WORLD

Many had woken up at dawn while others slept in their cars before Catholic faithful poured into St Peter's Square from all corners of the globe on Saturday, fuelled by a desire to honour Pope Francis.

Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire overnight in contested Kashmir for a second day running, the Indian army said Saturday, following a deadly shooting that New Delhi blames its arch-rival.

Virginia Giuffre, who accused disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein and Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, has taken her own life at her home in Australia, her family said Saturday.

Pope Francis, champion of the poor and the Church's first Latin American leader, will be honoured Saturday with a funeral attended by world leaders and tens of thousands of Catholic faithful.

The United States and Iran were to hold a fresh round of technical and high-level nuclear negotiations in Oman on Saturday, after both sides reported progress in previous meetings.

A treaty to protect the high seas will not come to life by the time the UN Oceans Conference opens in June, but persistence by member states has nudged the landmark pact towards enactment.

A gathering of global economic leaders in Washington wraps up Saturday with tariff talks between the United States and partners still unresolved -- and anxiety building over the state of the global economy.

Federal agents on Friday arrested a US judge for allegedly shielding an undocumented migrant, escalating a struggle between the White House and courts over President Donald Trump's hardline deportation policies.

Trinidad and Tobago votes in parliamentary elections Monday that will determine whether Prime Minister Stuart Young stays in power as the twin-island Caribbean nation battles an economic slump and a rise in gang violence.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepared for fresh nuclear talks with the United States in Oman on Friday after apparent progress in previous rounds.

Two months ago, Haider Ali waved goodbye to his wife as she left Pakistan, crossing the border to visit her family in India.

Catholics and others in secular Cuba have been paying tribute to Pope Francis, praising in particular his efforts to reconcile the communist island with its powerful neighbor, the United States.

Hundreds of mourners holding white flowers gathered on Friday at the French private school where a student killed a girl in a stabbing spree, as the prime minister suggested metal detectors to prevent future attacks.

The United States and European Union need to "de-escalate" and "negotiate a deal" to help boost lackluster growth on the continent, the International Monetary Fund's Europe director said Friday.

After President Donald Trump's administration revoked hundreds of student visas and threatened deportation for participants of pro-Palestinian campus protests, international students told AFP they were reconsidering their dreams of earning degrees in the United States.

The funeral of Pope Francis, who died on Monday aged 88, will take place Saturday.

The UN's World Food Programme said Friday it had depleted its food stocks in war-ravaged Gaza where Israel has blocked all aid for more than seven weeks.

US President Donald Trump headed to Rome on Friday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the unexpected first foreign trip of his second term in which he will face foreign leaders including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky.

US President Donald Trump has insisted Chinese leader Xi Jinping called him despite Beijing denials of any contact between the two countries over their bitter trade dispute.

Russia's central bank kept borrowing costs at a two-decade high of 21 percent on Friday to combat rampant inflation, despite banks and businesses warning the economy was headed for a slowdown.

Arriving in Rome after Pope Francis's death, Catholic cardinals have admitted some apprehension at the responsibility of choosing his successor, as they begin setting out what they hope to see in the next head of the Church.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on Friday to tout Washington's plan to settle the Ukraine conflict, a day after Donald Trump issued a direct appeal to the Russian president to halt his offensive.

East Timor Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao told AFP on Friday that Pope Francis left a legacy of reconciliation but also confronted the issue of child abuse during a rare visit to Asia's youngest nation last year.

Record eight-time champions Lyon are on the verge of yet another Women's Champions League final, with coach Joe Montemurro hoping to lead the French side past his old club Arsenal in this weekend's semi-final second leg.

The United Nations urged India and Pakistan to show "maximum restraint" as the nuclear-armed rivals imposed tit-for-tat diplomatic measures over a deadly shooting in Kashmir.

French giants Marseille have not been involved in European competition this season but such is their determination to get back onto the continental stage that coach Roberto De Zerbi and his players are already embarking on some foreign travel.

A decade has passed since a massive earthquake ripped through Nepal, but in Ram Bahadur Nakarmi's home the damage is still visible -- and so is the fear another might strike.

Mongolia's microscopic Catholic community expressed sorrow and gratitude this week after the death of Pope Francis, remembering the pontiff's recent visit as a historic and deeply personal gesture of inclusion for one of the world's most remote populations of the faith.

Crowds of Australians and New Zealanders gathered just before dawn on Friday to observe solemn Anzac Day ceremonies, but one service was briefly interrupted by booing -- with a local politician blaming a "known neo-Nazi".