Pope attends Easter procession in Rome’s Colosseum

Michelangelo dreamed it, Olivier Grossetête did it: the artist from Marseille has created a cardboard bridge over the Tiber River in Rome to link the gardens of the Villa Farnesina to the Farnese Palace, a splendid Renaissance building that houses the French embassy. The 18-metre structure is suspended by three helium-filled balloons measuring six metres in diameter.

Rome's zoo distributes frozen fruit to animals to help them cope with high temperatures and to ensure they get enough sugar in their diet.

Pope Francis met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose right-wing, anti-immigrant policies clash with Francis' call for countries to welcome refugees. Francis discussed refugees and anti-Semitism in Budapest.

"Here, in this place, the name of God was dishonored," Pope Francis said at a Holocaust memorial in Bratislava. During World War II, Slovakia was governed by a Nazi puppet regime, headed by Catholic priest Jozef Tiso.

Archbishop Stefan Hesse was on leave after being accused of neglecting his duty in a report on sexual abuse at the diocese of Cologne.

The wild boars root through Rome's rotting rubbish, as furious residents cry foul: there are political fortunes at stake in Italy's mayoral elections this weekend, but in the Eternal City garbage is the biggest talking point. From the capital to Milan, Naples and Bologna, voters head to the urns Sunday and Monday for ballots being closely watched as a test ahead of the general election in 2023.

In his Angelus prayer, Pope Francis deplores the "terrible outbreak of violence" in the prison of Guayaquil, Ecuador, where at least 118 inmates died - including six beheaded - in rioting among rival gangs before police regained control.

Rachele Mussolini said she wanted nothing to do with the "burden" of her surname. The far-right politician insisted her success was because of her hard work, not her family history.

At Rome's ICC Casalpalocco Hospital, recent figures show that a vast majority of Covid-19 patients in the ICU are unvaccinated. Now patients who once were opposed to the vaccine and others who missed their vaccine appointments insist they will get the jab as soon as they are able.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said the Catholic Church needs to be more transparent about abuse scandals. He and the pope also criticized a lack of coherent EU immigration policy with regard to refugees.

Religious minorities in India have reported increased discrimination and violence since Narendra Modi took office in 2014. The pope wants to make an official trip to the South Asian nation, but has so far been shunned.

World leaders are gathering in Rome this weekend for the first in-person G20 summit since the pandemic. Thousands of protesters marched to demand climate action.