The Vatican has concluded that allegations of sexual abuse dating back a half century against the Roman Catholic Bishop of Brooklyn do not "have the semblance of truth," but an attorney for the accusers said they would press forward with their civil cases.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said Wednesday that the Vatican has closed its investigation into allegations made separately by two men, who accused the bishop, Nicholas DiMarzio, of abusing them a half century ago when he was a priest in New Jersey.

China needs to expand its efforts to reduce carbon emissions to help hold back the rise in global temperatures, U.S. envoy John Kerry said Thursday.

The State Department said Kerry told Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng in a virtual meeting that there is "no way" for the world to solve the climate crisis without China's "full engagement and commitment."

The president of the U.N. Security Council says the U.N.'s most powerful body will not take its focus off Afghanistan this month and "the real litmus test" for the new Taliban government will be how it treats women and girls.

Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason of Ireland said Wednesday that the protection and promotion of human rights for women "must be at the very heart of our collective response to the crisis."

Relentless rain from the remnants of Hurricane Ida sent the New York City area into a state of emergency early Thursday, as the storm carried into New England with threats of more tornadoes.

New York's FDR Drive, a major artery on the east side of Manhattan, and the Bronx River Parkway were under water by late Wednesday evening. Subway stations and tracks became so flooded that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority suspended all service. Videos posted online showed subway riders standing on seats in cars filled with water.

An Iranian ship loaded with diesel for Lebanon has entered Syria's territorial waters, Iran's semi-official news agency Fars said Thursday.

Two weeks ago Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that an Iranian fuel tanker had sailed toward Lebanon, and that others would follow to help ease the fuel shortages.

U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was heading to the region around Afghanistan on Wednesday in a push to rescue stranded British citizens and Afghan allies, amid strong criticism of the government's rushed and chaotic evacuation effort.

Raab did not provide any details, citing security reasons, but he is expected to visit Pakistan for talks on establishing routes out of Afghanistan through third countries.

The U.S. invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to destroy al-Qaida, remove the Taliban from power and remake the nation. On Aug. 30, 2021, the U.S. completed a pullout of troops from Afghanistan, providing an uncertain punctuation mark to two decades of conflict.

For the past 11 years I have closely followed the post-9/11 conflicts for the Costs of War Project, an initiative that brings together more than 50 scholars, physicians and legal and human rights experts to provide an account of the human, economic, budgetary and political costs and consequences of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Israel's foreign minister on Wednesday played down criticism of the country's regulation of the cyberespionage firm NSO Group but vowed to step up efforts to ensure the company's controversial spyware doesn't fall into the wrong hands.

Speaking to foreign journalists, Yair Lapid said the government has only limited control over how defense exports are used by customers. Yet he said that Israel is committed to enforcing and strengthening safeguards to prevent abuse of all types of weapons.

Hundreds of people on Wednesday mourned the death of a man Palestinian health officials said was killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

Raed Jadallah, 39, a resident of Beit Ur al-Tahta near Ramallah, was buried on Wednesday.

A Russian-negotiated cease-fire took effect Wednesday in a volatile southern city, according to the Syrian opposition and state media.

Violence in the area in recent weeks between government forces and opposition fighters had threatened to undo years of relative calm along the borders with Israel and Jordan.