Pope says ‘all efforts’ must be made to end wars in Ukraine, Middle East

Pope Francis on Wednesday issued a fresh call for peace through negotiation as he deplored the bloody conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, and once again limited his public speaking at his weekly audience in St Peter's Square due to lingering health issues. "We should never forget that war is always a defeat. We cannot continue in war, we should make all efforts to mediate, to negotiate an end to the war, let’s pray for this," the pontiff said in brief remarks at the end of the audience, citing "martyred" Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.