International
About 150,000 people say goodbye to the pope in St. Peter’s Basilica before the funeral
About 150,000 people have passed before Pope Francis’ coffin in the Vatican basilica to say goodbye, in the last three days and until noon this Friday, the eve of his funeral.
The spokesman for the Holy See, Matteo Bruni, confirmed the figure until 12.00 local hours (10.00 GMT).
The passage of the faithful has remained constant in the last few hours, after last night the basilica remained open until 2.30 am (0.30 GMT) and reopened at 5.40 (3.40 GMT).
The Holy See had to change the initial plans of closing the tempo at night so that the thousands of faithful who arrived from all over the world could say goodbye to the pontiff.
The burning chapel of Francis will remain open until 7:00 p.m. local time (17.00 GMT) this afternoon, and then proceed to the ceremony of closing the coffin before its solemn funeral, on Saturday morning.
The Italian Civil Protection has launched an alert on all mobile phones in Rome to warn that the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square will be closed this afternoon to prepare for the funeral.
The warning, also audible, appeared on mobile phones through the IT-alert system, used in emergencies.
“Civil Protection Department – Farewell to Pope Francis. Closing time of St. Peter’s Square from 5:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m.) on April 25. For tours and schedules of the funeral www.protezionecivile.it«, read the message.
The notice could be read on the telephone screens in Italian, English, French and Spanish due to the high number of tourists and faithful who are in the Italian capital and, above all, in the vicinity of the Vatican.
The Italian authorities estimate that around 200,000 faithful will attend the funeral by the pontiff on Saturday, after which the coffin will be transferred in a funeral procession to the basilica of Santa María la Mayor, where Francis expressed his desire to be buried.
A total of 149 cardinals have already arrived in Rome of the total of 252 that make up the cardinal college, although only 133 will enter the conclave to choose a successor for being under 80 years old, a mandatory rule.
The cardinals who will participate in the funeral tomorrow will visit the tomb of the Argentine pope on Sunday.
The funerals also mark the beginning of the ‘Novendial’, the period of nine days of mourning in the Vatican for the death of the pontiff.
As for the conclave, Vatican legislation establishes that it must begin within a maximum period of 20 days after the death of the pope, which occurred on April 21.
That is why the cardinals are expected to be locked up in the Sistine Chapel between May 5, when mourning ends, and the 10th, when the period of 20 days without a pope is fulfilled.
The Sistine Chapel has announced its closure from April 28 to prepare for the conclave.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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