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The Guardian
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Conclave live: Catholic cardinals from around the world gather to elect new pope
Morning opening: Extra omnes Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Jakub Krupa 133 Catholic cardinals will meet behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel for the first time today to decide who should be the 267th successor of Saint Peter, following the death of Pope Francis last month. A view of the interior of the Sistine Chapel ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope at the Vatican. Photograph: Vatican Media/Reuters One of the most fascinating electoral processes in the world, the conclave always attracts global attention – not just because of its global significance in choosing the next head of the Catholic church leading 1.4 billion faithful, but also because of its centuries-old traditions and mysteries. At around 4.30pm local time, the famous phrase 'extra omnes' – all out – will be heard inside the Sistine Chapel telling everyone but the cardinals to leave the plenary, formally starting the secretive election process. We will bring you all the latest here. It's Wednesday, 7 May 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
The Guardian
02-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Russian attacks continue as US readies new equipment sale for Ukraine
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Jakub Krupa Russian strikes wounded more than 30 people in Ukraine overnight, AFP reported, a day after Kyiv and Washington signed a landmark minerals deal. Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building hit by a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Photograph: Reuters The Russian attacks continue amid growing signs from Washington that the Trump administration will approve its first sale of military equipment to Ukraine since Donald Trump took office, in an indication that the minerals deal signed by the two countries this week may open a path to renewed weapons shipments. The state department has certified a proposed licence to export '$50m or more' (£37.6m) of defence hardware and services to Ukraine, according to a communication sent to the US committee on foreign relations. My colleagues Shaun Walker and Andrew Roth noted that it would mark the first permission of its kind since Trump paused all Ukraine-related military aid shortly after taking office. Amid all of this, a sudden departure of Mike Waltz from the post of US national security adviser will prompt further questions about what to expect from the Trump administration, with state secretary Marco Rubio taking the role on an interim basis. Elsewhere, with large parts of Europe in bank holiday weekend mode, I don't expect too many story lines elsewhere. Still, I will bring you all the updates that matter – including on Romania's upcoming presidential election, with the first round voting taking place this Sunday. It's Friday, 2 May 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
The Guardian
29-04-2025
- The Guardian
Questions begin as Spain and Portugal recover from largest power cut in recent European history
Morning opening: How did it happen? Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Jakub Krupa Lights flickered back to life across most of Spain and Portugal after a massive blackout hit the Iberian peninsula, stranding passengers in trains and elevators while millions lost phone and internet coverage. Power lines connecting pylons of high-tension electricity are seen during sunset at an electricity substation, during the blackout, on the outskirts of Ronda, Spain. Photograph: Jon Nazca/Reuters As of Tuesday morning, both Spain and Portugal reported power supplies almost back to normal with the network stabilised after the largest power cut in Europe's recent history. On Monday night, many went to bed in darkness, while others posted videos online celebrating the gradual return of power after many hours off-grid. But for a continent so willing to talk up its efforts on energy security – with many leaders attending a high-level summit on this only last week – there will be many persistent questions that need urgent answers. How do you so easily get a blackout affecting some 60 million people? What caused it? And, crucially, can it be prevented from happening at this – or larger – scale ever again? Many will also study the mis- and disinformation on the causes or the culprits behind the blackout that managed to get traction during the blackout, with both Spanish and Portuguese governments forced to issue direct warning against speculations and reports online. Despite the energy back on this morning, the disruption is likely to remain for a bit longer, as trains and planes are out of position and other processes are disrupted. I will bring you all the latest. It's Tuesday, 29 April 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
The Guardian
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Steve Witkoff to travel to Moscow for further talks with Russia about Ukraine peace plan
US peace envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow today for further talks with Russia, including president Vladimir Putin, on Donald Trump's peace plan for Ukraine. Hoping to get results before Trump's 100 days in the office next week, Witkoff will have to find a way to convey the sense of the president's frustration with the Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday, while hoping to make good progress as Washington tries to put pressure on Kyiv to agree to its proposal. Russian attacks on Ukraine Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told CBS News that Russia was 'ready to reach a deal, but there are still some specific points … which need to be fine-tuned, and we are busy with this,' as he praised Trump for being 'probably the only leader on Earth who recognised the need to address the root causes of this situation.' But there are still big sticking points, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy repeatedly refusing to give up on any of the Russian occupied territory including the strategically located Crimea. On Thursday, he explained that 'we do everything that our partners have proposed; only what contradicts our legislation and the constitution we cannot do.' And the Ukrainian president has powerful allies in European leaders like Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron and in Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, who said on Thursday that it was Moscow, not Kyiv, that needed to move forward in negotiations. Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson also criticised the proposed deal, saying Ukraine 'gets nothing' under the terms offered by Trump – although the US president insisted last night that Russia 'stopping the war, stopping taking the whole country' is a 'pretty big concession.' It's Friday, 25 April 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
The Guardian
23-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Pope Francis's body to be moved to St Peter's Basilica to lie in state ahead of funeral
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature People queue on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' coffin, which will be transported inside the Saint Peter's Basilica. Photograph: Kevin Coombs/Reuters Pope Francis' coffin to be transferred to St. Peter's Basilica to lie in state ahead of funeral. Photograph: Riccardo Antimiani/EPA People gather in St. Peter's Square as they await the arrival of the body of Pope Francis, who will lie in state at St. Peter¥s Basilica. Photograph: Markus Schreiber/AP Share Jakub Krupa Pope Francis's body will be moved to St Peter's Basilica on Wednesday morning where it will lie in state for three days to allow Catholic faithful to pay their final respects ahead of a funeral expected to bring a host of world leaders including Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump. Priests arrive at St. Peter's Basilica on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' coffin, which will be transported inside the Basilica. Photograph: Carlos Barría/Reuters The ceremony is scheduled to start 9am Rome (8am BST), and will see Francis's body leave the Santa Maria residence where he lived and move in a procession into St Peter's Basilica, entering through the main entrance. The body will lie in state until Friday 7pm local time, when the public mourning will end in preparation for the funeral on Saturday morning. I will follow the ceremony and the latest reports from the Vatican and elsewhere for you. It's Wednesday, 23 April 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning. Share
