World mourns Pope John Paul II

• POLISH PILGRIMS CONVERGE ON ROME | 12:55 p.m. ET

Trains filled with Polish pilgrims determined to see the funeral of countryman Pope John Paul II approached Rome on Thursday.

Thousands of Poles rushed to buy tickets to Rome, some within hours of the Pope’s death on Saturday, as the country began grieving. More are driving to the Italian capital, which will draw around 150,000 Poles for the biggest funeral in Vatican history.

After about eight hours of queuing for tickets and a 24-hour train journey crossing four borders, passengers said they were ready to endure crowds and chaos in a city already brimming with 4 million faithful from around the world.

“We needed to say goodbye to him,” Rafal Baranski told Reuters on the train from the southern city of Krakow.

“It doesn’t matter that there will be masses of people, it doesn’t matter we don’t know where we will sleep. It is just important to be there. This will be our last meeting with him after all,” he said.

• POLITICAL BATTLE IN MALAWI | 11:56 a.m. ET

Malawi’s parliament has demanded the government recall a delegation sent to Pope John Paul’s funeral, describing the group as too junior for such a high-profile event.

But, with the funeral due to take place on Friday morning, it looked unlikely that Malawi, one of the world’s poorest countries, would be able to fly in a replacement delegation.

President Bingu Wa Mutharika, who has declared Friday a public holiday in memory of the Pontiff, has sent his presidential adviser on religious affairs and ruling party officials to Rome.

MPs almost unanimously condemned the choice as a disgrace to the southern African nation. They called for a more weighty delegation, possibly including the vice-president, to be sent immediately.

“We demand that the delegation be recalled because it is too low key for a funeral of such stature,” former Foreign Minister Lilain Patel said.

• BULGARIA REJECTS ASSASSINATION ALLEGATIONS | 11:37 a.m. ET

Bulgaria rejects new allegations that it was involved in the 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca in a communist conspiracy.

“Bulgaria considers the case closed both politically and legally,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Gergana Grancharova told Reuters. “Bulgaria has proved to the world that all accusations are ill-founded.”

• SENATORS TO PAY RESPECTS | 10:35 a.m. ET

U.S. senators, in Rome for the pope’s funeral, are expected to pay their respects in St. Peter’s Basilica this morning.

The delegation of 14 senators include Majority Leader Bill Frist as well as senators John Kerry and Edward Kennedy.

• MUGABE DEFIES EU, FLIES TO ROME | 8:35 a.m. ET

President Robert Mugabe is defying an EU travel ban by flying from Zimbabwe unannounced to join world leaders attending Pope John Paul II’s funeral in Rome.

The trip was immediately denounced by one of Mugabe’s fiercest human rights critics, Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo.

“That man will use any opportunity to fly to Europe to promote himself. The man is shameless,” said the archbishop.

By going to Rome, the 81-year-old Mugabe defied EU travel sanctions imposed in 2002 after its observers were barred from disputed presidential elections. His ruling ZANU-PF party last week announced it had gained a two-thirds majority in parliamentary elections also marred by fraud allegations.

However, Archbishop Ncube noted that the Italian government was obliged by its treaties with the Vatican to admit Mugabe for the pope’s funeral.

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