By NICOLE WINFIELD, KAREEM CHEHAYEB and BASSEM MROUE

BEIRUT (AP) — Pope Leo XIV prayed Tuesday at the site of a deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion that has become a symbol of dysfunction and official impunity and called for justice to prevail, as he offered words of consolation to Lebanon’s people — including in the war-battered south — on the final day of his first overseas trip.

Related Articles

More than 1,300 dead from floods in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand as rescue efforts intensify

Israeli forensics experts examine remains handed over by fighters in Gaza

Russian skiers and snowboarders allowed by CAS to try to qualify for Winter Olympics

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium in eastern city

Putin accuses Europeans of sabotaging peace efforts on Ukraine and meets US delegation

Relatives of some of the 218 people killed by the blast held up photos of their loved ones as Leo arrived at the scorched site. They stood side by side as Leo prayed silently first at a monument to the dead, then greeted each one, grasping their hands.

The emotional encounter took place next to the shell of the last grain silo standing at the site destroyed by the Aug. 4, 2020, blast and the piles of burned cars torched in its wake. The explosion did billions of dollars in damage as hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate detonated in a port warehouse.

Five years on, the families of those killed are still seeking justice. No official has been convicted in a judicial investigation that has been repeatedly obstructed, angering Lebanese for whom the blast was just the latest evidence of impunity after decades of corruption and financial crimes.

“The visit clearly sends the message that the explosion was a crime,” said Cecile Roukoz, whose brother, Joseph Roukoz, was killed and who was on hand to meet the pope. “There should be a message, the country should end impunity and ensure justice is served.”

Pope Leo XIV waves as he boards a flight back to the Vatican after his visit to Lebanon at Beirut International Airport in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

When he arrived in Lebanon on Sunday, Leo urged the country’s political leaders to pursue the truth as a means of peace and reconciliation. In a homily Sunday after praying at the site, Leo referred explicitly to the blast and called for Lebanon to be a place of justice.

Pope calls for justice at Mass

An estimated 150,000 worshippers packed the Beirut waterfront for Leo’s final Mass, which he celebrated immediately after praying at the nearby blast site.

In his homily, Leo named the many problems the Lebanese people have faced, from economic crises to the blast and renewed fears of war. He said it’s natural to feel “paralyzed by powerlessness in the face of evil and oppressed by so many difficult situations.”

But he urged them not to be resigned, and to find ways to remain hopeful and grateful. He insisted, though, that justice was part of the equation.

“Let us cast off the armor of our ethnic and political divisions, open our religious confessions to mutual encounter and reawaken in our hearts the dream of a united Lebanon,” he said. “A Lebanon where peace and justice reign, where all recognize each other as brothers and sisters.”

“Lebanon, stand up! Be a home of justice and fraternity! Be a prophetic sign of peace for the whole of the Levant!”

An emotional visit to the hospital

The American pope opened his final day in Lebanon with an emotional visit to the De La Croix hospital, which specializes in care for people with psychological problems. Awaiting him were some familiar-looking faces: young boys dressed up as Swiss Guards and cardinals, and even one dressed as the pope himself in all white.

Rose petals are scattered to Pope Leo XIV as he leaves after visiting the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross in the town of Jal el-Dib, north of Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The mother superior of the congregation that runs the hospital, Mother Marie Makhlouf, was overcome as she welcomed the pope, telling him that her hospital cares for the “forgotten souls, burdened by their loneliness.”

Leo said the facility stands as a reminder to all of humanity. “We cannot forget those who are most fragile. We cannot conceive of a society that races ahead at full speed clinging to the false myths of well-being, while at the same time ignoring so many situations of poverty and vulnerability,” he said.

“For Lebanon, (the visit) means a lot,” said pilgrim Maggie Claudine, who was waiting for Leo at the hospital. “We hope that peace will prevail, and that is what we wish for. We want to live in comfort.”

Families of blast dead seek justice

Leo has sought to bring a message of peace to Lebanon as it copes with the economic crises, the aftermath of last year’s devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel and the fallout from the port blast.

Among those on hand to welcome Leo at the blast site was Lebanon Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed, whose mother was killed. Another was Mireille Khoury, whose 15-year-old son, Elias, was killed.

When Leo approached her, Khoury pointed to the building where they lived across the port, where Elias died as he was hanging out in his room.

Khoury said Lebanon cannot heal from its wounds without justice and accountability. She has been among the relatives who have called for finalizing the stalled investigation that implicated a long list of political, security and judicial officials. The probe has been obstructed by officials who have largely refused to cooperate.

Relatives of victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion wait for the arrival of Pope Leo XIV at the site of the explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

“Justice is the basis of building any country,” she told The Associated Press in an interview before the pope arrived in Lebanon. “Our children were killed in their homes. They were killed because someone kept (ammonium) nitrate in the main port of the city near a residential area.”

Khoury said the pope’s prayer and support would bring some relief, but said she would not give up on her pursuit for justice.

“I will not say that this anger will fully just disappear,” Khoury said. “But I think it will give some sort of relaxation of this anger that is in my heart until justice is served.”

The fate of the port’s massive grain silos, which absorbed much of the shock of the explosion, has also been a matter of debate.

The Lebanese government at one point planned to demolish the damaged silos but decided against it after families of the blast’s victims and survivors, who want them preserved, protested.

The port, meanwhile, is largely functional again but still hasn’t been fully rebuilt.

Calls for peace in the south

Pope Leo XIV referenced the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon in his farewell speech at the Beirut airport and sent a message of support to people of the south.

Pope Leo XIV holds a moment of prayer at the site of the 2020 Beirut port explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)

Christians in the south had been disappointed that his trip did not include a visit to their areas, which were battered by last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah and are still the target of regular airstrikes that Israel says aim to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding.

“I greet all the regions of Lebanon that I was unable to visit: Tripoli and the north, the Beqaa and the south of the country, which is currently experiencing a state of conflict and uncertainty,” Leo said. He also referred to the cities of Sidon and Tyre, which are mentioned in the New Testament, as “biblical places.”

“May the attacks and hostilities cease,” he said. “We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit. While weapons are lethal, negotiation, mediation and dialogue are constructive.”

Soon after the pope’s plane departed, an Israeli drone appeared in the sky over Beirut.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun urged Leo to keep Lebanon in his prayers.

The Lebanese are “a faithful people who deserve life,” he said. “As we bid you farewell, we do not only part with an honored guest, but with a father who brought us comfort, and reminded us that the world has not forgotten Lebanon.”

Mroue reported from Jal el-Dib, Lebanon. Associated Press journalists Fadi Tawil and Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

By BINSAR BAKKARA and NINIEK KARMINI

BATANG TORU, Indonesia (AP) — Emergency crews raced to reach survivors and recover more bodies Tuesday as the death toll from last week’s catastrophic floods and landslides surged past 1,300 in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand, with nearly 900 people missing.

Related Articles

Pope Leo XIV sends message of support to southern Lebanon as he ends 1st foreign trip

Israeli forensics experts examine remains handed over by fighters in Gaza

Russian skiers and snowboarders allowed by CAS to try to qualify for Winter Olympics

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers carry out public execution in sports stadium in eastern city

Putin accuses Europeans of sabotaging peace efforts on Ukraine and meets US delegation

Days of heavy monsoon rains inundated vast areas, leaving thousands stranded and many clinging to rooftops and trees waiting for help. The flooding and landslides killed at least 1,338 people: 744 in Indonesia, 410 in Sri Lanka, 181 in Thailand and three in Malaysia, authorities said Tuesday. Sri Lanka’s president, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, said it’s too early to determine the exact number of dead in his country.

In Indonesia, the hardest-hit nation, rescuers struggled to access villages on Sumatra island, where roads have been washed out and bridges collapsed. At least 551 people remain missing, according to the country’s National Disaster Management Agency. Helicopters and boats have been deployed, but officials warn that worsening weather and damaged infrastructure are slowing operations.

Indonesia’s forests in ruins

Floods and landslides in North Sumatra carried away millions of cubic meters of felled timber, officials said, sparking public concern that illegal logging may have contributed to the disaster.

Batang Toru, the lush forested area, has turned into a wasteland of broken logs and shattered homes. Roads have vanished, replaced by rivers of sludge.

Men stand on logs swept away by flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

“This is not just a natural disaster, it’s a manmade crisis,” said Rianda Purba from the Indonesian Environmental Forum, an activist group. “Deforestation and unchecked development have stripped Batang Toru of its resilience. Without urgent restoration and stricter protections, these floods will become the new normal.”

Survivors desperately search for their loved ones

A week after flash floods and landslides swept through West Sumatra, survivors were still awaiting news of their loved ones.

A house is seen buried in the mud at a village affected by flash flood in Pidie Jaya, Aceh province, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Reza Saifullah)

Zahari Sutra held photos of his missing wife and two daughters aged 4 and 2, as he pleaded for help with rescuers in Sikumbang village in Agam district. “Other victims have been found … why not my family?”

The 38-year-old farmer said he dropped his motorbike and ran for higher ground when rising waters blocked his path to home last Thursday. He said the raging current swallowed his home. He waded through the water shouting for his wife and daughters, but there was only silence.

As darkness fell, he found his eldest, a 5-year-old girl, covered in mud, but safe. Fearing more floods, Sutra clung to a lychee tree with his daughter until dawn, when the full scope of the disaster was revealed: all homes were gone or buried under tons of mud.

“I carried my daughter and went for help,” he said, his voice breaking. “My only prayer is to find my wife and children.”

In this aerial photo taken using a drone, people are seen making their way on a muddy road at a village affected by a flash flood in Batang Toru, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his condolences for victims’ families on Tuesday and said the U.N. is “in close contact with authorities in all four countries and stands ready to support relief and response efforts,” according to spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

Sri Lanka counts the dead and Thailand begins cleanup

Military-led rescue teams in Sri Lanka scoured flood-devastated areas for 336 people still missing in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, the Disaster Management Center said Tuesday. R oads were blocked by landslides and bridges have collapsed, making access difficult.

In the central city of Kandy, residents struggled without running water, relying instead on bottled water collected from natural springs. Authorities warned that conditions could worsen as more rain is forecast in the coming days.

A man looks at the damage caused by the floods at Gampola, Sri Lanka, Monday, Dec.1, 2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

President Dissanayake, speaking in a meeting with government officials, described the disaster as the worst to strike the country in recent history, saying it remains impossible to determine the full scale of casualties. He warned that the death toll is likely far higher than current figures.

He said that government agencies were working to reach isolated communities.

Selladurai Yogaraj, 35, a resident of Sarasavigama, said he lost his entire family: mother, wife and two children. “I can’t even think what life is going to be like,” he said.

Another man, Duraikannu Mahoharan, said he lost his wife, daughter and a house. “Only my sons and I survived. Now I am staying with my brother,” he said.

At least three people were confirmed dead in Malaysia after floods left stretches of northern Perlis state underwater, authorities said. About 6,000 people sought shelter in emergency centers.

People look at a building damaged by the floods in Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, Monday, Dec. 1,2025. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

In southern Thailand, cleanup has begun on streets and in buildings after massive floods affected more than 1.5 million households and 3.9 million people. Authorities are working to restore infrastructure, including water and electricity.

Thailand’s Interior Ministry said Monday it would set up public kitchens to provide freshly cooked food to affected residents. The first batch of compensation payments of 239 million baht ($7.4 million) is set to be distributed to 26,000 people, government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat also said Monday.

Pakistan and India spar over overflight permission

Pakistan on Tuesday accused India of blocking a military aircraft carrying humanitarian aid to Sri Lanka, an allegation New Delhi swiftly rejected.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said a Pakistan air force transport plane had been delayed for more than 60 hours while waiting for India to clear its route through Indian airspace. It said India withheld overflight permission then issued what Islamabad called an “operationally impractical” clearance late Sunday that was valid for only a few hours and did not include a return route.

Indian officials rejected Pakistan’s allegations as baseless, saying they approved the overflight request within four hours on humanitarian grounds.

Airspace restrictions between India and Pakistan have been in place since April, after a deadly attack in disputed Kashmir triggered a brief four-day conflict before a ceasefire was reached.

Karmini reported from Jakarta, Indonesia. Associated Press journalists Jintamas Saksornchai in Bangkok, Krishan Francis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Eranga Jayawardena in Sarasavigama, Sri Lanka, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.

The volunteer angels who run Saintly City Snow Angels found themselves scrambling after this weekend’s snowfall.

Too much snow, not enough shovelers.

With a chance of more snow this weekend, the Saintly City Snow Angels are seeking volunteers to join their Facebook group and be on call to shovel the sidewalks and driveways of people who need help.

“We need angels. We need shovelers,” said Heather Worthington, who started the group in the pre-pandemic days of 2020 after she and her husband, Chris Worthington, noticed sidewalks in their Midway neighborhood not getting shoveled. “It’s really just super-simple: All you need to do is watch the page, and if you see someone who posts that they need help near you, and you can go out and help, then you go out and help.”

That first winter, the group had 50 members. Now there are 1,500.

The mission of the group, which has expanded from Midway to every neighborhood in the city, is “to help less-abled and elderly neighbors make sure their sidewalks are shoveled so that we have safe and passable sidewalks,” according to Worthington.

How it works

Anyone who needs help posts a message on the group’s Facebook page listing their cross streets. “Looking for snow help in the area of West 7th and Forbes Avenue. Thanks so much,” a woman wrote on Sunday night.

A few hours later, a volunteer responded: “Hi, I can help with shoveling. Can you DM me your address?”

Worthington said she chose Facebook as the group’s platform because it was the “easiest way to connect people using that kind of bulletin board approach.”

Related Articles

St. Paul: Snow emergency continues with ticketing, towing underway

Open house scheduled Wednesday for Lake Elmo Avenue project

Seniors to picket Blue Cross Blue Shield in Eagan after losing gym benefit

State funding secured for plans to honor Gordon Parks in St. Paul

Dakota County: Tuesday meeting set for 2026 budget, levy increase

“It’s a very user-friendly interface, especially for elderly people, who make up the vast majority of the people who use the service,” she said. “We like to keep it pretty simple so that people don’t feel like they have to learn a lot of things in order to use it.”

Organizations who work with seniors know about the group and will post if they learn of someone needing help who might not be online, Worthington said. “Midway Elders, for example, is great about going on the page and making a post for that person,” she said.

Worthington and fellow moderators/matchmakers Melissa Wenzel, Nikita Godette and Becky Graham also will step in and help connect people, she said.

“We are trying to normalize asking for help,” said Wenzel, who works at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and, during her lunch breaks, updates the Saintly City Snow Angel spreadsheet with names and addresses of those seeking help.

There are no limitations or criteria set for people to receive help, she said.

“We assume people ask for help because they need it, but there’s a lot of different ways or reasons why somebody might need help,” she said. “It’s not always physical. If people hear about this and they are looking for help, that’s great. You don’t need to justify why you need help. Whatever your needs are, they are your needs.”

‘Good for my mental health’

Among those who have asked for help from Saintly City Snow Angels: people with heart conditions, a man who needed his driveway cleared to get to dialysis, a man who needed his front walk cleared so his oxygen tank could be delivered, and a man who has had both legs amputated, said Wenzel, who lives in the West Seventh Street neighborhood of St. Paul.

Some volunteers don’t even own shovels, she said.

“They’re borrowing shovels from other people to be able to do this,” she said. “They’re just, like, ‘I want to help wherever I can.’”

One volunteer, Crystal Heflin, drives in from Waseca to help. Heflin, who used to live on St. Paul’s East Side, shovels a dozen different walks in her old neighborhood each time it snows. “It’s good for my mental health,” she said. “I can only plow my driveway one time.”

Volunteer Aman Imani joined the group this year and “helped out nine people his first day,” said Godette, who lives in Highland. “He made a comment back to us of, ‘I’m happy to be a snow angel! Today was my first day out as a snow angel helping folks around the city, and it was so gratifying.’”

Saint Agnes School’s wrestling team regularly helps out in the city’s Frogtown neighborhood, Godette said. Whenever there’s a snowfall, groups of wrestlers will head out to the homes to shovel after their practice ends.

Related Articles

Treasury Department investigating claims MN fraud funded terrorists

Seniors to picket Blue Cross Blue Shield in Eagan after losing gym benefit

Dakota County will host US’s first international horticultural expo

Influential CEO of City & County Credit Union plans to retire

4 ideas to celebrate St. Paul secondhand shopping on Black Friday weekend

“One of our big themes is family. We’re a family,” Dean Cummings, the assistant coach for the high school wrestling team and the head coach for the youth team, told the Pioneer Press in 2022. “People live by our school. They’re a part of our family, too; we need to take care of them.”

Worthington said the Snow Angels group is especially needed in this day and age because people “are not as good about knowing our neighbors as we used to be.”

“Part of the reason I started this was that I wanted my neighbors to meet each other and know each other, so they could help each other,” she said. “The whole point is to take care of each other. It’s very simple. But I love how people have literally met somebody who lives two doors down. They’ve never met them in, like, 20 years. That has happened so many times, and that is really super-heartwarming for me.”

Saintly City Snow Angels

If you live in St. Paul and either need help shoveling this winter or would like to volunteer, search for the Saintly City Snow Angels on Facebook.

By Zoe Tillman and Jaewon Kang, Bloomberg News

Costco Wholesale Corp. joined a fast-growing list of businesses suing the Trump administration to ensure eligibility for refunds if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the president’s signature global tariffs policy.

Related Articles

Gen Z and millennials embrace sustainable alternatives to imported fresh flowers

Despite US trade war, OECD expects global economy will grow 3.2% this year

AI’s impact could worsen gaps between world’s rich and poor, a UN report says

How to prepare for the next government shutdown

Wall Street holds steadier as bond yields and bitcoin stabilize

The nation’s biggest warehouse club chain is among dozens of companies to file lawsuits in a U.S. trade court since late October challenging President Donald Trump’s use of an economic emergency powers law to impose the levies, according to court records. It’s one of the biggest corporate players to jump into a fight largely driven this year by small businesses and Democratic state officials.

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Trump’s tariffs on Nov. 5. The justices put the fight on a fast-tracked schedule but didn’t say when they intend to rule. In the meantime, businesses of all sizes have brought cases pressing similar legal claims with the goal of avoiding uncertainty about their eligibility for refunds if the court rules against Trump.

Costco’s lawyers wrote that the complaint, filed on Nov. 28 in the U.S. Court of International Trade, was prompted due to the uncertainly that refunds will be guaranteed for all businesses that have been paying duties if the Supreme Court declares the tariffs unlawful.

The lawsuit doesn’t specify how much Trump’s tariffs have cost the company to date.

Costco argues that it needs a court intervention immediately because Customs and Border Protection denied its request to extend the schedule for finalizing tariff determinations under Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The company says that could jeopardize its ability to seek full refunds in the future.

Costco didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement that, “The economic consequences of the failure to uphold President Trump’s lawful tariffs are enormous and this suit highlights that fact. The White House looks forward to the Supreme Court’s speedy and proper resolution of this matter.”

Skeptical Justices

During arguments before the Supreme Court last month, key justices appeared skeptical of Trump’s tariffs, which have generated tens of billions of dollars a month. Lower federal courts ruled against the administration in a handful of lawsuits filed early on, but judges have allowed the government to enforce the tariffs until the Supreme Court issues its decision.

Other household names to bring tariff lawsuits in recent weeks include cosmetics giant Revlon Consumer Products Corp. and motorcycle maker Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing Corp.

The expansive, fast-changing tariff policies have disrupted the retail sector this year, threatening to raise prices of goods and hamper the purchasing power of U.S. consumers who are already cautious following years of inflation.

The impact has been more muted than expected due to exemptions and changes in rates after negotiations, though some items such as electronics and apparel are more expensive compared to a year ago. While retailers have warned that they continue to see higher costs, many big operators have not pursued lawsuits like Costco — making it an outlier.

Costco has said it’s working to mitigate tariffs, which primarily affect its non-food items. It has rerouted some products to non-U.S. markets, ordered more inventory early to get ahead of the levies and purchased from fewer suppliers by consolidating buying. When items get too expensive, it’s changing merchandising altogether.

“We’re doing everything we can,” Chief Financial Officer Gary Millerchip said in an interview with Bloomberg News earlier this year. “Whether that’s working with the suppliers to find efficiencies to offset the impact of tariffs, or whether it’s sourcing with them often to different countries.”

For example, Costco said in May that it kept steady prices of pineapples and bananas imported from Central and South America because they are important items to customers. At the same time, it increased prices of flowers sourced from the region because they are less of a necessity to shoppers.

The club chain said its big size and limited assortment — its stores carry a couple thousand items versus over 100,000 for some big-box retailers — give it a leg-up when navigating tariffs. Still, it’s difficult to predict what will happen to prices, company executives said.

The case is Costco Wholesale Corp. v. Customs and Border Protection, 1:25-cv-316, U.S. Court of International Trade.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.