International News

US Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday, taking the name Leo XIV, becoming the first American pontiff.

White smoke appeared from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on Thursday, signalling that the 133 Roman Catholic cardinals meeting in a secret conclave have elected a new pope.

Bill Gates has pledged to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world's poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid.

Blasts rang out across the city of Jammu in Indian Kashmir late on Thursday during what Indian military sources said they suspected was a Pakistani drone attack on the second day of clashes between the two neighbours.

A three-day ceasefire declared by Russia came into effect on Thursday morning with skies over Ukraine's major cities quiet, in a change from successive nights of heavy attacks by Russian drones and ballistic missiles.

Vladimir Putin welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday for talks in the Kremlin that Moscow hopes will provide a diplomatic boost for the Russian leader at a key moment in the war with Ukraine.

Cities bordering India and Pakistan remained on high alert a day after India carried out strikes at multiple locations on its neighbour and Islamabad shot down 5 Indian jets.

Black smoke billowed from a chimney atop the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, signalling that the cardinals locked in a conclave have not yet chosen a new pope to guide the Roman Catholic Church.

The recovery of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch's superyacht from the waters of northern Sicily is expected to begin in the coming weeks to help shed light on how a supposedly unsinkable vessel disappeared into the sea last August.

India fired missiles into nine locations in Pakistani-controlled territory linked to an attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir as cross-border attacks escalated between the two countries on Wednesday.

Roman Catholic cardinals will begin the task on Wednesday of electing a new pope, locking themselves away from the world until they choose the man to lead their Church.

Aid agencies have criticised Israeli plans to take over distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza and use private companies to get food to families after two months in which the military has prevented supplies from entering the region.

Several Asian airlines said on Wednesday they were re-routing or cancelling flights to and from Europe because of fighting between India and Pakistan.

Former US President Joe Biden said his successor Donald Trump's pressure on Ukraine to give up territory to Russia is a form of "modern-day appeasement" that will never satisfy Moscow.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is due to start a four-day visit to Russia on Wednesday, giving President Vladimir Putin an important diplomatic boost at a time when the Russian leader is keen to show his country is not isolated on the world stage.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz was elected chancellor by parliament on Tuesday in a second round of voting after a humiliating and unprecedented defeat on the first attempt, getting his coalition government off to a wobbly start.

The Israeli military said it fired on Yemen's main airport on Tuesday and witnesses said there were four strikes in the capital Sanaa, the latest hostilities as tensions rise between Israel and Yemen's Houthi rebels.

German conservative leader Friedrich Merz failed to secure enough parliamentary votes to become chancellor on Tuesday in a major blow that threw politics in Europe's largest economy once more into disarray.

Cardinals who will take part in the secret conclave to elect a new pope began checking into two Vatican hotels on Tuesday, where they will be barred from contact with the outside world as they decide who should succeed Pope Francis.

Kyiv forces attacked a power substation in Russia's western Kursk region, the regional governor said on Tuesday, after Russian war bloggers reported a new Ukrainian land-based incursion into the area backed by armoured vehicles and drones.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday an expanded offensive against Hamas would be "intensive" after his security cabinet approved plans that may include seizing the Gaza Strip and controlling aid.

At least three people died and seven others were missing after a small boat capsized in choppy seas off the California coast in a suspected migrant smuggling attempt north of San Diego, US officials said on Monday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet has approved a gradual expansion of the offensive against Hamas in Gaza, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported on Monday.

Nine people died when "sudden strong winds" capsized four tourist boats and plunged 84 people into the water in Southwestern China, state media reported on Monday.

President Vladimir Putin said in remarks published on Sunday that Russia had sufficient strength and resources to take the war in Ukraine to its logical conclusion, though he hoped that there would be no need to use nuclear weapons.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will make an official visit to Russia from May 7-10, the Kremlin said on Sunday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left Labor Party was projected to win over the conservative opposition, Sky News Australia and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation said as early vote counting showed Labor in a strong position.

Israeli strikes targeted the vicinity of Syria's Damascus, Hama and Daraa countryside late on Friday, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.

Australians voted on Saturday in a national election that polls show will likely favour Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party over the conservative opposition, as worries about Donald Trump's volatile policies overshadowed calls for change.

At least six people were killed and 55 were injured in a stampede at an Indian temple in the western coastal state of Goa where hundreds of devout Hindus had assembled, police official said on Saturday.

Prince Harry said on Friday that he wanted reconciliation with the British royal family but his father King Charles will not speak to him over a row over his security and he did not know how long the monarch, who has cancer, would live.

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Drake Passage between Cape Horn and Antarctica at a depth of 10 km (6 miles) on Friday, the United States Geological Survey said.

A ship with humanitarian aid and activists for Gaza was bombed by drones while in international waters off Malta early on Friday, its organisers said, and the Maltese government said after a rescue operation that everyone on board was safe.

A power outage hit several regions of Indonesia's resort island of Bali on Friday and efforts were underway to restore services to those affected, state utility Perusahaan Listrik Negara said.

A Russian drone attack late on Thursday set buildings ablaze in Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, injuring 29 people, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.

Israel attacked a target near the presidential palace in the Syrian capital Damascus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said early on Friday, reiterating his vow to protect members of the Druze community.

South Korea's top court cast doubt on Thursday on frontrunner Lee Jae-myung's eligibility to run for the presidency, while the resignations of the prime minister and finance minister shook the interim government in place since December's martial law.

US President Donald Trump ousted his national security adviser Mike Waltz on Thursday and named Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his interim replacement in the first major shakeup of Trump's inner circle since he took office in January.

Ukraine and the US have signed a deal heavily promoted by President Donald Trump that will give the US preferential access to new Ukrainian minerals deals and fund investment in Ukraine's reconstruction.

Schools were closed and flights cancelled as New Zealand's capital Wellington was hit by its strongest winds in over a decade on Thursday while a state of emergency was declared in parts of the South Island after 24 hours of heavy rain.

Increased looting of food stores and community kitchens in the Gaza Strip shows growing desperation as hunger spreads two months after Israel cut off supplies to the Palestinian territory, aid officials say.

Israel said it carried out a warning strike against an extremist group that was preparing to attack Druze in Syria, following through on its pledge to protect the minority group as violence spread in Druze areas near Damascus on Wednesday.

Swarms of Russian drones attacked the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Dnipro late on Tuesday, killing at least one person and injuring at least 46, officials said.

At least 14 people died in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata late on Tuesday when a fire blazed through a six-storey hotel in a congested neighbourhood, authorities said.

Spain and Portugal switched their power back on after the worst blackout in their history, though authorities offered little explanation for what had caused it or how they would prevent it from happening again.

The head of Israel's domestic intelligence agency, Ronen Bar, announced he will resign on June 15 amid pressure from Prime Minister Netanyahu and ongoing legal proceedings. 

President Donald Trump touted what he called a series of major economic wins and forcefully attacked Democrats during a rally in Michigan on Tuesday to commemorate his first 100 days in office.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's Liberals retained power in the country's election on Monday, but fell short of the majority government he had wanted to help him negotiate tariffs with US President Donald Trump.

Negotiations held in Cairo to reach a ceasefire in Gaza were on the verge of a "significant breakthrough," two Egyptian security sources told Reuters.

A US strike targeting a detention centre holding African migrants in Yemen killed at least 68 people, Houthi-run media said on Monday.

A huge power outage hit large parts of Spain and Portugal on Monday, paralysing traffic, grounding flights, trapping people in elevators and leaving power operators scrambling to restore power to millions of homes and businesses.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire in the war with Ukraine next month to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies in World War II.

Canadian prosecutors have charged a 30-year-old Vancouver resident with murder for killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens after he rammed an SUV through a crowd at a Filipino community festival in the western Canadian city.

Roman Catholic cardinals will begin their secret conclave to elect the new leader of the global church on May 7, the Vatican said on Monday.

Russia said on Monday it was waiting for a signal from Ukraine to say it was willing to hold direct negotiations to end their war, but had not seen any signs of movement.

One person was killed and several injured after a ferry carrying 45 passengers in Clearwater, Florida was struck by a boat which then fled the scene, local officials said.

UN and Palestinian representatives at the International Court of Justice accused Israel of breaking international law by refusing to let aid into Gaza, on the first day of hearings about Israel's obligations to facilitate aid deliveries.

A restive volcano in the central Philippines spewed a column of ash as high as 4.5 km into the sky on Monday morning, prompting authorities to raise the alert level at Mount Bulusan and warn residents to stay out of a 4-km danger zone.

Qatar's prime minister said on Sunday that efforts to reach a new ceasefire in Gaza have made some progress but an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the war remains elusive.

A huge blast most likely caused by the explosion of chemical materials killed at least 18 people and injured more than 700 on Saturday at Iran's biggest port, Bandar Abbas, Iranian state media reported.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) have sounded the alarm over severe funding shortfalls that are hindering life-saving humanitarian aid in countries including Nigeria, Burundi, and Colombia.

A number of people were killed and multiple others were injured in Vancouver after a vehicle drove into a crowd at a Filipino street festival in the western Canadian city, police said on Saturday.

Presidents, royalty and simple mourners bade farewell to Pope Francis on Saturday at a solemn funeral ceremony, where a cardinal appealed for the pontiff's legacy of caring for migrants, the downtrodden and the environment to be kept alive.

US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, met one-on-one in a marble-lined Vatican basilica on Saturday to try to revive faltering efforts to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

A large explosion rocked Shahid Rajaee port in the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas on Saturday, killing at least four people and injuring more than 500.

Pope Francis' wooden coffin was carried into St. Peter's Square on Saturday at the start of a funeral Mass attended by a multitude of mourners, including world leaders, pilgrims and prelates.

Virginia Giuffre, one of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers, has died, her family said on Friday.

Royalty, presidents, prime ministers and a legion of faithful will pay their last respects to Pope Francis on Saturday at a funeral Mass in St. Peter's Square to honour his papacy.

India's army chief, General Upendra Dwivedi, will review the ongoing security situation in the state of Jammu and Kashmir following the deadly attack on tourists in Pahalgam.

Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles and drones, killing at least 12 people, in the biggest attack on the Ukrainian capital this year and drawing a rare rebuke from US President Donald Trump, who told Vladimir Putin to "stop".

Pakistan closed its air space for Indian airlines and rejected New Delhi's suspension of a critical water sharing treaty in retaliation for India's response to a militant attack on tourists in Jammu and Kashmir.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed on Thursday to pursue, track and punish the gunmen and their backers in a strong reaction to a deadly attack on tourists in Kashmir.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would cut short a trip to South Africa on Thursday and return to Kyiv following a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian capital.

An Israeli airstrike hit a police station in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing at least 10 people, local health authorities said, and Israel's military said it had struck a command centre of Hamas.

An overnight Russian combined missile and drone attack triggered fires, smashed buildings and buried residents under rubble in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killing nine people and injuring more than 70.

More than 150 people were injured in Istanbul after they jumped from buildings in panic as one of the strongest quakes in years hit the city on Wednesday.

China is set to launch its Shenzhou-20 mission that will carry three astronauts to the Chinese space station Tiangong on Thursday (0917 GMT), state media said on Wednesday.

India announced a raft of measures to downgrade its ties with Pakistan on Wednesday, a day after 26 men were killed in an attack on a tourist destination in India's Jammu and Kashmir territory.

Jordan has outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the outfit were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.

Twenty-six people were killed and 17 were injured when gunmen opened fire at tourists in India's Jammu and Kashmir territory, police said on Wednesday, the worst such attack in the country in nearly two decades.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas on Wednesday to cede responsibility for the Gaza Strip, hand over its arms to the Palestinian Authority and turn itself into a political party.

Talks between the US, Ukraine and European officials to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine faltered on Wednesday as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly cancelled his trip to London and negotiations were downgraded.

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul on Wednesday, Turkey's AFAD disaster agency said, one of the strongest quakes to strike the city of 16 million in recent years.

An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza killed at least 10 people, while another hit a children's hospital, local health authorities said, taking Wednesday's death toll to 20.

A Russian drone hit a bus carrying workers in the Ukrainian city of Marhanets early on Wednesday, killing nine people in a wave of attacks that targeted civilian infrastructure in east, south and central Ukraine, officials said.

Pope Francis' body was due to be moved to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday to allow worshippers and the public to pay their final respects ahead of a funeral expected to bring US President Donald Trump and dozens of other world leaders to Rome.

The chief of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees), Philippe Lazzarini, has denounced the escalating "deliberate famine" in Gaza after 50 days of an Israeli-imposed blockade on aid.

At least 20 people were killed and many others were injured after suspected militants opened fire on tourists in India's Jammu and Kashmir region on Tuesday.

Pope Francis' funeral will be held on Saturday in St. Peter's Square, Roman Catholic cardinals decided on Tuesday, setting the stage for a solemn ceremony that will draw leaders from around the world.

Cardinals gathered at the Vatican on Tuesday to plan Pope Francis' funeral, which leaders from around the world will attend ahead of a conclave next month to elect a new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Hundreds of Filipinos gathered at a solemn Mass held for Pope Francis on Tuesday, following his passing that has stirred deep sorrow among Catholics around the world, many of whom saw him as a humble and compassionate leader.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed on Monday bilateral talks with Ukraine for the first time since the early days of the war, and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was eager to discuss a halt to attacks on civilian targets.

Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died on Monday after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said in a video statement.

Ukraine issued air raid alerts for Kyiv and the country's eastern half as blasts shook the city of Mykolaiv early on Monday, authorities said, hours after the one-day Easter ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin came to an end.

US Vice President JD Vance began a four-day visit to India on Monday and will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as New Delhi rushes to avoid steep US tariffs with an early trade deal and boost ties with the Trump administration.

The Israeli military on Sunday said a review into last month's killing of emergency responders in Gaza found there had been "several professional failures" and that a commander would be dismissed over the incident.

US President Donald Trump is threatening to cut another $1 billion in funding for Harvard University, this time targeting health research, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, as the administration's row with elite schools escalated.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had instructed the military to intensify pressure on Hamas after the group rejected an Israeli proposal for another temporary truce.

Russia and Ukraine blamed each other on Sunday for breaking a one-day Easter ceasefire announced by President Vladimir Putin, with both sides accusing the other of carrying out hundreds of attacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a unilateral Easter ceasefire in Ukraine, ordering his forces to end hostilities at 6 p.m. Moscow time (1500 GMT) on Saturday until the end of Sunday.

Hamas's armed wing said on Saturday the fate of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander was unknown after the group found the guard who was holding the hostage killed.

Iran and the United States started a new round of nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday to resolve their decades-long standoff over Tehran's atomic aims, under the shadow of President Donald Trump's threat to unleash military action if diplomacy fails.

At least 148 people were found dead in Democratic Republic of Congo after a motorised wooden boat caught fire and capsized, media reports citing local officials said on Friday.

Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter.

A US judge barred the Trump administration from rapidly deporting hundreds if not thousands of migrants to countries other than their own without giving them a chance to show they fear being persecuted, tortured or killed there.

The Trump administration on Thursday ordered a social media vetting for all US visa applicants who have been to the Gaza Strip on or after January 1, 2007, an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters showed, in the latest push to tighten screening of foreign travellers.

Israeli airstrikes hit around 40 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day, the military said on Friday, hours after Hamas rejected an Israeli ceasefire offer that it said fell short of its demand to agree a full end to the war.

Hamas wants a comprehensive deal to end the war in Gaza and swap all Israeli hostages for Palestinians jailed in Israel, a senior official from the Palestinian group said, rejecting Israel's offer of an interim truce.

US strikes on the Ras Isa fuel port in western Yemen killed at least 38 people on Thursday, Houthi-run media said, one of the deadliest days since the US began its attacks on the group.

A US citizen hijacked a small Tropic Air plane in Belize on Thursday at knifepoint, injuring three others before being shot and killed, police said.

A former Harvard Medical School morgue manager accused of stealing and selling organs and other parts of cadavers donated to the school for medical research and education has agreed to plead guilty.

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Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin Group, will be boarding Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity and blasting off to space on Sunday.

Singapore is reviewing penalties for violent offences following an outcry over a 12-day prison sentence for a student who strangled his girlfriend until she blacked out.