The world awaits a smoke signal
Scores of cardinals will file into the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel today to cast ballots for the next pope, in one of the world’s oldest dramas. They will be sequestered until a successor to Pope Francis is chosen. No one knows how long the conclave will last.
The largest number of cardinals in history — 133 representing about 70 countries — will gather under Michelangelo’s frescoes to select the next leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
“Once they are in, we’ll know practically nothing,” Jason Horowitz, our Rome bureau chief, told me. “But the puffs of black smoke, which signify an inconclusive election, will tell us something, too.”
“The first vote is generally symbolic, testing the strength of candidates, but if the election goes deep into the second day with only black smoke, we will know that the cardinals are having a hard time reaching a consensus,” Jason said. “Eventually the smoke will turn white and the new pope will be revealed on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.” Here’s more about how the pope will be chosen.
India said it carried out strikes in Pakistan
India said early today that it had conducted strikes on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan, two weeks after an attack by armed militants killed more than two dozen civilians in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Residents said they had heard explosions and jets flying overhead in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. This is a developing story.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Army said two other places had been attacked, in the city of Bahawalpur, in Punjab Province, and in Kotli, a city in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Context: The April assault was one of the worst attacks on Indian civilians in decades, and India was quick to suggest that Pakistan was involved. The two nuclear-armed countries have fought several wars over Kashmir, a shared region that each claims to hold in full.
“Some places are not for sale,” Carney said. Trump replied, “Never say never.”
After the meeting, Carney told reporters he felt better about Trump’s posture toward Canada, but stopped short of reporting any concrete negotiations. He said the way forward would be full of “zigs and zags,” but expressed confidence there was a trade deal to be made.
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