Cardinal Robert Prevost, 69, of the United States has been elected leader of the Catholic Church and will be called Pope Leo XIV.

The leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics appeared on the balcony overlooking St Peter’s Square in the Vatican on Thursday.

He was elected by the secret meeting of cardinals, known as the conclave, in the Sistine Chapel, having secured votes from two-thirds of the eligible electors.

The successful election was indicated by white smoke billowing from a chimney set up on the chapel and the peal of bells from St Peter’s BASILICA.

Pope Leo XIV succeeds Francis, who died on Easter Monday. dpa/NAN) .

 Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised on Thursday that the United Nations must continue to play a vital role in global affairs, especially as the organisation marks its 80th anniversary.

“Russia and China share the opinion that the UN and its Security Council should continue to play a central role in world affairs,” Putin told reporters following Russian-Chinese talks held at the Kremlin.

Putin noted that both Russia and China pursued independent and autonomous foreign policies and were committed to promoting a fair, multipolar world order.

He also highlighted the countries’ active cooperation within multilateral platforms such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

Additionally, the Russian president stated that Moscow and Beijing would continue efforts to align integration initiatives between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and China’s Belt and Road Initiative. (RIA/NAN)

Chinese tech giant Huawei on Thursday said that the first line of its personal computers (PCs) powered by HarmonyOS operating system would be launched on May 19.

The upcoming release would mark a significant expansion of Huawei’s HarmonyOS ecosystem, which already powers its smartphones and tablets.

By launching computers equipped with the country’s first homegrown operating system for the general public, Huawei seeks to challenge the long-standing dominance of Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s macOS in the PC market.

Huawei’s HarmonyOS-powered computers are the result of five years of research and development.

The company emphasised that the system incorporates strong security features, including a dedicated security chip for encryption, secure access mechanisms and encrypted data sharing.

“The new computers would enable seamless interaction across Huawei devices, allowing users to control and move between the screens of their phones, tablets and computers with a keyboard and mouse.

“HarmonyOS-powered computers support connectivity with over 1,000 external devices and currently have more than 150 dedicated PC applications and over 300 ecosystem-compatible applications,” it said.

HarmonyOS, or Hongmeng in Chinese, is an open-source operating system designed for various devices and scenarios, including intelligent screens, tablets, wearables and cars.

It was first launched in August 2019.

Analysts said that Huawei would have to work harder to attract users in the initial periods, as the mainstream Windows and macOS operating systems offer more mature applications. (Xinhua/NAN)