Born in Argentina, Francis was the only Latin American pontiff and first non-European pope in more than 1,000 years.
Pope Francis walks past the alter in front of St Peter’s Basilica in St Peter’s Square after his inauguration Mass at the Vatican on March 19, 2013. [Gregorio Borgia/AP Photo]
Published On 21 Apr 202521 Apr 2025
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has died. He was 88 years old.
Born in Argentina, he was the first Latin American pope as well as the first non-European to serve for more than 1,000 years.
He was known for his simple words and humble manner that immediately won over the crowds.
The top 10 oil1 producers and share of total world oil production2 in 20233
Country
Million barrels per day
Share of world total
United States
21.91
22%
Saudi Arabia
11.13
11%
Russia
10.75
11%
Canada
5.76
6%
China
5.26
5%
Iraq
4.42
4%
Brazil
4.28
4%
United Arab Emirates
4.16
4%
Iran
3.99
4%
Kuwait
2.91
3%
Total top 10
74.59
73%
World total
101.81
1Oil includes crude oil, all other petroleum liquids, and biofuels. 2 Production includes domestic production of crude oil, all other petroleum liquids, and biofuels and refinery processing gain. 3 Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics, Total oil (petroleum and other liquids) production, as of April 11, 2024
The top 10 oil1 consumers and share of total world oil consumption in 20222
Country
Million barrels per day
Share of world total
United States
20.01
20%
China
15.15
15%
India
5.05
5%
Russia
3.68
4%
Saudi Arabia
3.65
4%
Japan
3.38
3%
Brazil
3.03
3%
South Korea
2.55
3%
Canada
2.41
2%
Germany
2.18
2%
Total top 10
61.08
61%
World total
99.95
1Oil includes crude oil, all other petroleum liquids, and biofuels. 2 Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics, Total oil (petroleum and other liquids) consumption, as of April 11, 2024
MANILA, Feb 3 (Reuters) – The Philippines, among the world’s largest rice importers, declared on Monday a food security emergency to bring down the cost of rice, which it said has stayed elevated despite lower global prices and a reduction in rice tariffs last year.
The declaration, which was widely expected, will allow the government to release buffer stocks to help bring down retail prices of the national staple, Agriculture Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel said in a statement, adding it would remain in effect until the price situation improves.
Despite efforts to liberalise rice imports and reduce tariffs, the agriculture department said, the domestic market has been slow to respond, with retail prices surpassing expectations.
Half of the 300,000 metric tons buffer stock the National Food Authority currently holds could be released over the next six months to ensure supply for emergencies and disaster response, it added.
The annual rate of increase in rice prices in the Philippines hit a 15-year high of 24.4% in March last year, but has since moderated to 0.8% in December, helping keep overall inflation for 2024 within the government’s 2% to 4% target.
Last year, the Philippines lowered tariffs on rice and extended existing tariff cuts on some other commodities to combat inflation and ensure ample supply
The pups are cute – and great for PR – but they’re modified grey wolves. The real work is being done with their red cousinsThu 10 Apr 2025 15.50 BSTShare109
I’ve been waiting for this. Ever since researchers almost brought a wild goat species back from extinction in 2003, it was only a matter of time until someone came forward and said they had successfully “de-extincted” a species. Now, it has happened.
This week, American biotech company Colossal Biosciences announced it had resurrected the dire wolf, an animal that went extinct at the end of the last ice age. Colossal released a video that invited viewers to “experience the first dire wolf howls heard in over 10,000 years”.
But these are not dire wolf howls, and these are not dire wolves. To make the pups, scientists edited the DNA inside grey wolf cells to make it more dire wolf-like. Twenty changes were made to 14 different genes involved in coat colour, body size and skull shape. Then the cells were used for cloning.
Over the past 20 years, Paris has undergone a major physical transformation, trading automotive arteries for bike lanes, adding green spaces and eliminating 50,000 parking spaces.
Part of the payoff has been invisible — in the air itself.
Airparif, an independent group that tracks air quality for France’s capital region, said this week that levels of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) have decreased 55 percent since 2005, while nitrogen dioxide levels have fallen 50 percent. It attributed this to “regulations and public policies,” including steps to limit traffic and ban the most polluting vehicles.
Paris said au revoir to cars. Air pollution maps reveal a dramatic change.
Air pollution heat maps show the levels of 20 years ago as a pulsing red — almost every neighborhood above the European Union’s limit for nitrogen dioxide, which results from the combustion of fossil fuels. By 2023, the red zone had shrunk to only a web of fine lines across and around the city, representing the busiest roads and highways.
Linggong Kong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partners
Auburn University provides funding as a member of The Conversation US.
The move, in Trump’s telling, was prompted by Beijing’s “lack of respect for global markets.” But the U.S. president may well have been smarting from Beijing’s apparent willingness to confront U.S. tariffs head on.
Theo Nghị quyết 60, Việt Nam sẽ còn 28 tỉnh, 6 thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương sau khi 52 địa phương sáp nhập thành 23 và 11 tỉnh, thành giữ nguyên trạng.
Tổng Bí thư, Chủ tịch nước Trung Quốc Tập Cận Bình thăm cấp Nhà nước tới Việt Nam từ ngày 14/4
11/04/2025 | 09:22
TPO – Nhận lời mời của Tổng Bí thư Tô Lâm, Chủ tịch nước Lương Cường, Tổng Bí thư, Chủ tịch nước Trung Quốc Tập Cận Bình sẽ thăm cấp Nhà nước tới Việt Nam từ ngày 14 đến 15/4, Bộ Ngoại giao thông báo.
Chuyến thăm diễn ra vào thời điểm Việt Nam và Trung Quốc kỷ niệm 75 năm thiết lập quan hệ ngoại giao (18/1/1950 – 18/1/2025).
Dua Lipa took advantage of the pockets in the vintage Chanel gown she wore to the 2023 Met Gala — a gesture that was not lost on many women who commented positively about the look online. Noam Galai/The Hollywood Reporter/Getty Images
Editor’s Note: Examining clothes through the ages, Dress Codes investigates how the rules of fashion have influenced different cultural arenas — and your closet.CNN —
It’s a familiar exchange to many women: “I love your dress.” “Thanks, it has pockets!”
So coveted is the spacious inset pouch in womenswear that when they exist, they are likely to attract attention. Take Dua Lipa’s look at the 2023 Met Gala — a vintage, cream-colored Chanel gown with pockets she was able to slip her hands inside, to the delight of many internet users, or Emma Stone’s decision to stuff the exaggerated hip pockets of her red Louis Vuitton dress with popcorn at Saturday Night Live’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Usable pockets seem like an obvious feature to include in ready-to-wear garments, but that is far from the case. It is standard for dresses and skirts to be pocketless, and when pockets do exist in slacks and blazers, they can be deceptively small. Other times, they’re just deceptive: see the fake pockets that come as a shallow lip over a disappointing seam on a pair of jeans, or a jacket with flaps but no actual opening beneath it.
Yet the demand for pockets is clear. Online, fantasies for pocket space find a like-minded audience, from designer Nicole McLaughlin’s hyperfunctional creations made from upcycled materials (chip-and-dip work vest, anyone?) to Y2K throwback creator Erin Miller cramming childhood paraphernalia into her old JNCO jeans, Mary Poppins-style. The question is rinsed and repeated in forums and on social media: Why don’t women get as many pockets as men?
Trung Quốc hôm nay cho biết nước này sẵn sàng đàm phán với Mỹ, nhưng cũng không sợ hãi nếu Mỹ tiếp tục đe dọa áp thuế.
Cờ Mỹ và Trung Quốc. Ảnh: Reuters
Ngày 10/4, khi được hỏi về việc liệu Mỹ và Trung Quốc đã bắt đầu đàm phán thuế nhập khẩu hay chưa, người phát ngôn Bộ Thương mại Trung Quốc He Yongqian cho biết nước này sẵn sàng đàm phán với Mỹ, nhưng phải trên cơ sở bình đẳng và tôn trọng lẫn nhau. Ông khẳng định “việc gây sức ép, đe dọa, bắt nạt” không phải là cách hành xử đúng với Trung Quốc.
Peter DraperProfessor, and Executive Director: Institute for International Trade, and Jean Monnet Chair of Trade and Environment, University of Adelaide
Vutha HingLecturer in International Trade, University of Adelaide
Disclosure statement
Peter Draper receives funding from the European External Action Service and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, for project-specific work connected to trade policies. He is affiliated with the Australian Services Roundtable (Board Member); the International Chamber of Commerce (Research Foundation Director); European Centre for International Political Economy (non-resident Fellow); German Institute for Development and Sustainability (non-resident Research Fellow); and Friends of Multilateralism Group (member).
Vutha Hing receives funding from Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia. He is affiliated with Trade Policy Advisory Board, Royal Government of Cambodia.
Tarek Alexander Hassan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Partners
Boston University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation US.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under Creative Commons licence.
When U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping new tariffs on imported goods on April 2, 2025 – upending global trade and sending markets into a tailspin – he presented the move as a response to a crisis. In an executive order released the same day, the White House said the move was necessary to address “the national emergency posed by the large and persistent trade deficit.”
A trade deficit – when a country imports more than it exports – is often viewed as a problem. And yes, the U.S. trade deficit is both large and persistent. Yet, as an economist who has taught international finance at Boston University, the University of Chicago and Harvard, I maintain that far from a national emergency, this persistent deficit is actually a sign of America’s financial and technological dominance.
The reaction of the markets came amid mounting criticism against the tariff hikes, with increasing numbers of economists and analysts offering insights into why Trump’s obsession with trade deficits is wrong.
The purported logic of the tariffs is that they’re designed to reduce the trade deficits America has with its trading partners. But, as Professor of Economics at Boston University Tarek Alexander Hassan explains,Trump’s frenzied attacks on the trade deficit show he’s misreading a sign of American economic strength as a weakness. If he really wants to eliminate the trade deficit, he should turn his attention to reining in the federal budget deficit.
What about the formula the Trump administration used to calculate what tariffs to impose? Peter Draper and Vutha Hing at Adelaide University argue that it’s detached from the rigours of trade economics. The formula assumes every trade deficit is a result of other countries’ unfair trade practices. And that’s simply not the case.
Cờ Mỹ và Trung Quốc. Ảnh: Reuters
CVD 