Reuters

• Boko Haram strike leaves 15 dead and dozens wounded

  A Boko Haram attack in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri killed at least 15 people and wounded 83, a military spokesman said on Monday, in the biggest strike since the government said it was in talks with the Islamist militant group.

• Costa Rica's evangelical candidate defeated in presidential race

  Alvarado Munoz, a 43-year-old former TV journalist known for religious dance songs, quickly conceded, sinking to his knees, arms raised, in front of supporters, some of them crying.

• Pope Francis condemns Gaza violence in Easter message

  Pope Francis, in his Easter address on Sunday, called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, saying the conflict there 'does not spare the defenceless'.

• Pope Francis baptises 'migrant hero' in Holy Saturday service

  Pope Francis on Saturday led an Easter vigil service, baptising eight adults, including a formerly undocumented Nigerian migrant beggar who became a hero when he disarmed an Italian thief wielding a cleaver.

• Trump tells advisers he wants U.S. out of Syria

  President Donald Trump has told advisers he wants an early exit of U.S. troops from Syria, a stance that may put him at odds with U.S. military officials who see the fight against Islamic State as nowhere near complete.

• 'I've never been so happy' - Nobel winner Malala in Pakistan

  Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai says she has pined for her home in Pakistan's picturesque Swat Valley, even as she recalled two years living in fear under the Taliban's harsh interpretation of Islamic law.

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  For one Catholic parish in China, division and confusion as historic deal looms

  News of the impending deal between China and the Vatican has split communities of Catholics across China, according to some critics like Cardinal Joseph Zen in Hong Kong.

• No more pain for Philippines devotee nailed to cross for 32nd time

  A Philippines man who has been nailed to a cross every Easter for the past 32 years in a Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion says he no longer feels any pain from his wounds.

• Division and confusion for Catholic parish in China, as historic deal looms

  Like many Chinese Catholics, Lin Jinqing was shocked when news trickled through to him of an impending deal between Beijing and the Vatican that would end a long dispute over control of the Church in China.

• Christ's 'crown of thorns' tree may help in climate change fight, researchers say

  As the sun beats down on the barren slopes around Jerusalem, a tree of the kind believed to have provided the crown of thorns in Biblical accounts of Jesus Christ's crucifixion stands unaffected, its fruits ample and foliage green.

• Keep shouting, don't become anesthetised, pope tells young people

  Pope Francis, starting Holy Week services leading to Easter, urged young people on Sunday to keep shouting and not allow the older generations to silence their voices or anesthetize their idealism.

• The Catholic Church - coming to a Starbucks near you?

  Young Catholics told their Church elders on Saturday that the faith should be spread in the places where they like to hang out, such as coffee bars.