US citizen Leo, who has clashed with Donald Trump over several issues, submits his vote by post in Chicago

Pope Leo has voted in the US midterm elections – the first time a sitting pontiff is known to have cast a ballot in any political election at any time in history.

Leo, who has clashed with the US president, Donald Trump, over several issues, submitted his vote by post in Chicago, where he was born, the Vatican said on Friday. Leo became the first American leader of the Catholic church last year after the death of Pope Francis.

Archaeologists uncover jewellery, cosmetics and coins in cabinet sealed since eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79

Fragments of personal objects, from makeup tools and a perfume bottle to coins and a child’s necklace, have been found tucked away in a wooden wardrobe sealed off for almost 2,000 years in the ruins of Pompeii.

The artifacts provide an intimate glimpse of daily life in the ancient Roman city before it was devastated by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79. The wardrobe was discovered in a room of a home on Via dell’Abbondanza, which was one of the most bustling streets in Pompeii.

Italian army removes and defuses 250 explosives encased in ice for more than 100 years after hikers’ sightings

A significant cache of unexploded bombs from the first world war emerged this summer from rapidly retreating glaciers in the Dolomites, the Italian army has said.

The devices, which included Italian artillery shells and French mortar bombs, were removed and defused by the army’s Julia Alpine brigade, according to a statement.