The official programme of the ceremonies for Pope Francis:
9:00 am IST
St Peter’s Square opens.
1:00 pm IST
US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania arrive in St Peter’s Square.
1:30 pm IST
The funeral mass begins. It will be presided over by Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals.
Pope Francis’s wooden and zinc coffin, sealed on Friday evening, will be placed in front of the basilica before a temporary raised altar. To its left, facing St Peter’s, will sit the red-robed cardinals. To the right, official delegations from around the world, seated in alphabetical order.
The ceremony should last about 90 minutes, with 224 cardinals and 750 priests and bishops in attendance.
3:00 pm IST
The coffin leaves for Santa Maria Maggiore, the Rome basilica where Pope Francis will be buried.
4:30 pm IST
The coffin arrives at Santa Maria Maggiore, where it will be welcomed by a group of the “poor and needy”.
The burial, presided over by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who as camerlengo is running the Vatican’s day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, will take place in private.
Israel’s delayed and impersonal condolences following Pope Francis’s death, combined with a low-level funeral delegation and the deletion of a tribute, highlight the political rift rooted in his criticisms of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The Israeli government’s response to the death of Pope Francis has been marked by controversy. Despite the passing of a global spiritual leader, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office took four days to offer condolences, and even then, it was a brief and impersonal statement.
The office eventually released a two-sentence statement on Thursday night, which read: “The State of Israel expresses its deepest condolences to the Catholic Church and the Catholic community worldwide at the passing of Pope Francis. May he rest in peace.”
This subdued response stands in stark contrast to the outpouring of tributes and condolences from around the world. Moreover, an earlier message posted on X by the official state account of Israel was deleted without explanation.
The original message featured a photo of Pope Francis at the Western Wall in Jerusalem and concluded with the words “May his memory be a blessing.” Its deletion was reportedly due to an “error,” according to officials at the foreign ministry, per a report by the Jerusalem Post.
The controversy surrounding Israel’s response to the Pope’s death is further compounded by the country’s decision to send a relatively low-level delegation to the funeral. Only Israel’s Vatican ambassador, Yaron Sideman, will attend the ceremony, whereas most major nations will be represented by their heads of state or government.
Pope Francis had been vocal in his criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, suggesting that the international community should examine whether Israel’s actions could be classified as genocide. He also expressed sympathy for the Palestinian people, describing the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “shameful.” In his last public address on Easter Sunday, he mentioned the suffering of both Palestinians and Israelis.
The Pope’s expressions of solidarity with the Palestinians have been met with resentment from some quarters in Israel, particularly among the coalition of religious and nationalist parties that support Netanyahu’s government. Despite the Pope’s efforts to bolster multi-faith dialogue and his expressions of sympathy for Israelis, some in Israel believe that he took the side of the Palestinians.
In contrast, the Palestinian Authority has shown great respect for the Pope, with Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa attending the funeral. Palestinians have spoken warmly of the Pope’s expressions of empathy, which gave them hope during a difficult time. Since his death, it is reported that Pope Francis would often contact the small Christian community sheltering in a church in Gaza City during the war, showing his concern for their well-being.
The perceived rift between the Israeli government and the Vatican may be visible at the Pope’s funeral in Rome, where Israel’s leaders will be noticeably absent. While Israeli President Isaac Herzog published a heartfelt tribute to Pope Francis, describing him as a man of deep faith and boundless compassion, there are no plans for him to attend the funeral. The absence of high-level representation from Israel will likely be seen as a sign of the country’s displeasure with the Pope’s stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pakistan’s government is trying hard to counter the terror charges levelled by India after the massacre of 26 tourists by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. But the latest challenge that the Shehbaz Sharif government is facing is from within. Pakistanis have started trolling their own government with the mounting frustration spilling onto social media.
The Pahalgam attack – at a popular tourist hotspot known as ‘Mini Switzerland’ – has escalated tensions between India and Pakistan, with both countries suspending visa services and expelling visitors from their neighbours. India has also suspended the Indus Water Treaty, citing “sustained cross-border terrorism by Pakistan”.
Facing such existential challenges, the people of Pakistan have started questioning the leadership and are demanding accountability for the ghastly Pahalgam attack. And they are venting their frustration against their government through memes and satire.
Most of these posts and memes are in response to Indians over New Delhi’s move against Pakistan. Using humour as a tool to voice their dissent, the users have pointed out how Pakistan has failed to provide basic amenities to its people.
Amid a clamour for war on social media, Pakistanis are concerned if they could afford such a conflict, given their financial condition. A user mockingly suggested on X that if Indians want a war with Pakistan, they must finish it before nine o’clock. The reason: the gas supply goes off after that, he said.
Another user sarcastically replied, “Don’t give them more lame jokes. Aata, paani, bheek, (food, water, alms) and now gas.” “They must know they are fighting with a poor nation,” said a third user, pointing to the financial condition of the country.
On another thread, a group of Pakistanis engaged in criticising the “misery” they are living in. The conversation starts with a user asking if India is going to bomb Pakistan. To this, someone replied, “Indians aren’t stupid.” But for a third user, their misery isn’t better than being bombed. “When is this misery gonna end bro?” the user asked.
A Pakistani user also shared a popular meme trolling Pakistan’s air force. Replying to an Indian user who posted glimpses of the Indian Air Force and called for action over the Pahalgam attack, he shared the meme showing a man riding a motorcycle modified with a fighter jet-like structure on it, likely made out of paperboard.
Referring to India suspending the Indus Water Treaty and threats of stopping river water flow to Pakistan, a user flagged that Pakistan itself has a shortage of water. “Want to stop water? There’s no supply anyway. Want to kill us? Our government is already killing us. Will you take Lahore? You will return it within half an hour,” he said mockingly.
An anonymous Reddit post recently claimed that things inside Zomato are “going off the rails.” According to the post, leadership recently allegedly admitted that Zomato is losing market share to Zepto Cafe and Swiggy, adding that the employees are now required to order from Zomato at least seven times a month. Responding to the claims, Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said that “All of this is utter nonsense”. Stating that “it is embarrassing to even clarify this,” Goyal said that “Neither are we losing market share, nor will we ever force our employees to order on Zomato.” “Freedom of choice is something we stand for vehemently,” he further added.
Reddit post claims Zomato forcing employees to order food from the app at least seven times a month
As mentioned above, Reddit user r/StartUpIndia claimed that the food delivery platform is forcing its employees to order from the app seven times a week, adding that “ordering from competitors is outright banned in the office”. The Reddit post describes confusion at the leadership level. Rakesh Ranjan, CEO of Zomato’s food delivery business, reportedly told employees to “stay focused” and “get back on track” during a townhall, but was removed from the role just two days later. The post also mentions a toxic work environment, where micromanagement and public criticism of employees are common. “The only thing keeping the company profitable now is platform fees,” it claims, adding that there’s little focus on long-term sustainability. There are growing issues with delivery partners as well, the user alleged. It said that many riders are underpaid compared to competitors and are quitting, leading to a rise in delivery fraud and service outages. “Orders go offline not because restaurants are closed, but because there’s literally no one available to pick them up,” the post says.
What Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal said
Goyal wrote:
All of this – https://reddit.com/r/StartUpIndia/comments/1k7j841/zomatos_internal_chaos/ – is utter nonsense.
Neither are we losing market share, nor will we ever force our employees to order on Zomato. Freedom of choice is something we stand for vehemently.
It is embarrassing to even clarify this – but doing it since many people reached out to me with concern.
And thanks everybody for your concern.. appreciate it.
A recent review by seismologists at Los Alamos National Laboratory suggests that some earthquakes might actually be covert underground nuclear tests. The study, led by Joshua Carmichael and published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, highlights the challenges in distinguishing between natural seismic events and clandestine nuclear explosions.
Underground nuclear tests can produce seismic signals similar to those of natural earthquakes, making detection difficult. However, advancements in seismic monitoring techniques, such as analyzing the ratio of compressional (P) waves to shear (S) waves, have improved the ability to differentiate between the two. Explosions typically generate more P-waves relative to S-waves compared to earthquakes.
The new analysis by Joshua Carmichael and colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory found that advanced signal detector technology that can identify a 1.7-ton buried explosion with a 97% success rate only has a 37% success rate when seismic signals from that explosion are hidden within the seismic waveforms of an earthquake that happens within 100 seconds and about 250 kilometers away from the explosion.
The overlapping waveforms of explosion and earthquake “obfuscate the ability of even the most sensitive digital signal detectors we have to identify that explosion,” said Carmichael.
The findings could lead experts to reconsider a 2012 report that concluded earthquake signals could not cover up explosion signals. Potential explosion masking by natural seismic signals is a concern for the community of scientists charged with nuclear test monitoring around the globe.
In North Korea, which has held six nuclear tests over the past 20 years, an increase in regional seismic instruments shows that “there’s been a lot more low-magnitude seismicity in the vicinity of test sites than we initially realized,” Carmichael noted.
The new findings suggest that “background seismicity in regions where there’s any sort of seismicity at all is going to measurably and substantially reduce the probability that we can detect signals from an underground explosion at a test site,” he added.
The researchers also found that natural signals from earthquake swarms or other repeating seismic events could be similarly hidden by overlapping waveforms. In this case, the masking effect dropped detection from a 92% to a 16% detection rate.
“This may mean that we probably underestimate a lot of the low magnitude seismicity that is sourced during a swarm or an aftershock sequence,” Carmichael said. “In other words, we could be largely undercounting the number of earthquakes that occur in these swarms or in certain aftershock sequences.”
Explosion masking has been difficult to test because there are so few explosions to examine, and very few data sets that contain both explosion and natural seismic signals.
Mumbai Indians are on a roll in the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The five-time champions, who lost four out of their first five matches, found their mojo back at the right time and won four back-to-back games. With 10 points after nine matches, MI are all set to face Lucknow Super Giants in an important IPL 2025 fixture on Sunday at the Wankhede Stadium. In their previous encounter this season, LSG emerged victorious by 12 runs.
Ahead of the upcoming clash against LSG, MI star opener Rohit Sharma gave his fans a hilarious moment. During the net practice, Rohit was seen sitting alongside LSG mentor Zaheer Khan. In that moment, LSG pacer Shardul Thakur entered the scene and was taunted by Rohit for coming late to the practice.
In a video posted by Mumbai Indians on X (formerly Twitter), Rohit was heard saying, “Kya re hero, abhi aa raha hai, ghar ka team hai kya? (Hey, hero, you’re coming now? Is this your home team?)”
MI will be coming to this clash after defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad in their previous game on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Chasing a below-par 143 for 8, built on the efforts of Heinrich Klaasen efforts (71 off 44 balls) and his 99-run stand with Abhinav Manohar (43 off 37 balls), Rohit was in his zone as he hit 70 off 46 deliveries to bring a swift end to the home team’s misery in 15.4 overs.
Earlier, pacers Deepak Chahar and Trent Boult led an impressive bowling show as Mumbai Indians restricted Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Chahar (2/12) and Boult (4/26) rattled SRH in their opening spells as Pat Cummins‘ side were reduced to 13 for 4 in the fifth over before Heinrich Klaasen pulled things back a bit with his classy half-ton.
Just like MI, Rohit has also found his rhythm back with the bat. Apart from his 70-run knock against SRH, he earlier scored 76* runs off 45 against the arch-rivals Chennai Super Kings.
26/11 Mumbai terror attack plotter Tahawwur Rana with NIA officials upon landing in New Delhi.
NEW DELHI: Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the key accused in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, is not cooperating with investigators and is giving evasive answers, according to Mumbai Police. A team from the Mumbai Crime Branch questioned Rana for over eight hours in Delhi on Wednesday but reported that the 64-year-old provided little assistance in advancing the investigation. Rana, a Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman and close associate of David Coleman Headley, the US citizen who played a key role in the 2008 attacks, was recently extradited from the United States to India. He is currently in custody facing multiple charges under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, including conspiracy, terrorism, forgery, and waging war. On Thursday, the Patiala house court in Delhi had dismissed a plea filed by Rana seeking permission to speak with his family over the phone. His legal counsel, Piyush Sachdeva, argued that, as a foreign national, Rana had a fundamental right to communicate with his family, who were concerned about his well-being. However, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) opposed the request, warning that Rana might disclose sensitive information during such communication. Special NIA Judge Chander Jit Singh dismissed the plea, citing the ongoing sensitive nature of the investigation. Earlier, during a remand hearing, the court highlighted evidence suggesting a large-scale terror conspiracy that stretched beyond India’s borders, targeting multiple cities including New Delhi. The court stressed the seriousness of the charges and the need for sustained custodial interrogation, noting Rana must be confronted with witnesses, forensic evidence, and documents related to reconnaissance activities. The court also authorised an 18-day police custody remand, mandating that Rana’s medical condition be monitored every 48 hours in line with sovereign assurances made during the extradition process. The court further stated that the investigating agency must be given a fair opportunity to conduct a thorough inquiry, particularly given the threats to national security implicated by the case. Officials have indicated that Rana may be taken to several locations connected to the original 26/11 plot to help reconstruct the sequence of events and expose the wider terror network. The 26/11 attacks, carried out by ten Pakistani terrorists who infiltrated Mumbai via the Arabian Sea, killing 166 people, in a devastating 60-hour siege.
NEW DELHI: M G S Narayanan, renowned historian, academic and former chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR), passed away at 93 due to age-related ailments at his residence in Malaparamba, Kozhikode on Saturday. The distinguished scholar, who headed the history department at the University of Calicut and served as ICHR chairman, is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. Narayanan’s significant contribution to Indian historiography was marked by his PhD thesis ‘Perumals of Kerala’, which explored Kerala’s socio-political history from the 9th to the 12th centuries. His academic career was highlighted by his leadership at the University of Calicut’s history department from 1976 to 1990, followed by his role as ICHR chairman from 2001-2003. From 1976, he actively participated in the Indian History Congress and led numerous historical research projects in collaboration with ICHR. His research primarily focused on Kerala history, the history of Tamilakam, ancient Indian history, and historiography methodology. He mentored over a thousand students and supervised multiple postgraduate research projects. Narayanan authored more than 200 articles in Malayalam and English, making historical scholarship more accessible through his engaging writing style. His international academic experience included positions as a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and visiting fellowships at the University of Moscow and the Institute of Oriental Studies in Leningrad. His distinguished career also included serving as a visiting professor at various universities in India and abroad.
Pakistan’s PM Shehbaz Sharif is open to a neutral investigation into the recent Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26, amidst accusations against Pakistan for harbouring terrorists.
New Delhi:
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif today said he his ready for a “neutral investigation” of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam where 26 people, including a Nepalese national, were gunned down.
The terror attack, one of the deadliest since the scrapping of Article 370 in 2019, has triggered high-level diplomatic and security responses from the government against Pakistan, which has been accused of harbouring the handlers and backers of this terrorist group.
Addressing a graduation ceremony at the Pakistan Military Academy in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Kakul, Prime Minister Sharif said that his country is open to taking part in a “credible” investigation.
“The recent tragedy in Pahalgam is yet another example of this perpetual blame game, which must come to a grinding halt. Continuing with its role as a responsible country, Pakistan is open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation,” Mr Sharif said.
The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for the Pakistan-based terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, has claimed responsibility for the Pahalgam attack. Pakistan has often been accused of harbouring and funding terror groups engaged in cross-border infiltrations. According to intelligence sources, Adil Ahmed Thoker, one of the main accused in the attack, went over to Pakistan, received military training from terror groups and infiltrated India six years later along with several Pakistani terrorists.
“Pakistan has always condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” Mr Sharif added.
Mr Sharif’s remark come a day after Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in an interview with New York Times said that Pakistan was “ready to cooperate” with “any investigation which is conducted by international inspectors”.
Diplomatic Fallout
A Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi,was convened on Wednesday to determine India’s response to the April 23 attack in Pahalgam. The CCS announced sweeping action against Pakistan, which New Delhi accuses of harbouring and supporting cross-border terrorism.
At a press briefing on Wednesday evening, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced the measures. Chief among them is the downgrading of diplomatic missions in each country. Both the Indian and Pakistani high commissions will reduce their personnel strength from 55 to 30, to be completed by May 1.
India has also expelled all defence, naval, and air advisors from the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi. These individuals have been declared persona non grata and instructed to leave the country within a week. Correspondingly, India will withdraw its military advisors from its own high commission in Islamabad. Five support staff assigned to the service advisors in both missions will also be recalled.
India has further suspended the SAARC Visa Exemption Scheme for Pakistani nationals. Any existing visas issued to Pakistani citizens under this programme have been cancelled with immediate effect.
The CCS also ordered the immediate closure of the Integrated Check Post at Attari, the only functioning land border crossing between India and Pakistan. Pakistani nationals who have entered India through the post with valid documents may return before the 1 May deadline, Mr Misri added.
One of the most consequential decisions was the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. Misri stated that the treaty will remain in abeyance until Pakistan can “credibly and irrevocably abjure its support for cross-border terrorism.”
As tensions remain high between both countries, Pakistani troops continue to engage in unprovoked firing along the Line of Control (LoC). For a second consecutive night, the Pakistani army fired at Indian positions along the LoC, with Indian forces responding in kind. There have been no reports of any casualties on either side.
Amidst Indo-Pak tensions following the Pahalgam attack, Seema Haider, who illegally entered India to marry Sachin Meena, pleads not to be deported.
NEW DELHI: “I was Pakistan’s daughter, but now I’m India’s daughter-in-law,” says Seema Haider, who fears deportation after the government suspended visa services for Pakistani nationals as part of a series of retaliatory steps following the Pahalgam terror attack. Haider had made headlines in 2023 when she left Pakistan to marry her Indian lover, Sachin Meena. She was already married in Pakistan’s Sindh province but had illegally entered India via Nepal along with her four children.
In a video circulating on social media platforms, Seema says, “I do not want to go to Pakistan. I appeal to PM (Narendra) Modi and UP CM Yogi (Adityanath) to let me stay in India.” Haider claims she adopted Hinduism after marrying Meena. Despite facing a countrywide backlash, her lawyer remains hopeful that she will be allowed to stay in India, asserting that she is no longer a Pakistani citizen. “Seema is no longer a Pakistani national. She married Sachin Meena, a resident of Greater Noida, and recently gave birth to their daughter, Bharti Meena. Her citizenship is now connected with her Indian husband, and therefore the Centre’s directive should not apply to her,” Advocate AP Singh told PTI on Thursday. “I appeal to Modi ji and Yogi ji that I am in their refuge now. I was Pakistan’s daughter but now I’m the daughter-in-law of India. Let me stay here,” Haider said in the video. In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, a Cabinet Committee on Security meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a series of retaliatory measures, including the suspension of visa services for Pakistani nationals, on Wednesday. The Ministry of External Affairs also announced that all valid visas issued to Pakistani nationals would be cancelled effective April 27. Medical visas will remain valid until April 29. All Pakistani nationals currently in India have been asked to leave before their visas expire. Haider had left her home in Karachi in May 2023 and entered India. In July, Indian authorities caught her living with Meena in the Rabupura area of Uttar Pradesh’s Gautam Buddha Nagar district. The two had reportedly come into contact while playing online games in 2019. At present, the couple resides in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. (With PTI inputs)
