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VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis led a solemn Palm Sunday service in St. Peter's Square today, joined by tens of thousands of Romans, tourists and pilgrims on a cloudy day. Francis celebrated Mass on the steps of the square as the faithful clutched olive tree branches, tall palm fronds or tiny braided palm leaves. Palm Sunday begins Holy Week, which culminates next Sunday on Easter.
SLOVYANSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's interior minister says special forces have been fired on by pro-Russia men controlling a police headquarters and the Security Service in the eastern city of Slovyansk, but an Associated Press reporter saw no signs of gunfire. Arsen Avakov has called on local residents to remain calm and stay at home.
BAGHDAD (AP) — Officials say a suicide car bomber drove his explosives-laden vehicle into a security checkpoint in Iraq's north, killing at least six people in the town of Dibis. The town is located near the city of Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad. Authorities say 15 other people were wounded in the attack, including civilians.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — At least four people have been killed in a major forest fire raging in the Chilean port city of Valparaiso that has forced thousands to evacuate and destroyed 500 homes. The evacuees include more than 200 female inmates at a prison. Firefighters are having difficulty because of the topography of the city, which is surrounded by steep hills where most people live. The city has been declared a catastrophe zone.
BERLIN (AP) — The U.N.'s expert panel on climate change is pointing out that what needs to happen isn't happening. Highlighting the disconnect, the panel says that while emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases need to drop by 40-70 percent by 2050, what's happening now is just the opposite -- global levels are rising and even outpacing growth in previous decades.
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