could strain Iran talks – The Guardian

  1. Marco Rubio orders US officials to stop commentary that could strain Iran talks  The Guardian
  2. Outcry after Ambassador Mike Huckabee suggests Israel has God-given right to Middle East land  NBC News
  3. The Carlson-Huckabee interview may be the wake-up call Americans needed  Al Jazeera
  4. Knesset marks 250 years of US independence with praise for Israel-US alliance, warnings for future  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Huckabee: Carlson saying Israel pushing around Trump ‘offensive’  The Hill
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Marco Rubio orders US officials to stop commentary that could strain Iran talks

Exclusive: memo came after Mike Huckabee’s remarks about Israel sparked alarm inside White House

The US secretary of state Marco Rubio told ambassadors in the Middle East to stop making public comments that could inflame tensions and undermine Donald Trump’s pressure on Iran to relinquish its capacity to produce a nuclear weapon, according to a memo obtained by the Guardian.

“Given rising tensions in the region, Chiefs of Mission and embassies at addressee posts must refrain from public statements, interviews, or social media activity that could in any way inflame regional audiences, prejudice sensitive political issues, or complicate US relationships,” the cable said.

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Trump ‘not happy’ with Iran situation and says military force is still an option

US president accuses Tehran of failing to ‘negotiate in good faith’ over its nuclear programme

Donald Trump says he has not made a final decision on whether to launch strikes on Iran but is “not happy” with the situation and military force – including regime change – remains an option.

The remarks came at the White House on Friday after talks between the US and Iran on Tehran’s nuclear programme ended inconclusively, with a suggestion that further discussions would be held next week.

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Demna brings sexy back in effort to reinvigorate Gucci

Designer’s first catwalk for the brand in Milan flirts with bad taste with short, tight dresses and a diamante G-string

Demna is fashion’s dark lord of apocalyptic streetwear. Gucci is the glossy sex kitten of Milan. Put the two together, and what do you get? Sex appeal that flirts with bad taste.

At Demna’s first Gucci catwalk show, staged in Milan on Friday afternoon in front of an audience including Donatella Versace and Paris and Nicky Hilton, dresses were so short and tight that Emily Ratajkowski periodically yanked down a handful of disco-ball sequins to cover her bottom as she walked. There were lapdance-bar tinsel hair extensions, and Kate Moss in a diamante G-string. A certain sketchiness in the roll of the hips, a model who pulled his phone out of his bumbag and scrolled his way down the catwalk.

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Pakistan is in ‘open war’ with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says – AP News

  1. Pakistan is in ‘open war’ with Afghanistan after latest strikes, defense minister says  AP News
  2. Pakistan Strikes Afghanistan in ‘Open War’ Against Taliban Government  The New York Times
  3. Pakistan’s patience runs out after badly miscalculating over Taliban  The Guardian
  4. Pakistan bombs targets in Afghan cities, minister calls it 'open war'  CNBC
  5. Pakistan’s defense minister says latest clashes with Taliban mean ‘open war.’ What’s happening?  CNN
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Andrew Reportedly Plotting to ‘Flee’ to the Middle East to Avoid Prison as He Faces a Maximum Life Sentence—He’s a ‘Flight Risk’ – Yahoo

  1. Andrew Reportedly Plotting to ‘Flee’ to the Middle East to Avoid Prison as He Faces a Maximum Life Sentence—He’s a ‘Flight Risk’  Yahoo
  2. There Are "Disturbing Rumours" Coming Out of Buckingham Palace About the Line of Succession  Yahoo
  3. Why You Should Look Closely at That Photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor  Vanity Fair
  4. Possible next steps after the arrest of former Prince Andrew  NBC News
  5. Former Prince Andrew’s Arrest Upends Royal Family’s Effort to Move Past His Scandal - The New York Times  The New York Times
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Far-right AfD eyes court win as springboard for state elections in Germany – politico.eu

  1. Far-right AfD eyes court win as springboard for state elections in Germany  politico.eu
  2. German intelligence must pause extremist label for AfD  dw.com
  3. German court grants injunction to AfD party, suspending 'extremist' label by spy agency  Reuters
  4. German court says intelligence agency can't designate the AfD party an extremist group for now  AP News
  5. German Intelligence Must Temporarily Halt an Extremist Label for the AfD, Court Rules  The New York Times
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Ghana says at least 55 of its people killed after Russia ‘lured’ them to fight Ukraine

Foreign minister says 272 Ghanaians are thought to have been drawn into battle since 2022, after he visited Kyiv

At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle”, Ghana’s foreign minister has said after a visit to Kyiv in which officials raised the issue of Russian recruitment of African people.

Reports of African men being attracted to Russia by promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s frontlines have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.

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Palestine Action arrest as Churchill statue defaced – BBC

  1. Palestine Action arrest as Churchill statue defaced  BBC
  2. Man charged with criminal damage after Churchill statue sprayed with graffiti  The Guardian
  3. ‘Zionist war criminal’: Anti-Israel activist vandalizes Churchill statue in London  The Times of Israel
  4. Man arrested after 'completely abhorrent' vandalism of Churchill statue  Sky News
  5. Churchill Is Still on the Front Line of the Culture War  National Review
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