🥹Watch: How the Vatican said goodbye to Pope Francis
Politicians and royalty joined thousands of mourners as Pope Francis' funeral was held in St Peter's Square.
Later, huge crowds lined the streets of Rome to watch as the Pope's coffin was carried in a procession to his final resting place, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica.
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🇺🇸Trump administration reverses termination of visas for foreign students
The Trump administration is restoring visas for hundreds of foreign students who had their legal status abruptly terminated stoking panic among many who feared immediate deportation, government officials confirmed.
Justice department attorney Elizabeth Kurlan told a federal court that immigration officials are now working on a new system for reviewing and terminating visas for international students.
The announcement follows more than 100 lawsuits filed by students who were abruptly stripped of their legal right to study in US universities.
An estimated 1,800 students and 280 universities have been impacted , according to a tally from Inside Higher Ed.
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🇨🇳🇦🇺China has halted rare earth exports, can Australia step up?
Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to invest A$1.2bn (£580m) in a strategic reserve for critical minerals if he wins next month's election, as trade tensions escalate.
The announcement came after China imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements, essential to the production of advanced technologies - including electric vehicles, fighter jets, and robots.
China's controls apply to all countries but were widely seen as retaliation to US President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Albanese said Australia would prioritise minerals that are key to its security, and that of its partners, including rare earths. But could his plan challenge China's dominance?
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🇧🇷Health of Brazil's ex-president Bolsonaro has worsened, doctors say
The health of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro has worsened after intestinal surgery earlier this month, according to his medical team.
The 70-year-old remains in intensive care and will undergo new tests.
Bolsonaro was visited in hospital by a court official on Wednesday, who delivered a summons giving him five days to present his initial defence against coup charges, in preparation for his trial.
Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial after charges that he directed an alleged right-wing coup attempt after he lost the 2022 presidential election to the left-wing President Lula da Silva.
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🇬🇧🇺🇸UK could lower US car tariffs in push for trade deal
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has signalled the UK could lower tariffs on US car imports as she tries to broker a trade deal with the Trump administration.
Reeves said she wants "to see tariff and non-tariff barriers reduced between the UK and the US".
The UK is seeking to lower trade taxes imposed by President Donald Trump of 25% for cars, steel and aluminium and 10% on other British exports.
One of the sticking points for a trade deal in the past has been food standards, but Reeves said the UK would not be reducing these.
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🇰🇷Former S Korea president Moon Jae-in indicted for bribery
Prosecutors have indicted former South Korean President Moon Jae-in on charges of bribery related to his former son-in-law's job at an airline.
Prosecutors argue his former son-in-law, identified only by his surname Seo, had little experience in the aviation industry but was hired in exchange for the airline's CEO leading a state-funded agency.
Moon led the country from 2017 to 2022 and is best remembered for his attempts to broker a peace deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
He joins a long list of South Korean presidents whose political careers have been marred by scandal, from jail to assassination to suicide.
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🇨🇦Early turnout shatters record in Canada polls with 7.3m ballots cast
More than 7 million Canadians have cast their ballots in advance, setting a new record for early voter turnout, Elections Canada says.
Advance polling stations were open across the country for four days, from Friday to Monday, over the Easter long weekend. Poll workers reported long lines, with two million people casting their ballots last Friday alone.
With less than one week to go before election day on 28 April, federal leaders are now in the final stretch of campaigning.
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🇺🇸US sets tariffs of up to 3,521% on South East Asia solar panels
The US Commerce Department has announced plans to impose tariffs of up to 3,521% on imports of solar panels from four South East Asian countries.
It comes after an investigation that began a year ago when several major solar equipment producers asked the administration of then-President Joe Biden to protect their US operations.
The proposed levies - targeting companies in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam - are in response to allegations of subsidies from China and the dumping of unfairly cheap products in the US market.
A separate US government agency, the International Trade Commission, is due to reach a final decision on the new tariffs in June.
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🇺🇸🇮🇳PM Modi and Elon Musk talk India-US tech collaboration
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he discussed his country's potential to collaborate with the US on "technology and innovation" during a conversation with Elon Musk.
On Friday, Modi shared a post on X detailing his telephone conversation with the tech billionaire and said they had revisited topics from their meeting in Washington earlier this year.
Modi's conversation with Musk comes as India is working towards securing a bilateral trade agreement with the US to offset the brunt of US President Donald Trump's potential tariffs.
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🇵🇸🇮🇱Hamas formally rejects Israeli ceasefire offer
Hamas has formally rejected Israel's latest ceasefire offer, saying it is prepared to immediately negotiate a deal that would see the release of all remaining hostages in return for an end to the war and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
In a video statement, Hamas' chief negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said: "We will not accept partial deals that serve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's political agenda."
Fifty-nine hostages remain in captivity and 24 are thought to be alive. Israel's latest offer involved a 45-day ceasefire in return for the release of 10 hostages.
Far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said it was time "to open the gates of hell" on Hamas.
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🇷🇺Ex-Russian general jailed for seven years over bribes
A former top Russian general has been jailed for seven years after being accused of taking bribes.
Lt Gen Vadim Shamarin was arrested last year during a crackdown on corruption in the defence ministry launched by the Kremlin, and was accused of taking "a particularly large bribe" from a telecommunications company.
Russia's Investigative Committee said he took bribes worth 36 million roubles (£331,000) between 2019 and 2023 from a factory that produces communications equipment - and, in return, increased the size of state contracts awarded to the company.
Prior to his arrest he had served as deputy chief of the army's general staff overseeing the signals corps and military communications.
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🇺🇸🇮🇳Vance to visit India as Trump intensifies tariff war with China
US Vice-President JD Vance will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a four-day visit to India next week as their two countries negotiate a bilateral trade deal.
The two leaders are scheduled to meet on 21 April, the first day of Vance's trip, for discussions on economic, trade and geopolitical ties.
"The visit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review the progress in bilateral relations," India's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Vance's first visit to India since taking office comes as the countries work to conclude a trade agreement by fall.
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🇺🇸🇪🇺US to hold talks on Ukraine with European allies
Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and top diplomat Marco Rubio will hold talks with European counterparts in Paris later on Thursday to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine's foreign minister and defence minister have arrived in the French capital to take part in the discussions.
The talks, which UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy will also attend, form the highest level of transatlantic engagement about the war since February.
European diplomats have said they will urge the US to put more pressure on Russia to agree an unconditional ceasefire.
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🇺🇸🇨🇳China appoints new trade envoy in face of tariff turmoil
China has unexpectedly appointed a new trade envoy, as officials said the US's practice of "tariff barriers and trade bullying" is having a serious impact on the global economic order.
Li Chenggang, a former assistant commerce minister and WTO ambassador, is taking over from veteran trade negotiator Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen.
The shift comes as Beijing refuses to back down in an escalating trade war with Washington triggered by US President Donald Trump's hefty tariffs on Chinese goods.
China's already sluggish economy is bracing for the impact on a key source of revenue - exports.
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🇸🇩Paramilitaries declare rival government in Sudan
Sudan's paramilitaries have declared the formation of a rival government to the country's armed forces, two years into a war that has become the world's largest humanitarian crisis.
The leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, said the group was "building the only realistic future for Sudan".
The announcement came as London hosted an high-level conference to mark the second anniversary of the conflict, where the UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called for "a pathway to peace".
Fighting raged on, with the army saying it had bombed RSF positions outside the city of el-Fasher, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee the Zamzam refugee camp.
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🇨🇩DR Congo and 🇷🇼Rwanda vow to agree peace plan within days
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have signed an agreement to respect each other's sovereignty and come up with a draft peace deal by 2 May.
The deal was signed by the two countries' foreign ministers in Washington, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also present at Friday's ceremony.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced in recent months as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have seized swathes of mineral-rich territory in eastern DR Congo.
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🇳🇦'Fees have fallen' in Namibia as president announces free higher education
Namibia's new president has announced that university fees will be scrapped from 2026.
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, the country's first female president, made the announcement during her maiden state of the nation address on Thursday evening.
Addressing lawmakers, Nandi-Ndaitwah said that students would pay "no registration [or] tuition fees" at all public universities and technical colleges.
However, she said there would not be "significant" extra funding, raising questions about the scheme's feasibility.
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🇮🇱🇺🇳Israeli military admits its troops killed UN worker in Gaza Strip
Israel's military has admitted killing a United Nations (UN) worker with tank fire, having previously denied responsibility, in an incident in the Gaza Strip last month.
After a UN staff member was killed when a UN compound in Deir al-Balah was damaged on 19 March, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had not struck the site.
But the IDF said on Thursday that the initial findings of its investigation into the incident indicated its troops had in fact killed the UN worker after wrongly identifying the building as containing an "enemy presence".
It said in a statement: "The building was struck due to assessed enemy presence and was not identified by the forces as a UN facility."
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🇨🇳🇺🇸China tells Trump: If you want trade talks, cancel tariffs
China has called on the US to cancel its sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods entering the country as a sign that the President Donald Trump is serious about resolving the trade war between the two countries.
A Chinese official said there had been no trade talks with the US, despite suggestions otherwise from the Trump administration.
The trade war between the world's two largest economies has been escalating, with China sending back Boeing planes it ordered from the US in its latest retaliation over tariffs.
But Trump has appeared to soften his stance on China, saying that the taxes he has so far imposed on Chinese imports would "come down substantially, but it won't be zero".
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🥹Pope mourners queue for 'chance to say goodbye'
Crowds are continuing to gather to pay their respects to Pope Francis.
The late pontiff, who died on Monday, is currently lying in state in an open coffin in St Peter's Basilica.
He will remain there until his funeral on Saturday.
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🇫🇷French PM stunned as daughter reveals she was abused at scandal-hit school
French Prime Minister François Bayrou says his eldest daughter's revelation that she was among children who were abused at a Roman Catholic school "stabs him to the heart as a father".
Hélène Perlant, who is now 53, alleges that a priest at Notre-Dame de Bétharram beat her at a summer camp when she was 14.
In recent weeks, details of physical and sex abuse perpetrated over decades at Bétharram in the Pyrenees have drawn increasing attention to Bayrou, who was local MP and education minister at the time.
Bayrou, 73, has denied suggestions that he knew about the abuse pupils allegedly suffered from the 1950s to 2010. He is due to appear next month before a parliamentary inquiry.
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🇬🇭Ghana president suspends chief justice in unprecedented move
Ghanaian President John Mahama has suspended the country's Supreme Court chief justice - a move that marks a first in the country's history.
An investigation has been launched and three undisclosed petitions have been filed making allegations against Gertrude Torkornoo, calling for her permanent removal.
Chief justices in Ghana enjoy security of tenure - meaning they can only be removed from office on a few grounds, which include incompetence and misbehaviour.
The content of the petitions has not been made public and she is yet to comment, while Ghana's former attorney general has claimed her suspension is an attempt to undermine the judiciary.
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🥹Watch: 'Our father has died' - World mourns for Pope Francis
People across the world have responded to the death of Pope Francis, who has died aged 88.
The Pope's death came less than 24 hours after he made an appearance at the Vatican's St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday.
Mourners, from Jerusalem to Buenos Aires, have been paying their respects throughout Easter Monday.
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🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦Trump says US will 'pass' on Ukraine peace talks if no progress soon
Donald Trump has said the US will "take a pass" on brokering further Russia-Ukraine talks if Moscow or Kyiv "make it very difficult" to reach a peace deal.
The US president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday that he was not expecting a truce to happen in "a specific number of days" but he wanted it done "quickly".
His comments came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that the US would abandon talks unless there were clear signs of progress within days.
"We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio said, adding that the US had "other priorities to focus on".
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🇺🇸🇨🇳US lays out plans to hit Chinese ships with port fees
The Trump administration has unveiled its plan to impose port fees on Chinese ships as it tries to revive shipbuilding in the US and challenge China's dominance of the industry.
The US Trade Representative's (USTR) announcement is less severe than a plan floated in February to hit Chinese vessels with charges of up to $1.5m (£1.1m) for each American port they visit.
It said the fees would start to be charged in 180 days time and would rise in the coming years.
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🇺🇦🇺🇸Ukraine's government has announced the signing of the outline of a minerals deal between the war-torn country and the US.
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🇺🇸Trump administration threatens Harvard with foreign student ban
The US government has threatened to ban Harvard University from enrolling foreign students, after the institution said it would not bow to demands from Donald Trump's administration.
The White House has demanded the oldest university in the US make changes to hiring, admissions and teaching practices which it says will help fight antisemitism on campus.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday accused the Ivy League school of "threatening national security" and "bending the knee to antisemitism".
She also demanded records on its foreign student visa holders' "illegal and violent" activities. International students make up more than 27% of Harvard's enrolment this year.
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🇺🇸California becomes first state to sue over Trump tariffs
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's spate of tariffs that have upended global trade.
The suit, which marks the first time a state has sued over the levies, challenges an emergency power Trump cited giving him authority to enact them.
California is the world's fifth largest economy - outpacing every US state and most countries - and is home to the largest shares of manufacturing and agricultural production in the US.
The White House, which has argued the tariffs are tackling imbalances in international trade, dismissed the lawsuit and said it would continue addressing "this national emergency that's decimating America's industries".
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🇺🇸🇨🇳Nvidia expects $5.5bn hit as US tightens chip export rules to China
Computer chip giant Nvidia says it will be hit with $5.5bn (£4.2bn) in costs after the US government tightened export rules to China.
The firm, which has been at the heart of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, will require licences to export its H20 AI chip to China, which has been one of its most popular.
The rules come amid an escalating trade war between the US and China, with both countries introducing steep trade tariffs on each other covering various goods.
Nvidia shares plunged almost 6% in after-hours trading.
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🇺🇸Obama calls Trump's freeze of Harvard funding 'unlawful'
Former President Barack Obama is applauding Harvard University's decision to refuse the White House's demands that it change its policies or lose federal money, in his first social media post to criticise the Trump administration since at least Inauguration Day.
President Donald Trump is freezing more than $2bn (£1.5bn) in federal funds for Harvard because it would not make changes to its hiring, admissions and teaching practices that his administration said were key to fighting antisemitism on campus.
Obama, a Harvard alum, described the freeze as "unlawful and ham-handed".
He called on other institutions to follow Harvard's lead in not conceding to Trump's demands.
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