WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish lawmakers voted Friday to move forward with proposals to lift a near-total ban on abortion, a divisive issue in the traditionally Roman Catholic country, which has one of the most restrictive laws in Europe.Members of the lower house of parliament, the Sejm, voted to work…

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s government on Friday called the killing of a Polish aid worker by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza a murder, and demanded Israel’s support for a Polish investigation into the case.Deputy Foreign Minister Władysław Teofil Bartoszewski told lawmakers in parliament that the April 1 death of Damian…

Pope Francis will visit Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and Singapore in September, the Vatican announced Friday, confirming the longest trip of Francis’ papacy that is sure to test his health, stamina and mobility.The Vatican confirmed the Sept. 2-13 visit, saying the 87-year-old pope would visit Jakarta, Indonesia; Port…

Russia on Thursday successfully test-launched a new heavy-lift rocket from its Far Eastern space complex, a lift-off that comes after two aborted attempts earlier this week.The first attempt to launch the Angara-A5 rocket from the Vostochny spaceport on Tuesday was canceled about two minutes before the scheduled liftoff due to…

The Kremlin said Friday that a draft Russia-Ukraine agreement negotiated in 2022 could serve as a starting point for prospective talks to end the fighting that has dragged into a third year.Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the draft document that was discussed in Istanbul in March 2022 could be…

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Friday an investigation into suspected Russian interference in Europe-wide elections in June, saying that his country’s intelligence service has confirmed the existence of a network trying to undermine support for Ukraine.”Belgian intelligence services have confirmed the existence of pro-Russian interference networks with…

A U.S. carrier strike group led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt has held a three-day joint exercise with its allies Japan and South Korea as U.S. President Joe Biden met for talks with leaders from Japan and the Philippines at the White House. The dueling military and diplomatic maneuvers are…

A massive missile and drone attack destroyed one of Ukraine’s largest power plants and damaged others, officials said Thursday, part of a renewed Russian campaign targeting energy infrastructure.The Trypilska plant, which was the biggest energy supplier for the Kyiv, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr regions, was struck numerous times, destroying the transformer,…

The U.S. State Department is restricting travel for government employees and their family members outside of major cities in Israel as concerns remain high Friday that Iran could attack at any moment in retaliation for an Israeli airstrike that destroyed the Iranian consulate in Syria. The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem has…

Nearly 12,000 houses have been flooded in a Russian region bordering Kazakhstan as water levels in the Ural River keep rising and threatening more deluge, authorities said Thursday.The floods sparked evacuations of thousands in the Orenburg region, located some 745 miles, southeast of the capital of Moscow after a dam…