Daily SumUp

Saudi Aramco signs development deal with China's EV giant BYD. DUBAI, April 21 (Reuters) - Saudi oil giant Aramco signed a joint development agreement with Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD to explore collaboration in the development of new energy vehicle technologies, Aramco said on Monday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

India and the US need to work together successfully for a "prosperous and peaceful" 21st Century, US Vice-President JD Vance said in a speech calling for closer ties between the countries across sectors. Vance, who is on a four-day visit to India, was speaking at a programme in the western city of Jaipur. "But I also believe that if we fail to work together successfully, the 21st Century could be a very dark time for all of humanity," he added. The vice-president's remarks came a day after he met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and both countries said they had made progress in negotiating a bilateral trade deal which Delhi hopes will help it avoid higher tariffs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

U.S. President Donald Trump listens to remarks during a swearing-in ceremony for Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz in the Oval Office in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 18, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said on Truth Social that his administration cannot give everyone it wants to deport a trial "because to do so would take, without exaggeration, 200 years" Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After visiting Italy, Vice President JD Vance arrived in India for a four-day trip with his family. However, while he visits New Delhi and meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a controversy has erupted back home. It all started when Vance extended Good Friday wishes on the social media platform X. As his post gained momentum, netizens trolled the vice president for being married to a Hindu and Indian-origin wife, Usha Vance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

WrestleMania has come to a close with John Cena making history winning the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship for a record-breaking 17th time. The win over Cody Rhodes, which came following a surprise interference from rapper Travis Scott, means Cena has overtaken Ric Flair by winning more world titles than anyone in the history of the company. Cena previously announced he would retire at the end of 2025, meaning this was the final WrestleMania ever for the most decorated wrestler to ever set foot in a WWE ring (though most know never to say never in wrestling). Other new champions were crowned amid further twists and surprises, but none more significant than the final match of the weekend. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do Indians navigate through misinformation on... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trump vs Harvard: Harvard University filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Trump administration, demanding an immediate end to the federal freeze on over $2.2 billion in grant funding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of breaching a 30-hour "Easter truce" announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, which has now expired. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops had violated the ceasefire nearly 3,000 times since the start of Sunday. Russia's defence ministry said it had "repelled" assaults by Ukraine and accused Kyiv of launching hundreds of drones and shells. The BBC has not independently verified claims by the warring sides. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump - who has been pushing for an end to the war - said that "hopefully Russia and Ukraine will make a deal this week", without giving further details. Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and currently controls about 20% Ukraine's territory, including the southern Crimea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beijing has test fired a non-nuclear hydrogen bomb. The test comes amid rising tensions in the South China Sea.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Myanmar's deadly earthquake has raised alarms beyond Southeast Asia. In Africa, fault lines stretching across the continent pose serious risks, ... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China has launched the world's first 10G broadband network in Xiong'an, Hebei province, led by major telecom providers. This ultra-fast 10 Gbps optical fiber network supports advanced technologies like AI and IoT. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dust off the history books and there are papal conclaves with international intrigue, royal rigging and even riots, a checkered past that belies the air of sanctity and solemnity surrounding modern papal elections. The word “conclave” comes from the Latin for “with key.” It is a church tradition that began in 1268 with a papal election that lasted almost three years, ending only when the townspeople of Viterbo locked up the cardinals, tore the roof off their palace, fed them nothing but bread and water and threatened them until a new pope was chosen. While it is very unlikely the decision on Pope Francis’ successor will take quite as long or be quite as contentious, Vatican watchers agree that the winner is not a foregone conclusion. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pope Francis passed away at age 88 on April 21, just a day after an Easter Sunday appearance at St. Peter’s Square, where he gave well-wishes to thousands of Catholic supporters. The Vatican said Monday that Francis died after a stroke. Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis was elected Pope in 2013 after his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope to resign in about 600 years. Francis, chosen as TIME’s 2013 Person of the Year, became the first Latin American pontiff when he took the reins of the religious institution. Over his term, Francis became known for his humility and calls for peace during major global challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the Gaza humanitarian crisis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The death of a pope sets in motion a series of carefully orchestrated rites and rituals well before the conclave to elect his successor begins. They involve the certification of death and public display of his body for the faithful to pay their respects, followed by the funeral and burial. Pope Francis, who died on Monday, revised various rites last year, simplifying the funeral rituals to emphasize his role as a mere bishop and allowing for burial outside the Vatican in keeping with his wishes. But the core elements remain, including the three key moments that must be observed between the death of a pope and his burial. The reforms are incorporated into the slim red volume “Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis,” Latin for “Rite of Burial for Roman Pontiffs.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pope Francis' funeral has been scheduled for 10 a.m. local time (4 a.m. Eastern) on Saturday in front of St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican announced Tuesday, following a meeting of the College of Cardinals at the Catholic Church's city-state headquarters in the heart of Rome. The coffin carrying the pope, who died Monday morning after suffering a stroke and heart failure at the age of 88, will be brought in a procession Wednesday morning, accompanied by cardinals, to the basilica from his residence at Casa Santa Marta, where he died. The pope's body was placed in his coffin in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence on Monday. On Tuesday, the Vatican released the first photos and video of Francis since his death, showing him in the wooden coffin wearing a red robe with the papal mitre on his head and a rosary intertwined in his hands. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Vatican has released several photographs of Pope Francis lying in an open coffin in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, his former residence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China has issued a direct warning to countries considering trade deals with the United States that could disadvantage Beijing. The statement came on Monday after reports that Washington, under Donald Trump’s leadership, may offer tariff exemptions to other nations in return for limiting their trade with China. China’s Ministry of Commerce said it “respects all parties to resolve their economic and trade differences with the United States through consultations on an equal footing,” but made it clear it would not stay silent if such deals came at its cost. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

El Salvador's president has offered to repatriate 252 Venezuelans deported by the US and imprisoned in his country - if Venezuela releases the same number of political prisoners. Nayib Bukele appealed directly to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a post on social media. He said many of the Venezuelan deportees had committed "rape and murder", while Venezuelan political prisoners were jailed only because they opposed Maduro, whose re-election last year is widely disputed. Later Venezuela's chief prosecutor Tarek William Saab criticised Bukele's proposal. He demanded to know what crimes the deportees were accused of, whether they had appeared before a judge or had access to legal counsel. The Venezuelan government argues that it has no political prisoners - a claim rejected by rights groups. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Demis Hassabis won the Nobel Prize last year, he celebrated by playing poker with a world champion of chess. Hassabis loves a game, which is how he became a pioneer of artificial intelligence. The 48-year-old British scientist is co-founder and CEO of Google's AI powerhouse, called DeepMind. We met two years ago when chatbots announced a new age. Now, Hassabis and others are chasing what's called artificial general intelligence—a silicon intellect as versatile as a human but with superhuman speed and knowledge. After his Nobel and a knighthood from King Charles, we hurried back to London to see what's next from a genius who may hold the cards of our future. Demis Hassabis: What's always guided me and-- the passion I've always had is understanding the world around us. I've always been-- since I was a kid, fascinated by the biggest questions. You know, the-- meaning of-- of life, the-- nature of consciousness, the nature of reality itself. I've loved reading about all the great scientists who worked on these problems and the philosophers, and I wanted to see if we could advance human knowledge. And for me, my expression of doing that was to build what I think is the ultimate tool for advancing human knowledge, which is-- which is AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel's interior ministry said visas for the 27 had been cancelled under a law that allows authorities to ban people who could act against the state of Israel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.