Pope Leo XIV held the first Christmas mass of his pontificate on Wednesday, greeting thousands of faithful in St Peter’s Square before the service in an usually informal style.

Annoyed by power cuts, Congress MLA Virendra Jati from Jhabreda in Haridwar district climbed electricity poles and cut the power to the houses of three of the department’s officials.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas on Wednesday of violating the Gaza ceasefire agreement after a military officer was wounded by an explosive device in Rafah and Israel vowed retaliation.