Church bells tolled in Mosul and nearby towns Monday to mark the death of Pope Francis, the first pope to visit Iraq which suffered greatly at the hands of jihadists.

In the historic Al-Tahera church in the nearby town of Qaraqosh, where the Pope prayed in 2021, dozens of worshippers gathered for an Easter mass which also became an occasion to pay tribute to their beloved Francis.

Near the altar stood an empty wooden chair on which the pope had sat when he declared in a mass that he had entrusted the town's "rebirth" to the Virgin Mary.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shiite Islam's highest authority in Iraq, offered his condolences on Monday for the death of Pope Francis, praising his work promoting "peace and tolerance".

Sistani, 94, who met the late pontiff in 2021 in the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, said in a statement issued by his office that it was an "important milestone" in supporting interfaith dialogue and "rejecting violence and hatred".

Francis had a "special role in serving the causes of peace and tolerance, and solidarity with the oppressed and persecuted around the world", Sistani said.

Lawyers and relatives on Monday denounced the hefty sentences handed down to Tunisian opposition figures in last week's mass trial as "fabricated" and "unfounded", and said they will appeal.

A court in Tunis in the early hours of Saturday handed down jail terms of up to 66 years to around 40 defendants, including vocal critics of President Kais Saied.

They were accused of "conspiracy against state security" and "belonging to a terrorist group" among other charges, according to their lawyers.

Pope Francis died on Monday aged 88, prompting mourning across the Christian world for the energetic reformer who inspired devotion from Catholics but riled traditionalists during a 12-year papacy.

Mourners gathered, many in tears, in St Peter's Square, where just a day earlier the the frail-looking pontiff had greeted worshippers on Easter Sunday, having recently left hospital following a 38-day battle with double pneumonia.

Gaza's civil defence agency on Monday accused the Israeli military of carrying out "summary executions" in the killing of 15 rescue workers last month, rejecting the findings of an internal probe by the army.

The medics and other rescue workers were killed when responding to distress calls near Gaza's southern city of Rafah early on March 23, days into Israel's renewed offensive in the Hamas-run territory.

Pope Francis, who died Monday aged 88, will go down in history as a radical pontiff, a champion of underdogs who forged a more compassionate Catholic Church while stopping short of overhauling centuries-old dogma.

Dubbed "the people's Pope", the Argentine pontiff loved being among his flock and was popular with the faithful, though he faced bitter opposition from traditionalists within the Church.

On deserted university grounds in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian children run outside nearly empty buildings, their playground after being driven from their homes by a major Israeli "counter-terrorism" operation.

Between a stadium and flower fields where goats now graze, the children play to escape boredom. They have no school to go to since the Israeli military ordered residents to leave the Jenin refugee camp more than two months ago.

Israel's government cancelled visas for 27 French left-wing lawmakers and local officials two days before they were to start a visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Sunday, the group said.

The action came only days after Israel stopped two British members of parliament from the governing Labour party from entering the country.

It also came amidst diplomatic tensions after President Emmanuel Macron said France would soon recognise a Palestinian state. Macron has in turn sought to pressure Netanyahu over conditions in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday from Red Bull polesitter Max Verstappen to lead the world championship for the first time in his career.

Charles Leclerc's Ferrari completed the podium for this fifth round of the season under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Piastri's third win this year was in large part decided at the first turn, when Verstappen picked up a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage after going off the track.

McLaren's Oscar Piastri won the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Sunday from Red Bull polesitter Max Verstappen to lead the world championship for the first time in his career.

Charles Leclerc's Ferrari completed the podium for this fifth round of the season under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Piastri's third win this year was in large part decided at the first turn, when Verstappen picked up a five-second penalty for gaining an advantage after going off the track.