Headlines

• Markets explode on tariff truce with China & Trump claims that their ties have "reset." Trump says the US has achieved a "total reset" in relations with China after both countries agreed to reduce tariffs on each other's goods. For Trump, It’s a New Era of Deal-Making with China and other countries.
• Trump seeks to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. and signed an executive order on drug prices.
• The US President said he may join the Russian and Ukrainian leaders in Turkey on Thursday for a possible summit the four countries are considering. “I was thinking about flying over.”

Washington, DC, May 12.– President Trump held a remarkable press conference Monday detailing the progress he has made in his trade negotiations, as well as his decision to bring drug prices in line with those prevailing in other countries, thereby significantly reducing Medicare and Medicaid spending.

US tariffs on Chinese imports will fall from 145% to 30%, while Chinese tariffs on US goods will fall from 125% to 10%, thus the US marking a significant victory for the US President since he announced his "Liberation Day" tariffs in April.

Vatican City, May 8 (DPnet) – The 267th successor of the Apostle Peter was Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, Archbishop-Bishop Emeritus of Chicago, and Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine from 2001 to 2013. He was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. Between 1988 and 1998, he was sent to the Trujillo mission and performed exemplary work in the Vicariates of Chulucanas, Iquitos, and Apurímac. While details about his personality have not been widely disclosed, it is known that Prevost is recognized for his affable character, moderate approach, and dedication to pastoral service.

His career reflects a commitment to the formation of new priests and a sensitivity toward the communities he has served. He is expected to promote a synodal Church and, while committed to continuing the work of Francis, maintains a balanced doctrinal stance, avoiding extremes, seeking consensus among different currents within the Church, and maintaining a strong pastoral orientation and sensitivity to the social realities of Latin America.

In November 2014, Pope Francis appointed him Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, elevating him to the dignity of bishop and assigning him the titular diocese of Sufar. In March 2018, he became Second Vice President of the Peruvian Episcopal Conference. Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Congregation for the Clergy in 2019 and a member of the Congregation for Bishops in 2020.

A series of ancient traditions rule the pope's funeral and subsequent conclave.

Vatican City, Apr.21 (DP.net).—Cardinal Kevin Farrell, a top Vatican official acting as the Camerlengo, announced Pope Francis's death from the Casa Santa Marta, where he resided, at 7:35 a.m. this Monday.

Francis was one of the most popular popes in decades and a towering figure on the world stage, dialoguing and seeking a fraternal approach at all times, not only with Catholics but with people and groups of all religions, beliefs, and political tendencies.

Francis was at times a controversial figure in his own church. Conservative critics charged him with bending church dogma as a concession to modern mores. Progressives, meanwhile, were disappointed that he did not go further to include LGBTQ Catholics and women in church leadership roles. 

Christine Allen, director and CEO of the international charity Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, said in a statement: “Pope Francis’s greatest gift was that in an increasingly divided world, he could get people and governments to think beyond their own self-interest, and work together for the common good."

Few serious analysts believe Russia wants a broader war with Europe, but European leaders speak as if it’s only a matter of time. The risks of adopting that mindset are considerable.

Paris, Apr.3.– ‘France is not an island,’ Emmanuel Macron warned on social media on 20 February. ‘It’s about 1,500km from Strasbourg to Ukraine – that’s not very far.’ So first the Russians take the Donbass, and then Alsace? Macron’s alarmist rhetoric probably prompted a wry smile from his defence minister, Sébastien Lecornu. He, like most serious observers, discounts such a scenario: ‘Being a nuclear-armed power logically prevents us from being in the same position as a country without such weapons’. 

His predecessor, Hervé Morin, asked in Le Journal du Dimanche on 9 March, ‘Do we really need to cause our fellow citizens disproportionate worry by telling them, in essence, that the ultimate threat to France’s borders is Russia?’