Author: staff

Pope Francis died on Monday morning at the age of 88, The Vatican ‘Camerlengo’ Cardinal Kevin Ferrell, announced this morning.“At 7.35 this morning, the bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the house of the Father.“His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his church. He taught us to live the values of the gospel with fidelity, courage, and universal love, especially in favour of the poorest and most marginalised. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite merciful love…

Increased global tensions and looming trade wars between the United States and virtually every country on Earth have experts warning of heightened cybersecurity threats and a digital arms race as countries defend themselves. “The geopolitical dust is still settling,” said Verona Johnstone-Hulse, a London-based expert on government cybersecurity polices and the co-author of the report:”What the new normal looks like is still not yet set”.Businesses in particular are increasingly concerned about cyberattacks, according to a report this month by NCC Group, a British cybersecurity firm.At the same time, US President Donald Trump has upended America’s digital defences by shrinking and…

Indeed, it seems the pontiff’s last diplomatic function was a lightning visit by Vance, whose Vance’s motorcade remained in the Vatican for 17 minutes on Easter Sunday, according to media reports. As a social reformer, Francis will be remembered for taking a gentler view of homosexuality. He insisted being gay is “not a crime” and approved blessings for same-sex couples, while apologizing in 2024 for using a slur to refer to gay men. But he also reiterated that homosexuality is a sin in the eyes of the Church. On gender, the pontiff hewed closer to tradition in repeatedly ruling out ordaining female…

Just weeks before he died, Pope Francis was doing what he does best: infuriating conservatives. In an extraordinary intervention in mid-February, the pope initiated a head-on clash with the new U.S. administration, slamming President Donald Trump’s plans to deport millions of undocumented migrants as a “violation of dignity,” and accusing Vice President JD Vance of misusing an obscure theological term. Washington responded with predictable fury, but the Holy See was undeterred.  It was a vintage Francis move: impulsive, instinctively protective of the poor and defenseless, and — mercifully — light on theological jargon. But it was also illustrative of the…

Beijing has warned of retaliatory measures against countries that reach trade agreements with the United States at the expense of China’s interests, as other nations are dragged into the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.In its latest response to the steeply increased US tariffs, China’s Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that Beijing “respects all parties’ efforts to resolve their trade disputes with the US through equal consultation.” However, China will not accept any US-led trade deals that harm its interests and will “respond resolutely and reciprocally with countermeasures” to safeguard its rights and interests.In the statement,…

Those candidate countries include Western Balkan countries as well as Ukraine and Moldova which are progressing well (if slowly) on the EU pathway, but also Turkey and Georgia, which have stalled due to democratic backsliding and concerns over the rule of law. While some of the Canadian vibes are good, any decision would, ultimately, belong to the European Commission and the bloc’s member countries. As a note of caution for any excitable europhiles in Ottawa, when the EU’s southern neighbor Morocco applied for membership in 1987, its application was declined on the grounds that it was not a European state.…

He was Brussels’ “chief psychoanalyst,” reminisces one EU official who was there at the time. “He would talk to prime ministers in a personal, insider way,” said the official, granted anonymity to talk in confidence even after all these years. “In the Commission, it was the same. ‘What does this one want?’ ‘What is he asking for?’ ‘Can we make a deal?’ ‘Call them up!’ he would say. “He was the boss, but he won people over. The commissioners were allowed to talk. This was a truly collegial college — people were allowed to exist.” But even under Juncker, the…

It’s a challenge that’s rooted not just in recruitment numbers, but in decades of political decisions that pushed the military to the margins of society. After a sweeping post-Cold War downsizing in 1994 under Chancellor Helmut Kohl, military bases were shut down — especially in cities. With that, according to Carlo Masala, a professor at the Bundeswehr University in Munich and an adviser to the military, the army faded from public life. “Their bases today are out in the middle of nowhere,” he said. “There’s no direct contact for young people.” That disconnect has only deepened in recent years. Conscription…

The remarks point to EU resolve to enforce an extensive package of digital rules that have come in for bitter criticism from senior members of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Vice President JD Vance has led the charge against European laws such as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which governs content, or the AI Act, arguing that they censor free speech and stifle innovation in Europe. Two months before the U.S. presidential election, Vance drew a direct link between Washington’s continued participation in NATO and Europe’s digital rulebook, saying the United States could withdraw from the alliance if the EU…

In a world less constrained by international norms and rules, and increasingly governed by sheer power, the strictures that long constrained nuclear proliferation are in danger of loosening — if not untangling altogether. Jan 8 6 mins read