An Orthodox archbishop who exchanged friendly greetings and gifts with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska has apologized to “those who have experienced pain, suffering, or confusion because of my actions.” However, Alaska Archbishop Alexei did not directly apologize for the meeting itself, which took place in Anchorage following Putin’s Aug. 15 summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, which was focused on the war in Ukraine. Alexei’s superior in the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Tikhon, distanced his church from the meeting. Tikhon said the archbishop failed to inform him of his plans to meet Putin, despite “canonical tradition” requiring a bishop to do nothing...

 Sri Lanka’s former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was granted bail Tuesday after being arrested over allegations of misusing public funds while in office. Wickremesinghe is the first Sri Lankan former head of state to be arrested and the most prominent among dozens of high former government and political leaders being investigated for corruption under President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was elected last year on an anti-corruption platform. The senior opposition politician’s aide Danushka Ramanayake said he had heard from the Magistrates’ Court in Colombo that Wickremesinghe had been given bail. More details on the decision were not available. The former president, who was arrested Friday,...

 Australian police on Wednesday identified a suspect who shot and killed two police officers and seriously wounded a third as the search for the shooter entered day two in a vast, remote rural area in the country’s southeast. Dezi Freeman, 56, was heavily armed and experienced in wilderness survival skills, Victoria’s Chief Commissioner of Police Mike Bush told reporters. People were urged to stay indoors. The shooting happened on Tuesday, when 10 armed police officers tried to execute a search warrant at Freeman’s property in Porepunkah, a town of just over 1,000 people located 320 kilometers (200 miles) northeast of Melbourne. Freeman...

The father of Miguel Uribe, the Colombian presidential candidate fatally shot at a political rally earlier this year, launched a presidential campaign Tuesday in what he called an effort keep his son’s legacy alive and build a safer and more prosperous Colombia. Miguel Uribe Londoño, 72, announced his candidacy with a speech outside the congressional building in the capital where his son became a well-known senator, and spoke behind a podium fitted with the campaign logo used by his deceased son. “Together we can build a secure Colombia where people will not fear going out into the streets, and where business owners...

A Buddhist monk who set up a hospice in Thailand for people with HIV/Aids has been arrested for alleged embezzlement of donations to the care home. Luang Phor Alongkot, 65, was arrested Tuesday at his temple in the central province of Lopburi. He denied wrongdoing. Alongkot is the abbot or head of Wat Phrabatnampu temple, where he established a HIV/Aids hospice in 1992 and raised his profile as a humanitarian. The hospice also takes in people with other illnesses and provides education for its patients’ children. Police also arrested Seksan Sapsubbsakul, an influencer who had helped to raise funds for...

South Korea has passed a bill banning the use of mobile phones and smart devices during class hours in schools – becoming the latest country to restrict phone use among children and teens. The law, which comes into effect from the next school year in March 2026, is the result of a bi-partisan effort to curb smartphone addiction, as more research points to its harmful effects. Lawmakers, parents and teachers argue that smartphone use is affecting students’ academic performance and takes away time they could have spent studying. The ban has its sceptics, including students, who question how it would...

 U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg said in Kyiv on Monday that officials are “working very, very hard” on efforts to end the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine, as a lack of progress fuels doubts about whether a peace settlement could be on the horizon. Officials are “hoping to get to a position where, in the near term, we have, with a lack of a better term, security guarantees” that address Ukraine’s fears of another invasion by Russia in the future, Kellogg said. “That’s a work in progress,” Kellogg said of the potential security guarantees after attending Ukraine’s annual National Prayer Breakfast along with politicians,...

SpaceX’s Starship rocket completed its 10th test flight from Boca Chica, Texas, successfully deploying eight dummy satellites into orbit, on Tuesday. The rocket, which in previous launches had multiple catastrophic failures, is earmarked for use in a 2027 mission to the Moon. The rocket successfully re-entered Earth and splashed down in the Indian Ocean about an hour after the initial launch. This milestone advances reusable spaceflight technology, supporting NASA’s Artemis program for lunar missions and future Mars exploration, as praised by CEO Elon Musk