Pope marks first Easter under cloud of Mideast war

Pope Leo XIV is set to mark Easter Sunday for the first time as pontiff, with the Middle East war casting a pall over the most important date in the Christian calendar.The US-born pope, who has emerged as a leading voice against the war, will hold mass in St Peter's Square from 0830 GMT in front of thousands of faithful.The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics will then pronounce a traditional blessing at 1000 GMT that will be closely followed this year.