India and Pakistan exchanged heavy artillery along their contested frontier on Wednesday, after New Delhi launched missile strikes on its arch-rival in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors.

Senior US and Chinese officials will travel to Switzerland later this week to kickstart stalled trade talks following President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff rollout, according to statements from both countries.

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 they hope can unite a diverse but divided global Church.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told US President Donald Trump on Tuesday that his country would be "never for sale" as they met at the White House amid tensions on tariffs and sovereignty.

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

The upcoming conclave to elect the successor of the late Pope Francis will be the first for Suharyo since he was appointed cardinal by the Argentinian pontiff in 2019.

Following the death of Pope Francis on April 21, 133 cardinal electors will gather on Wednesday in the Sistine Chapel for an election that could last hours, days, or even months.

Merz, 69, who led his CDU/CSU conservatives to a federal election victory in February and signed a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), won just 310 votes in the secret ballot in the lower house, the Bundestag, six short of an absolute majority. It meant at least 18 coalition MPs had failed to back him.

Conservative Friedrich Merz is set to be sworn in on Tuesday as Germany's new chancellor at a critical juncture as the economy battles its longest post-war downturn, relations with top security ally the United States fray and the far-right surges.

New Zealand's prime minister on Tuesday proposed banning children under 16 from social media, stressing the need to shield them from the perils of big tech platforms.

Humanity recorded an unexpected and "unsettling" slowdown in development in 2024 as the global post-pandemic recovery began losing steam, well before President Donald Trump dramatically cut US international aid, the UN warned Tuesday.

The entertainment industry reacted with alarm and bafflement on Monday after President Donald Trump said he would impose a 100 percent tariff on all movies produced outside the US, but issued few details on just how such a levy would work.

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

Hype has been building on social media around the Catholic Church's secretive, centuries-old tradition of conclaves to elect a new pope, animating users from the White House on down.

The US Department of Education informed Harvard University on Monday that it was freezing billions of dollars in future research grants and other aid until the nation's oldest and wealthiest college concedes to a number of demands from the Trump administration, a senior department official said.

Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen began a three-day official visit to Jakarta on Monday with a courtesy call on President Prabowo Subianto, during which they discussed strategic bilateral cooperation and regional stability as part of Hun Sen’s effort to expand Phnom Penh’s role in Southeast Asian peace dialogues.

India took measures such as closing its airspace to Pakistan airlines, while Pakistan barred those owned or operated by its neighbour, suspended trade and halted special visas for Indians, although it let international airlines use its airspace.

It comes as the United Nations and aid organisations have repeatedly warned of the humanitarian catastrophe on the ground, with famine again looming after more than two months of a total Israeli blockade.

Rwanda has in recent years positioned itself as a destination country for migrants that Western countries would like to remove.

Instead, his audience numbers came in at half their usual level.

Like the late Argentine pope, he hails from a country far from the Catholic Church's traditional power base of Europe and came to Rome with an outsider's view.

The President said the Saudi leader had responded well to a plan to establish a speical village in Mecca for Indonesian pilgrims.

Gibran, who met Wong in November during the Singaporean Prime Minister's inaugural visit to Jakarta, said that the election win was a stronger mandate for him to lead the city state into a new chapter of development.

Prabowo and Albanese exchanged warm wishes in a jovial phone call on Sunday, with the President saying that he was delighted at Albanese’s “big win.”

The announcement comes as the White House is coming under mounting criticism over its aggressive trade policies that have seen Trump impose sweeping tariffs on countries around the globe.

Residents clapped as the 62-year-old and his fiancee Jodie Haydon visited his old inner Sydney haunt, Cafe Italia, surrounded by a crowd of jostling photographers and TV journalists. 

Harvard students weave through tree-lined streets and redbrick campus buildings, but beneath the veneer of daily life fear has taken root: the most prestigious university in the United States is bracing for an "assault" by President Donald Trump.