Pope Francis on Sunday called for an Easter truce in Ukraine, and in an apparent reference to Russia, questioned the value of planting a victory flag "on a heap of rubble".
Pope Francis spoke at the end of a Palm Sunday service for about 50,000 people in St. Peter's Square, the first time since 2019 that the public was allowed to attend following two years of scaled back services because of COVID-19 restrictions.
"Put the weapons down! Let An Easter truce start. But not to re-arm and resume combat but a truce to reach peace through real negotiations open to some sacrifices for the good of the people," he said.
A flare-up of pain in his knee forced Francis, 85, to skip the traditional procession from the obelisk at the centre of the square to the altar on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica.
He watched instead while seated at the altar and later limped as he said the Mass.
Francis earlier evoked the horrors of war in his sermon, speaking of "mothers who mourn the unjust death of husbands and sons...refugees who flee from bombs with children in their arms...young people deprived of a future...soldiers sent to kill their brothers and sisters".
A man missing for more than 26 years has been found alive in his neighbour's cellar, just a few hundred metres from his family home. Omar bin Omran was reportedly kidnapped as a teenager and was discovered on Sunday.
China will always be a good neighbor, friend and partner of mutual trust with Russia, the state television quoted China president Xi Jinping as saying, as he mets Russian president Vladimir Putin.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is no longer in a life-threatening condition after he was shot in an assassination attempt when leaving a government meeting on Wednesday, a government minister said.
US President Joe Biden and Republican rival Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to face off in two debates on June 27 and Sept. 10, setting up the highest stakes moments yet of the race for the White House.
The number of people killed by weekend flash floods and mud slides in Indonesia's West Sumatra province has risen to 67 and 20 are still missing, authorities said on Thursday, as the government plans to relocate survivors to safer areas.
The UAE's President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered the dispatch of aid to support those affected by heavy rains and floods in Brazil.
The UAE has reiterated its firm support for the rights of the Palestinian people and called for collective international action to put an end to the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.