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Thousands of Haitians mark annual pilgrimage far from a sacred waterfall surrounded by gangs

Thousands of Haitians mark annual pilgrimage far from a sacred waterfall surrounded by gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The massive crowd that would gather once a year at a revered waterfall in central Haiti where the faithful would splash in its sacred waters and rub their bodies with aromatic leaves was not there on Wednesday.
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A crowd surge at an aid site in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed group kills 20 Palestinians

A crowd surge at an aid site in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed group kills 20 Palestinians

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Twenty Palestinians were killed at a food distribution center run by an Israeli-backed American organization in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, mostly from being trampled, the group said.
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Here's what triggered the latest deadly violence in Syria, and why it matters

Here's what triggered the latest deadly violence in Syria, and why it matters

BEIRUT (AP) — Clashes between government forces and members of a minority sect in Syria have drawn intervention by Israel and once again raised fears of a breakdown in the country's fragile postwar order.
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In African politics, the rampant belief in witchcraft fortifies some and vexes others

In African politics, the rampant belief in witchcraft fortifies some and vexes others

MBALE, Uganda (AP) — Wilson Watira offered his hand when he met his political rival at a funeral, gesturing for a proper handshake. The man didn't want contact, instead folding a piece of paper that he aimed at Watira.
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Netanyahu's governing coalition is fracturing. Here's what it means for Israel and Gaza

Netanyahu's governing coalition is fracturing. Here's what it means for Israel and Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government suffered a serious blow on Tuesday when an ultra-Orthodox party announced it was bolting the coalition.
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UN finds rising child malnutrition in Gaza, where officials say Israeli strikes kill 93 people

UN finds rising child malnutrition in Gaza, where officials say Israeli strikes kill 93 people

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Malnutrition rates among children in the Gaza Strip have doubled since Israel sharply restricted the entry of food in March, the U.N. said Tuesday.
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Thai police arrest woman who allegedly seduced and blackmailed Buddhist monks

Thai police arrest woman who allegedly seduced and blackmailed Buddhist monks

BANGKOK (AP) — Police in Thailand arrested a woman Tuesday who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then pressured them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy.
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France's prime minister wants to cut 2 public holidays to save money for the indebted economy

France's prime minister wants to cut 2 public holidays to save money for the indebted economy

PARIS (AP) — France’s prime minister proposed on Tuesday the elimination of two public holidays from the country’s annual calendar — possibly Easter Monday and the day marking the Allied victory over the Nazis — to save money in next year’s budget.
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Influential evangelical preacher John MacArthur dies at 86

Influential evangelical preacher John MacArthur dies at 86

The Rev. John MacArthur, an influential and exacting evangelical preacher, died Monday at the age of 86. He led Grace Community Church in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sun Valley for more than five decades.
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One tireless Jesuit keeps alive a pilgrim path for St. Ignatius in Spain

One tireless Jesuit keeps alive a pilgrim path for St. Ignatius in Spain

MANRESA, Spain (AP) — Josep Lluís Iriberri helps celebrate Mass at a mountaintop basilica , swaps his priest’s robe for a hiking backpack and rallies his latest group of pilgrims literally following him in the footsteps of the 16th-century St.
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