A protester was shot dead in Myanmar in the latest round of bloodletting at anti-coup demonstrations, as the UN Security Council prepares to meet on the escalating crisis u.afp.com/UGWm
Despite an increasingly brutal crackdown that has seen more than 50 people killed, protesters took to the streets again in towns and cities around Myanmar to denounce the February 1 coup
#BREAKING 'The repression must stop,' envoy on Myanmar tells UN
#UPDATE The UN special envoy on Myanmar demands an end to the military's "repression" of protesters, imploring the Security Council to act on the "desperate pleas" from the country
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#BREAKING Pope arrives in Mosul, Iraqi city left in ruins by IS
#UPDATES Pope Francis lands in Mosul, now lying in ruins after three-year reign of the Islamic State group
Amid extremely tight security, the pope will hold a prayer service for the "victims of war" outside a church ravaged by IS
Pope Francis says the exodus of Christians from Iraq and the broader Middle East "does incalculable harm not just to the individuals and communities concerned, but also to the society they leave behind"
Myanmar anti-coup demonstrators vow big turnouts as the junta regime intensifies its crackdown, following overnight raids in parts of Yangon which targeted officials from Aung San Suu Kyi's political party u.afp.com/UGLD
Hein Yar Zar grimaced as a tattoo artist etched onto his chest the features of his first love, a young protester whose death has become a symbol of resistance against Myanmar's junta
"There was nobody like her" u.afp.com/UGbi
VIDEO: 🇲🇲🇹🇭 Thousands of members of the #Myanmar diaspora in Thailand protest on Sunday against the military coup in their home country outside the UN office in #Bangkok, as the junta intensifies its crackdown on protesters
#BREAKING Pope meets top Iraq Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani
#UPDATES Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the top religious authority for most Shiite Muslims, hosts the head of the world's Catholics, Pope Francis, in the shrine city of Najaf
Sistani almost never holds meetings but made an exception for Francis
Pope Francis extends his hand to the world's Shiite Muslims, meeting top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in a landmark moment in modern religious history
The two met at Sistani's humble home in the shrine city of Najaf u.afp.com/UGXF
🇮🇶 Pope Francis embarks on a historic trip to war-battered Iraq, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities
▶️ u.afp.com/UGsM
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🇨🇳 China unveils plans to grant itself veto powers over Hong Kong's lawmakers, part of a campaign to eliminate dissent in the city following huge democracy rallies in 2019
▶️ u.afp.com/UGW4
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🇲🇲 UN Security Council prepares to meet on the escalating crisis in Myanmar as a protester is shot dead in Mandalay, in the latest round of bloodletting at anti-coup demonstrations
▶️ u.afp.com/UGWm
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Pope Francis starts a historic trip to war-battered Iraq today, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities.
The 84-year-old says he is making the first-ever papal visit to Iraq as a "pilgrim of peace"
Christians in the Middle East.
#AFPGraphic showing the geographic spread of Christians in selected Middle Eastern countries and the percentage of each country's population they represent in the region
Iraq's ancient Christian community, decimated by violence, fear.
Iraq's last two violent decades have hollowed out its Christian community which dates back two millennia.
Today, only 400,000 Christians remain in a mostly Muslim country of 40 million
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will address his nation on Friday, kicking off an annual legislative session that is expected to further tighten Beijing's grip on Hong Kong u.afp.com/UGQ7
#BREAKING China military budget to grow 6.8% in 2021: finance ministry
#UPDATE China's military budget -- the second largest in the world after the US -- is set to increase by 6.8% in 2021, finance ministry says.
Beijing plans to spend 1.36 trillion yuan ($210 billion) on defence, which is still less than a third of Washington's military budget