U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to give up efforts to recover Crimea, which is occupied by Russia.

“I think so. Crimea was 12 years ago,” Trump said in response to a question asking whether Zelensky was ready to “give up” the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. Trump urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “stop the shooting” and reach an agreement on Ukraine.
“I want him to stop shooting. Sit down and sign the agreement,” Trump said on the tarmac at Morristown Airport in Bedminster, New Jersey.

“What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently enjoyed a high status, an elite woman,” archaeologist David Palomino told AFP. The mummy was found at Áspero, a sacred site that had once served as a dumping ground.

The Conclave that will elect the successor to Pope Francis—expected to be convened between May 5 and 10, according to the rules set out in the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici Gregis (1996)—will be an open contest. And that’s nothing new: it’s always been that way and likely always will be. It will be, so to speak, a true “political battle” between opposing visions, priority lists, urgencies, and themes.
Not so much between the so-called “currents” of progressives and conservatives, as they’re often simplified by commentators, but rather between representatives of the global Church—those voices Pope Francis worked to uplift during his papacy—and the heirs of the Western (primarily European and curial) Church, which played a dominant role in previous pontificates.
That’s why one of the key criteria that may guide the electing cardinals will be the unity of the Church, and the urgent need to preserve it amid the centrifugal and centripetal forces that have shaken it in recent years. Choosing a compromise figure, able to hold together these different tensions, might be seen as the best solution.

In this context, one name stands out: Pietro Parolin, 70, the Cardinal Secretary of State, well known even among his fellow cardinals. However, the Vatican’s number two under Pope Francis has two potential drawbacks:
– He is a diplomat, with limited pastoral experience (rarely has a Secretary of State become Pope, with few exceptions like Pius XII),
– And he is Italian, which in a genuinely global College of Cardinals may be seen as inappropriate.

Divisions will also likely arise between those who want to continue Bergoglio’s work and those who found his reforms—in both style and approach—more difficult to embrace.
Before naming potential papabili, one must remember that Pope Francis, as has often been repeated in recent hours, shaped the electoral College in his image and vision of the Church. He appointed 80% of the electors, through ten consistories over his twelve-year pontificate—almost one per year.

Still, a clarification is necessary: the fact that over 100 electors were appointed by Pope Francis does not guarantee that the next Pope will resemble him in style or outlook.
In 2013, after all, Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected by a majority of cardinals appointed by John Paul II and Benedict XVI, who had chosen like-minded prelates and also shaped the College in their image.

Thus, 108 electors were created by the late Pope, 22 by Benedict XVI, and only 5 by John Paul II. That brings the total to 135 electors. It will be one of the most crowded Conclaves in the history of the Church—if not the most crowded—judging by the last three.

A powerful earthquake was felt in Istanbul.
According to initial estimates, the quake had a magnitude of 6.2 and was recorded 10 kilometers off the coast of the city on the Bosphorus. Its epicenter was located approximately 40 kilometers southwest of Istanbul, in the Sea of Marmara. According to AFAD, there were actually three earthquakes recorded within a few minutes in the Istanbul area: the strongest, magnitude 6.2 at 11:49 AM (Italian time, one hour behind Turkey), followed by a magnitude 4.4 quake at 11:51 and another of magnitude 4.9 at 12:02.

The main shock was followed by several aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.3.
The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority has urged residents to stay away from buildings. The quake was also felt in surrounding areas.

Interior Minister: “Authorities have already deployed teams for reconnaissance”
Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya wrote on social media:
“In the Silivri area, in the Sea of Marmara near Istanbul, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.2 occurred. The tremor was also felt in neighboring provinces. AFAD and all our competent bodies have already deployed teams on the ground for inspections.”
He added: “May God protect our country and our people from disasters.”

Over 230 injured: “Many jumped from windows”
Panic caused by the earthquake led many people to jump out of their windows in the city on the Bosphorus. More than 230 people were injured and hospitalized.
“Medical treatment is ongoing for those who jumped from heights due to panic during the earthquake. None of the injured are in life-threatening condition,” the Istanbul prefecture reported in a statement cited by local media.

Erdogan: “We are monitoring the situation closely”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated he is closely monitoring developments in Istanbul after the quake, according to CNNTurk. The USGS reported an initial shock of magnitude 3.9, followed by the stronger 6.2 quake. Turkish media have reported difficulties with phone lines and internet connections in the megacity on the Bosphorus.

A tragic precedent
Turkey lies on two major fault lines and is frequently hit by earthquakes. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred on February 6, 2023, followed by another powerful shock hours later, which destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces, killing over 53,000 people. Another 6,000 people were killed in northern parts of neighboring Syria.

Pope Francis passed away on April 21 at 7:35 AM at the age of 88.
The announcement was made by Camerlengo Farrell from Casa Santa Marta:
“His entire life was devoted to the service of the Lord and the Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poor and marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend Pope Francis’ soul to the infinite merciful love of the Triune God.”

On Easter, Pope Francis made his final appearance before 35,000 faithful.

Today, the Pope’s body will be brought to St. Peter’s Basilica at 9 AM and will be exposed to the faithful from 11 AM to midnight, tomorrow from 7 AM to midnight, and on April 25 from 7 AM to 7 PM.
The funeral will take place on Saturday, April 26 at 10 AM on the square in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. The rite will be celebrated by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean of the College of Cardinals.

The conclave will take place between May 5 and May 10.

The treatment, non-invasive and personalized, was carried out in two phases: an initial intensive cycle involved daily applications for 2 weeks; subsequently, in a maintenance phase, TMS was applied once a week for 50 weeks.

The personalization of the rTMS treatment was made possible thanks to the use of advanced neurophysiological methods such as TMS in combination with electroencephalography (TMS-EEG), which made it possible to define, for each patient, the optimal point and intensity of stimulation for rTMS, by integrating the information obtained with the patient’s magnetic resonance imaging.

Before and after the 52-week rTMS cycle, clinical evaluation scales were used to assess cognitive disorders (CDR-SB, ADAS-Cog11), autonomy in daily life (ADCS-ADL), and behavioral disorders (NPI).

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to secure a crucial part of the missile defense shield “Golden Dome” pushed by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to six people familiar with the matter who spoke to the British agency Reuters.

Musk’s aerospace company, sources said, is collaborating with software maker Palantir and drone manufacturer Anduril to build key components of the Golden Dome, which has attracted significant interest from the growing base of defense-tech startups. All three companies were founded by entrepreneurs who have been strong political supporters of Trump.

Despite positive signals from the Pentagon toward the SpaceX group, some sources emphasized that the decision-making process for Trump’s Golden Dome is still in its early stages. The final configuration and who will be selected to work on it could change significantly in the coming months.

In recent weeks, the three companies have met with senior Trump administration and Pentagon officials to present their plan, which envisions building and launching between 400 and 1,000 satellites orbiting the globe to detect and track missiles, the sources explained. A separate fleet of 200 attack satellites armed with missiles or lasers would shoot down enemy missiles. The SpaceX group is not expected to be involved in arming the satellites.

In his executive order of January 27, Trump cited a missile attack as “the most catastrophic threat facing the United States.” One source described the talks between the White House and the three companies as “a departure from normal procurement procedures. There’s a sense in the national security and defense community that they must be sensitive and deferential to Elon Musk due to his role in the government.”

According to a U.S. official, the Pentagon has received interest from over 180 companies eager to contribute to the development and construction of the Golden Dome, including defense startups such as Epirus, Ursa Major, and Armada. Members of the White House National Security Council have been briefed by some companies on their capabilities, four sources stated.

SpaceX and Musk declined to comment on whether Musk is involved in discussions or negotiations involving federal contracts with his companies. The Pentagon did not respond to Reuters’ detailed questions, only saying that it will “provide options to the president for his decision in line with the executive order and in accordance with White House guidance and timelines.” The White House, SpaceX, Palantir, and Anduril also did not respond to inquiries.

National Defense by Subscription
Unusually, SpaceX has proposed setting up its role in Golden Dome as a “subscription service” where the government would pay for access to the technology, rather than owning the system outright. The subscription model could bypass some of the Pentagon’s procurement protocols, enabling faster deployment of the system, two sources said. While the approach wouldn’t break any rules, the government could become tied to a subscription and lose control over its development and pricing, they added.

Some Pentagon officials have internally expressed concern about relying on the subscription model for any part of the Golden Dome, the two sources told Reuters. Such an arrangement would be unusual for a defense program so large and critical. Other options include full U.S. ownership and management of the system or operational management under U.S. control.

If the SpaceX-led group were to win a contract for the Golden Dome, it would mark the biggest victory for Silicon Valley in the lucrative defense contracting space—and a blow to traditional contractors. However, long-established players like Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and RTX are also expected to play a significant role in the process, according to people familiar with the companies. Lockheed Martin has created a webpage as part of its marketing efforts.

According to a U.S. official, the Pentagon has received interest from over 180 companies eager to contribute to the development and construction of the Golden Dome, including defense startups like Epirus, Ursa Major, and Armada. Members of the White House National Security Council have been briefed by some companies on their capabilities, four sources said. Some experts estimate that the total cost of Golden Dome could reach hundreds of billions of dollars.

A ruling already sparking the first protests: the UK Supreme Court has ruled that transgender people do not have the right to be legally recognized as women and therefore cannot share the protections provided for those born biologically female.

The UK’s highest court for civil and criminal cases upheld an appeal filed by the Scottish feminist group For Women Scotland against its own local government, which had promoted legislation intended to allow recognition of the definition of “woman” to include trans individuals who had applied for and obtained a so-called Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

“Full protection of transgender people from any discrimination is still ensured.”
The much-anticipated verdict came after two lengthy hearings held in November, during which both sides presented their arguments, supported by organizations aligned with each perspective. The ruling was signed by five judges—both men and women—of the Supreme Court, the highest judicial authority in the UK.
“According to the unanimous decision of this court,” read the presiding judge, Vice President Lord Patrick Hodge, “the terms ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act of 2010 refer to biological women and biological sex.”

Lord Hodge also recommended that the ruling not be interpreted as “a victory” of one side over the other, stressing that British law still provides full protection for transgender individuals against any form of discrimination, without the need to extend to them the legal definition of ‘woman’ or alter the Equality Act.
Outside the courtroom, several feminist activists nonetheless celebrated, singing and chanting slogans under the statue of Millicent Fawcett, a historic leader of the suffragette movement.