President Mahmoud Abbas, the 87-year-old veteran who has led the Palestinian Authority for nearly two decades, is trending on Palestinian social media -- but not in the way he might like.

Pope Francis told a young transgender person that “God loves us as we are”, comments that are being seen as his latest outreach to members of the LGBT+ community. The pope’s comment was in response to Giona, a young Italian individual “torn by the dichotomy between (their Catholic) faith and transgender identity”. The pope was responding to audio messages from young people in a podcast organized ahead of a Catholic youth festival in Portugal, which he is set to attend next week. The pontiff said “the Lord always walks with us.... Even if we are sinners, he draws near to help us. The Lord loves us as we are. This is God’s crazy love.” Pope Francis’s position on the LGBTQ community and gay marriage has been a subject of interest and discussion since he became the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in 2013. While the pope has emphasised the importance of treating LGBTQ individuals with respect, dignity, and love, he upholds the traditional Catholic teaching that marriage is a sacred between a man and a woman. He garnered praise from the LGBTQ community in 2013 when he was asked about a gay priest in 2013 and he replied, “Who am I to judge?” During the course of his pontificate, he has met individually and in groups with transgender people. But at the same time, he has strongly opposed the so-called “gender theory” and upheld the teachings that hold that homosexual acts are “intrinsically disordered”. In 2021, Pope Francis authorized the release of a Vatican document asserting that the Catholic Church is unable to bless same-sex unions because it is believed that "God cannot bless sin". In an interview with Associated Press, he declared that laws criminalising homosexuality were “unjust” and that “being homosexual is not a crime”. He later clarified that he was merely referring to official Catholic moral teaching that teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage is a sin. In a note in Spanish, Francis reaffirmed that homosexuality “is not a crime,” adding that he spoke out “in order to stress that criminalisation is neither good nor just.” “When I said it is a sin, I was simply referring to Catholic moral teaching, which says that every sexual act outside of marriage is a sin,” he said. Read More Vatican abuse investigators begin their audit of secretive Peru-based Catholic society The pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to Washington with the plight of children top of his agenda Pope says he knows what non-binary means, welcomes LGBT people to church: ‘All persons are children of God’ Vatican abuse investigators begin their audit of secretive Peru-based Catholic society Jesuits confirm expulsion of priest artist and lament Vatican norms preclude further sanction Vatican is moving ahead with plan to reunite Ukrainian children taken to Russia with their families

Tens of thousands of people still can't leave the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert after heavy rains inundated their campsites with ankle-deep mud Saturday -- and more showers are on the way.

'Teen Mom' alum Jenelle Evans and husband David Eason being investigated for child neglect

Following a 19-hour labor, Brody Jenner's fiancee Tia Blanco gave birth to their first child -- Honey Raye Jenner

Rex Heuermann's arrest on July 13 breathed new life into the 13-year-old Gilgo Beach killings of four Craigslist sex workers

A rare attack by a river otter in southern Montana has injured three women floating on inner tubes

The Nobel Prize in literature will be announced Thursday, with the new laureate, or laureates, joining an illustrious list of past winners that ranges from Toni Morrison to Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre — who turned down the prize in 1964

During the sentencing hearing, Raina Chassagne emotionally asked for a lighter sentence, speaking about Tory Lanez's commitment as a father

The country sees the most crocodile attacks in the world - and the problem could get even worse.

US retail sales rose in July by more than forecast, highlighting how the resilience of consumers is helping

Former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday for orchestrating the far-right extremist group’s attack on the U.S. Capitol