Italy’s interior minister says 400,000 mourners in St Peter’s Square and surrounding area for funeral of Pope Francis

• Report from the Vatican: Pilgrims and powerful come together for funeral
• In pictures: the day’s best images

At least 130 foreign delegations, including about “50 heads of state and 10 reigning monarchs”, would attend Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday, the Vatican said on Thursday.

Heads of state and government who have confirmed their attendance at the funeral include Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, Keir Starmer and Javier Milei, the president of Pope Francis’s native Argentina. Francis had a delicate relationship with politics in his home country, but Milei hailed his “goodness and wisdom”.

We will be present at the pope’s funeral, as is only right.

Applause rings out as late pontiff’s wooden coffin carried from altar of St Peter’s Basilica for open-air ceremony

• Pope Francis’s funeral – live

Pope Francis has been eulogised as “a pope among the people, with an open heart towards everyone” during a funeral mass that brought together an array of mourners, from pilgrims and refugees to powerful world leaders and royals.

Francis, 88, died on Monday after a stroke and subsequent heart failure, setting into motion a series of centuries-old rituals and a huge, meticulously-planned logistical and security operation not seen in Italy since the funeral of John Paul II in April 2005.

Some, especially within the US, see the conclave as an opportunity to establish a more conservative leader

For Catholics who cherished Pope Francis’s relentless defence of the dignity of migrants and minorities, the footage of his deeply awkward meeting with JD Vance on Easter Sunday made for unsettling viewing. During his 12 years in St Peter’s chair, Francis railed against Christian complicity with “America first”-type nationalist movements across the west. Here, looming over him on what turned out to be the eve of his death, was the White House embodiment of the insular, bullying politics he spent so much energy fighting against.

What now? The pope “from the ends of the earth” will be laid to rest on Saturday in an unadorned tomb in Rome’s Santa Maria Maggiore basilica, after a funeral attended by about 50 heads of state and 130 delegations from around the world. Progressives inside and outside the church will hope that encounter with the US vice-president was not an ominous portent.

Giuffre’s family issue statement confirming she killed herself at her farm in Western Australia

Virginia Giuffre, one of the most prominent victims of the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein who also alleged she was sexually trafficked to Prince Andrew, has died aged 41.

Her family issued a statement on Saturday confirming she took her own life at her farm in Western Australia, where she had lived for several years.

Two leaders meet at Pope Francis’s funeral to discuss Washington’s plan for an end to the fighting

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy used their time at the Vatican while attending the funeral of Pope Francis to discuss a possible ceasefire with Russia, with the Ukrainian president releasing a photograph of a seemingly intense conversation in St Peter’s Basilica.

The White House described the meeting as “very productive”, while Zelenskyy said on X that the talk with the US president was very symbolic and had the “potential to become historic, if we achieve joint results”.

Cause of blast in southern port of Shahid Rajaee in Bandar Abbas unknown but one report says containers exploded

An immense blast in Iran’s southern port of Shahid Rajaee has wounded at least 516 people, according to state media.

The cause of the explosion in the southern city of Bandar Abbas was unknown, with the director general of the province’s crisis management body saying it was working to determine the cause of the incident.

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Championship: On as a substitute, Shandon Baptiste has scored what could be a massive goal for Luton against Coventry. It was a scrappy effort that took a big deflection off a defender who couldn’t sort his feet out but Hatters fans won’t care. A win will take them out of the relegation zone for a couple of hours at least.

League Two: Doncaster Rovers are 2-0 up against Bradford City, with Billy Sharp doubling their lead after Tyrick Wright missed a penalty for the Bantams. A win will send Donny up to League One and leave Bradford in the third automatic promotion place. In London, Port Vale are beating AFC Wimbledon 2-0 and will also go unless Bradford can turn things around very quickly and win against Doncaster Rovers.

Number of visitors sinks 11.6% in March as deportations and tariffs make US a less appealing destination

Every summer, Cheryl travels to Iowa, from her home in St Kitts. She rents a three-bedroom house for her and her US-based adult children. She usually rents a car, too, and the family go out for dinners and explore local attractions. Cheryl typically spends $10,000 on the trip.

Not this year.

Exclusive: Local authorities have spent less than £40m out of £170m collected since offsetting scheme began in 2016

• ‘Smart, green thinking’: four innovative London council carbon-offset projects

London councils are sitting on more than £130m that should be funding local climate action, the Guardian can reveal.

More than £170m has been collected through the mayor of London’s carbon offset fund, which developers are required to pay into to mitigate emissions from new projects, since it was introduced in 2016. However, the capital’s 33 local authorities have spent less than £40m between them. Some have said they do not have the resources, expertise or time to decide how to spend it.

Senior officials unsure who to believe after aides fired and chief of staff quits amid look into Panama canal media leak

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s orbit has become consumed by a contentious leak investigation that those inside the Pentagon believe is behind the firing of three senior aides last week, according to five people involved in the situation.

The secretary’s office has been marked for weeks by ugly internal politics between chief of staff Joe Kasper, who left the department on Thursday, and the three ousted aides, including senior adviser Dan Caldwell, deputy chief Darin Selnick, and the chief to the deputy defense secretary, Colin Carroll.