Three members of the Vatican's Swiss Guard have voluntarily left the corps after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, defying the Vatican's mandate, AP reports.
Driving the news: Last week, the Vatican ordered all employees to get vaccinated or submit to testing, with the new policy going into effect on Oct. 1.
Afghanistan's ambassador to the United States, Adela Raz, has lost her country and her faith in the U.S. government — and her life's work of liberating women and girls is in shambles. She shared her despair with "Axios on HBO" in her first television interview since the fall of Kabul.
The big picture: Raz said, bluntly, she doesn't think President Biden cares about the fate of Afghan women and girls. She also revealed new details to Axios indicating former President Ashraf Ghani's secret escape was more premeditated than publicly known.
The head of an independent commission investigating child sexual abuse in the French Catholic Church said Sunday there have been between 2,900 and 3,200 pedophile priests or other members of the church since 1950, Le Monde reports.
What to watch: The revelation comes days before the commission releases its full 2,500-page report on Tuesday.
North Korea on Sunday accused the United Nations Security Council of applying a double standard over the country's missile program and warned of "consequences it will bring in the future in case it tries to encroach upon the sovereignty,” AP reports.
Driving the news: The statement followed an emergency closed-door meeting of the top UN body Friday, during which France expressed concern over North Korea's missile launches and proposed a ban on its ballistic missile firings.
Algeria has accused its former colonial ruler France of "genocide" and recalled its ambassador to Paris over comments by French President Emmanuel Macron it described as "inadmissible," AP reports.
Why it matters: The move, announced in a statement Saturday, comes after the newspaper Le Monde reported that Macron accused Algerian authorities of stoking hatred for France. Tensions had been growing over France's decision to reduce the number of visas issued to people in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.
The kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a London police officer bring to the fore a "culture of misogyny" in British police forces, activists and policing experts say, per CNN.
Context: A police watchdog is investigating five serving officers and one former officer from London's Metropolitan Police for their alleged involvement in "misogynistic, racist and homophobic" WhatsApp group messages with Everard's killer, the Independent notes.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched in cities across Brazil on Saturday, calling for President Jair Bolsonaro's impeachment over his government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, per Reuters.
Why it matters: Brazil's Senate is holding hearings that could lead to Bolsonaro's impeachment as the country's Supreme Court investigates his government’s handling of coronavirus vaccine contracts. Bolsonaro has threatened to reject the results of Brazil's October 2022 presidential election amid poor approval ratings.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte said Saturday he will retire instead of seeking the vice presidency next year after his presidential term ends, according to the New York Times.
Why it matters: Duterte said he would not seek the vice presidency because national opinion polls indicated public opposition to his candidacy. The move would have allowed Duterte to remain in national politics, though his critics saw it as a means to shield himself from prosecution, according to the Times.
China's air force on Saturday sent 20 military aircraft into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the second incursion in less than 24 hours, NBC News reports.
Driving the news: Taiwan reported on Friday that 38 aircraft entered its ADIZ, the largest Chinese incursion into the area to date, per NBC News.
The State Department's energy envoy, Amos Hochstein, will serve as the new mediator between Lebanon and Israel in a dispute over the maritime border and natural gas exploration in the Eastern Mediterranean, Israeli and U.S. officials tell Axios.
Why it matters: Hochstein is one of President Biden’s closest confidants and has worked with him for many years. Appointing Hochstein as the mediator raises the profile of this ongoing conflict, and signals it is a higher priority for the Biden administration.
An English-speaking narrator of many violent ISIS recruitment videos was charged on Saturday with conspiring to provide material support to the terrorist group, resulting in death, prosecutors for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Why it matters: Prosecutors allege Mohammed Khalifa, a Saudi-born Canadian citizen, served in prominent roles within ISIS before he was captured by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in January 2019 and recently transferred into the custody of the FBI.
The World Bank announced plans Thursday to give Nigeria $400 million to help fund COVID-19 vaccines for its citizens.
Why it matters: The World Bank stated that the additional funding, provided through the International Development Association, would help Nigeria vaccinate 51% of its citizens in two years.
