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New US tariff rates are “pretty much set” with little immediate room for negotiation, Donald Trump’s trade advisor said in remarks aired Sunday, also defending the president’s politically driven levies against Brazil.Trump, who has wielded tariffs as a tool of American economic might, has set tariff rates for dozens of economies including the European Union at between 10 and 41 percent come August 7, his new hard deadline for the duties.In a pre-taped interview broadcast Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said “the coming days” are not likely to see changes in the tariff rates.”A lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not, others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country,” Greer said.”These tariff rates are pretty much set.”Undoubtedly some trade ministers “want to talk more and see how they can work in a different way with the United States,” he added.But “we’re seeing truly the contours of the president’s tariff plan right now with these rates.”Last Thursday, the former real estate developer announced hiked tariff rates on dozens of US trade partners.They will kick in on August 7 instead of August 1, which had previously been touted as a hard deadline.Among the countries facing steep new levies is Brazil. South America’s largest economy is being hit with 50 percent tariffs on exports to the United States — albeit with significant exemptions for key products such as aircraft and orange juice.Trump has openly admitted he is punishing Brazil for prosecuting his political ally Jair Bolsonaro, the ex-president accused of plotting a coup in a bid to cling to power. The US president has described the case as a “witch hunt.”Greer said it was not unusual for Trump to use tariff tools for geopolitical purposes.”The president has seen in Brazil, like he’s seen in other countries, a misuse of law, a misuse of democracy,” Greer told CBS. “It is normal to use these tools for geopolitical issues.”Trump was “elected to assess the foreign affairs situation… and take appropriate action,” he added.Meanwhile White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett said that while talks are expected to continue over the next week with some US trade partners, he concurred with Greer’s tariffs assessment in that the bulk of the rates “are more or less locked in.”Asked by the host of NBC’s Sunday talk show “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” if Trump could change tariff rates should financial markets react negatively, Hassett said: “I would rule it out, because these are the final deals.”Legal challenges have been filed against some of Trump’s tariffs arguing he overstepped his authority.An appeals court panel on Thursday appeared skeptical of the government’s arguments, though the case may be ultimately decided at the Supreme Court.

US envoy Steve Witkoff met anguished relatives of Israeli hostages still held in Gaza on Saturday, as fears for the captives’ survival mounted almost 22 months into the war sparked by Hamas’s October 2023 attack.Witkoff was greeted with some applause and pleas for assistance from hundreds of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, before going into a closed meeting with the families.Videos shared online showed him arriving to meet the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, as families chanted “Bring them home!” and “We need your help.”The meeting came one day after Witkoff visited a US-backed aid station in Gaza to inspect efforts to get food into the devastated Palestinian territory.”The war needs to end,” Yotam Cohen, brother of 21-year-old hostage Nimrod Cohen, told AFP.”The Israeli government will not end it willingly. It has refused to do so,” he added.”The Israeli government must be stopped. For our sakes, for our soldiers’ sakes, for our hostages’ sakes, for our sons and for the future generations of everybody in the Middle East.”Of the 251 hostages taken during the Hamas attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.After the meeting, the Forum released a statement saying Witkoff had given them a personal commitment that he and US President Donald Trump would work to return the remaining hostages.- ‘Horrifying acts’ -Hamas attempted to maintain pressure on the families, on Friday releasing a video of one of the hostages — 24-year-old Evyatar David — for the second time in two days, showing him looking emaciated in a tunnel.The video called for a ceasefire and warned that time was running out for the hostages. David’s family said their son was the victim of a “vile” propaganda campaign and accused Hamas of deliberately starving their son.”The deliberate starvation of our son as part of a propaganda campaign is one of the most horrifying acts the world has seen. He is being starved purely to serve Hamas’s propaganda,” the family said. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Saturday also denounced the video, and one released a day earlier by another Palestinian Islamist group, as “despicable”.”They must be freed, without conditions,” he posted on X. “Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from ruling Gaza.”The United States, along with Egypt and Qatar, had been mediating ceasefire talks between Hamas and Israel that would allow the hostages to be released and humanitarian aid to flow more freely.But talks broke down last month and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is under domestic pressure to come up with another way to secure the missing hostages, alive and dead.He is also facing international calls to open Gaza’s borders to more food aid, after UN and humanitarian agencies warned that more than two million Palestinian civilians are facing starvation.- ‘Without rest’ –        Israel’s top general warned that there would be no respite in fighting if the hostages were not released.”I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages,” armed forces chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said in a statement.”If not, the combat will continue without rest.”Zamir denied that there was widespread starvation in Gaza. “The current campaign of false accusations of intentional starvation is a deliberate, timed, and deceitful attempt to accuse the IDF (Israeli military), a moral army, of war crimes,” he said.Alongside reports from UN-mandated experts warning a “famine is unfolding” in Gaza, more and more evidence is emerging of serious malnutrition and deaths among the most vulnerable Palestinian civilians.Modallala Dawwas, 33, living in a displacement camp in Gaza City told AFP her daughter Mariam had no known illnesses before the war but had now dropped from 25 kilograms (four stone) to 10 (around one and half stone) and was seriously malnourished. Hamas’s 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures.Israel’s campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,332 people, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, deemed reliable by the UN.The Palestine Red Crescent Society said in a post on X early Sunday that one of its staff members was killed and three others wounded in an Israeli attack on its Khan Yunis headquarters in Gaza.Gaza’s civil defence agency said Israeli fire killed 34 people in the territory on Saturday.Five people were killed in an Israeli strike on an area of central Gaza where Palestinians were awaiting food distribution by the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.The GHF has largely sidelined the longstanding UN-led aid distribution system in Gaza, just as Israel in late May began easing a more than two-month aid blockade that exacerbated existing shortages.The UN human rights office in the Palestinian territories said at least 1,373 Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza were killed since May 27, adding that most of them were killed near GHF sites, and by the Israeli military.burs-gv/jj/tc/sco

When her husband was arrested in an immigration raid near Los Angeles last month, Martha was abruptly separated from the father of her two daughters. But she also lost the salary that allowed her to keep a roof over their heads.”He’s the pillar of the family… he was the only one working,” said the undocumented woman, using a pseudonym for fear of reprisals.”He’s no longer here to help us, to support me and my daughters.”Los Angeles, where one-third of residents are immigrants — and several hundred thousand people are undocumented — has been destabilized by intensifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids under the Trump administration.Since returning to power, US President Donald Trump has delivered on promises to launch a wide-ranging deportation drive, targeting undocumented migrants but also ensnaring many others in its net. After her husband’s arrest, 39-year-old Martha has joined the ranks of people barely managing to avoid ending up on the streets of Los Angeles County — a region with prohibitively high housing prices, and the largest number of homeless people in the United States outside New York. Her 700-square-foot apartment in Buena Park, a suburb of the California metropolis, costs $2,050 per month. After her husband’s arrest, she urgently found a minimum-wage night job in a factory to cover their most pressing needs.It pays just enough to keep them afloat, but has left Martha unable to cover a range of obligations.”I have to pay car insurance, phone, rent, and their expenses,” she said, pointing to her six- and seven-year-old daughters, who need school supplies for the new academic year.”That’s a lot of expenses.”- ‘Bigger storm brewing’ -How long can she keep up this punishing schedule, which allows her barely three hours of sleep on returning from the factory before having to wake and look after her daughters?”I couldn’t tell you,” she said, staring blankly into space.Los Angeles has seen some of the worst of the ICE raids. Squads of masked agents have targeted hardware stores, car washes and bus stops, arresting more than 2,200 people in June. About 60 percent of these had no prior criminal records, according to internal ICE documents analyzed by AFP.Trump’s anti-immigration offensive is taking an added toll on Latino workers, who were already among the worst-affected victims of the region’s housing crisis, said Andrea Gonzalez, deputy director of the CLEAN Carwash Workers Center, a labor rights non-profit.”A bigger storm is brewing. It’s not just about the people that got picked up, it’s about the people that are left behind as well,” she said.”There is a concern that people are going to end up on the streets.”Her organization is helping more than 300 struggling households whose incomes have plummeted, either because a family member has been arrested or because they are too afraid to return to work.It has distributed more than $30,000 to help around 20 families who are unable to afford their rent, but covering everyone’s needs is simply “not sustainable,” said Gonzalez.- ‘An emergency’ -Local Democratic Party leaders are trying to establish financial aid for affected families.Los Angeles County is planning a dedicated fund to tackle the problem, and city officials will also launch a fund using philanthropic donations rather than taxpayer money.Some families should receive “a couple hundred” dollars, Mayor Karen Bass said last month.But for Gonzalez, these initiatives do not “even scratch the surface” of what is needed, representing less than 10 percent of most affected families’ rent requirements.She called for a “moratorium on evictions” similar to one introduced during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.Otherwise, Los Angeles’ homeless population — currently numbered at 72,000, which is down slightly in the past two years — risks rising again, she warned.”What we’re living through right now is an emergency,” said Gonzalez.Maria Martinez’s undocumented immigrant husband was arrested in June at a carwash in Pomona, a suburb east of Los Angeles.Since then, the 59-year-old has had to rely on help from her children to pay her $1,800 monthly rent. Her $1,000 disability allowance falls far short.”It is stressful,” she said. “We’re just getting by.”

A craving for international prestige, a decade-long Obama rivalry and perhaps a dash of provocation: a mercurial melange of factors is at play in Donald Trump’s obsession with the Nobel Peace Prize.”It’s well past time that President Trump was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on July 31, prompting reactions of disbelief and sarcasm from the Republican leader’s opponents.Since his January 20 return to power, the US president “has brokered, on average, one peace deal or ceasefire per month,” Leavitt said, citing as examples his mediations between India and Pakistan; Cambodia and Thailand; Egypt and Ethiopia; Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Serbia and Kosovo; and others.His leading spokeswoman also mentioned Iran, where Trump ordered US strikes against the Islamic republic’s nuclear facilities, as evidence of decisions Leavitt claims have contributed to world peace.She made no mention of the conflict in Ukraine, which Trump pledged multiple times to end on “day one” of his term, or the war in Gaza, which rumbles on and for which the US supplies Israel with weapons.- Pakistan, Israel -For some foreign leaders, mentioning the prestigious award has become a sign of diplomatic goodwill toward an American president who envisions himself as a peacemaker.Pakistan nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, as did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.During an early July meeting at the White House, a journalist asked the presidents of Liberia, Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, and Gabon whether Trump deserved the award.Basking in the flattering responses from the African leaders, a smiling Trump said: “We could do this all day long.”Tens of thousands of people can offer a nomination to the Nobel committee, including lawmakers, ministers, certain university professors, former laureates and members of the committee themselves.Nominations are due by January 31, with the announcement coming in October — this year on the 10th of the month.Law professor Anat Alon-Beck, who is an Israeli-American, submitted Trump’s name to the committee’s five members, who were appointed by the Norwegian Parliament. The assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law told AFP she did so because of the “extraordinary leadership” and “strategic brilliance” he has shown, in her opinion, in advancing peace and securing the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip. – ‘Never’ getting the Nobel -For some, the prospect of handing the prize to someone who has upended the international order is untenable.”Nominating Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize is like entering a hyena in a dog show,” US history and politics researcher Emma Shortis wrote on news site The Conversation.”Of course Trump does not deserve it.”The American president disagrees.”I deserve it, but they will never give it to me,” Trump told reporters in February as he hosted Netanyahu at the White House, lamenting not ticking the Nobel box in his life.”No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do, including Russia/Ukraine, and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be,” Trump griped on his Truth Social platform in June.”But the people know, and that’s all that matters to me!”Trump is well-known as someone who is particularly fond of accolades and prizes, Garret Martin, a professor of international relations at American University, told AFP, “so he would welcome this major international recognition.”And since the beginning of his presidential ambitions 10 years ago, “he has put himself in opposition to Barack Obama, who famously won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009,” Martin added.The prize awarded to the Democratic former president, barely nine months after he took office, sparked heated debate — and continues to do so.”If I were named Obama I would have had the Nobel Prize given to me in 10 seconds,” Trump bellyached in October 2024, during the final stretch of the presidential campaign.- 338 candidates -Three other US presidents have also been so honored: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Jimmy Carter. The prize was also awarded to Henry Kissinger in 1973 for his efforts to help end the war in Vietnam. The choice of the one-time US secretary of state was heavily criticized.The full list of Nobel Peace Prize nominees is confidential — except for individual announcements by sponsors — but their number is made public. In 2025, there are 338 nominees.Some betting sites have Trump in second place to win, behind Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

US officials have opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the former special counsel who led two federal criminal cases against President Donald Trump, US media reported Saturday.The Office of Special Counsel told The New York Times it was investigating Smith for potentially violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal workers from engaging in political activity while on the job. Republican Senator Tom Cotton had reportedly asked the agency to investigate whether Smith’s actions had been designed to influence the 2024 election.The agency, which monitors the conduct of federal employees, did not immediately respond to request for comment by AFP.Smith was appointed special counsel in 2022, and charged Trump with plotting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House.Trump denied both charges and sought to frame them as politically motivated, accusing the Justice Department of being weaponized against him.Neither case ever came to trial, and the special counsel — in line with a Justice Department policy of not prosecuting a sitting president — dropped them both after Trump won the November 2024 presidential election.Smith then resigned before Trump could fulfil his campaign pledge to fire him. The Office of Special Counsel operates separately from special counsel offices at the Department of Justice, such as the one headed by Smith.The prosecutorial decisions made by Smith do not typically fall under its remit, according to the Times. It cannot lay criminal charges against Smith but could refer its findings to the Department of Justice, which does have that power. The most severe penalty under the Hatch Act is termination of employment, which would not apply to Smith as he has already resigned. Since taking office in January, Trump has taken a number of punitive measures against his perceived enemies.He has stripped former officials of their security clearances and protective details, targeted law firms involved in past cases against him and pulled federal funding from universities.Last month the FBI opened criminal investigations into its former director James Comey and ex-CIA chief John Brennan, two prominent Trump critics. Days later Comey’s daughter Maurene — a federal prosecutor who handled the case of notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who has been repeatedly linked to Trump — was abruptly fired.

Hundreds of thousands of young faithful feted Pope Leo XIV like a rock star Saturday at an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, after the head of the Catholic Church made a dramatic entrance by helicopter.Pilgrims began crying and cheering when the white military helicopter descended over the sprawling, open-air site in Rome’s eastern outskirts;Organisers said as more than 800,000 young pilgrims from 146 countries around the world had assembled there as part of a “Jubilee of Youth” — and perhaps as many as a million.Smiling broadly from his popemobile, the first American pope waved to throngs of young, screaming pilgrims lining his route, many of them running for a better vantage point.They had already spent the day in the hot sun listening to music, praying and talking with fellow Catholics.”The pope is here!” announced an excited voice over the public address, to thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd.But the tenor of the event soon became more solemn and contemplative as the pope took to the stage, carrying a large wood cross. “Dear young people, after walking, praying and sharing these days of grace of the Jubilee dedicated to you, we now gather together in the light of the advancing evening to keep vigil together,” Leo, 69, told them.- A Catholic ‘Woodstock’-In the crowd was French pilgrim Julie Mortier, 18, whose voice was hoarse from singing and screaming for hours.”We’re too happy to be here! Seeing the pope, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” she croaked happily to AFP. Event organisers said people had continued to arrive during the vigil and that it was possible that attendance numbers had reached one million. Most pilgrims said they would camp overnight for a Sunday morning mass at the site led by Leo. That will mark the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage, a key event in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee holy year.Some in the crowd were so far away, they could not see the massive stage with a golden arch and towering cross that dominated the vast open area — which at over 500,000 square metres was the size of around 70 football fields.”I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” British student Andy Hewellyn told AFP.”The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said ahead of the pope’s appearance, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang, or snoozed in the sun.Italian broadcaster Rai dubbed the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as throughout the day nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds, who lounged among blankets, cushions and umbrellas.In a video message, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims to the capital, who were “praying, singing, joking amongst themselves, celebrating in an extraordinary party”.- Water and suncream -The “Jubilee of Youth”, which began Monday, comes nearly three months after the start of Leo’s papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II.Early Saturday, countless groups of young people set off from central Rome for the venue in Tor Vergata after filling water bottles, applying suncream and adjusting backpacks.They were ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – Open-air confessional –  Throughout the week, attendees have participated in Church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome.The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s navigate economic uncertainty, climate change, and ongoing international conflict, with some pilgrims travelling from war-torn areas like Syria and Ukraine. Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”. The Vatican said that before the vigil the pope had met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died Friday night. Rai News reported that the young woman had died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome.Amid tight security, more than 4,300 volunteers and over 1,000 police are watching over the vigil, organisers said. 

Hundreds of thousands of young faithful cheered Pope Leo XIV Saturday as he arrived by helicopter for an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, in a rock star welcome for the new head of the Catholic Church.Pilgrims began crying and cheering when the white military helicopter descended over the sprawling, dusty, open-air site in Rome’s eastern outskirts, where young pilgrims from 146 countries around the world had assembled as part of a “Jubilee of Youth”.After entering his popemobile, the first American pope smiled broadly and waved to throngs of young, screaming pilgrims lining his route — many of them running for a better vantage point — who had spent the day in the hot sun listening to music, praying and talking with fellow believers.”The pope is here!” announced an excited voice over speakerphones to thunderous applause and deafening cheers from the crowd. Among them was French pilgrim Julie Mortier, 18, whose voice was hoarse from singing and screaming for hours.”We’re too happy to be here! Seeing the pope, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” she croaked happily to AFP. The attendance numbers were not immediately available. Ahead of the event, the Vatican said that up to one million pilgrims were expected. Most attendees said they would camp overnight for a Sunday morning mass at the site led by the 69-year-old Leo marking the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage, a key event in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee holy year.Leo was to lead the vigil from a massive stage with a golden arch and towering cross dominating the vast open area — which at over 500,000 square metres was the size of around 70 football fields.”I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” British student Andy Hewellyn told AFP.”The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said ahead of the pope’s appearance, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang, or took a snooze in the sun.Italian broadcaster Rai dubbed the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds earlier Saturday, who lounged among blankets, cushions and umbrellas. In a video message, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims to the capital, which she said was “literally invaded by hundreds of thousands of young men and women” who were “praying, singing, joking amongst themselves, celebrating in an extraordinary party”.- Water and suncream -The “Jubilee of Youth”, which began Monday, comes nearly three months after the start of Leo’s papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II. Early Saturday, countless groups of young people set off for the venue in Tor Vergata after filling water bottles, applying suncream and adjusting backpacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – Open-air confessional –  Throughout the week, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome.The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s contemplate economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change. Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”. The Vatican said the pope on Saturday met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died Friday night. Rai News reported that the young woman died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome.Amid tight security, more than 4,300 volunteers worked the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, organisers said. 

Swarms of enthusiastic young Catholics gathered under the hot sun in Rome on Saturday in a festive, open-air celebration to be capped by an evening prayer vigil led by Pope Leo XIV.The Vatican said it was expecting up to one million young people for the vigil, which, together with a Sunday mass, marks the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage — a key event in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee holy year. By Saturday afternoon, the vast open area on the outskirts of Rome — which at over 500,000 square metres was the size of around 70 football fields — was packed by young people. Crowds continued to arrive, music blared over loudspeakers, and a festive atmosphere prevailed. “I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” British student Andy Hewellyn told AFP.The massive stage with its golden arch and towering cross was not visible from his seat, but a video screen was nearby. “The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang, or took a snooze in the sun.Italian broadcaster Rai dubbed the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds ahead of the pope’s arrival. “The world needs you!” screamed a performer from the stage to the pilgrims who sprawled with blankets, cushions, umbrellas and flags across the dusty area. Most pilgrims said they planned to spend the night, to attend a final mass Sunday morning led by the pope. In a video message, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims to the capital, which she said was “literally invaded by hundreds of thousands of young men and women” who were “praying, singing, joking amongst themselves, celebrating…in an extraordinary party”.- Water and suncream -The “Jubilee of Youth”, which began Monday, has seen young pilgrims from more than 146 countries flood the city.It comes nearly three months after Leo, 69, the first American pontiff, began his papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II. Early Saturday, countless groups of young people set off for the venue in Tor Vergata east of Rome after filling water bottles, applying suncream and adjusting backpacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – Open-air confessional –  Throughout the week, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome.The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s contemplate economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change. Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”. As Parisian student Alice Berry explained: “What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?”The Vatican said the pope on Saturday met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died Friday night. Rai News reported that the young woman died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome. 

Tucked inside President Donald Trump’s flagship tax and spending bill last month was a little-noticed provision to relocate the iconic Space Shuttle Discovery from a museum outside Washington to Houston.The plan now faces legal uncertainty, with the Smithsonian Institution arguing Congress had no authority to give away what it considers private property — even before accounting for the steep logistical and financial challenges.”The Smithsonian Institution owns the Discovery and holds it in trust for the American public,” the museum network, which receives substantial federal funding yet remains an independent entity, said in a statement to AFP on Friday.”In 2012, NASA transferred ‘all rights, title, interest and ownership’ of the shuttle to the Smithsonian,” the statement continued, calling Discovery one of the museum’s “centerpieces” that welcomes millions of visitors a year.The push to move Discovery from the Air and Space Museum’s site in northern Virginia began in April, when Texas Senator John Cornyn, a Republican who faces a tough primary challenge next year by state attorney general Ken Paxton, introduced the “Bring the Space Shuttle Home Act,” naming Discovery.The legislation stalled until it was folded into the mammoth “Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law on July 4. Its passage allocated $85 million for the move, though the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has projected a far higher cost of $325 million, adding that the NASA administrator’s power over non-NASA entities is “unclear.”To comply with Senate rules, the bill’s language was modified such that Discovery is no longer named directly. Instead, the bill refers to a “space vehicle,” though there is little doubt as to the target.NASA’s administrator — currently Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, serving in an acting capacity — was given 30 days to identify which spacecraft is to be relocated, a deadline coming up on Sunday.- End of an era –  NASA’s Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, after a 30-year run that carried America’s post-Apollo space ambitions. The four surviving orbiters — Atlantis, Endeavour, prototype Enterprise, and Discovery — were awarded to Florida, California, New York, and Virginia through a ranked selection process.Discovery, the most flown, was chosen as a vehicle-of-record in a near-complete state, intended for study by future generations.”There was not a lot of support within Houston to want a shuttle,” space historian and editor of collectSpace.com Robert Pearlman told AFP, adding that a proposal to house it at Space Center Houston was relatively weak.But after the announcement, Texas — home to the Johnson Space Center, which oversees NASA’s human spaceflight — felt snubbed, and allegations of political interference by then-president Barack Obama swirled. A NASA inspector general probe found no evidence of foul play.- Enormous challenges -Relocating Discovery now would pose major technical hurdles. NASA had modified two Boeing 747s to ferry retired shuttles — one is now a museum piece, and the other is out of service.That leaves land and water transport. “The nearest water entrance to the Potomac River is about 30 miles away,” Pearlman said — but it may be too shallow for the orbiter and required barge, requiring a 100-mile journey instead.A water transport would require a massive enclosed barge, he added. The US government owns only one such vessel, controlled by the military. Loaning it to a civilian agency would require another act of Congress, and the alternative would involve building one from scratch.Dennis Jenkins, a former shuttle engineer who oversaw the delivery of retired orbiters to their new homes, told CollectSPACE.com he could see costs reach a billion dollars.Nicholas O’Donnell, an attorney at Sullivan & Worcester with expertise in art and museum law, told AFP that assuming Smithsonian has valid paperwork, “I don’t think Secretary Duffy or anyone in the federal government has any more authority to order the move of Discovery than you or I do.”The government could invoke eminent domain — seizing private property for public use — but it would have to pay fair market value or try to sue.The Smithsonian is unlikely to want a court battle, and while it’s legally independent, its financial reliance on federal funds leaves it politically vulnerable, said O’Donnell.

Thousands of young Catholics began assembling Saturday for an evening prayer vigil  led by Pope Leo XIV, the culmination of a week-long pilgrimage and a key event in the Jubilee holy year that is expected to draw up to a million people.The “Jubilee of Youth” — when the Vatican invites Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the seat of the global Church’s power — has seen young pilgrims from around the world flood Rome, waving flags, singing or praying in groups.It comes nearly three months after Leo, 69, the first American pontiff, began his papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II. On Saturday morning, thousands of young pilgrims had already gathered at the vast open space in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighbourhood where the pope will lead the vigil, the ground already dotted with blankets and mattresses. Elsewhere in the Eternal City, numerous groups of young people were seen preparing to set off for the venue. On the plaza outside the Basilica of St John Lateran, they filled water bottles, applied suncream and checked bags of food and snacks — ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a swarm of people and then sleep under the stars.Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the Pope up close.”It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, excited to experience the “night of prayers under the stars”. French pilgrim, Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late Pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said. – ‘What is his message?’ -Since the youth jubilee began on Monday, attendees have participated in various Church-planned events throughout the city.On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand to take confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.Some 200 white gazebos lined the hippodrome where chariot races were once held and youths lined up to speak to priests in 10 different languages.Of the many languages heard on the streets of the Italian capital this week, Spanish seemed to dominate. The Vatican has said that more than 146 countries were represented and it expects up to a million people to attend the vigil.The pilgrimage is taking place as economic uncertainty and anxiety over climate change rises among the under-30s, with many saying they were curious to hear the Church’s position on global warming, wars and economic inequalities. Samarei Semos, 29, said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome. “We are still trying to understand his leadership,” she said of the new pope, adding she hoped he would have a strong say about “third world countries”. As Parisian student Alice Berry exclaimed: “What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?”- Raising voices -The youth pilgrimage also comes amid global alarm over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and more than three years of war in Ukraine. The Vatican has praised young Catholics who managed to travel to Rome from war-scarred countries, with Pope Leo saying the voices of the world’s youth “will be heard to the end of the earth”.   In an unprecedented move, Leo hosted a mass Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signalling the Vatican’s openness to supporting the Internet-savvy youth. More than 4,300 volunteers will be working the event to welcome the young pilgrims, along with over 1,000 police, according to organisers. Rome authorities have tightened security in the city — which has seen an unprecedented number of people, with both tourists and pilgrims inundated the city.