International
Donald Trump will have the last word in the electoral debate with Joe Biden

The former president of the United States and Republican pre-candidate Donald Trump will have the last word in next week’s electoral debate in Atlanta (Georgia), with the current president, Democrat Joe Biden, the CNN network, organizer of the event, announced on Thursday.
After the launch of a coin on the air, Biden’s campaign won the right to choose the position of the podium in the debate or the order of the final statements, and opted for the first option.
The Democrats asked Biden to debate from the right side of the television screen, while his rival Trump’s podium will be on the left side.
Then, Trump’s campaign asked the former president to pronounce the final statement of the debate, which means that Biden will be the first to finish his speech.
The debate, which will be broadcast on June 27 on CNN, will be the first of the two face-to-face televised broadcasts between Biden and Trump before the November 5 elections.
The debate will be in Atlanta, will last 90 minutes and will be moderated by CNN journalists Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
There will be two commercial breaks during which campaign staff will not be able to interact with their candidate.
Biden and Trump’s teams have also accepted that the microphones are closed throughout the face-to-face except for the candidate to whom they are entitled to speak.
Nor will the contenders be allowed on the stage to accessories or previously written notes, although they will receive a pen, a notebook and a bottle of water.
Biden will spend the next few days at the residence of Camp David (Maryland), on the outskirts of Washington, to practice and be ready.
For his part, Trump has been preparing for a few weeks in meetings with some senators and other politicians that sound like the Republican’s vice-presidents.
It will be the first time that an active president and a former president face each other in an electoral debate.
It is also not common for the debate to be held in June, before the national conventions of both parties that make the candidacies official, but this year’s primaries were resolved in the spring.
The ABC network will organize the second and final presidential debate in September. The televised presidential debates have been part of the tradition of the United States in all electoral cycles since 1976.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition

he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may

The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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