📌 Pope Dies, Dollar Buckles, More

Pope Francis, history’s first Latin American pontiff who charmed the world with his humble style, died today. He was 88.

Francis, who suffered from chronic lung disease and had part of one lung removed as a young man, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on Feb. 14, 2025, for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent 38 days there, the longest hospitalization of his 12-year papacy.

He emerged on Easter Sunday — his last public appearance, a day before his death — to bless thousands in St. Peter’s Square and treat them to a surprise popemobile romp through the piazza, drawing wild cheers and applause. Beforehand, he met briefly with US Vice President JD Vance.

The Argentine-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio brought a breath of fresh air into a 2,000-year-old institution that had seen its influence wane during the troubled tenure of Pope Benedict XVI, whose surprise resignation led to Francis’ election.

But Francis soon invited troubles of his own, and conservatives grew increasingly upset with his progressive bent, outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and crackdown on traditionalists. “Who am I to judge?” he replied when asked about a purportedly gay priest.

Francis demanded his bishops apply mercy and charity to their flocks, pressed the world to protect God’s creation from climate disaster, and challenged countries to welcome those fleeing war, poverty and oppression.

Francis’ death prompts a period of mourning, after which all cardinals under the age of 80 will convene to pick the next leader of the Catholic Church. It typically takes between two and three weeks for a new pope to be chosen.

The dollar dived today as confidence in the US economy fell over President Donald Trump's plans to reform the Federal Reserve.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Friday that the president and his team were continuing to study whether they could fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell, just a day after Trump said Powell's termination "cannot come fast enough" as he called for the Fed to cut interest rates.

The dollar sank to a decade-low against the Swiss franc, the euro broke above $1.15, while sterling was up more than 0.5% at $1.33855, its highest since October 1.

Trading was thinned with markets in Australia and Hong Kong closed for Easter Monday. Most markets globally were closed on Friday for a holiday.

"Powell does not report directly to Trump, so [Trump] cannot fire him,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of macro research for Asia ex-Japan at Mizuho. But to affect the markets, he said, "You just need to create the perception that you could fundamentally change the view of an independent Fed."

Louisiana, Virginia and Missouri confirmed their first cases of measles as the US battles a growing outbreak.

Each state confirmed one case, and all had a recent history of international travel. With the three states confirming infections, the number of states with measles cases this year rises to at least 27.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday counted 800 cases of measles this year, with 96% of the patients either unvaccinated or having an unknown vaccination status. 85 of the patients have been hospitalized and there have been three deaths associated with the disease.

Only 2019's 1,274 measles cases exceed this year's tally since 2000, when the US thought it had eliminated measles from its borders.

Humanoid robots took to the streets of Beijing, China, competing with thousands of humans in a half-marathon.

The 13-mile event in the Chinese capital’s E-Town — a state-backed high-tech manufacturing hub — was billed as a groundbreaking effort to test the limits of bipedal robots in real-world conditions.

Curious human runners lined the roadside, phones in hand, ready to photograph each machine as it began the race. One smaller-sized android fell over and lay on the ground for several minutes before getting up by itself to loud cheers.

Around 20 teams from across China participated in the competition, with robots ranging from 29.5–71 inches tall and weighing up to 194 pounds. Some jogged autonomously, while others were guided remotely by their engineers. Robots and human participants ran on separate tracks.

The men’s and women’s winners, both from Ethiopia, finished in one hour, two minutes and 36 seconds, and in one hour, 11 minutes and seven seconds respectively, state media said.

The winning robot was the tallest and one of the heaviest in the competition. At 180cm tall and weighing 52kg, the metallic black “Tiangong Ultra” finished in two hours, 40 minutes and 42 seconds, despite suffering a mid-race fall.

A “digital travel credential” is being piloted by the International Civil Aviation Organization to streamline air travel.

The United Nations body plans to change the existing systems for airports and airlines and speed up the entire airport process for travellers.

Instead of manually checking in online or at the airport, getting a boarding pass, and having it scanned at various checkpoints, the system will enable passengers to download a “journey pass” to their devices upon booking that will automatically be updated if changes are made to the flight reservation.

Flyers would also be able to store passport information on their phones and check in via a facial recognition system that will alert airlines when passengers arrive and, to address privacy concerns, wipe their details within 15 seconds of each contact with a touchpoint, such as a security gate.

In an early trial in Finland, 91% of participants reported that the DTC system was easy to use.​ However, reports say a few expected glitches need to be resolved.

The Israeli military has said "professional failures" led to the killing of 15 emergency workers in Gaza last month.

An inquiry into the incident by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) found a series of failings, including an "operational misunderstanding" and a "breach of orders.”

The deputy commander of the unit involved has been dismissed "for providing an incomplete and inaccurate report during the debrief”. A spokeswoman for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said the report was "invalid" as it "justifies and shifts the responsibility to a personal error in the field command when the truth is quite different.”

Fourteen emergency workers and a UN worker were killed on March 23 after a convoy of PRCS ambulances, a UN car and a fire truck came under fire by the Israeli military. The IDF said its investigation found six of the casualties were Hamas members, and rejected that there had been summary executions.

The report said the incident occurred in a "hostile and dangerous combat zone.” The commander on the ground perceived an immediate and tangible threat after vehicles approached rapidly. It blamed "poor night visibility,” which the IDF said meant the commander did not identify the vehicles as ambulances.

Two architecture firms teamed up to win a competition to transform a vacant Netherlands church into a swimming pool.

Nicknamed “Holy Water,” the project gives the vacant church, the St. Francis of Assisi Church in Heerlen, a new social function, while preserving the historic elements of this listed national monument.

The plans from MVRDV and Zecc Architecten incorporate an adjustable swimming pool floor that will bring flexibility to the space, allowing it to host a variety of activities in addition to swimming.

“The vacancy rate of churches is increasing, so we need to come up with new, creative ideas for what we can do with these buildings,” says Winy Maas of MVRDV. “A public swimming pool is ideally suited for this. Imagine swimming the backstroke with a view of a church vault and stained-glass windows.”

The church was built over 100 years ago and stopped hosting services in 2023. The design connects old and new, allowing visitors to walk through the church’s aisles to reach the changing rooms or restaurant, both located at the rear. Glass walls separate these passages from the climatized central pool space.

The church’s pews will be reused by incorporating them into the separating glass walls surrounding the pool, providing seats for the swimmers on one side, while serving as bar tables for spectators on the other side. The old pulpit is even given a new function — serving as the seat for a lifeguard.