IRL ‘Conclave’: Pope Francis in critical condition

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

IRL ‘Conclave’: Pope Francis in critical condition

The Pope has been hospitalised for over a week—first for bronchitis—which then worsened to a ‘complex’ case of double pneumonia. Over the weekend, blood tests showed early kidney failure—and he remains in critical condition. Sensing that he may be close to the end, the 88-year-old is worried about the looming battle to replace him. His successor will be the first new Pope in 12 years.

Why this matters: Pope Francis has been among the most progressive leaders the Catholic Church has had in modern times:

Since the start of his papacy, the pontiff has roiled the religious hierarchy with interventions in popular debates, not only on sexuality but also on the economy, immigration and climate change. He has introduced some genuine reforms, including opening high-level offices in the Holy See to women, and has famously embraced a tolerant, each-to-his-own philosophy, even declaring that heaven is open to atheists. Asked about gay priests during an exchange with reporters on the papal plane returning from his first foreign trip, the pontiff answered: “Who am I to judge?”

Irony alert: He has also angered liberals who say he has not done enough—especially on abortion and trans rights.

The Church after Francis: His ideologically divisive tenure makes the question of his succession all the more fraught—and highly politicised. The man in charge—the Ralph Fiennes of the looming Conclave—will be Francis’ main man, Italian cardinal Giovanni Battista Re. He has been quietly tasked with protecting his liberal legacy.

Re also made news when he recently scolded US Vice President JD Vance for distorting Catholic gospel to justify the immigration crackdown. Vatican observers expect payback from the Trump administration:

The papal pushback triggered fury from the White House, raising the prospect of a highly politicized succession battle should Francis die. “They’ve already influenced European politics, they’d have no problem influencing the conclave,” said one close observer of Vatican politics, referring to the Trump administration. “They might be looking for someone less confrontational.”

The leading candidates: include a ‘moderate’ Pietro Parolin, Peter Erdo who compared the act of taking in refugees to human trafficking and the left-leaning Filipino Luis Antonio Tagle. Yup, we have all the ingredients of a masala Hollywood flick. Independent has more on the list of candidates. Politico is best on the politics of succession.

Content warning: The following item contains references to sexual abuse that may be difficult to read.

Yet another sex abuse horror in France

Last year, the world was rocked by the mass rape of Gisèle Pelicot—who was repeatedly assaulted by her husband and 49 other men. Now we have a new horror: The case of a veteran doctor charged with raping and sexually assaulting 299 people over 25 years—“almost all his patients, almost all children at the time of the suspected abuse.”

The discovery: 74-year-old Joël Le Scouarnec was first charged in 2017 of raping a girl who lived next door. A police raid on his home uncovered vast amounts of child sex abuse material—including images and 20 life-sized dolls of children. At the time, Le Scouarnec was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Tip of the iceberg: The police officer on the case kept digging through the material recovered from Le Scouarnec’s home—and found this:

Months into the investigation, a police officer methodically going through the hard drives discovered hundreds of pages of the doctor’s personal diaries as well as two spreadsheets. His diaries elaborately detailed the sexual abuse of individual children and the spreadsheets listed many of their names, ages, addresses and synopses of the abuse they suffered, according to the investigative judge’s summary of the case.

The trial: will begin today in what is considered the biggest pedophilia case in French history. But as with Pelicot, the media focus will be on the broader failure of the system. The doctor had been convicted of possession of child sexual abuse imagery in 2005—but continued to treat kids until 2017. And the hundreds of other victims would not have come to light without the dogged pursuit of a single officer. New York Times (splainer gift link) has the rest of the reporting.

AI cracks superbug mystery… in two days

Google’s new AI tool “co-scientist” solved a scientific mystery in just 48 hours—something that took UK scientists 10 years to crack.

The big reveal: Scientists at Imperial College spent years trying to figure out why some superbugs are immune to antibiotics. Their hypothesis:

[T]he superbugs can form a tail from different viruses which allows them to spread between species. Prof Penadés likened it to the superbugs having "keys" which enabled them to move from home to home, or host species to host species.

This discovery, however, was not public knowledge—and the research had not been published. Then came the rude surprise: “[Professor José R Penadés] gave ‘co-scientist’—a tool made by Google—a short prompt asking it about the core problem he had been investigating and it reached the same conclusion in 48 hours.”

The good news: While the outcome may seem humbling to scientists, it also means that they could have saved years of work if they had the AI-generated hypothesis as a starting point. AI tools can help reduce failed experiments—saving time, resources, and money—without making humans redundant. (BBC News)

Sticking with AI and antibiotics: Researchers at IIIT-Delhi have developed AMRSense, an AI tool that tracks antibiotic resistance in real time using routine hospital data—such as samples of urine, pus or blood. The idea is to catch these trends early—and change clinical practice and prescriptions accordingly. (The Hindu, paywalled)

Ramen revenge: A recipe for disaster

The owner of a top-rated ramen shop in Kyoto is making headlines for his extreme response to negative feedback. When two customers had left one-star reviews on Google, he issued a Yakuza-style message on Insta:

We run a planned business, so if you get in our way, we'll get in the way of yours too [...] The only thing he can do is come back, eat again, and write a good review with a photo. I told him I won't forgive him otherwise — not even for the safety of his family. If he does that, he'll be killed right away.

He also offered a bounty of 100,000 yen ($662) for anyone with information to help track them down. His threat had the opposite effect—sparking a flood of social media posts from people swearing to never eat his Ramen. Shocking! Yes, he deleted the post. (Complex)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Apple is killing off end-to-end encrypted iCloud backups in the UK after security agencies reportedly pushed for a backdoor to users’ private data.
With EV sales slowing in China and Europe, BYD and other payers besides Tesla are shifting gears to India.
Big Tech’s data centre boom is racking up a $5.4bn public health bill in the US, with pollution-linked illnesses like asthma and cancer on the rise, new research finds. Catch up with our Big Story on AI’s soaring energy appetite fuelling climate concerns and fierce debates over sustainability and innovation.
Meta employees debated using copyrighted content for AI training, court documents reveal—one of many copyright battles unfolding as authors push back against Big Tech’s "fair use" defense.
Zuckerberg called them "low performers," but laid-off Meta employees are fighting back—taking to LinkedIn to challenge his verdict and reclaim their narrative.

sports & entertainment

King Kohli lit up Dubai with a vintage ODI masterclass, smashing an unbeaten ton as India cruised past Pakistan by six wickets. This puts the Champions Trophy host and title holder on the brink of elimination.
Indian badminton’s future looks shaky—post-Sindhu, there’s no clear next-gen, and recent tournament exits highlight a worrying lack of depth.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are officially divorced—no spousal support, no custody battles, and no more "Affleck" in Lopez’s name.
Grimes called out former partner Elon Musk on X, accusing him of ignoring their child's medical crisis in a since-deleted public plea.
Fresh off his acquittal in a gun case, A$AP Rocky is taking over Ray-Ban as its first creative director, with his debut collection dropping in April.
The Hindu has a fascinating read on Mumbai’s celebrity-owned restaurants—big names, glitzy launches, and packed guest lists. But do they have real staying power, or is the hype just for the ‘gram?

health & environment

Three in five cancer patients in India face premature death, with ICMR’s first comprehensive analysis putting the mortality-to-incidence rate at a troubling 64.8%.
Rescuers in Australia made the heartbreaking call to euthanise 90 stranded whales after rough seas thwarted efforts to send them back out.
The Trump administration is reportedly pulling the plug on federal EV chargers, ordering a nationwide shutdown of the government’s charging network.
A new drug mimics high-altitude living, offering potential lifesaving benefits for metabolic diseases by tricking the body into thriving on less oxygen.
New research suggests yogurt—just two servings a week—could help shield the gut from certain cancers.
The Hindu has an interesting deep-dive into why your knuckles crack and the science behind those oddly satisfying pops, and whether all those rumours are true about it causing arthritis.

as for the rest

Hamas hands over six hostages, but Israel suspends release of 600 Palestinians. Guess who really wants the ceasefire to fail?
Britain and France plan to send 30,000 peacekeepers to Ukraine if a cease-fire holds—but it all depends on whether Trump agrees to back them up with US military protection.
KIIT student Lamsal, who died by suicide, had twice complained of harassment—but the university says it wasn’t reported to the PoSH panel because it was “mental, not sexual harassment.”
India bans production of two drugs after they were found fuelling opioid addiction in Nigeria and Ghana through illegal exports.
Rescuers in Telangana are racing to reach eight workers trapped inside the collapsed Srisailam Left Bank Canal tunnel—13 km in, but still no contact.
The India Justice Report 2025-26 reveals that the central government has been steadily slashing budgets for justice-related schemes since 2019—and even the reduced allocations aren’t being fully spent.
Archaeologists have uncovered rare Iron Age structures in Telangana—massive menhirs and a megalithic tomb dating—back to 2000-1000 BCE.
French far-right leader Jordan Bardella cancelled a planned speech in the US, after President Donald Trump's former top adviser Steve Bannon made a Nazi-like salute.
An European Union envoy consisting of EU chief Ursula von der Leyen—plus 27 commissioners—will be visiting India at the end of this month.
Aam Aadmi Party unanimously picked Atishi as the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly. She is the first woman to hold the position.
Wayanad landslide survivors have set up makeshift huts in protest over delayed rehabilitation—only to be blocked by police. With tensions high, another group is gearing up for a hunger strike on Monday.
With egg prices through the roof, Americans have resorted to renting chickens. Economic Times has more on this trend.

Four things to see

One: Elon Musk took the stage at a packed conservative gathering, wielding a red chainsaw—presented to him by the other Trump-loving loon—Argentine President Javier Milei. Consider this a PSA on the hazards of being hopped up on ketamine in public. (Associated Press)

Two: White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino tweeted this morphed clip from ‘Bajirao Mastani’ to celebrate Kash Patel’s controversial appointment as FBI chief. Controversial because he has about the same knowledge of running security agencies as Ranveer has of fighting Mughals. Fair warning: ‘Malhari’ may never be the same again. (Business Standard)

Three: Canada beat the US in the finals of an ice hockey tournament that no one really cares about… except Trump. Even Canadians get cranky when you call their nation the 51st state of America. The previous encounter in round one looked something like this—three all-out brawls in nine seconds:

The sweet, sweet victory on Friday spawned this hilarious ‘fake news’ vid of Connor McDavid—who scored Canada’s title-winning goal in overtime. (The Guardian)

Four: Meet the 14-year-old Aryan Shukla—aka the 'Human Calculator Kid’—who recently broke six mental math world records in a single day! One of them included adding 100 four-digit numbers in just 30.9 seconds! Watch this Guinness World Records’ video and marvel at his royal math-ness. (Gizmodo)