Rome (Italy)

Cardinals prayed in St Peter's Basilica on Tuesday ahead of a conclave to elect the next pope with no clear frontrunner after Benedict XVI's historic resignation as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics left behind a Church beset by scandals.

Cardinals moved into the Vatican on Tuesday as the suspense mounted ahead of a secret papal election with no clear frontrunner to steer the Catholic world through troubled waters after Benedict XVI's historic resignation.

Papal conclaves are laden with rituals and shrouded in secrecy, but tantalising details have emerged from previous votes of what really happens behind the sealed doors of the Sistine Chapel.

The historic conclave to choose a successor for the first pope to resign in over 700 years begins on Tuesday, with the world in suspense over a secret election with no clear frontrunner.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on Monday signed a charter calling for an end to discrimination across the 54 Commonwealth nations after earlier missing a function as she recovers from the symptoms of gastroenteritis.

The Italian foreign ministry on Monday said two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates would not return to India when their court-allowed leave runs out at the end of this month.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II missed Monday's Commonwealth Day service in London as she is still recovering from the symptoms of gastroenteritis, Buckingham Palace said.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II will miss Monday's Commonwealth Day service in London as she is still recovering from the symptoms of gastroenteritis, Buckingham Palace said.

Catholic cardinals had a final day of jockeying for position on Monday before shutting themselves into the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope after Benedict XVI's shock resignation, with an Italian and a Brazilian who both head powerful archdioceses among the top contenders.

Cardinals will hold a final set of meetings on Monday before they are locked away to choose a new pope to lead the Roman Catholic Church through troubled times.

Cardinals set for a conclave this week to elect a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics prayed for divine guidance at masses on Sunday, as the faithful picked their papal favourites.

Cardinals set for a conclave this week to elect a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics celebrated masses across Rome on Sunday, as parishioners picked their papal favourites.

Sri Lanka's Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith heads the Catholic church in a predominantly Buddhist nation, but a stint in the Vatican has made him a long-shot candidate to be the next pope.

Interim Wales head coach Rob Howley insisted the pressure of a home crowd would help, rather than hinder, his side when they faced England in a likely Six Nations Championship decider at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding president, on Saturday took up his father's mantle to become head of state despite facing trial for crimes against humanity over election violence five years ago.

France hope to ease fears of a first wooden spoon since 1957 with their first victory of the Six Nations on Saturday against an Ireland side who are also in danger of ending up with the tailenders unwanted "prize".

His mother nursed the wounded in Paris during World War II, he biked around a divided Berlin as a boy and got lost in the London zoo, and he speaks French, German and Italian.

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, regarded as a long shot to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, is credited with helping rebuild the Archdiocese of Boston after the devastating 2002 child sex abuse scandal.

The international ratings agency Fitch said Friday it had downgraded Italy's sovereign debt rating by one notch to "BBB+" from "A-" and added that the outlook was negative.

Wales forwards coach Robin McBryde reckons Scotland will prove a "tough nut to crack" for the visitors when the Celtic rivals meet in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday.