Leo, the first pope from the US, told cardinals in the Sistine Chapel that he hoped to be a "faithful administrator" for the entire Church, and added that the Church should identify itself through the holiness of its members and not "the grandeur of her buildings".

President Vladimir Putin, the longest-serving Kremlin chief since Josef Stalin, stood beside China's Xi Jinping, several dozen other leaders and Russian veterans on a roofed tribune beside Lenin's mausoleum as Russian troops marched past.

Trump is locked in a diplomatic row with South Africa over a land expropriation act that the Republican leader says will lead to the takeover of white-owned farms.

The new Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago, was entrusted by his predecessor Francis to head the Dicastery for Bishops, a key Vatican department that advises the pontiff on appointments.

"We want this thing to de-escalate as quickly as possible. We can't control these countries, though," Vance said in an interview on Fox News show "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

"Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our country," said US President Donald Trump. "I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!"

Batik Air, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s largest low cost airline Lion Air, has temporarily suspended its flights to and from Pakistan’s Lahore and India’s Amritsar on Wednesday and Thursday amid recent escalating conflicts between the two countries.

Germany's new government on Wednesday said that it would reject most asylum seekers at its borders as conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz seeks to limit irregular immigration and curb the rise of the far-right.

Global temperatures were stuck at near-record highs in April, the EU's climate monitor said on Thursday, extending an unprecedented heat streak and raising questions about how quickly the world might be warming.

The Philippines criticized on Thursday a "high-risk" maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies.

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.

Albanese said he will travel to Indonesia on May 14, the day after his government is sworn into office.

Thick black smoke emerged Wednesday from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel in a sign that cardinals had failed to elect a new head of the Catholic Church in their first conclave vote.

The Foreign Ministry advises Indonesian nationals living in India and Pakistan to remain alert and avoid traveling to affected or potential target areas after Indian forces launched air strikes on Pakistani territory to avenge terror attacks that killed dozens in Indian Kashmir in late April.

President Prabowo Subianto has received letters of credence from eight new foreign ambassadors in a ceremony seen as an opportunity to strengthen Indonesia’s diplomatic relations with its closest partners.

At least 38 deaths were reported, with Islamabad saying 26 civilians were killed by the Indian strikes and firing along the border, and New Delhi adding at least 12 dead from Pakistani shelling.

Record fossil fuel production kept planet-heating methane emissions near historic highs last year, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday, warning of a surge in massive leaks from oil and gas facilities.

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

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.