Nine people were killed when a driver ran over a crowd during a street festival in the Canadian city of Vancouver, the police reported.

“Several people have died and several others were injured,” the Vancouver police said on X. “The driver is in custody,” they added. The incident occurred when members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day, as posted on X by Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim.

The festival commemorates a 16th-century Filipino anti-colonial leader.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time,” added Sim.

Several cardinals who will participate in the conclave to elect Pope Francis’ successor said they are approaching the mission with “apprehension,” “responsibility,” and “hope,” while also beginning to outline the profile of the next pope: a “unifier.”

The 12-year pontificate of the first Latin American pope was marked by reforms and a simple style, which earned him strong opposition from the Church’s most conservative sectors, with his predecessor Benedict XVI as a symbol of that resistance.
“The task before us these days is greater than us, and yet it is a duty we must fulfill,” summarized French Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline during a mass in Rome on Thursday evening.

A few meters away, Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich admitted to journalists that he approaches the conclave “with a certain apprehension,” but also with “great hope.”

“We feel very small. We must make decisions for the entire Church, so please pray for us,” added the Jesuit cardinal, who was a close advisor to the Argentine pontiff.
He estimated that the conclave would “probably” begin on May 5 or 6, after the nine-day mourning period at the Vatican known as the Novendiales.

Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky held a “very productive” meeting, according to the White House, this Saturday in Rome on the sidelines of Pope Francis’ funeral.
No specific details about their conversation were disclosed, but the White House promised to release more information later. Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andrii Yermak, described the 15-minute discussion at St. Peter’s Basilica as “constructive.”

This was the first meeting between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents since their heated exchange in Washington on February 28, when Trump and his Vice President JD Vance verbally confronted Zelensky in the Oval Office.
Dozens of heads of state, government leaders, and senior officials gathered in Rome on Saturday for Pope Francis’ funeral, creating opportunities for multiple diplomatic meetings.

The Ukrainian presidency stated that Trump and Zelensky “agreed to continue” their talks later Saturday in the Italian capital and shared photos of both leaders seated face-to-face, also engaging in conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The U.S. president said on Friday that a deal between Ukraine and Russia is “very close,” without providing details, following discussions between his envoy Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin in Moscow about the possibility of launching “direct negotiations” between the two sides.