Since the new pope was elected in the spring of 2013, commentators have been eagerly speculating about the "Francis effect," or the possibility that the popular pontiff might attract more people to the flock. But Hispanics make up the biggest population of Catholics in America, and if they continue leaving the Church at this rate, it could be particularly problematic. 

In spite of ongoing tensions in Ukraine, which have seriously soured relations between Russia and the U.S. & Europe, Moscow has not altogether forgotten the Western Hemisphere. While Lavrov’s trip did not end in any particularly major deals between Moscow and his Latin American hosts, the visit came months after declarations by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that the Russian armed forces require some form of overseas military facilities.

London crowds can get ready to lose themselves at the sight of Eminem, who will be the first rapper to headline at the Wembley Stadium in July.  The show will be Marshall Mathers' first London concert in 13 years and he’ll play to a 90,000-capacity stadium.

He’s grinned through countless national TV shows and public appearances, but backstage at a Beijing bookstore, China’s ‘most famous foreigner’ is feeling a little nervous. A minute or so into his Dashan & Friends comic ensemble, the Mandarin-fluent Canadian comic Mark Rowswell comes perilously close to choking.

Jay Leno, Ellen DeGeneres and others are backing boycotts of the Beverly Hills Hotel and Hotel Bel-Air because of new laws targeting gays and women in the Southeast Asian sultanate of Brunei.

Many Chinese fans of American television are feeling aggrieved. They cannot understand why their government is robbing them of even the small pleasures in life. Earlier this month, four US shows - The Big Bang Theory,The Good Wife, NCIS and The Practice - were removed from Chinese internet streaming sites on the censors' order. No reason was given.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has vowed that Washington will do "everything possible" to help Nigeria deal with the armed group Boko Haram, following the kidnapping of scores of schoolgirls.  "Let me be clear. The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime," Kerry said in a policy speech in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Saturday.

The U.S. and Philippine militaries have launched a large, 10-day, annual military exercise amid increasing tensions in the disputed South China Sea.