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Pope Francis, the first Latin American leader of the Roman Catholic Church, died at the age of 88 on Monday. He had been discharged from a hospital in Rome in March after being treated for pneumonia in both lungs for several weeks.

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, Francis was elected as the position in March 2013 after Pope Benedict XVI resigned. He was archbishop of Buenos Aires between 1998 and 2013. The church’s cardinals will hold a conclave to elect his successor.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Francis would be remembered as a “beacon of compassion, humility and spiritual courage”. Read on.

Poet Aamir Aziz has accused artist Anita Dube of using his poem, Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega, without authorisation in works displayed at a recent exhibition in Delhi. In response, Dube said that she realises she had made an “ethical lapse not checking with Aamir using words from his poem” and had offered to correct this by remuneration.

In a social media post, Aziz said he was informed on March 18 that phrases from the poem had been “stitched into a work on display” by Dube in her exhibition, which was titled Timanjala Ghar, or “Three-storyed Home”, at Vadehra Art Gallery in Delhi. Aziz identified four pieces in which his poem was used.

Following this, the Vadehra Art Gallery said it had ensured that the works Aziz has concerns with were not offered for sale. Read on.

The Bharatiya Janata Party accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of disrespecting Indian democracy by alleging electoral irregularities while in the United States. BJP MP Sambit Patra called Gandhi a “traitor” for his comments and alleged that he had seized national wealth through the National Herald.

The comment was a reference to a money-laundering case linked to the newspaper, in which the Enforcement Directorate recently filed a chargesheet against Gandhi and others.

At an event in Boston on Sunday, Gandhi cited the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly polls to claim the Election Commission was “compromised”. He alleged a voting surge of 65 lakh between 5.30 pm and 7.30 pm, calling it “physically impossible”, and said video evidence was denied to the Congress after a rule change. Read on.

A Chhattisgarh Armed Force constable was killed on Monday after an improvised explosive device allegedly planted by suspected Maoists went off.

The constable, 26-year-old Manoj Kumar, was part of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force’s 19th battalion. The blast occurred when the security personnel were patrolling an area between Toynar and Farsegarh villages where a road is being constructed. Read on.

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