Cardinals returned to the Sistine Chapel on Thursday to continue voting for a new pope, after the first round on Wednesday ended without a decision, signaled by black smoke rising from the chapel’s chimney. Though some expected a quick vote, electing a successor to Pope Francis may take several more ballots, as 89 votes are needed for a two-thirds majority.

Historically, papal elections have required anywhere from three to 14 rounds of voting. John Paul I was chosen on the fourth ballot in 1978, John Paul II on the eighth, and Pope Francis on the fifth in 2013.

The conclave began Wednesday with a dramatic and solemn ceremony steeped in centuries of tradition. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, considered a frontrunner and secretary of state under Francis, presided as the senior eligible cardinal, leading the oath of secrecy before Michelangelo’s Last Judgment. Each cardinal pledged silence, laying a hand on the Gospel.

Inside, the scene was one of ritual and reverence—Latin chants, red robes, and incense. Outside in St Peter’s Square, thousands watched on giant screens. While many waited patiently, some drifted away as voting stretched into the evening. Those who stayed erupted in cheers when smoke finally emerged, despite its black color indicating no result yet.

Early Thursday, an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza killed five members of the Abu Rayyan family and injured several others in Beit Lahiya, according to Gaza’s civil defence agency. The Israeli military has not yet commented on the incident.

This attack follows a deadly bombardment on Wednesday that reportedly killed 59 people, mostly in Gaza City. These strikes are among the deadliest since Israel resumed its offensive after a two-month ceasefire collapsed on March 18.

The Israeli military has announced plans for an expanded offensive, which has drawn international condemnation. UN agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, which has been devastated by 19 months of war.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza reported that at least 2,545 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in March, bringing the war’s overall toll to more than 52,650.

UN experts have demanded action to avert the “annihilation” of Palestinians in Gaza, urging the world to choose between remaining passive or working toward a just resolution.

OpenAI on Wednesday announced an initiative to help countries build their own artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructures, with the US government a partner in projects.

The San Francisco tech firm’s move to put its technology at the heart of national AI platforms around the world comes as it faces competition from Chinese rival DeepSeek.

DeepSeek’s success in delivering powerful AI models at a lower cost has rattled Silicon Valley and multiplied calls for US big tech to protect its dominance of the emerging technology.

“It’s clear to everyone now that this kind of infrastructure is going to be the backbone of future economic growth and national development,” OpenAI said in a blog post.

“This is a moment when we need to act to support countries around the world that would prefer to build on democratic AI rails, and provide a clear alternative to authoritarian versions of AI that would deploy it to consolidate power.”

Following Operation Sindoor, precision strikes on terrorist camps in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Embassy in Israel underscored “zero tolerance on terrorism.”

The embassy highlighted the heavy toll terror attacks have taken on Indian civilians and security personnel, reiterating that both nations stand united in the fight against terrorism.

Sharing a post on X, the Indian Embassy in Israel said, “India stands for zero tolerance on terrorism. We have lost more than 350 innocent Indian civilians in cross-border terrorist attacks in the past decade. Over 600 security personnel have laid down their lives. India and Israel stand together in the fight against terrorism.”

The embassy posted a video on X, accompanied by the message, “While the world embraced a new millennium, India continued to be subjected to cross-border terrorism. More than 350 Indian civilians have succumbed to cross-border terrorism in the past decade, and 800 have been injured in these dastardly acts of violence. Over 600 security personnel have laid down their lives, and more than 1,400 have been injured while protecting the nation from this scourge of cross-border terrorism.”

UN experts demanded action on Wednesday to avert the “annihilation” of Palestinians in Gaza, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed dozens of people.

A planned expanded offensive revealed by the Israeli military has drawn international condemnation, after UN agencies previously warned of humanitarian catastrophe in the Palestinian territory already devastated by 19 months of war.

More than 20 independent United Nations experts said the world faced a “stark decision” to “remain passive and witness the slaughter of innocents or take part in crafting a just resolution”.

The experts implored the international community to avert the “moral abyss we are descending into”.

Israel’s broader offensive, approved by the government amid a two-month aid blockade on Gaza, would include displacing “most” of its residents, the military has said.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday called the situation in Gaza “the most critical we have ever seen”.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Madrid would present a draft resolution at the UN General Assembly aimed at “proposing urgent measures to stop the killing of innocent civilians and ensure humanitarian aid” in Gaza.

Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday chaired a meeting in the national capital with the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of border states adjoining Pakistan and Nepal.

In a post on X, the Union Home Minister said that all the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors congratulated the armed forces for giving a “befitting reply” to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack.

“Chaired a meeting with the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors of border states adjoining Pakistan and Nepal. All the Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors congratulated PM Shri @narendramodi Ji and our armed forces for giving a befitting reply to the perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack through the historic success of Operation Sindoor,” Shah said on X.

Vice President JD Vance said Wednesday that Russia was “asking for too much” in its initial peace offer as the United States looks to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine.

The vice president, speaking at a Washington meeting hosted by the Munich Security Conference, did not elaborate on Moscow’s terms, but said he was not pessimistic about the possibility of a peace deal. That is a more sanguine assessment than President Donald Trump’s recent skepticism that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to end the war that begin in February 2022 when Russia invaded.

“I wouldn’t say that the Russians are uninterested in bringing this thing to a resolution,” Vance said. “What I would say is right now: the Russians are asking for a certain set of requirements, a certain set of concessions in order to end the conflict. We think they’re asking for too much,” he said.

Vance did not repeat any of the criticisms of Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Vance had aired during an Oval Office blowup in February with the Ukrainian leader, and he made a point of saying the U.S. appreciated Ukraine’s willingness to have a 30-day ceasefire. But the Republican vice president, citing Russia’s unwillingness on that point, said the U.S. would like to move past that and have the Russian and Ukrainian leaders sit down directly to negotiate a long-term settlement that would end the fighting.

“What the Russians have said is, ‘A 30-day ceasefire is not in our strategic interests.’ So we’ve tried to move beyond the obsession with the 30-day ceasefire and more on the, what would a long-term settlement look like,” Vance said.

A man from Hong Kong was arrested at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport here for smuggling into the country a luxury watch worth Rs 83 lakh, the customs department said on Wednesday. The officials have also seized Rs 50 lakh recovered from a receiver of this watch. The accused passenger, aged 47, was intercepted after his arrival from Hong Kong on Sunday.

“The total market value of the watch was found to be approximately Rs. 83,00,000. The said passenger admitted that the foreign-origin watch was brought from Hong Kong to Delhi to avoid paying customs duty,” the department said in a post on X.

During interrogation, the passenger admitted to previously smuggling four watches, with their total value found to be approximately Rs 2.5 crore, it said.

Further investigation led to the interception of two Indian receivers who admitted to having received smuggled watches worth approximately Rs 2.5 crore from the same passenger, the customs department said.

“Upon further probe, one Indian receiver/buyer of the smuggled watch was found in possession of Rs 50 lakhs in cash. The receiver/buyer admitted that the cash was brought as a partial payment for the smuggled watch.