Tens of thousands of people joined presidents, patriarchs and princes for the formal installation ceremony of history's first American pope, Pope Leo XIV.

A mother is fighting for her life after an alleged domestic violence attack in Sydney.

Lauren Hopkins, 47, was attacked inside her home in Redfern, allegedly by her son, Mitchell Hopkins, 30.

Police and paramedics called to the 16th storey of the Morehead Street unit complex at 4.30pm yesterday.

The 47 year-old was unresponsive, suffering critical head injuries.

9News understands police will allege the mother was bashed inside the unit and no weapon was involved.

Mitchell Hopkins has been charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The 30-year-old appeared via video link as his matter was briefly mentioned at a Parramatta court.

He didn't apply for bail.

He will now undergo a mental health assessment and remains behind bars, with his next court date set for July 10.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

Today marks a sacred day for the globe's billion-plus Catholics with the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.

But for the scores of world leaders attending the event in the Vatican it presents a rare opportunity to pursue peace at a time when war rages in Europe and the Middle East

Pilgrims gathered in great number in St Peter's Square in honour of the new leader of the Catholic Church.

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Australians present included South Australian farmer David Greenslade and his partner Tracy Pel.

"I said to all the boys in the Mount Barker footy club, I'm heading over to Rome, and I might as well go and meet the Pope. They said you'll never do that and well, yes I did," he told 9News.

One Victorian family adjusted its European holiday to be in town.

"We just thought thought it was a moment in history we don't want to miss," Nadia Edwards said.

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Ahead of the papal mass, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a Rome chapel run by the Australian Catholic Church.

"There's such joy in the city at the moment watching pilgrims come up the via Conciliazione," Greg Bennet, the Bishop of Sale said.

As much as the inauguration of Pope Leo is a spiritual event, for the world leaders attending it's a rare opportunity to pursue peace and resolution on persistent points of conflict.

US Vice President JD Vance leads the American delegation having met Pope Leo's predecessor the day before he died

Kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents are also attending.

Albanese is to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after the inauguration to resurrect free trade talks with the EU.

"We're up for a deal, but not any deal at any price. We're up for a deal that's in Australia's national interest," he said.

"I think what this demonstrates is that the world is willing to trade around the US rather than having to trade with the US," Nationals leader David Littleproud said.

Diplomatic speed-dating will also include Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The fate of his nation and Australian prisoner of war Oscar Jenkins is in the balance.

Jenkins, a former teacher, was fighting for Ukraine when he was caught by Russia, with Vladimir Putin's regime sentencing him to 13 years in jail.

"We consider this to be a sham trial and we don't believe Mr Jenkins should be treated this way," Queensland Senator Murray Watt said.

"Let's be very clear, this sentence by Russia is an outrage," Albanese said.

There's hope Jenkins may be part of a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia.

NZ woman helped plan armed robbery at her former workplace in Melbourne.

A severe thunderstorm watch is forecast for Auckland until early tomorrow morning.

A Mexican navy sailing ship on a global goodwill tour struck the Brooklyn Bridge in New York on Saturday night, snapping its three masts, fatally injuring two crew members and leaving some sailors dangling from harnesses high in the air waiting for help.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said the 142-year-old bridge was spared major damage but at least 19 people about the ship needed medical treatment after the crash.

Two of the four people who suffered more serious injuries later died, Adams announced on social media early on Sunday morning (local time).

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The cause of the collision was under investigation.

In a scene captured in multiple eyewitness videos, the ship, called the Cuauhtemoc, could be seen traveling swiftly toward the bridge near the Brooklyn side of the East River.

Then, its three masts struck the bridge's main span and snapped, one by one, as the ship kept moving.

Videos showed heavy traffic on the span at the time of the 8.20pm collision.

The vessel, which was flying a giant green, white and red Mexican flag and had 277 people aboard, then drifted toward the piers lining the riverbank as onlookers scrambled away.

Sailors could be seen aloft in the rigging on the damaged masts but, remarkably, no one fell into the water, officials said.

Sydney Neidell and Lily Katz told The Associated Press they were sitting outside to watch the sunset when they saw the vessel strike the bridge.

Looking closer, they saw someone dangling from high on the ship.

"We saw someone dangling, and I couldn't tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for like at least like 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them," Katz said.

Just before the collision, Nick Corso, 23, took his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset.

Instead, he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a "big twig." Several more snaps followed.

People in his vicinity began running back and "pandemonium" on the boat erupted, he said.

He later saw a handful of people dangling from the mast.

"I didn't know what to think, I was like, is this a movie?" he said.

The Mexican navy said in a post on the social platform X that the Cuauhtemoc was an academy training vessel.

It said a total of 22 people were injured, 19 of whom needed medical treatment.

The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, has a nearly 1,600-foot (490-meter) main span supported by two masonry towers.

More than 100,000 vehicles and an estimated 32,000 pedestrians cross every day, according to the city's transportation department. Its walkway is a major tourist attraction.

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Traffic was halted after the collision but was allowed to resume after an inspection, city officials said.

It was unclear what caused the ship to veer off course. New York Police Department Special Operations Chief Wilson Aramboles said the ship had just left a Manhattan pier and was supposed to have been headed out to sea, not toward the bridge.

He said an initial report was that the pilot of the ship had lost power due to a mechanical problem, though officials cautioned that information was preliminary.

Videos show a tugboat was close to the Cuauhtemoc at the time of the crash.

The Cuauhtemoc — about 90.5 meters long and 12 meters wide, according to the Mexican navy — sailed for the first time in 1982.

The vessel's main mast has a height of 48.9 meters, according to the Mexican government.

As midnight approached, the broken boat was moved slowly up the East River, going under and past the Manhattan Bridge, aided by a series of tugboats, before docking at a pier.

Onlookers continued to gather on the waterfront to watch the spectacle.

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Each year the ship sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets' training

This year it left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on April 6 with 277 people onboard, the Navy said then.

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The ship was scheduled to visit 22 ports in 15 nations, including Kingston, Jamaica; Havana, Cuba; Cozumel, Mexico; and New York.

It had also planned to go to Reykjavik, Iceland; Bordeaux, Saint Malo and Dunkirk, France; and Aberdeen, Scotland, among others, for a total of 254 days, 170 of them at sea.

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Police believe three offenders assaulted the man, fled from Favona in vehicle about 9.30pm

An ex-police officer threatened to dig up the victim’s deceased mum.

It comes after a manhunt for 44-year-old Michael Kane McRae.

The Government caused quite a stir when it announced money would be paid out of the fund.