Catégorie oBox : OBOXMA
Last April, the Vatican lost its leader, as Pope Francis passed away at the age of 88, following medical complications.
Following this terrible news for the Catholic Church, a new pope is to be named and Conclave have already begun.
133 cardinals are now isolated from the outside world, in the Sistine Chapel, until a new Pope is elected by the Conclave. It’s worth noting that the future Pope must obtain two-thirds of the votes to secure the post, so the struggle is sure to be interesting to follow.
While we await the results of this vote, a number of betting sites have joined in the suspense, as predictions have just been made as to the outcome of the election and yes… people are betting on the next pope.
According to estimates, Cardinal Pietro Parolin (Italy) is the favorite to become the new Pope with 27%, followed by Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines) in second place with 22.3%. Matteo Zuppi (Italy) completes the top-3 with 10.9%. It’s clear, then, that there are only two serious candidates, according to the results of these predictions.
Although the whole thing is unpredictable, it’s worth pointing out that the betting sites in question correctly predicted the outcome of the American election last November, namely a Donald Trump victory over Kamala Harris.
That said, in 2013, when Francis was named Pope, he was not the favorite in the running for the post, while Cardinal Angelo Scola was once tipped to have the throne.
Betting on the Pope?
Now that’s not very Catholic..
From the Oval Office of the White House, Donald Trump said he was honored to welcome Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, recalling that the latter had won, in his words, « a very big election ».
NEW: Canadian PM Mark Carney tells President Trump that Canada is 'not for sale' as the two leaders meet to discuss tariffs at the White House.
Trump then took some of the credit for Carney’s victory, saying he thought he was « the best thing that ever happened to him ».
Trump said that Carney’s party, previously led by Justin Trudeau, was « losing by a lot » before Carney eventually won the election.
The president went on to describe the victory as « one of the greatest comebacks in political history, perhaps even greater than mine »
Trump went on to say that he had been following the Canadiens election with great interest. Trump added that, in his eyes, Canada had chosen « a very talented person and a very good person ».
Mark Carney must appreciate such compliments from Donald Trump, who never ceased to criticize his predecessor Justin Trudeau. Trump even told Carney that he didn’t particularly like the former prime minister.
Strong discussions between the two leaders are expected in the coming weeks, particularly on the issue of tariffs.
In their first official meeting, Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, and U.S. President Donald Trump exchanged cordial words, with Trump congratulating Carney on his victory and affirming his attachment to Canada and his desire for a friendly relationship between the two countries.
The sensitive issue of the now infamous 51st state, a veritable elephant in the Oval Office, was of course not lost on the many journalists present, as it was raised face-to-face by the two leaders during their meeting.
Trump tried to tone down his comments, while reiterating that he’d like to see the idea come to fruition, adding that he « still believes Canada should become the 51st state ».
However, he made it clear that this should be done in a spirit of friendship, before concluding:
«We’re not going to be discussing that unless somebody wants to discuss it.»
Carney was keen to remind Trump that as he met with Canada’s owners during his campaign, the message from Canadians, he said, was clear: « It’s not for sale. »
Carney added: « There are places that will never be for sale », citing the White House as a symbolic example.
Mark Carney closed the debate by declaring firmly: « It will never be for sale »,
Under pressure from the American public’s negative reactions to his tariff war with most countries, with the notable exception of Russia, Donald Trump, whose fortune topped $7 billion in January according to Bloomberg, is maintaining a defiant stance in the face of growing American criticism of his economic policy, particularly with regard to… the number of dolls and pencils American children should have.
In an interview with NBC News, the president reaffirmed comments made the previous week at a cabinet meeting marking his first 100 days in office, to the effect that little girls should make do with two dolls rather than 30… and even that they’ll cost more!
This time, he added the bonus that it would be enough for American children to own just five pencils.
While the president has launched a major tariff war against China, a move that is expected to cause major disruptions to store supplies in the US in the coming weeks, criticism is mounting of the billionaire president who has made a fortune for himself and his children since the start of his political adventures, but especially with the launch of his « meme coin » crypto-currency, which alone, according to the Financial Times, would have generated at least $350 million in revenue in just three weeks after its launch in January 2025.
Attempting to downplay the scale of the coming disruption to the homes of American families, Trump said, in response to a question about the effects of his tariffs on consumers:
«I don’t think that a beautiful baby girl needs… that’s 11 years old… needs to have 30 dolls.»
He then declared:
«They don’t need to have 250 pencils. They can have five.»
The president went on to say, regarding dolls and pencils, that he didn’t think there was any point in wasting money on useless stuff you don’t need.
He added that, in his eyes, it doesn’t matter if baby carriages and dolls become more expensive: the main thing is that the price of gas goes down.
He concluded:
«Thousand of times more important than a stroller or something.»
Asked about the anticipated duration of this tariff transition, Trump admitted he didn’t know the outcome, while assuring:
«We’re making a lot of money, we’re doing great.»