Pope Francis prayed Sunday for "victims of war" in northern Iraq, where the Islamic State group ravaged one of the world's oldest Christian communities until the jihadists' defeat three years ago.

The United Nations said on Friday it was yet to see evidence from the United Arab Emirates government that Dubai's Sheikha Latifa was still alive.

From Mosul's rubble-strewn streets to ancient churches at Karamlesh, badly damaged by the Islamic State group, Archbishop Najeeb Michaeel is preparing for the first-ever papal visit to Iraq.

At Saturday's protest, a hood covers one young woman's hair, a mask her face.

In a Lebanese textile workshop, Umm Omar recalled making school uniforms and holiday garments -- before surging coronavirus cases forced her into the grim business of body bags.

Britain's foreign minister on Wednesday called footage of the daughter of Dubai's ruler saying she is being held captive "distressing" and said the government would "watch closely" the response of the United Nations.

As the sun rises over Arbil's historic bazaar, shopkeepers sweep their stoops and eagerly await the "istiftah" -- the first customer of the day, believed to be a good omen.

They were omnipresent on the streets of New York day and night, as emblematic of the Big Apple as the Empire State Building or Yankees caps. But the pandemic has made yellow taxis scarce and facing an uncertain future.

On a February morning in a parking lot near La Guardia Airport, a few dozen of the yellow cabs patiently queue in the freezing cold to catch a fare from one of the terminals.

As part of the Connecting Classrooms Global program, the British Council organized a virtual event to discuss how policy makers can identify the issues relating to health and well-being in schools, assess the needs for policy and practice and then apply their learning so that it meets the needs of their country school systems.