WORLD

Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday after cardinals from around the globe chose him as the first American leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

World leaders welcomed the election Thursday of Robert Francis Prevost as the next leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

The Red Cross on Thursday denounced the human cost of the war raging in Gaza, slamming Israel's "unacceptable" full blockade on aid into the besieged and conflict-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The EU on Thursday threatened to target US cars and planes among a raft of products worth 95 billion euros ($107 billion) if negotiations with President Donald Trump's team fail to avert a trade war.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Thursday criticised Russia's "historical lies" over the Ukraine war, as he marked the Nazi defeat that ended World War II in Europe 80 years ago.

"The agreement with the United Kingdom is a full and comprehensive one that will cement the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom for many years to come," the president posted on his Truth Social platform.

Madasar Choudhary said his sister saw two children killed in the town of Poonch that bore the brunt of this week's shelling by Pakistan, with India saying a total of 13 people died there.

Paramilitary drones struck army-held areas of eastern and southern Sudan for a fifth straight day Thursday, army sources said, prompting an exodus of civilians from Port Sudan, seat of the army-backed government.

First responders in Gaza said Thursday that their operations were at a near standstill, more than two months into a full Israeli blockade that has left food and fuel in severe shortage.

China's Xi Jinping was in Moscow on Thursday for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin's grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia's army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce.

Indian and Pakistani soldiers exchanged gunfire overnight in Kashmir, New Delhi said Thursday, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades.

Iraqi Mohammed Jalal lost 10 years of his life seeking asylum in Germany, without success.

Anticipation gripped the Catholic world Thursday as the cardinals tasked with choosing a new pope prepared to retreat behind the heavy doors of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel for their second day of voting.

Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro, who faces a trial on coup charges, vowed Wednesday to "continue the fight" at a protest to demand amnesty for people convicted over a failed right-wing insurrection.

OpenAI on Wednesday announced an initiative to help countries build their own artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructures, with the US government a partner in projects.

Pakistan has warned it will "avenge" those killed by Indian air strikes that New Delhi said were in response to an attack in Kashmir, signalling an imminent escalation in the worst violence in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Paris Saint-Germain clinched a place in the Champions League final as goals by Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi gave them a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the second leg of their last-four tie on Wednesday, securing a 3-1 aggregate triumph.

Excluded from the conclave to elect a new pope Wednesday -- and more broadly from the Church's entire global priesthood -- some Catholic women were determined that their voices will be heard.

The European Union is accelerating free trade talks with Asia following hefty tariffs by US President Donald Trump, the bloc's trade chief said Wednesday.

A US warplane plummeted into the Red Sea when trying to land on the Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, a defense official said Wednesday, the second jet lost from the ship in just over a week.

Yemen's Huthi rebels will continue targeting Israeli ships in the Red Sea, an official told AFP on Wednesday, despite a ceasefire that ended weeks of intense US strikes on the Iran-backed group.

Hamas insisted Wednesday on a "comprehensive" agreement to end its war with Israel, as rescuers said Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed at least 26 people amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe.

At dawn Wednesday on the contested border between India and Pakistan, in the usually sleepy Indian-run town of Poonch, a thumping explosion ripped the air as an artillery shell smashed into a building.

The UN's human rights chief told AFP Wednesday that Israel's plan for an expanded offensive in the Gaza Strip represented "a very dangerous moment" for civilians there.

Standing in the rubble of used to be his home, Palestinian farmer Haitham Dababseh cleared stones to make space for a tent after Israeli army bulldozers destroyed his village in the occupied West Bank.

Hansi Flick's brilliant young Barcelona side won hearts in this season's Champions League and re-established themselves at Europe's top table, but fell agonisingly short of reaching the Munich final after one of the competition's greatest semi-finals.

The violence was the worst to erupt between the nuclear-armed neighbours and arch-foes in two decades.

Russia and Ukraine traded a barrage of drone strikes overnight on Wednesday, in attacks that killed two in Kyiv and forced Moscow to shut major airports hours before a swathe of foreign leaders was to arrive.

Moscow and Beijing declared a "no limits partnership" weeks before Putin ordered Russia's Ukraine offensive in February 2022. The expanded military and trade ties since have troubled the West.