International
Pope Francis finally laid to rest at Santa Maria Maggiore basilica

Pope Francis has been laid to rest at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica.
The late pontiff’s entombment was a private event which allowed those close to him to pay their last respects.
This was after a funeral Mass at the Vatican.
Thousands of people, including world leaders and monarchs witnessed Pope Francis’ funeral mass at St Peter’s Basilica on Saturday.
From there, the coffin carrying the pontiff’s corpse was transported to Santa Maria Maggiore basilica where it was entombed.
Mourners queued up along the streets to witness as his corpse was moved from the Vatican to his final resting place.
The late Argentine is the first in over a century to be buried outside the Vatican.
Speaking during the funeral, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, said the Catholic pontiff “touched minds and hearts” and wanted to “build bridges, not walls.
”Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88. In his final moment, the deceased suffered a stroke, coma, and a heart failure.
Burying Pope Francis at St. Mary Major in the Pauline Chapel followed the request he wrote in his spiritual testament.
The Pauline Chapel houses the ancient icon of Maria Salus Populi Romani.
His death was confirmed through electrocardiographic thanatography.
Pope Francis was admitted at Gemelli hospital in Rome on February 14 after suffering from pneumonia in both lungs.
The Vatican, however, claimed that the Pope was making progress in recent days that followed.
He was later allowed to return home after his health condition improved.
International
30 injured as train derails in Iran

A train derailed in the southern Iranian province of Kerman on Friday, injuring more than two dozen people though no deaths were reported, according to local media.
“Thirty people were injured when a train derailed on the Kerman-Zarand railway path,” Babak Mahmoudi, head of the Red Crescent Society’s Relief and Rescue Organisation, told the Mehr news agency.
A statement from the public relations office of the national railway body carried by the Tasnim news agency reported that after “the timely arrival of railway technical personnel and rescue forces, all passengers safely exited the train”.
Train derailments are not uncommon in Iran, and while they do not generally result in deaths, there have been fatal disasters in the past.
In June 2022, 21 people were killed and dozens were injured when a train derailed near the central Iranian city of Tabas after hitting an excavator beside the track.
In 2016, two trains collided and caught fire in northern Iran, killing 44 people and injuring scores.
AFP
International
U.K.–India set to boost bilateral trade by over $34 billion a year
The FTA, which slashes duties on goods including textiles, alcohol and automobiles, was signed Thursday in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.

•Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.
U.K. and India’s bilateral trade is set to get a more than $34 billion annual boost over the long term following their free trade agreement, with the countries’ leaders calling it a “historic” deal.
CNBC reported that the FTA, which slashes duties on goods including textiles, alcohol and automobiles, was signed on Thursday in the presence of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer.
Both sides had finalized the trade pact in May after three years of intense negotiations — marked by thorny issues such as visas, tariff reduction and tax breaks.
Talks gained momentum and both governments accelerated to seal the deal as U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff threats sent the world in disarray.
The agreement between the world’s fifth and sixth largest economies is expected to boost their bilateral trade by 25.5 billion pounds per year by 2040.
Trade in goods and services stood at over 40 billion pounds in 2024.
The deal offers “huge benefits to both of our countries,” boosting wages, raising living standards and bringing down prices for consumers, Starmer said.
India’s Modi lauded the agreement as “a blueprint for our shared prosperity,” highlighting how Indian goods including textiles, jewelry, agricultural products and engineering items would benefit from a better access to the U.K. market.
International
Russian missing plane found in Forest – No Survivors
Amur’s regional governor Vasily Orlov said five children were among those on board and declared three days of mourning.

Russian officials say 48 people were killed when an Angara Airlines plane went down in a dense forest in the far-eastern Amur region.
The Antonov An-24 plane, carrying 42 passengers and six crew, had left Blagoveshchensk close to the Chinese border and vanished from radar screens as it approached Tynda airport, officials said.
A Russian civil aviation helicopter then spotted burning fuselage from the plane on a remote hillside about 16km (10 miles) from Tynda.
Amur’s regional governor Vasily Orlov said five children were among those on board and declared three days of mourning.
Orlov said that according to preliminary data, there were 43 passengers, including five children, and six crew members on board the plane operated by a Siberian airline.
-
Business2 days ago
Dangote Refinery Debunks shutdown rumour, says PMS’s gantry price remains N850
-
Crime18 hours ago
EFCC raids Obasanjo’s hotel, arrests internet fraudsters during pool party
-
News2 days ago
Kogi State Government Creates New Traditional Stools, Reinstates Suspended Monarch, Moves to Resolve Bagana Crisis
-
News3 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Motorists To Face Six Months Imprisonment Over Tinted Permits From Tuesday
-
Crime19 hours ago
Police Convict 21 foreigners for alleged internet fraud
-
News2 days ago
Nigerian Police Release Activist Following Detention Amid Revolutionary Movement Pressure
-
News2 days ago
JUST IN: Ex-minister, Audu Ogbe Dies at 78
-
News18 hours ago
SERAP, NGE sue Niger State Governor, NBC over Badeggi FM