- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
- Samson ton powers India to T20 series sweep after record total
- Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight
- UN peacekeepers to remain in Lebanon: spokesman
- Pro-Conquest film fuels debate in Mexico over colonial legacy
- Samson ton powers India to record 297-6 in Bangladesh T20
- New Zealand enjoy perfect start to America's Cup defence over Britain
Cardinal Sodano, controversial right-hand man to two popes, dies
Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano, right-hand man to former popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, has died at the age of 94, the Vatican announced on Saturday.
The Vatican power-broker cut a controversial figure in recent years, linked to many controversies, but wielded great influence over the church under the two popes in the 1990s and 2000s.
Pope Francis paid tribute to "this esteemed man of the Church, who fulfilled his priesthood with generosity... in the service of the Holy See," in a telegram addressed to the family and published by the Vatican.
Sodano died on Friday in Rome where he had been hospitalised since May 9 after testing positive for Covid-19, according to the official news website Vatican News.
The Vatican did not provide details on his cause of death.
His funeral will be held on Tuesday at St Peter's Basilica, with Pope Francis attending.
John Paul II made Sodano his second-in-command when he named him secretary of state in 1991. Sodano accompanied him on around 50 foreign trips.
After Benedict XVI's appointment in 2005, Sodano stayed in the post until September 2006.
The then pope also approved Sodano's election as Dean of the College of Cardinals in 2005, remaining in the post at the time of Benedict XVI's resignation in 2013.
Pope Francis then accepted Sodano's resignation in 2019 after he garnered criticism over his support for priests accused of wrongdoing.
Critics condemned Sodano's involvement in many scandals. In one expose, National Catholic Reporter weekly alleged that Sodano protected Father Marcial Maciel, the Mexican-born founder of the Legion of Christ religious order.
Maciel lived for years with a woman with whom he had a child and was also accused of having sexually abused children and seminarians. He died in 2008.
Sodano was also one of the central characters of French journalist Frederic Martel's book, "In the Closet of the Vatican: Power, Homosexuality, Hypocrisy", which referred to the cardinal's lifestyle in Rome and his links to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet during his time in Chile.
Born on November 23, 1927, Sodano was the second of six children in a family living in the town of Isola d'Asti in Piedmont region, northwestern Italy. His father was a lawmaker between 1948 and 1963.
Sodano studied theology and canon law and was ordained a priest in 1950.
He then began a diplomatic career with the Vatican in 1959 with several posts abroad, especially in South America.
In 1977, the then pope, Paul VI, appointed Sodano as apostolic nuncio in Chile.
He also previously served in Ecuador and Uruguay. He returned to Rome in 1988 before taking on a role similar to that of foreign minister in 1989.
S.Gregor--AMWN