Europe

Pope Leo XIV has visited a shrine to the Virgin Mary run by the Augustinian religious order in the Italian town of Genazzano and paid his respects to former Pope Francis.

The leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Poland say after their meeting in Kyiv, Russia faces sanctions backed by the US if it does not agree to a new truce in Ukraine.

As the Catholic church and faithful celebrate Pope Leo’s election, one cardinal who was in the conclave during the vote has given a candid insight, comparing it to the Academy award-winning movie. 

Pope Leo XIV has pledged to help the Catholic Church be an ‘ark of salvation’ as he celebrated his first mass as pontiff and as history's first US pope.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will host leaders from countries in the so-called ‘coalition of the willing’ to discuss the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

The election of a first North American pontiff came after the death of the first Latin American pope and signalled a relinquishing of papal authority from Europe.

Ukrainian officials say Russia has violated its own ceasefire more than 700 times while Russian authorities say Ukraine has tried to move into the Kursk region.

Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV is a Peruvian citizen, which allowed him to overcome a traditional taboo against the election of pontiff from the United States.

Cardinals have returned to the Sistine Chapel to resume voting for a new pope after a billow of black smoke signalled that the first conclave ballot failed to find a new Catholic leader.

‘We are just coasting along, she’ll be right, that sort of attitude and all the evidence is starting to show without exaggerating that she won’t be alright.’

Russia has made no response to the 30-day ceasefire offer ‘except for new strikes’, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says.

Over 45,000 people have watched on as black smoke poured from the chimney atop the Sistine Chapel, signaling a stalemate after cardinals failed to agree on a new Pope in Rome.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin are preparing to meet in Moscow to discuss their ‘no limits’ partnership amid a trade war with US President Donald Trump.

The conclave process to elect the next pope is shrouded in secrecy. Here’s a guide to the ancient tradition.

Ukraine and Russia have concluded one of the largest prisoner exchanges since Moscow invaded its neighbour in 2022.