By AREF TUFAHA and MELANIE LIDMAN Associated Press
Palestinian Authority officials say Israeli settlers have attacked a West Bank mosque. They set a small fire and spray-painted anti-Islamic insults. Worshippers in the town of Tell near Nablus found smoke damage, broken glass and graffiti at the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque on Monday. A resident says security video shows two people arriving with gasoline and spray paint and running away. The graffiti includes the words "revenge" and "price tag." It's a term tied to settler retaliation attacks. Israeli police and the military say they are searching for the suspects.
Pope Leo XIV has opened the church's penitential Lenten season by presiding over Ash Wednesday. He is lamenting the "ashes of international law and justice" that have been left by today's wars and conflicts.Leo revived the traditional prayer and procession that Pope Francis largely had to delegate to others in his final years. The American pope led dozens of monks, priests, bishops and cardinals from one Roman church to another and then sprinkled ashes on the heads of cardinals. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and reflection. It starts a season of self-denial and repentance from sin known as Lent. It leads up to observances of Jesus' death on Good Friday and resurrection on Easter.
By TIFFANY STANLEY and DEEPA BHARATH Associated Press
A group of Buddhist monks has finally reached Washington after completing a 15-week trek from Texas that captivated the country. The monks say their aim is to promote mindfulness and inner peace. Their simple message has resonated in the U.S. as a welcome respite from conflict and political division. On Tuesday, nearly 3,500 people packed American University's Bender Arena for the monks' first public stop in the nation's capital. The spectators remained silent as the saffron-robed monks walked into the arena in a sign of respect for them and their quest for peace.
