International News
Conclave To Begin Voting For New Pope May 7— Vatican
Catholic cardinals will meet on May 7 to start voting for a new pope, the Vatican announced on Monday, a week after the death of Pope Francis.
The “Princes of the Church” under the age of 80 will meet in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new religious leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
The date was decided at a meeting of cardinals of all ages early Monday, two days after the funeral of Francis, who died on April 21 aged 88.
The Church’s 252 cardinals were called back to Rome after the Argentine’s death, although only 135 are eligible to vote in the conclave.
They hail from all corners of the globe, and many of them do not know each other.
But they already had four meetings last week, so-called “general congregations”, where they began to get better acquainted.
Cardinal Gualtiero Bassetti, 83, a former head of the Italian bishops’ conference, said there was a “beautiful, fraternal atmosphere”.
“Of course, there may be some difficulties because the voters have never been so numerous and not everyone knows each other,” he told Italy’s Corriere della Sera newspaper.
The Vatican on Monday closed the Sistine Chapel, where voting will take place under Michelangelo’s 16th-century ceiling frescoes, to begin preparations.
So far, there are few clues as to who the cardinals might choose.
“I believe that if Francis has been the pope of surprises, this conclave will be too, as it is not at all predictable,” Spanish Cardinal Jose Cobo told El País in an interview published on Sunday.
Francis was laid to rest on Saturday with a funeral and burial ceremony that drew 400,000 people to St Peter’s Square and beyond, including royalty, world leaders, and ordinary pilgrims.
On Sunday, about 70,000 mourners filed past his marble tomb in the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome, after the “pope of the poor” opted to be buried outside the Vatican’s walls.
Bookmakers’ odds
With conflicts and diplomatic crises raging around the world, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who under Francis was secretary of state — the pope’s number two — is for many the favourite to succeed him.
British bookmakers William Hill put him slightly ahead of Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle, the Metropolitan Archbishop emeritus of Manila, followed by Ghana’s Cardinal Peter Turkson.
Next in their odds come Matteo Zuppi, the Archbishop of Bologna, Guinea’s Cardinal Robert Sarah, and Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
While Francis’s efforts to create a more compassionate Church earned him widespread affection and respect, some of his reforms angered the Church’s conservative wing, particularly in the United States and Africa.
Roberto Regoli, a professor of Church history and culture at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, told AFP that the cardinals would be looking “to find someone who knows how to forge greater unity”.
“We are in a period in which Catholicism is experiencing various polarisations, so I don’t imagine it will be a very, very quick conclave,” he said.
Bassetti, who is too old to participate, said, however, he thought it “will not be long”.
Some 80 percent of the cardinal electors were appointed by Francis — though that is no guarantee they will pick a successor in his likeness.
Most are relatively young, and for many, it is their first conclave.
‘We need a courageous leader’
The vote is highly secretive and follows strict rules and ceremonial procedures. The process could take several days, or potentially longer.
There are four votes per day — two in the morning and two in the afternoon — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority.
Fewer than half of those eligible to vote are European.
“The future pope must have a universal heart, love all the continents. We must not look at colour, at origin, but at what is proposed,” Cardinal Dieudonne Nzapalainga from the Central African Republic told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
“We need a courageous leader, a bold one, capable of speaking forcefully, of holding the helm of the Church steady even in storms… offering stability in an era of great uncertainty.”
Patrizia Spotti, a 68-year-old Italian visiting Rome for the 2026 Jubilee holy year, told AFP Monday she hoped the new pontiff “will be a pope like Francis”.
It was a difficult time for Catholicism, she said.
“Churches are empty. And the Church itself has made mistakes, all the scandals with the children,” she said, referring to the widespread revelations of clerical sex abuse.
AFP
Manuel Neuer has been called up to Germany’s World Cup squad – two years after his international retirement.
The 40-year-old was named as part of Julian Nagelsmann’s 26-man squad for the tournament this summer, having not featured for his country since Euro 2024.
Among the list include Premier League players Malick Thiaw and Nick Woltemade – both of Newcastle – Arsenal striker Kai Havertz, Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Brighton’s Pascal Gross.
Injured duo Serge Gnabry and Anton Stach and forwards Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade and Niclas Fullkrug are among those to miss out.
Germany’s World Cup squad in full
Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Nathaniel Brown (Eintracht Frankfurt), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Pascal Gross (Brighton), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Felix Nmecha (Borussia Dortmund), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (Stuttgart), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart)
Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Lennart Karl (Bayern Munich), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has opened up on the club’s decision to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new manager.
The Blues confirmed the Spaniard as their next head coach following the conclusion of the 2025-26 season, with Alonso set to take charge ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Mikel had previously been vocal about Chelsea’s managerial philosophy, urging the club’s ownership to move away from short-term head coaches and interim appointments and instead bring in a proper manager with full control over the squad
Speaking on his most recent podcast, Mikel said:
“I am glad the owners listened to me, and listened to the fans.
“Forget about coaches, what we have always had are managers, and what we need is a manager who decides on the players he wants out and the players who can stay.
“We need a strong personality, and that is what we have got now in Alonso.
“That title has been changed from coach to manager, but I hope it’s not just words and he is actually allowed to manage the squad. But I am very happy with the appointment.”
Chelsea are still in the hunt for Europa League football, and a win over Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season would go a long way in determining whether Alonso inherits a European stage to build on next season.
Enzo Maresca is believed to have signed a three-year deal to replace outgoing Man City manager Pep Guardiola, after it was revealed that the legendary head coach will be leaving the Etihad at the end of the season.
Speculation around Guardiola’s departure date has been rife as the season draws to a close, despite the Catalan having one year left on his contract.
According to report, Man City’s sponsors were among those to have been told that Guardiola will be calling time on a remarkable trophy-ladened spell on Sunday.
The report also shared that Maresca, Guardiola’s former assistant, was a front-runner for the vacant spot at the dugout, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Tuesday morning that the ex-Chelsea manager will be taking over.
The Italian head coach has been out of work since his mutual departure from Stamford Bridge under strained circumstances on January 1.
But even before his acrimonious mid-season exit, Maresca has been viewed as a long-term successor to Guardiola following their stint working together at Man City.
The 46-year-old served as Guardiola’s assistant between 2022 and 2023 after previously coaching Man City’s youth sides, before departing to earn Championship promotion with Leicester.
Maresca then went on to win the Uefa Conference League and the Club World Cup with Chelsea during his 18-month spell in west London.
Guardiola is set to celebrate his time in English football with an open-top bus parade in Manchester after winning the Carabao Cup and FA Cup this season, but until Monday night, the manager had been notably vague over his future plans.
But before news broke of his shock exit, Guardiola had been keen to tamp down any suggestions that he would be commemorated with any fanfare.
‘The club don’t have to do anything, honestly,’ Guardiola, who has yet to officially confirm his departure, said. ‘The important thing in our lives is that when you look back, you can look with a big smile and say “that was good”.
‘Bernardo (Silva) and John (Stones) can feel that. We spoke about it over the last few days. When you’re old, a grandfather, you can look at the memories. That is the most important thing in life.’
Tired of addressing his contractual situation, Guardiola added with a dose of sarcasm: ‘Whatever happens at the end of the season – and when I extend my contract for three more years – I can look back and say, “how nice has that been?”
‘That is the most important thing by far. Most of the people who lived this time here together can feel it.’
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