Pope Francis has accused victims of Chile's most notorious paedophile of slander - an astonishing end to a visit meant to help heal the wounds of a sex abuse scandal that has cost the Catholic Church its credibility in the country.

Thousands of people lined streets in Chile's capital as Pope Francis visited the Latin American country for the first time.

Need inspiration for your holidays in 2018? Ciara McDonnell has the best deals for families, couples, cruise seekers, adventurers, walkers, solo travellers - and everything in between.

Santiago in Chile was named one of the world’s top 10 cities to visit by National Geographic Traveller, writes Isabel Conway. After a holiday there, she understands why. 

A four-goal comeback in the Champions League sounds like fantasy football, and maybe it is — but Carlo Ancelotti has been on the receiving end.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

Tourists who went to Havana for salsa music and mojitos ended up wandering through a city turned silent by nine days of national mourning for Fidel Castro.

President Michael D Higgins has hit back at criticism of his tribute to Fidel Castro, saying it is “unsustainable and unwarranted”.

The Cuban government has declared nine days of mourning for Fidel Castro, the revolutionary leader who has died at the age of 90.

Arsenal will assess forward Alexis Sanchez on his return from international duty with Chile, but look set to again have to do without playmaker Santi Cazorla for Saturday’s trip to Manchester United.

The leading edge of dangerous Hurricane Matthew has drenched Haiti, flooding streets and sending people scrambling to emergency shelters as the Category 4 storm threatened to batter the Caribbean's poorest nation.

To mark 100 years since Tom Crean embarked on one of the great feats of navigation, his descendants have decided to travel on the same epic journey, they tell Dan MacCarthy

James Keoghan makes the discovery made by all pilgrims on the Camino — the more you walk the easier it gets.

Sebastian ErraZuriz makes furniture and artworks that prompt you to step back and look again, says Carol O’Callaghan.

Ah yes, we are now hours away from the most important match in the soccer calendar so far in 2016.

A century after it transformed global markets, the Panama Canal is about to redraw world trade again.

Two lions were killed after they severely mauled a man who stripped naked and entered their enclosure in an apparent suicide attempt in Chile early on Saturday, authorities said.

Studies fitting chickens with prosthetic “dinosaur tails”, looking at the plausibility of fathering 888 children, and discovering the most painful bee sting points on the body are all among the latest winners of “Ig Nobel” awards.

Strong aftershocks rippled through Chile after a magnitude 8.3 earthquake that killed at least eight people and slammed powerful waves into coastal towns, forcing more than 1m people from their homes.

At least 10 people have died and more than a million forced to evacuate their homes following a major earthquake in Chile.

Almost 30 years years after visiting Santiago de Compostela as a teenager Arlene Harris returned with her family to see if this corner of Spain was as special as she remembered.

Around the Argentina base in Santiago, there’s not much of a sense they’re on the brink of history, that they are “one little step” — as Leo Messi put it — from ending a 22-year wait for a trophy.

Arsene Wenger accepts either Arsenal or Manchester United will have little option but to “deal with the consequences” of ending up in the Champions League qualifiers which can overshadow all pre-season preparations.

Volcano Villarrica in southern Chile erupted in the early hours of yesterday, sending a plume of ash and lava high into the sky, and forcing the evacuation of nearby communities.

Chilean mountaineers have found the wreckage of a plane that crashed in the Andes 54 years ago, killing 24 people, including eight members of a professional football team.

An Irishman, who has created a computer application which makes emails safer, has clinched a deal with the Chilean government to sell his new business worldwide.

An Irish-born Chilean priest has been sentenced to four years of probation after sexually abusing a minor while he was chaplain at a school in Santiago.

Future megacities may be filled with bicycles instead of cars. Copenhagen is leading the way in lowering CO2 emissions and increasing the mobility of citizens, writes Elisabeth Braw.

A blast has ripped through a fast food restaurant next to a busy subway station in Chile’s capital.

Take a walk with Liz O’ Brien to the literal end of the earth at Finisterre, on the rugged Atlantic coast of Galicia in Spain, where for centuries pilgrims have completed the Camino de Santiago.

The NCH hosts a concert by Jerry Creedon and Claire Adams, writes Jo Kerrigan.

As you are have probably gathered by now the first thing any budding wine enthusiast needs to learn about is grape varieties.

The man who was driving the train which was involved in a crash that killed 79 people in Spain is the only person likely to face trial after a court dropped its investigation of 22 officials from rail infrastructure firm Adif.

A Uruguayan man who was rescued after spending four months apparently lost in the Andes was on the run from child sex allegations, it has emerged.

Elvis Presley fans from around the world are making their annual pilgrimage to Graceland to pay their respects to the rock and roll icon with a candlelight vigil on the 36th anniversary of his death.

The driver of the Spanish train that derailed at 95 mph killing 79 people was on his phone at the time, investigators have said.

The driver of a Spanish train that derailed at high speed killing 79 people has been provisionally charged with multiple cases of negligent homicide.

Investigators probing the Spanish rail disaster are focusing on the key question of why the train was going so fast.

One of the drivers of a Spanish train which derailed killing at least 80 people allegedly joked on Facebook on a previous occasion about speeding past police.

The driver of a Spanish train was taken into custody in hospital last night after at least 80 people died when it derailed and caught fire in a crash which was reportedly caused by excessive speed.

A Spanish train that hurtled off the rails and smashed into a security wall as it rounded a bend was going so fast that carriages tumbled off the tracks like dominos, killing 80 people and maiming dozens more, according to eyewitness accounts and video footage obtained today.