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.

Firefighters have installed the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel which will emit white smoke to signal the election of a new pope as preparations proceed just five days before cardinals gather for the conclave.

The admission comes just days after Moscow confirmed the North's participation, while Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday heralded the "feat" of Pyongyang's troops.

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, Trump said he was disappointed that Russia has continued to attack Ukraine, and said his one-on-one meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the Vatican on Saturday had gone well. 

The former president was one of four envoys President Prabowo tasked with paying his and Indonesia's respects to the late pope, which has ruffled some feathers among the public.

Francis strove for "a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart".

The crowds, packed with young people, applauded as the pope's coffin was carried out of St Peter's Basilica by white gloved pallbearers, accompanied by more than 200 red-robed cardinals.

The entourage, which includes former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, brings a letter for the Vatican written by President Prabowo Subianto, in which he offers condolences from the government and people of Indonesia.

Shoigu's comments come as US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have warned that Washington could walk away from trying to negotiate a peace settlement in Ukraine if there is no progress on a deal soon.

Pilgrims and tourists queued for hours to file past the open coffin of the Argentine pontiff, who died on Monday aged 88.

As the global geopolitical landscape continues to veer toward unpredictability and intensifying tensions, Estonia has begun setting its sights on partnerships with Southeast Asian countries, exemplified by a recent high-level engagement with Indonesia to explore cooperation, particularly in the digital world.

President Prabowo Subianto appointed former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, former transportation minister Ignasius Jonan and some of his cabinet members to attend Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome on April 26.

All cardinals currently in Rome have been invited to gather in the Vatican at 9 a.m., where they were expected to make funeral plans.

On Easter Sunday, the day before his death aged 88, Francis made his first prolonged public appearance since February, entering St. Peter's Square in a white popemobile to greet cheering crowds.

On Sunday, Easter day, Francis had entered St. Peter's Square in an open-air popemobile shortly after mid-day, greeting cheering crowds. He had also offered a special blessing for the first time since Christmas.

He was 88, and had suffered various ailments in his 12 year papacy.

Vance, a Catholic who has clashed with the pontiff over the Trump administration's immigration policies, met Francis at his Vatican residence to exchange Easter greetings, the statement said. 

The comments came as Russia and the United States forged closer ties under President Donald Trump's administration, of which billionaire SpaceX founder Musk is a key figure.

Five years after COVID-19 killed millions of people and devastated economies, a growing sense of urgency hung over the talks, with new health threats lurking, ranging from H5N1 bird flu to measles, mpox and Ebola.

About 20,000 extra troops were deployed to the region in 2022 under then-president Joe Biden, reinforcing NATO's eastern flank after Russia invaded Ukraine.

In Europe, it was the hottest March ever recorded by a significant margin, said the Copernicus Climate Change Service, driving rainfall extremes across a continent warming faster than any other.

European visitors to Britain will have to purchase an electronic permit in advance for trips from Wednesday, as the UK government follows other countries in seeking to strengthen immigration security by screening people before they cross its borders.

Denmark has said it did not like the "tone" of US Vice President JD Vance's comments that Copenhagen had not done enough for Greenland, during his visit to the strategically placed, resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump.

With President Donald Trump pushing for a rapid end to the war that has killed tens of thousands of people, US negotiators shuttled separately over three days in the Saudi capital Riyadh between delegations from Ukraine and Russia.

Pope Francis' hospitalization since Feb.14 was the longest of the pope's reign, and the fourth since his election in 2013. 

While the highly anticipated Putin-Trump call did not secure the breakthrough ceasefire endorsed by Ukraine last week, it did result in a scaled-back commitment to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days.

The blaze at the hip-hop concert in the eastern town of Kocani also injured around 155 people and triggered an outpouring of grief in the small Balkan country where authorities vowed an investigation. 

The movement formed after 15 people were killed when a railway station roof collapsed in the city of Novi Sad in November, igniting long-simmering anger over alleged corruption and lax oversight in construction projects.

US officials had expressed optimism Sunday that a Ukraine-Russia ceasefire deal could be reached in weeks after Washington proposed a halt in fighting in the three-year war after talks in Saudi Arabia, which Kyiv accepted. 

Richer nations committed at the UN COP29 summit in November to boost spending on climate action in developing countries to $300 billion a year by 2035, an amount decried as woefully inadequate.