Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Roman Catholic pontiff, taking control of a church of 1.4 billion people and overcoming a historical reluctance among his brethren to picking a pope from the United States. It took only two days to reach a consensus among the Church’s 133 electors, many of whom had been appointed by Pope Francis.

A member of the Order of St. Augustine, Prevost—now Leo XIV—evoked the saint who is one of the church’s most influential theologians. His choice of name also may offer a clue as to his intentions, and how they may emulate his widely beloved predecessor. Prevost’s most famous papal namesake was Leo XIII, a progressive who helped push the Church into the modern age.

The newly elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, seen for the first time from the Vatican balcony on Thursday. Photographer: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Prevost, 69, was greeted by thousands of cheering faithful as he stepped out onto a balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Born in Chicago, he moved to Rome under Francis’ guidance after spending much of his career in Peru. He is known for his governance experience, pragmatism and experience with the workings of the Vatican.

“Build bridges, with dialogue, with meetings, uniting everyone to be a single people,” he said in his first address as pope. “Evil will not prevail.” —David E. Rovella

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Pope Leo XIV was congratulated via social media post by US President Donald Trump, who managed to cause controversy at the funeral of Leo’s predecessor by not wearing black, and later with a few papacy-related scandals that drew sharp criticism from the Catholic groups.

Before the white smoke appeared above the Vatican, Trump announced a trade deal had been struck with the UK, though details remain scarce. Under the framework, Trump said the UK would fast-track US items through its customs process and reduce barriers on “billions of dollars” of agricultural, chemical, energy and industrial exports, including beef and ethanol. The British government said US auto tariffs would be reduced to 10% and metals duties to zero. 

In making his first agreement, Trump chose an ally that decided to broker with him rather than retaliate against his tariffs. For the UK, it was an easy win for a Labour government in need of one. “Serious, pragmatic in-the-room negotiations, acting in the national interest are far better than performative politics,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said later on Thursday. Stocks rose on the news. Here’s your markets wrap.

In the new episode of Trumponomics: Niall Ferguson and Fareed Zakaria join this week’s episode to place Trump’s plans for the US economy in historical perspective, with an eye toward Richard Nixon. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Trump may be making nice with Starmer, but on the other side of the English Channel they seem to be itching for a fight. The European Union is planning to hit €95 billion ($108 billion) of US exports with additional tariffs if ongoing trade talks with Trump’s aides fail to yield a satisfactory result.

The measures have been telegraphed for some time now, and are arguably meant to strengthen the bloc’s hand in coming negotiations with the US administration. The proposed retaliatory measures would especially target industrial goods including Boeing aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon—which was initially removed from a previous list.

Pakistan said Chinese fighter jets were used to respond to military strikes by India as tensions in the region escalate. Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar reportedly told parliament that Chinese J-10C jets were used to shoot down five Indian fighter jets along the border, including French-made Rafale jets.

The two countries also said they shot down each other’s drones and missiles over densely populated cities in a second day of military hostilities. The most recent flare-up between the nuclear-armed neighbors was triggered by last month’s deadly militant attack in the disputed region of Kashmir.

Pakistan’s army shot down several Indian drones over major cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi and outside Karachi, a spokesman said Thursday. India’s Ministry of Defense separately said in a statement it “neutralized” Pakistan’s attempt to strike a “number of military targets in Northern and Western India” using drones and missiles on Wednesday and Thursday.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping held bilateral meetings in Moscow, the first time the two leaders have met in person since Trump unleashed his trade war. Trump’s tariffs and defense policies have damaged ties with allies from Europe to Japan as he also removes America from global institutions. While the main target of Trump’s tariffs is China, the Republican—who has repeatedly praised Putin—gave Russia a pass when it came to his 180-nation long list of tariff targets.

Before Trump’s return to the White House, unprecedented Western sanctions over Putin’s war on Ukraine pushed Moscow to increase trade ties with China, increasingly seen as the senior partner in the relationship. Bilateral trade hit a new record of $245 billion in 2024, up 68% from 2021, according to Chinese customs data. At their meeting, Xi and Putin discussed the proposed Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline project. Russia has been pushing to secure China’s agreement for the pipeline.

Canada’s most populous province greenlit a C$20.9 billion ($15 billion) plan to build a new, smaller kind of nuclear plant, a step forward for a nascent technology that’s been touted as a way to meet surging power demand from artificial intelligence.

Ontario Power Generation won approval to build the first of four small modular reactors designed by GE Vernova at a site outside of Toronto. The Darlington project, as it’s known, is expected to be the first to be deployed in a Group of Seven country.

Interest in nuclear is soaring globally as technology companies and governments seek clean, stable energy to meet rising electricity use. Supporters say SMRs, which can be produced in factories and assembled on site, will eventually be cheaper and faster to build than their conventional counterparts. But significant hurdles remain.

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