DEL TORO FILM TOPS WINNERS IN VENICE

ITALY» Guillermo VENICE, del Toro’s monster thriller, “The Shape of Water,” won the Venice Film Festival’s top prize, the Golden Lion.

A jury led by American actress Annette Bening chose the film from among 21 competing at the 74th annual festival — an edition where the world’s social divisions and the specter of climate change resonated through many of the entries.

It beat contenders including George Clooney’s “Suburbicon” and Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing.”

The runner-up Grand Jury Prize on Saturday went to Israeli director Samuel Maoz’s “Foxtrot.”

Pope urges Colombia to care for sinners. COLOMBIA» Pope Francis flew to a rain-soaked Medellin on Saturday to console orphans, the poor and sick — and to demand priests and ordinary Colombians look beyond rigid church doctrine to care for sinners and welcome them in.

“My brothers, the church is not a customs post,” Francis said. “It wants its doors to be open.”

Francis was tending to in-house church business on his penultimate day in Colombia, after having spent the first half of his trip encouraging its fragile new peace process.

Waves kill 12 at picnic in Pakistan.

KARACHI, PAKISTAN» Pakistani police say at least 12 people, including women and children, drowned at a beach near the port city of Karachi after being swept away by strong waves in the Arabian sea.

Police official Ijaz Khokhar said initially two people drowned Saturday after enjoying a picnic at the beach and the others died trying to rescue them.

He said rescuers transported the bodies of the 12 “ill-fated picnickers” to a Karachi hospital.

Hamas leader heads to Cairo.

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP» The Hamas militant group said its top leader was heading to Cairo to discuss renewed cooperation with Egyptian authorities. Saturday was the first time Egypt allowed Ismail Haniyeh to leave the Gaza Strip since he was elected the Palestinian group’s chief in May.

A Hamas statement said Haniyeh and other leaders will discuss “boosting” recent easing of the blockade Egypt imposes on Gaza along with Israel.

Egypt has long accused Hamas of aiding Islamic insurgency in the neighboring Sinai Peninsula.

Turkey warns citizens about Germany.

Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a travel warning for Turkish citizens living in or traveling to Germany, citing increased right-wing and racist rhetoric ahead of Germany’s Sept. 24 parliamentary election.

In a statement Saturday, the ministry said German candidates have shaped their election campaigns on anti-turkish discourse to prevent Turkey’s membership in the European Union. It also cited fires of “undetermined causes” in immigrant neighborhoods in Germany as well as alleged ill-treatment of Turkish citizens at German airports.

Palestinian Christians protest land sale.

Palestinian Christians protested against the Greek Orthodox patriarch of the Holy Land, demanding the resignation of Theophilos III for allegedly selling church land to Israelis.

Some 200 demonstrators rallied Saturday outside the Greek Orthodox patriarchate in Jerusalem’s Old City.