White Smoke Rises: New Pope Elected by Conclave
Centuries-old ritual signals the election of the 267th leader of the Catholic Church - and for the first time, an American
The Conclave has elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome. Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti pronounced from the central loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica, the formula "Habemus Papam” - proclaiming to the city of Rome and to the whole world the news of the election of Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as Pope Leo XIV - Vatican News
Electors of the successor of St. Peter came from 94 different countries, including 53 from Europe, 37 the Americas, 23 Asia and 18 Africa.
The first Augustinian Pope, Leo XIV is the second Roman Pontiff - after Pope Francis - from the Americas. Unlike Jorge Mario Bergoglio, however, the 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost is from the northern part of the continent, though he spent many years as a missionary in Peru before being elected head of the Augustinians for two consecutive terms.
Leo XIV said to the gathered faithful: “Thank you to my Cardinal brothers who chose me to be the Successor of Peter and to walk together with you as a united Church searching all together for peace and justice, working together as women and men, faithful to Jesus Christ without fear, proclaiming Christ, to be missionaries, faithful to the gospel. I am a son of Saint Augustine, an Augustinian. He said, “With you I am a Christian, for you a bishop." So may we all walk together towards that homeland that God has prepared for us.
To the Church of Rome, a special greeting: We have to look together how to be a missionary Church, building bridges, dialogue, always open to receiving with open arms for everyone, like this square, open to all, to all who need our charity, our presence, dialogue, love.”
Pope Leo’s social media history includes sharing criticism of Trump administration policies and of comments by Vice President JD Vance. In early February, Leo shared an article from a Catholic publication with the headline, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” It came days after Vance — in discussing critiques of the Trump administration’s immigration policies — in a Fox News interview had referenced a Christian tenet “that you love your family and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that, prioritize the rest of the world.” - AP
India has accused Pakistan of attacking three of its military bases with drones and missiles, a claim which has been denied by Islamabad. The Indian Army said it had foiled Pakistan's attempts to attack its bases in Jammu and Udhampur, in Indian-administered Kashmir, and Pathankot, in India's Punjab state. Blasts were reported on Thursday evening in Jammu city in Indian-administered Kashmir as the region went into a blackout. Pakistan's defence minister told the BBC they were not behind the attack. "We deny it, we have not mounted anything so far," Khawaja Asif told the BBC, adding: "We will not strike and then deny. Earlier on Thursday, India said it had struck Pakistan's air defences and "neutralised" Islamabad's attempts to hit military targets in India on Wednesday night. Pakistan called that action another "act of aggression", following Indian missile strikes on Wednesday on targets in Pakistan and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. India's strikes on Wednesday sparked a chorus of calls for de-escalation from the international community with the UN and world leaders calling for calm. The attacks and incidents of shelling along the border have fanned fears of wider conflict erupting between the nuclear-armed states. It is being viewed as the worst confrontation between the two countries in more than two decades - BBC
US President Donald Trump might announce a Gaza deal this weekend to end the war. According to Yisrael Hayom, Israel will only be part of the deal, and many aspects of it will not be suitable for Israel - mainly the part that Hamas will disarm but will be allowed to stay in Gaza and join the future Gaza government and police.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday renewed calls for a 30-day unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine, pressing Russia to halt hostilities or face fresh sanctions. The appeal followed a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as Trump seeks to position himself as a broker for peace amid growing frustration with both Kyiv and Moscow over the stalled conflict. "Talks with Russia/Ukraine continue. The US calls for, ideally, a 30-day unconditional ceasefire," Trump said on his Truth Social network after speaking to Zelensky. "If the ceasefire is not respected, the US and its partners will impose further sanctions." Trump heads next week to Saudi Arabia, which has served as a venue for separate US talks with Russia and Ukraine. Asked by reporters if he could hold a surprise meeting with Putin in Saudi Arabia, Trump said: "I don't think so but we're having very good conversations. Very, very good." - France 24
Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that Russia has asked for territory it hasn’t conquered in peace talks over its invasion of Ukraine, as the White House continues to signal frustration with Moscow in its efforts to end the war.
“Russia can’t expect to be given territory that they haven’t even conquered yet,” Vance told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum in an interview. “And that’s one of the things that they’ve put down in that initial peace plan.” Vance told MacCallum that Moscow’s sky-high demands make sense because Russia believes it is winning the war. “We knew that the Russians’ first offer would be too much, we knew that they would ask for more than was reasonable to give, that’s how negotiations often work,” he said. “I’m not bothered by that. What would bother me is if we conclude that the Russians are not engaging in the negotiation in good faith.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping has told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that his country will stand with Moscow against “unilateralism and hegemonic bullying” during a visit to the country to commemorate the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Arriving in Moscow on Thursday at the start of a four-day visit, Xi hailed the “deeper” trust developing between the two countries, appearing to take a swipe at Western critics of Russia’s continuing offensive in Ukraine, which Putin has characterised as a war against latter-day Nazis.
President Trump announced on Thursday that the United States intended to sign a trade deal with Britain that would bring the two nations closer and roll back some of the punishing tariffs he issued on that country’s products. Both sides consider a trade pact deeply beneficial, and a deal has been under discussion since Mr. Trump’s first term. But the announcement on Thursday was still short on details, reflecting the haste of the Trump administration’s efforts to negotiate with more than dozen nations and rework the global trading system in a matter of months. The agreement, which Mr. Trump said would be the first of many, would include Britain’s dropping its tariffs on U.S. beef, ethanol, sports equipment and other products, and buying $10 billion of Boeing airplanes. The United States in return said it would pare back tariffs that Mr. Trump has put on cars and steel, though it will leave a 10 percent levy in place for all British exports. Neither government has said when the agreement will go into effect. Officials from both governments will need to meet in the coming months to hammer out specific language, leaving open the potential for disagreements. The British government said it was still pushing to bring down the 10 percent tariff on most other goods - NYT
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