Pope Francis, in Muslim-majority Indonesia, warns against religious extremism

Pope Francis on Wednesday urged political leaders in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, to guard against religious extremism, which he said distorted people's religious beliefs through "deception and violence".

In his first speech during an ambitious 12-day journey across Southeast Asia, where Christians are broadly a small minority of the regional population, the pontiff said the Catholic Church would increase its efforts toward inter-religious dialogue in hopes of helping tamp down extremism.

"In this way, prejudices can be eliminated, and a climate of mutual respect and trust can grow," the 87-year-old pope said in an address to some 300 politicians and religious leaders at Jakarta's Merdeka Presidential Palace. read more

Russia says Telegram boss Durov is a victim of his own independence

Pavel Durov, the Telegram boss arrested in France, was "too free" in his approach to running the social media platform, and this was his undoing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.

A French judge put Russian-born Durov under formal investigation last week for suspected complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, child sex abuse images, drug trafficking and fraud.

His lawyer has said it is "absurd" to suggest he should be held responsible for any crimes committed on the app, which has nearly 1 billion users and is widely popular in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet countries. read more

Ukraine's Zelenskiy presses US to greenlight deeper strikes into Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy increased pressure on the United States to let Kyiv strike military targets deep inside Russian territory after his representatives met senior U.S. officials in Washington on Saturday.

Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and defensive crossborder operations.

Zelenskiy said guided aerial bombs killed six people and injured 97 in Kharkiv on Friday, with more attacks on Saturday. These could be averted only "by striking Russian military airfields, their bases, and the logistics of Russian terror." read more

**Hamas had command tunnel under U.N. Gaza headquarters, Israeli military says

Israeli** forces have discovered a tunnel network hundreds of metres (yards) long and running partly under UNRWA's Gaza headquarters, the military says, calling it new evidence of Hamas exploitation of the main relief agency for Palestinians.

Army engineers took reporters for foreign news outlets through the passages at a time of crisis for UNRWA, which has launched an internal probe and seen a string of donor countries freeze funding over allegations last month by Israel that some of its staff doubled as Hamas operatives. read more

**Pakistan election: Imran Khan's party wants to form government, threatens protests

Candidates** backed by the party of jailed Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan plan to form a government, a senior aide to the former prime minister said on Saturday, urging supporters to peacefully protest if final election results are not released.

The South Asian nation of 241 million people voted on Thursday in a general election, as the country struggles to recover from an economic crisis and battles militant violence in a deeply polarised political environment.

Both Khan and his main rival, three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, declared victory on Friday, increasing uncertainty over who will form the next government at a time when swift policy action is needed to address multiple challenges. read more

**Palestinians brace for Rafah evacuation, Israeli assault plan

Trapped** in and around Rafah, more than 1 million Palestinians braced for Israel to complete a plan to evacuate them and launch a ground assault against Hamas fighters in the southern Gaza city.

Aid agencies warned that large numbers of civilians could die in the Israeli offensive and the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency said it did not know how long it could work "in such a high risk operation."

"There is a sense of growing anxiety, growing panic in Rafah," said Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UNRWA agency. "People have no idea where to go." read more

**With over half the seats counted, Imran Khan's supporters lead in Pakistan polls

Independents** backed by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan won the most seats in Pakistan's election on Friday after results from over half the constituencies were announced, leaving political parties trailing.

Almost 24 hours have passed since the close of polls and the results have been unusually delayed, which the government ascribed to the suspension of mobile phone services - a security measure ahead of Thursday's election. read more

**Ex-Indonesia leader Megawati advises cabinet not to quit amid criticism of Jokowi

A** former Indonesian president and chief of its biggest party has advised ministers not to quit outgoing President Joko Widodo's cabinet, amid media reports of possible resignations over his perceived meddling in next week's presidential election.

In a rare interview, Megawati Sukarnoputri, said she had advised the influential finance minister and her own party PDI-P's five ministers to stay put or risk destabilising the country.

"If I told ministers to resign, who would be at a loss?" she told Kompas TV. "It would be the country, especially if we're talking about the finance minister." read more

**Spain's paella rice could 'disappear', say farmers angry at EU rules

A** Spanish rice variety traditionally used to make paella is under threat from a fungus after the European Union banned a pesticide farmers said they relied upon, in another example of how the bloc's environmental rules are angering growers.

Three rice producers in the Valencia region said their harvest of arroz bomba, or bomb rice, a variety grown almost exclusively in Spain, was half the 10-year average in 2023 as a result of the Pyricularia fungus which causes rice blast disease.

Bomba rice "is very likely to disappear," said Miguel Minguet, a rice farmer in the Albufera Natural Park in Valencia. "Our crop is going to be lost to regulations."

Meanwhile, major exporters such as Brazil, India and Cambodia are widely using the pesticide to protect their own crops. read more