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Pope Francis’s open coffin has been carried to Saint Peter’s Basilica, accompanied by dozens of red-robed cardinals and Swiss guardsmen.

To the ringing of St Peter’s bells, the coffin left the Casa Santa Marta on Wednesday, the modest residence where Francis lived and died, on the shoulders of pallbearers and was carried slowly towards the basilica.

Eight Swiss guardsmen walked beside the open wooden coffin as it passed through St Peter’s Square, which was filled with tens of…

Israel says the ballistic missile has been intercepted without causing any injuries.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched a ballistic missile towards northern Israel, according to the Israeli military, which claimed to have shot down the projectile without causing any injuries.

Shortly after 4am local time (01:00 GMT) on Wednesday, the Israeli army said that the missile triggered air raid sirens in Haifa, Krayot and other areas west of the Sea of Galilee.

This area is a rare target for the…

Kyiv, Ukraine – Vladimir Kara-Murza barely survived two suspected poisonings in 2015 and 2017 that he claimed were orchestrated by the Kremlin.

The bearded, balding 43-year-old may not be as outspoken as opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who nearly died of similar nerve agent poisoning in 2020.

But Kara-Murza, a Cambridge-educated historian, has been instrumental in convincing Western governments to slap personal sanctions on dozens of Russian officials.

In 2023, a Moscow court sentenced…

Thousands of miles from the Vatican, the death of Pope Francis is being mourned by millions of Catholics on the African continent.

Francis, who was renowned for his liberal embrace of all groups of people and his vocal support for poor and marginalised communities, was a key figure on a continent sometimes referred to as the “future of the Catholic Church”, owing to the vast population of African Catholics: One in five Catholics is African.

Throughout his papal leadership, Pope Francis…