Comment on Intense preparations before pontiff meets Iraqi ayatollah

TAIPEI — A cluster of earthquakes struck Taiwan early on Tuesday, the strongest measuring 6.1 magnitude, according to the U. S. Geological Survey. There was no immediate information of any damage or casualties. The temblors struck after a magnitude 7.4 quake hit the island earlier this month, killing 13 people and injuring over 1,000.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is under fire for invoking anti-Muslim tropes in a speech on Sunday as he campaigns in the nation’s ongoing general election. Speaking to a large crowd at a rally in the western state of Rajasthan, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader made controversial remarks describing Muslims as “infiltrators.” Modi said that if the main opposition party, the Indian National Congress, is voted into power at the end of the weeks’ long election, they would unfairly distribute wealth.

As the dust settles in the wake of Israel’s much-anticipated attack on Iran on Friday, the two countries seem to have pulled back from the brink of full-scale war. This strike on an Iranian military base near Isfahan—a response to Iran’s unprecedented April 13 missile and drone attack on Israel—caused minimal damage and was met with muted reactions from Iranian officials. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The limited scale of Israel’s retaliation reflects several considerations, including a genuine desire to prevent a regional war, U.

Nearly 60,000 residents in China’s Guangdong province have been evacuated from their homes after extreme weather caused floods to sweep through a number of cities in the low-lying Pearl River Delta. On Monday, rescuers used boats to reach trapped residents, including the elderly, in China’s most populous province, a manufacturing hub home to 127 million people.

BERLIN — Four Germans were caught laying white roses in memory of Adolf Hitler at the house where the Nazi dictator was born in western Austria on the anniversary of his birth, and one gave a Hitler salute as they posed for photos, police said Monday. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Hitler was born on April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn.

TEL AVIV, Israel — The head of Israel’s military intelligence directorate resigned on Monday over the failures surrounding Hamas’ unprecedented Oct. 7 attack, the military said, becoming the first senior figure to step down over his role in the deadliest assault in Israel’s history. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva’s resignation sets the stage for what’s expected to be more fallout from Israel’s top security brass over Hamas’ attack, when militants blasted through Israel’s border defenses, rampaged through Israeli communities unchallenged for hours and killed 1,200 people, most civilians, while taking roughly 250 hostages into Gaza.