Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) were conducting a major manhunt yesterday, a day after gunmen opened fire on tourists and killed 26 people in the region’s worst attack on civilians in a quarter of a century.

Almost 20,000 people viewed Pope Francis's coffin by the evening of his first day lying in state at St Peter's Basilica, the Vatican said Wednesday

A hand-written letter from Napoleon denying his role in the kidnapping of Pope Pius VII in 1809 is to go under the hammer this weekend, in a reminder of France’s complicated past relationship with the Vatican.

Gunmen killed two Pakistani police officers guarding polio vaccinators in the turbulent southwestern province of Balochistan, officials said yesterday, the second attack since the launch of a nationwide inoculation drive this week.

Around 200 French media groups, including leading television channels and newspapers, are taking legal action against Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, over its online advertising practices, their lawyers announced yesterday.

US Vice President JD Vance warned yesterday that Moscow and Kyiv must strike a deal or Washington will end its efforts to reach a ceasefire.

New US sanctions against Iran’s energy sector point to Washington’s “lack of goodwill and seriousness” over dialogue with Tehran, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said yesterday ahead of Iran-US nuclear talks this weekend.

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief said Tuesday that operations and jobs would be slashed as US funding cuts had left the UN agency with a budget hole of several hundred million dollars.

China said yesterday the door was “wide open” for trade talks with Washington, a day after US President Donald Trump signalled the possibility of a “substantial” lowering of tariffs on Beijing.

More than four-fifths of the world’s coral reef areas have been affected by devastating mass bleaching spurred by record-high ocean temperatures, turning many once-colourful reefs a ghostly pale hue, scientific authorities said yesterday.

Tens of thousands of mourners began saying their last goodbyes to Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica yesterday, as the body of the late Argentine pontiff began three days of lying in state.

An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza killed at least 10 people, while another hit a children’s hospital, local health authorities said, taking yesterday’s death toll to 20.

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas urged Hamas to release hostages still held in Gaza, calling it the main factor fuelling Israeli attacks on the territory.

A long line of pilgrims and tourists stretched across the sprawling St Peter's Square before the doors opened at 11:00 am

People could be seen leaving buildings as the quake hit and shook buildings in the city

The European Commission fined Apple 500 million euros

The fierce trade war between the world's top two economies has rattled markets and raised fears of a global recession

Pilgrims flock to pay tribute to pope lying in state

Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in a blistering trade war

He said a large portion of these new resources could be used to provide loans to help governments rapidly address actual or anticipated budget gaps and shore up health-care networks, water and sanitation systems, or other critical public systems impacted by foreign aid cuts.