Pope Francis praised Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's "acute and gentle thought" as he presided over a packed Wednesday general audience in the Vatican, while thousands of people paid tribute to the former pope on the final day of public viewing in St. Peter's Basilica.

Francis was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd in the Paul VI auditorium and shouts of "Viva il papa!" or "Long live the pope" as he arrived for his weekly catechism appointment with the faithful.

Hong Kong's outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen was allowed to leave the southern Chinese city to pay his respects to the late Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in Vatican City, his secretary said on Tuesday.

Zen, a 90-year-old retired bishop, will attend the funeral Mass, led by Pope Francis, at St. Peter's Square on Thursday and return to Hong Kong on Saturday, the secretary said.

Former pope Benedict XVI has died at the age of 95, the Vatican announced Saturday, almost a decade after he became the first pontiff to resign in six centuries.

"With sorrow I inform you that the Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, passed away today at 9:34 in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.

Former minister Amir Ohana was elected as Israel's first openly gay speaker of parliament on Thursday, ahead of the swearing in the of new government.

The United Nations' human rights chief on Tuesday decried increasing restrictions on women's rights in Afghanistan, urging the country's Taliban rulers to reverse them immediately. He pointed to "terrible consequences" of a decision to bar women from working for non-governmental organizations.

Last week, Taliban authorities stopped university education for women, sparking international outrage and demonstrations in Afghan cities. On Saturday, they announced the exclusion of women from NGO work, a move that already has prompted four major international aid agencies to suspend operations in Afghanistan.

Ukrainians usually celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7, as do the Russians. But not this year, or at least not all of them.

Some Orthodox Ukrainians have decided to observe Christmas on Dec. 25, like many Christians around the world. Yes, this has to do with the war, and yes, they have the blessing of their local church.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia became the latest Muslim-majority countries to condemn a decision by Taliban authorities to bar women from universities, while about two dozen women staged a protest in the streets of Kabul on Thursday.

In another sign of domestic opposition, several Afghan cricketers condemned the university ban. Cricket is a hugely popular sport in Afghanistan, and players have hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.

The French soccer federation wants to go after social media users who targeted some of the national team's players with racist comments following France's loss to Argentina in the World Cup final.

The federation said Tuesday that some players were hit by "unacceptable racist and hateful comments on social networks" and that it planned to file a complaint against those that posted abuse.

Afghans voiced outrage on social media Wednesday over the Taliban's ban on women attending university, using the hashtag #LetHerLearn -- one of the only ways people can still protest in the country.

Affected students poured their hearts out on Twitter and Facebook, lamenting how their dreams had been shattered by the announcement late Tuesday that tertiary education was now off-limits to women.

To prepare for the ritual ahead, Omer Kilic and his 14-year-old son dress in white robes, drape black cloaks over them and don cone-shaped hats called "sikke."

The tennure robes symbolize funeral shrouds, the cloaks a tomb and the hats a tombstone — outfits that are part of a centuries-old tradition performed by the whirling dervishes of Turkey.