Ahead of the conclave, the Vatican staff is to be sworn to secrecy under threat of excommunication
In this image taken on Monday, April 28, 2025, and made available Saturday, May 3, 2025, by Vatican Media, workers prepare the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, where the upcoming conclave will start May 7, backdropped by Michelangelo Buonarroti's fresco 'The Last Judgement.' (Vatican Media via AP)
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mongolia gets a new prime minister who pledged to address the economic demands of protesters
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia (AP) — The new prime minister of Mongolia has pledged to address the economic demands of protesters after their daily rallies led to the fall of his predecessor. Lawmakers approved former parliament speaker Zandanshatar Gombojav as prime minister by an overwhelming majority in a vote late Thursday night. His election appeared to mark the end of several weeks of political uncertainty in a still-young democracy of 3.4 million people that is sandwiched between much larger China and Russia. The new leader faces multiple challenges including high inflation, a looming government budget deficit and fears of power shortages this winter. Speaking ahead of the vote in parliament, Zandanshatar said this year's government spending needs to be reduced by about $640 million to avoid a significant revenue shortfall. 'Revision of the budget has become inevitable,' the former banker said, saying he would submit a revised budget to parliament next week. Zandanshatar, 45, studied economics at university in Russia and was vice director of one of the largest commercial banks in Mongolia. He was parliament speaker from 2020 to 2024 and was named head of the president's office after he lost his seat in an election last year. From 2014-16, he was a visiting scholar at Stanford University in California. His predecessor, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai, resigned 10 days ago after losing a vote of confidence in parliament. The protests against Oyun-Erdene's rule were sparked by reports of lavish spending by his son. Many Mongolians feel the nation's mineral wealth has benefited politicians and their business friends rather than the general population. The poverty rate remains high in the sparsely-populated country. Zandanshatar said he would ensure that economic growth is inclusive and reached all Mongolians. He promised to launch a tax reform to reduce the burden on the middle class and increase taxes on luxury consumption and those with ultra-high incomes. He won election by a vote of 108 to 9 in the 126-member parliament. The other nine members were absent.
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Asian shares slide while oil prices surge after Israel's strike on Iran
HONG KONG (AP) — Markets in Asia opened lower early Friday while oil prices surged after Israel attacked Iran's capital amid the ramping up tensions over Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program. U.S. benchmark crude oil rose by $5.6, or 8.2%, to $73.61 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, increased by $5.52 to $74.88 per barrel. In share trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% to 37,721.63 while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.7% lower to 2,900.14. Hong Kong's Hang Seng retreated 0.4% to 23,929.62 and the Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.2% to 3,394.52. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 drifted 0.3% lower to 8,540.80. 'An Israeli attack on Iran poses a top ten of our global risk, but Asian markets are expected to recover quickly as they have relatively limited exposure to the conflict and growing ties to unaffected Saudi Arabia and the UAE,' said Xu Tiachen of The Economist Intelligence. On Thursday, U.S. stock indexes ticked higher following another encouraging update on inflation across the country. The S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 6,045.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2% to 42,967.62, and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.2% to 19,662.48. Oracle pushed upward on the market after jumping 13.3%. The tech giant delivered stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected, and CEO Safra Catz said it expects revenue growth 'will be dramatically higher' in its upcoming fiscal year. That helped offset a 4.8% loss for Boeing after Air India said a London-bound flight crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport Thursday with 242 passengers and crew onboard. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed into a residential area near the airport five minutes after taking off. The cause of the crash wasn't immediately known. Stocks broadly got some help from easing Treasury yields in the bond market following the latest update on inflation. Thursday's update said inflation at the wholesale level wasn't as bad last month as economists expected, and it followed a report on Wednesday saying something similar about the inflation that U.S. consumers are feeling. Wall Street took it as a signal that the Federal Reserve will have more leeway to cut interest rates later this year in order to give the economy a boost. The Federal Reserve has been hesitant to lower interest rates, and it's been on hold this year after cutting at the end of last year, because it's waiting to see how much President Donald Trump's tariffs will hurt the economy and raise inflation. While lower rates can goose the economy by encouraging businesses and households to borrow, they can also accelerate inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.35% from 4.41% late Wednesday and from roughly 4.80% early this year. Besides the inflation data, a separate report on jobless claims also helped to weigh on Treasury yields. It said slightly more U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than economists expected, and the total number remained at the highest level in eight months. That could be an indication of a rise in layoffs across the country. 'We believe that were it not for the uncertainty caused by the tariffs, the combined information coming from the inflation and labor-market data would have compelled the Fed to have resumed cutting its policy rate by now,' according to Thierry Wizman, a strategist at Macquarie. The Fed's next meeting on interest rates is scheduled for next week, but the nearly unanimous expectation on Wall Street is that it will stand pat again. Traders are betting it's likely to begin cutting in September, according to data from CME Group. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Trump's on-and-off tariffs have raised worries about higher inflation and a possible recession, which had sent the S&P 500 roughly 20% below its record a couple months ago. But stocks have since rallied nearly all the way back on hopes that Trump will lower his tariffs after reaching trade deals with other countries. Many of Trump's tariffs are on hold at the moment to give time for negotiations, but Trump added to the uncertainty late Wednesday when he suggested the United States could send letters to other countries at some point 'saying this is the deal. You can take it or you can leave it.' On Wall Street, Chime Financial jumped 37.4% in its first day of trading on the Nasdaq. The technology company is trying to be the main financial hub for customers, connecting them with its bank partners. GameStop dropped 22.5% after saying it plans to raise $1.75 billion by borrowing at zero interest rates, though the lenders could choose to be repaid in the video-game retailer's stock instead of cash. In currency trading early Monday, the U.S. dollar fell to 143.10 Japanese yen from 143.46 yen. The euro edged lower, to $1.1552 from $1.1590.
Winnipeg Free Press
9 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Louisiana AG investigating CVS for sending mass text messages lobbying against legislation
Baton Rouge, La. (AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced Thursday she is investigating whether pharmaceutical giant CVS improperly used customers' personal information to send out text messages lobbying against a proposed state law. Murrill also said she plans to issue a cease-and-desist letter to the company to stop the messages. As lawmakers debated a now-failed bill on Wednesday — which would have prohibited companies from owning both pharmacy benefits managers and drug stores — they held up screenshots of text messages sent by CVS. 'Last minute legislation in Louisiana threatens to close your CVS Pharmacy — your medication cost may go up and your pharmacist may lose their job,' one such text, obtained by The Associated Press, read. Attached was a link to a draft letter urging lawmakers to oppose the legislation that someone could sign with their email address and send to legislators. 'The proposed legislation would take away my and other Louisiana patients' ability to get our medications shipped right to our homes,' the letter read. 'They would also ban the pharmacies that serve patients suffering from complex diseases requiring specialty pharmacy care to manage their life-threatening conditions like organ transplants or cancer. These vulnerable patients cannot afford any disruption to their care – the consequences would be dire.' In fiery testimony, Rep. Dixon McMakin pointed to some of the messages, saying they were misleading and false. He specifically pointed to ads, that people reported seeing on social media, alleging that lawmakers 'may shut down every CVS pharmacy in the state.' 'No we're not, you liars. Quit being liars. Quit using scare tactics,' McMakin said. Republican Rep. Bryan Fontenot held up his phone, showing that he, too, had received a text message from CVS. 'It's in the same text thread (used) to notify when my prescription is filled,' he said. 'They've now taken that to send me political texts.' CVS sent messages to 'large numbers' of state employees and their families to lobby against proposed legislation involving the company's pharmaceutical benefits manager, Murrill said in an X post. Customers gave CVS their phone numbers to receive pharmaceutical information such as vaccine availability or prescription pick-ups but the company is using this personal information 'for their own personal corporate interests against pending legislation,' Murrill told reporters. 'That's not why anybody gave them their phone number.' Amy Thibault, a spokesperson for CVS, said the texts were the result of a last-minute amendment to the bill Wednesday without an opportunity for a public hearing. The amendment was crafted behind closed-doors by a conference committee — a regular practice utilized in the statehouse when the House and Senate cannot agree on final versions of a bill. 'We believe we have a responsibility to inform our customers of misguided legislation that seeks to shutter their trusted pharmacy, and we acted accordingly,' Thibault said in an email. 'Our communication with our customers, patients and members of our community is consistent with law.' Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has continued to push the bill as the state's legislature concluded Thursday afternoon. The bill, which proponents said would bolster independent pharmacies and reduce the cost of prescription medications, received overwhelming approval in the House, with a vote of 88-4. Among those who voted against the measure was Rep. Mandie Landry. The Democrat said that while she wanted to vote in favor, but she was receiving messages from people in her district urging her not to. She said CVS's lobbying had reached them and as a result they feared that they wouldn't be able to access their medications. 'CVS … you should be so ashamed of this. You are scaring people,' Landry said. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. The bill ultimately died with the Senate opting not to take it up in the final hour of the 2025 session. Landry spokesperson Kate Kelly said the governor plans to call a special session in hopes of passing similar legislation. 'Yes we will have a special to lower prescription drugs for our citizens,' Kelly said. 'It's that important.' ___ Brook reported from New Orleans.
