Hong Kong's Roman Catholic bishop arrived in Beijing on Monday, marking the first visit to the Chinese capital by the city's bishop in nearly three decades, despite signs of Sino-Vatican strains.

Mr. Biden’s visit is not just a symbolic endorsement of the Good Friday Agreement. The future of the accords has been thrown into doubt by the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union via its Brexit vote.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been coming out into the streets for the past three months in escalating pro-democracy protests against the most politically and religiously extreme right-wing government Israel has ever had.

Extremist and criminal violence is on the rise across Northern Africa from Somalia to Nigeria as local security forces face off against gangs and insurgencies they are often ill-equipped to contain.

Film-making in Ireland has been in the shadow of other cultural successes in literature and music. That may all be about to change. At this year’s Academy Awards, there are three movies with strong Irish connections up for Oscar consideration.

Long before the earthquakes in February, the viability of the Christian community in Samandag had been under cultural and economic threat. Many from the city’s minority Christian community had already departed, seeking economic or educational opportunities elsewhere.