Pope Leo XIV has taken his biggest step yet to correct one of Pope Francis' more problematic financial moves, canceling a special Holy See fundraising commission that was announced under questionable circumstances while Francis was hospitalized.

Leo on Thursday formally suppressed the fundraising commission, abrogated its statutes and fired its members. He decreed that its assets would go to the Holy See as a whole, and that the Vatican patrimony office would oversee the commission's extinction.

London's Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square will be lit up Thursday as part of a British tradition with roots in the Norwegian forest.

The tree symbolizes the friendship between London and Oslo in an annual ceremony that highlights the history of the countries' alliance.

Eman Hassan Lawwa was dressed in traditional Palestinian prints and Hikmat Lawwa wore a suit as they walked hand-in-hand past the crumbled buildings of southern Gaza in a line of other couples dressed in exactly the same way.

The 27-year-old Palestinians were among 54 couples to get married Tuesday in a mass wedding in war-ravaged Gaza that represented a rare moment of hope after two years of devastation, death and conflict.

When pastry chef Tino Gierig is asked what the famous Dresden stollen tastes like, his eyes sparkle and his voice rises to an enthusiastic sing-song as as he describes the rich delicacy filled with raisins and other dried fruits.

"Stollen tastes like Christmas, like family, like tradition, like hominess, peace, serenity," the 55-year-old said as he lovingly kneaded his buttery yeast dough before folding in golden raisins in his Dresdner Backhaus bakery.

Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday shared for the first time what he was thinking when the votes started going his way during the conclave that elected him, saying he resigned himself to the inevitable and put the rest in God's hands.

"I took a deep breath. I said 'Here we go Lord. You're in charge and you lead the way,'" Leo told reporters during a wide-ranging airborne press conference coming home from his inaugural trip to Turkey and Lebanon.

Rachelle Mazraani is travelling from Sydney to Beirut for Pope Leo XIV's visit this week, one of many Lebanese at home and abroad who hope the trip will revive their struggling country.

After visiting Turkey, Leo is to arrive in Lebanon on Sunday for a three-day trip that includes an open-air mass at Beirut's waterfront that organizers expect to draw 120,000 people.

Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey to continue being a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict, as he opened his first foreign trip as pope on Thursday with a plea for peace amid efforts to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The American pope emphasized a message of peace as he arrived in Ankara, welcomed on the tarmac by a military guard of honor and at the presidential palace by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Sanae Takaichi made history by becoming Japan's first female prime minister in October. She must now decide whether she'll break another barrier: the taboo barring women from the sumo ring.

The winner of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament that ends Sunday will be presented with the Prime Minister's Cup. Some of her male predecessors, including former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, have entered the ring to hand over the cup.

The Olympic flame began its journey Wednesday to the Milan Cortina Winter Games — missing a little of its usual magic.

Bad weather lashing western Greece forced organizers to move the torch-lighting ceremony indoors, from Olympia's ancient stadium and temples to a nearby museum.

As Pope Leo XIV prepares to embark on his first trip abroad with a visit to Turkey to mark a key event that shaped the foundations of Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, there has been a surge of renewed optimism over the possible reopening of a Greek Orthodox religious seminary that has been closed since 1971.

The Halki Theological School has become a symbol of Orthodox heritage and a focal point in the push for religious freedoms in Turkey.