POLITICS & POLICY

Anticipation gripped the Catholic world Thursday as the cardinals tasked with choosing a new pope prepared to retreat behind the heavy doors of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel for their second day of voting.

Pakistan has warned it will "avenge" those killed by Indian air strikes that New Delhi said were in response to an attack in Kashmir, signalling an imminent escalation in the worst violence in decades between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

Hamas insisted Wednesday on a "comprehensive" agreement to end its war with Israel, as rescuers said Israeli bombardment of Gaza killed at least 26 people amid a growing humanitarian catastrophe.

The warning, published Wednesday on Smarttraveller, urged Australians to "exercise a high degree of caution" in India and to reconsider travel to Pakistan.

The Kremlin was forced Wednesday to say it was taking "all necessary measures" to ensure the safety of foreign leaders set to attend its flagship May 9 parade after a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks closed airports across the country, disrupting hundreds of flights.

Standing in the rubble of used to be his home, Palestinian farmer Haitham Dababseh cleared stones to make space for a tent after Israeli army bulldozers destroyed his village in the occupied West Bank.

The cardinal leading the last mass before a conclave to elect a new pope urged his peers Wednesday to choose someone able to protect the Catholic Church's unity and lead a "difficult and complex" point in history.

India fired missiles at Pakistani territory early Wednesday in a major escalation of tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Islamabad vowing retaliation.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told US President Donald Trump that his country was "never for sale" Tuesday as they met at the White House amid tensions on tariffs and sovereignty.

A Ukrainian drone barrage forced Russia to close a dozen airports deep behind the frontline on Tuesday, just days before foreign leaders gather in Moscow for a major Victory Day parade.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered at least a 20 percent reduction in the number of active-duty four-star generals and admirals in the US military, a memo from the defense secretary said.

New Zealand's prime minister on Tuesday proposed banning children under 16 from social media, stressing the need to protect them from the perils of big tech platforms.

In 2023, 61% of Australia's medicinal cannabis supply was imported, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Under current regulations, a country's permitted medicinal cannabis supply is determined by domestic demand.

Australia still wants to make "great films" with the United States, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday, as new tariffs threaten the home of Hollywood hits like The Matrix, Elvis and Crocodile Dundee.

Hamas on Tuesday dismissed as pointless ceasefire talks with Israel, accusing it of waging a "hunger war" on Gaza as famine looms and Israel prepares for a broader assault on the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

Drones struck the airport and knocked out power across Port Sudan on Tuesday, officials said, the third straight day the Sudanese army-aligned government's seat of power has come under attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will address the "grandest" ever annual Victory Day parade in Moscow on Friday, evoking the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II to rally support for his troops fighting in Ukraine.

Renee Guette, 98, laughed as she looked at her computer screen in Texas.

Pro-EU Romania is facing a possible foreign policy shift, with a far-right leader -- and fan of US President Donald Trump -- topping the first round of a tense election rerun and now up against a centrist mayor for president.

The Druze are a prominent religious community of more than a million people spread mainly across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, who for centuries have sought to preserve a distinct identity.

A military parade and planned balcony appearance by the royal family on Monday kicked off four days of UK celebrations marking 80 years since the end of World War II. King Charles III, Prime Minister Keir Starmer and thousands of spectators watched as NATO personnel from the US, France and Germany, along with a small number of Ukrainian troops, joined a military procession that began with Winston Churchill's 1945 victory speech, voiced by actor Timothy Spall.

Catholic cardinals will enter into conclave this week to choose a new pope, with the Church's 1.4 billion members holding their breath over an uncertain outcome.

Throughout the campaign, Labor repeatedly drew parallels between Dutton's policies and those of U.S. president, criticizing him for embracing Trump-style rhetoric and approaches.

Israel's security cabinet approved the expansion of military operations in Gaza including the "conquest" of the Palestinian territory, an official said Monday, after the army called up tens of thousands of reservists for the offensive.

US President Donald Trump said in remarks airing Sunday that he does not know whether he must uphold the US Constitution, the nation's founding legal document.

As dusk falls, some 500 Indigenous people stand in formation in Lauca Ene, a hamlet in central Bolivia, and raise their spears to the cry of "Long live Evo Morales!"

Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported Saturday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed a three-day truce ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin as theatrics but said Kyiv was ready for a full ceasefire.

Singaporeans cast their votes Saturday in an election where Prime Minister Lawrence Wong faces his first major test against a rejuvenated opposition in uncertain economic times for the trade-centred nation.