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Cardinals from around the world will meet this week to formally begin selecting the next pope in a secret ballot after the late Pope Francis‘s funeral on April 26. The vote itself will take place behind the sealed doors of the Sistine Chapel sometime after May 7.

Selecting the next leader of the Catholic Church is a momentous and highly anticipated task. The church counts some 1.4 billion baptised Roman Catholics around the world as members.

Elections in the Vatican are not immune to lobbying and campaigning. First, the cardinals must hold a series of congregazioni – special meetings at which they will discuss what sort of leader they are looking for. While only 135 cardinals will be able to vote, as they are below the age of 80, as per the voting rules, all cardinals can attend these meetings irrespective of age.

Roberto Regoli, a professor of Catholic Church history at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University, said that unlike in a normal election, none of the top contenders in the Vatican is openly canvassing to be elected. Most people would say they do not want the post if asked, he said.

“It’s a lot of work,” Regoli told Al Jazeera. “You have no time to do anything for yourself.”

Results can often be surprising, and experts are wary of speculating in advance. In 2013, for example, Pope Francis was not even counted as a favourite in the media. It was only after a speech he gave at one of the congregazioni that he was noticed.

Here’s what we know about some of the possible candidates.

What is the process and timeline for selecting the next pope?

The College of Cardinals will ultimately elect one of their number to be the next pope. There are currently 252 cardinals, 135 of whom are cardinal electors as they are under the age of 80 – the cut-off date for papal elections.

After a few days of meetings, the 135 voting cardinals will be sequestered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel on May 7 in what is known as a “conclave”. They will have no access to phones, the internet, or the outside world. No cardinal can leave until a name is pronounced, barring exceptional circumstances.

Cardinals will vote in one or several secret ballots to elect the new pope. The winner needs a two-thirds majority.

Observers standing outside the Vatican will know a pope has been selected by the colour of the smoke emerging from the chimney of the chapel: black means no consensus, white means a new pope has been declared.

Conclaves usually last for several days or, in some cases, weeks. Pope Francis was elected in two days.

Who are the voting cardinals?

Francis’s reforms changed the makeup of the College of Cardinals. He appointed 80 percent of the current cardinals, selecting them from around the world – with a particular emphasis on the Global South – and choosing people with different ideological leanings.

For the first time, countries like Mongolia, Iran and East Timor will be represented. Among the cardinals are people who are conservative on topics such as same-sex marriage and divorce, as well as others who are less orthodox. The bigger mix of views – and the much larger representation of the Global South – makes this vote a particularly unpredictable one, experts say.

What are the cardinals looking for in a new pope?

In their meetings before the conclave, the cardinals will be trying to decide if they want a liberal-minded leader like the late Pope Francis, a more traditionalist pontiff like his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, or someone with moderate tendencies.

Cardinals will also likely be looking for someone skilled in international diplomacy, Regoli said, with the world facing multiple conflicts and changing geopolitical dynamics. The church would also prefer someone not too young, to ensure a relatively short tenure.

Ideology and geography will also play a role, historian Miles Pattenden, who is associated with the University of Oxford, told Al Jazeera.

“Francis was known to be spontaneous, and the church might be looking to elect someone more cautious in his reactions,” he said. And, with the Catholic population growing in Asia and Africa, the cardinals may want to send the message that an Asian or African pope is more representative.

Personal charm, though, is the secret ingredient. Because many of the cardinals have rarely met, it is hard to know who might get along well with whom. The next pope will be the cardinal who, without appearing to do so, can convince the others that he can represent the church globally and address the church’s challenges: adapting to secularisation, and coping well with recent sex and financial scandals, as well as declining membership in the West.

Most of all, electors do appear to be looking for a sober and unifying figure who can bring stability to the church’s central government after Francis’s more revolutionary style of leadership.

Who are the top contenders?

Here is a list of candidates, in no particular order, who experts believe are frontrunners.

Cardinal Luis ‘Chito’ Antonio Tagle, 67

Some observers believe the future of the church’s leadership lies outside the traditionally elected class of Italian cardinals.

Tagle, from the Philippines, might suit the cardinals who want that growth to be more visible. The country is the most Catholic in the world, with 80 percent of its 100 million people identifying as Catholics. If elected, Tagle would be the first Asian pope.

Ordained a cardinal in 2012 by Pope Benedict, Tagle currently leads the church’s evangelisation programmes from the Vatican. A former archbishop of Manila, Tagle is popularly referred to as the “Asian Francis”. His style of leadership is similar to the late Pope Francis’s pastoral approach, Pattenden said. 

While he is opposed to abortion, he is dedicated to social justice causes such as migration and poverty, and has pushed for a less harsh stance on gay people, divorcees and single mothers. Senior roles within the Holy See since 2019 have also seen him gain Vatican experience.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, 70

Italian and present Vatican secretary of state, Parolin’s background and position within the church mean he has a strong chance of being considered for pope. He has held the number two position in the Vatican since 2013.

With diplomatic stints for the church in Nigeria, Mexico, Spain and Italy, he is regarded as a skilled, stable hand on the world stage. He has pushed to improve China-Vatican relations, which have been strained because of the Holy See’s recognition of Taiwan.

Parolin’s supporters say that while he agrees with some of Francis’s ideals (he supports embracing the divorced and opposes the United States administration’s plans for Gaza), he is also a pragmatist who understands the nuances of diplomacy and may take a more moderate approach than Francis. Critics, however, say he lacks pastoral experience and might put diplomacy above the church’s interests.

“Parolin or Tagle might best represent some kind of continuity of the Francis style if that’s what the church decides is the way to go,” Pattenden said.

Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, 76

Of three prominent African frontrunners, Turkson, who hails from Ghana, is seen as the more moderate and, thus, more suited to diplomacy. The cohort of African cardinals is, in general, regarded as quite conservative, particularly when it comes to the position of women in the church and same-sex marriage.

Experts previously marked Turkson as a favourite in 2013. Although he leans more conservative than liberal, he is opposed to the criminalisation of gay relations in Ghana, where a bill imposing harsh penalties on homosexuality was passed.

There has never been an African pope, and such an election would be “ground-breaking”, Pattenden said.

Cardinal Peter Erdo, 72

Described as cautious and risk-averse, the Hungarian priest is a respected lawyer and staunch conservative who is likely to have backing from those seeking a change of approach from Pope Francis’s style of leadership.

Erdo, as the archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, is seen by critics as friendly to the Hungarian right-wing and anti-migrant governing party, Fidesz, causing some observers to describe his candidature as one to be afraid of. While he is not directly opposed to the rights of people to migrate, Erdo has raised questions about how integrating refugees might endanger political stability in Hungary. Critics cite this stance as one close to approving Fidesz’s criminalisation of migrants. Some also say Erdo has been unwilling to properly investigate allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

In an opinion piece in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, Hungarian journalist Alex Faludy wrote that Erdo’s name on the list should make observers “fearful”.

“Erdo’s possible ascent to the papal throne would be bad news for LGBTQ+ Catholics and those who have remarried after divorce,” Faludy wrote. “It should, however, also worry abuse survivors and anyone concerned with the integrity of Christianity’s presence in public life.”

The priest was previously viewed as a favourite in 2013, when he was 60 years old, but did not gain strong backing. At the time, observers said he was seen as too young.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi

Another well-recognised diplomat, an Italian and Archbishop of Bologna, Zuppi led a peace mission to Ukraine in 2023 and helped mediate an end to the Mozambique civil war in 1992.

He was appointed cardinal in 2019 by Francis, whose ideals he broadly agrees with.

As a member of the Catholic humanitarian group, the Community of Sant’Egidio, Matteo would be expected to focus on increasing outreach to disadvantaged or crisis-hit communities.

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu

The archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Besungu represents a key demographic in the church: the DRC has more than seven million Catholics, making it the biggest Catholic country in Africa.

Cardinal Besungu is staunchly traditionalist. While he has spoken out against human rights violations in his homeland, he is unequivocally against blessing same-sex relationships (which Pope Francis introduced), even standing up and criticising Pope Francis about his rulings on the topic.

He is another favourite for the conservative camp.

Cardinal Michael Czerny, 78

Originally from Czechoslovakia but raised in Canada, the cardinal leads the social justice operations of the Vatican.

He was appointed by Pope Francis and is, like him, a Jesuit – an arm of the church known for its focus on education, missionary work and charitable activities. The two men were considered to be close.

Czerny has worked in Africa and Latin America and founded the African Jesuit Aids Network.

Experts say it is possible Czerny will appeal to progressives in the church, but there are doubts about whether the College would immediately vote for another Jesuit pope.

“Normally, we don’t have two consecutive popes of the same order,” Regoli said.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, 60

From Italy, Pizzaballa is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem where he has lived since being ordained as a priest at 25 years old.

Pope Francis appointed him as cardinal in 2023.

He has a good understanding of the complexities of the Palestine-Israel conflict, Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip and Middle Eastern relations.

Pizzaballa has spoken out against the Gaza war, rebuking both sides. In the early days of the war, he offered to exchange himself for child captives taken during Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Pattenden said one critical factor the church will look at is age. Pizzaballa, at 60, is much younger than Pope Francis was when he was elected (76). That means, even if a strong contender, Pizzaballa’s age might not appeal to some voters.

Cardinal Robert Sarah, 79

The Guinean cardinal is perhaps the most traditional and orthodox of all the frontrunners and is one of the most recognised African church leaders.

He was appointed archbishop of Conakry at the age of 34 and was, at the time, the youngest bishop in the world. His outspoken nature placed him on an assassination hit list by the former Guinean dictator, Ahmed Sekou Toure. The list was discovered after Toure’s death.

In 2001, Pope John Paul II promoted Sarah to head of evangelisation, opening his sojourn into the Vatican proper.

Pope Benedict appointed him as a cardinal in 2010 and he retired from active office in 2021 as prefect for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.

He reportedly had turbulent relations with Pope Francis, however. Sarah’s leanings, age and Vatican experience put him at a sweet spot for those in the college looking to roll back Francis-era reforms on abortion, same-sex relations and the church’s closeness with other religions.

Cardinal Angelo Scola, 83

An old Vatican saying goes thus: “Popes who enter a conclave often emerge as cardinals.” That adage applies to Scola. Back in 2013, the Italian priest was the touted media favourite, going into the conclave as the one most people believed would be pope. When the white smoke went up, a group of Italian bishops even issued statements that Scola had been elected. But he eventually emerged as a cardinal because Pope Francis had been elected.

A former archbishop of Milan, Scola will not be able to vote because he is above the 80-year voting limit, but his name has again surfaced as a credible candidate.

His ideologies more closely model the conservationist approach of Pope Benedict XVI who appointed him cardinal.

While mute on same-sex unions so far, Scola is strongly opposed to female deacons and other left-leaning gender debates.

He has pastoral experience but is also a well-known professor and scholar with several books under his belt. He has focused on themes of interfaith and intercultural dialogue, as well as on evangelisation and helping new Catholic converts.

His critics see him as an intellectual who might be a tad removed from the experiences of the common Catholic, but his traditionalism and age could make him a good option for conservatives.

US president makes claim after Mexican leader says her country’s sovereignty ‘not for sale.’

United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum refused an offer to send US troops to the Latin American country due to her fear of drug cartels.

Trump on Sunday confirmed that he had suggested sending US troops to Mexico to combat drug trafficking, a day after Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her country’s sovereignty was “not for sale”.

“If Mexico wanted help with the cartels, we would be honoured to go in and do it. I told her that,” Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One.

“I would be honoured to go in and do it. The cartels are trying to destroy our country.”

Asked if he was disappointed over Sheinbaum’s decision, Trump claimed that she had refused the offer because she is “so afraid of the cartels, she can’t walk”.

“I think she’s a lovely woman. The president of Mexico is a lovely woman, but she is so afraid of the cartels that she can’t even think straight,” Trump said without offering evidence to support his claim.

On Saturday, Sheinbaum told a public event that she had told the US president that Mexico would never accept the presence of US troops on its territory.

“I told him, No, President Trump, our territory is inviolable, our sovereignty is inviolable, our sovereignty is not for sale,’” she said.

Sheinbaum made her comments after The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that the Trump administration was pressuring her government to allow “deeper US military involvement” in the fight against Mexican drug cartels.

Trump has often accused Mexico of not doing enough to halt the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across the US southern border.

In one of the first salvoes of his wide-ranging trade war, Trump in February announced that he would impose across-the-board 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada over what he said was their failure to crack down on the influx of drugs and undocumented migrants.

Trump subsequently announced that he would suspend the tariffs on goods falling under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the three-way free trade deal that his first administration negotiated to succeed the North American Free Trade Agreement.

US President Donald Trump says he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations around the world.

Trump said he was authorising the US Trade Representative to start the process to impose the levy because America’s movie industry was dying “a very fast death”.

He blamed a “concerted effort” by other countries that offer incentives to attract filmmakers and studios, which he described as a “National Security threat”.

“It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform. “WE WANT MOVIES MADE IN AMERICA, AGAIN!”

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has imposed tariffs on countries around the world.

He argues tariffs will boost US manufacturers and protect jobs – but the global economy has been thrown into chaos as a result, and prices on goods around the world are expected to rise.

Ahead of his inauguration, Trump appointed three film stars – Jon Voight, Mel Gibson and Sylvester Stallone – to be special ambassadors tasked with promoting business opportunities in Hollywood, which he described as a “great but very troubled place”.

“They will serve as Special Envoys to me for the purpose of bringing Hollywood, which has lost much business over the last four years to Foreign Countries, BACK—BIGGER, BETTER, AND STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE!” Trump wrote at the time.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick responded to the latest announcement, saying “We’re on it”.

The US remains a major film production hub globally despite challenges, according to movie industry research firm ProdPro.

Its most recent annual report shows the country saw $14.54bn (£10.94bn) of production spending last year. That was down by 26% since 2022, though.

Countries that have attracted an increase in spending over the same period include Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the UK, according to the report.

Even before this most recent announcement, the US movie industry had been impacted by the fallout from Trump’s trade policies.

In April, China said it was reducing its quota of American films allowed into the country.

“The wrong action of the US government to abuse tariffs on China will inevitably further reduce the domestic audience’s favourability towards American films,” the China Film Administration said.

“We will follow the market rules, respect the audience’s choice, and moderately reduce the number of American films imported.”

Trump has hit China hardest with his tariffs salvo, imposing import taxes of up to 145% on goods from there.

His administration said last month that when the new tariffs are added on to existing ones, the levies on some Chinese goods could reach 245%.

Beijing has hit back with a 125% import duty on goods from the US.

Other countries currently face a blanket US tariff of 10% until a pause on higher levies expires in July.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he was meeting with many countries, including China, on trade deals.

He added, however, that he had no plans to speak with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping this week – despite previous reports that Washington had approached Beijing about holding trade talks.

Asked if any trade agreements would be announced this week, Trump said that could “very well be”, but gave no details.

Earlier, Trump signalled he may be willing to lower tariffs on China.

“At some point, I’m going to lower them, because otherwise, you could never do business with them, and they want to do business very much,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press.

US president claims that Hollywood is undergoing a ‘very fast death’ despite raking in $30bn in revenues in 2024.

United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to impose a 100 percent tariff on foreign films, claiming that Hollywood is undergoing a “very fast death” due to overseas competition.

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump said he had directed the US Department of Commerce and the US Trade Representative to immediately begin the process of imposing the tariff on “any and all” films produced in “foreign lands”.

“Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

“This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat. It is, in addition to everything else, messaging and propaganda!”

Asked by reporters about the tariff later on Sunday, Trump claimed that the US was making “very few movies now.”

“Other nations, a lot of them, have stolen our movie industry,” he said. “If they are not willing to make a movie inside the United States, we should have a tariff on movies that come in.”

Trump did not elaborate on how such a tariff would work in practical terms, including whether it would be applied to Hollywood features that involve shooting and production across multiple countries.

Trump’s announcement follows his appointment in January of actors Sylvester Stallone, Mel Gibson and Jon Voight as “special ambassadors” tasked with bringing back business that Hollywood has lost to other countries.

At the time, Trump said the actors would be “my eyes and ears” as he set about instituting a “Golden Age of Hollywood”.

Hollywood has faced tough business conditions in recent years amid the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2023 actors’ and writers’ strike.

Hollywood studios grossed about $30bn worldwide last year, down about 7 percent from 2023, according to Gower Street Analytics.

While last year’s performance was an improvement on revenues in 2020, 2021 and 2022, it was still about 20 below the pre-pandemic average, according to Gower Street Analytics.

Their battle had allowed Norris to close up to them, after wasting little time passing the drivers between him and the leaders.

Norris passed Verstappen by diving around the outside into Turn 11 on lap 17, but he ran off track in doing it, and had to give the place back.

But a lap later, he made the move with ease, Verstappen this time appearing not to bother defending after sensing the game was up.

Verstappen quickly dropped back from the McLarens, losing nine seconds in as many laps before his pit stop.

The world champion’s day became worse when the virtual safety car (VSC) was deployed during the pit-stop period.

Russell, who was the only driver in the top 10 to start on the hard tyres like Hamilton, had not yet stopped and that VSC allowed him to pit for fresh tyres and rejoin still ahead of Verstappen.

For a while, Verstappen closed in on Russell but he could get no closer than about 1.8 seconds before failing to make any further progress. Russell has been summoned to report to the stewards after Red Bull protested that he failed to slow under yellow flags.

Norris closed on Piastri at the front, but after halving his deficit to four seconds, the Australian upped his pace to show he had time in hand and led comfortably to the end.

It is the first time a McLaren driver has won three races in a row since Mika Hakkinen over the 1997-98 seasons.

Piastri’s win extends his championship lead over Norris to 16 points, with Verstappen the same margin behind in third place.

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser (NSA), a key policy-shaping role, and tapped Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take over the role in the interim.

Trump announced that he was nominating Waltz to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations. “Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first. I know he will do the same in his new role,” he posted on his Truth Social platform.

“I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation,” Waltz posted on X Thursday.

The senior official’s reassignment comes in the aftermath of the so-called “Signalgate” incident and his leaning towards aggressive military action against arch foe Iran.

What were the main reasons behind Waltz’s removal?

The army veteran came under heavy criticism after creating a group on the Signal messaging app with other top officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to discuss military attack plans on Yemen.

The group’s chat became public after the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic magazine, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the group mistakenly. After Goldberg published extracts from the chat, Waltz said he took “full responsibility” for the mistake.

The scandal cast a doubt on Trump’s national security team, with both Waltz and Hegseth coming under fire. Several Democrats called for their resignation in the immediate aftermath of the scandal.

While attending a cabinet meeting held by Trump last week, Waltz was also photographed using a modified and less secure version of Signal to text top officials.

According to The Washington Post, he also upset Trump after engaging in “intense coordination” with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the possibility of launching military strikes on Iran.

As the Trump administration continues to pursue Omani-mediated talks with Tehran, Waltz reportedly frustrated the president by adopting an increasingly hawkish stance that favoured military aggression.

Netanyahu’s office, however, denied the daily’s report that claimed he had “intensive contact” with Waltz.

Moreover, he was reported to have built up tensions with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, who increasingly felt he was not fit for the Trump team.

Who else is Trump sacking?

Along with Waltz, the president is kicking out his deputy, Alex Wong, according to US media reports, becoming the first senior White House officials to be fired from the second Trump presidency.

A number of inspectors general, federal workers, and senior military officials, including Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti and Commander of Air Force Special Operations Command General James Slife, have also been fired.

During his first term, Trump sacked a large number of senior officials, including FBI Director James Comey, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, and NSAs John Bolton and Michael Flynn.

Why are MAGA supporters targeting Waltz?

Waltz has come under fire from some recognised figures in the Make America Great Again (MAGA) camp backing Trump, mainly for a perceived lack of loyalty to the president and a difference in policy approach.

Steve Bannon, a former chief White House strategist and influential figure, criticised Waltz for his hawkish foreign policy stance, particularly his support for military interventions.

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist, highlighted a 2016 video in which Waltz criticised Trump’s remarks about military service members as a sign of his disloyalty.

She also accused Waltz of appointing staffers with anti-Trump sentiments and targeted his deputy, Wong, for alleged ties to Chinese interests.

But JD Vance backed him, arguing that his reassignment was not a demotion but a strategic move that would allow Waltz to better serve the administration in a new diplomatic role.

What’s next for Waltz?

Waltz will now have to secure confirmation from the Senate to become the new US envoy to the UN, in what is expected to be a challenging path.

Waltz is a former army green beret with deployments to Afghanistan that earned him a bronze star for valour. He has written extensively about military strategy and robustly supports national defence.

The Republican is also a former member of the US House of Representatives and used to work as a counterterrorism adviser in the Pentagon during the George W Bush administration.

But the Signalgate controversy, his reported unauthorised communications with Israeli leaders, and opposition by Democrats in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could work against him.

Who is Waltz’s replacement?

For now, and without any specific time period announced, Rubio is taking over as NSA.

Rubio, himself one of the more hawkish figures in the White House, is assuming more responsibility in a move that could be aimed at consolidating foreign policy leadership and streamlining the decision-making process.

This is the first time since the 1970s that the secretary of state is also acting as NSA.

Trump has not confirmed any potential replacements for Waltz in the future, but Stephen Miller, Steve Witkoff and Ric Grenell are some of the top figures in his circle.

Miller is a senior policy and homeland security adviser known for his hardline immigration and foreign policy stances. Witkoff is serving as special envoy, leading the talks with Russia, Iran, and the Palestinian group Hamas. Grenell is the acting director of national intelligence and a former ambassador to Germany.

Police believe attackers targeted LGBTQ fans attending American star’s free concert on Rio’s Copacabana Beach.

Brazilian police have arrested two people in connection with an alleged plot to detonate explosives at a Lady Gaga concert in Rio de Janeiro that drew more than two million people.

The Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro said on social media on Sunday that it had thwarted a bomb attack that had been planned by the suspects for the free concert, held on the famous Copacabana Beach on Saturday.

The police added that an adult “responsible for the plan” had been arrested along with a teenager in an operation codenamed “Fake Monster” – a reference to “Little Monsters”, the star’s pet name for her fans.

The suspects, it said, had recruited people online to “carry out attacks using improvised explosives” in the aim of “gaining notoriety on social media”. Police working in coordination with the Justice Ministry carried out raids across Rio de Janeiro state as well as in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul, and Mato Grosso.

Felipe Cury, secretary of the Rio Police, said on Sunday that authorities believed the suspects sought to target Brazil’s LGBTQ community as they had “clearly” stated they were planning an attack “motivated by sexual orientation”.

Rio Police Chief Luiz Lima said the group behind the plot disseminated hate speech and violent content online “in order to attract more viewers, more participants – most of them teenagers, many of them children”.

The show, which Rio City Hall said attracted 2.1 million people, went ahead without disruption even though Brazilian authorities said they had arrested suspects in the hours preceding the event.

A spokesperson for Lady Gaga said in a statement that the star and her team had not been aware of safety concerns “prior to and during the show”, only learning about the threat the next morning.

The statement added: “Her team worked closely with law enforcement throughout the planning and execution of the concert and all parties were confident in the safety measures in place.”

Security was tight at Saturday’s concert, with 5,200 military and police officers deployed to the beach where fans revelled in the pop singer’s classic hits like the song Born This Way, which became an LGBTQ anthem after its 2011 release.

The free beach concert stood out at a time of exorbitant ticket prices for live music around the world.

Overwhelming majority of people who voted to turn base into municipality are employees of Elon Musk’s space company.

A community in the southern US state of Texas that is home to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX will be renamed Starbase after residents – nearly all employees of the firm – backed the move to formally organise it into a city.

In a vote on Saturday, 212 of the almost 300 residents eligible to cast ballots were in favour of the change at the site on Boca Chica Bay bordering Mexico, with only six against.

Bobby Peden, who is vice president of testing and launches at SpaceX, was also confirmed as mayor. He was the only name on the ballot.

Official documents show nearly 500 people live around the base in Cameron County, on land mostly owned by SpaceX or its employees.

“Starbase, Texas,” Musk wrote on X, a social media platform he owns, “Is now a real city!”

The vote came at a difficult time for Musk, a major donor to US President Donald Trump and a backer of European far-right groups. The South African-born entrepreneur is expected to reduce his role as the unofficial head of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to instead focus more on his troubled electric car company, Tesla.

It was Musk who proposed the name Starbase in a social media post during a visit to the facility – a key testing location for the company’s rocket launches – four years ago. Then, last December, general manager of SpaceX Kathryn Lueders appealed to local authorities to grant municipality status to the site.

Saturday’s vote was never in doubt, but the change allows Starbase to control building and permitting and avoid other regulatory hurdles, while collecting taxes and writing local law.

However, not everyone has been upbeat about the prospect of a SpaceX town.

Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network, was among those voicing concern over the environmental impact, warning of more “destruction”.

“They would attempt more illegal dumping, they would build up their dangerous rocket operations and cause more seismic activity, cause our homes to shake, and that they would destroy more of the wildlife habitat in the region,” she told the AFP news agency before election day.

Some reports in 2024 had also said SpaceX’s rockets had caused damage to wild bird nests. In response, Musk had said on social media at the time: “To make up for this heinous crime, I will refrain from having omelette for a week.”

Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency and Texas authorities also found that SpaceX was responsible for repeated spills and the release of pollutants into Texas waterways.

Lueders argued in her letter in December that SpaceX already maintained infrastructure such as roads, education services and medical care at the site.

She promised the creation of the new city would not undermine the company’s efforts to mitigate the base’s environmental impact.

While he was ultimately unable to walk away with the trophy, Draper’s performances on the Madrid clay underlined why he is undoubtedly a serious force – across all surfaces.

Draper has long been tipped to go to the very top of the men’s game, with Andy Murray saying last year he thought the left-hander had the potential to become world number one in the future.

That came after Draper won his first ATP title on the Stuttgart grass and elevated him to the status of British number one.

Since then, he has continued to make great strides.

After working hard to overcome the physical issues which hampered his early days as a professional, Draper answered some critics with three back-to-back five-set victories at the Australian Open in January.

More importantly, it increased his own belief.

He reached the Doha final in his next tournament and then came another important milestone in his career – winning his first Masters title at the prestigious Indian Wells hard-court tournament.

Since then, Draper has continued to grow in stature. He arrived in Madrid feeling confident that his game could thrive in the livelier clay-court conditions produced by the altitude in the Spanish capital.

Moving through his opening five matches without dropping a set backed that up.

Draper’s serving was a vital tool in his success, along with the ferocity of a forehand which pushed opponents behind the baseline and created thunderous winners.

Facing Ruud was always going to be a tough proposition, though.

The world number 15 is one of the leading clay-courters in the men’s game and showed why in a gritty performance.

Ruud’s success was underpinned by the potency of his first serve, winning 81% of these points, as well as showing he had the physicality to grind out victory.

“There are no holes in Jack’s game,” said Ruud, who will climb back into the top 10 on Monday.

“I think he will become more and more difficult to play on clay. He will be a threat. The sky is the limit for him.”

Ship hit by two drones near Malta on Friday; NGO blames Israel for attack.

An international NGO that intends to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea has said it was in talks with Malta’s government about allowing a vessel to enter Maltese waters to repair damage caused by a drone attack.

The ship named Conscience, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), suffered damage to its front section including a loss of power when it was hit by two drones just outside Maltese territorial waters in the central Mediterranean early on Friday, the NGO said on Sunday.

The coalition, an international non-governmental group, said Israel, which has blockaded and bombarded Gaza, was to blame for the incident.

#FreedomFlotilla Press statement 04-05-2025 : “we received a very welcome update from the government of Malta@MaltaGov, with a stated intent to provide logistical supports and potential repairs to our ship, the ‘Conscience’….’ (read more…)https://t.co/PVk6qjJsM3

— Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 4, 2025

The Conscience, which set off from Tunisia, had been waiting to take on board some 30 peace activists from around the world before trying to sail to Gaza in the eastern Mediterranean. The ship had been seeking to deliver aid including food and medicines to the besieged enclave, where aid groups warn people are struggling to survive following a two-month total blockade by Israel.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg said she was in Malta and had been planning to board the ship as part of the flotilla.

Prime Minister Robert Abela said on Sunday that Malta was prepared to assist the ship with necessary repairs so that it could continue on its journey, once it was satisfied that the vessel held only humanitarian aid.

Coalition officials said on Sunday that the ship was in no danger of sinking, but that they wanted to be sure it would be safe from further attacks while undergoing repairs, and able to sail out again.

Earlier on Sunday, the coalition had accused Malta of impeding access to its ship. Malta denied the claim, saying the crew had refused assistance and even refused to allow a surveyor on board to assess the damage.

“The FFC would like to clarify our commitment to engagement with [Maltese] authorities to expedite the temporary docking of our ship for repairs and surveyors, so we can continue on the urgent humanitarian mission to Gaza,” the coalition said in a statement later in the day.

A Malta government spokesman said its offer was to assist in repairs out at sea once the boat’s cargo was verified to be aid.

Coalition officials said the surveyor was welcome to board as part of a deal being negotiated with Malta.

Israel halted humanitarian aid to Gaza two months ago, shortly before it broke a ceasefire and restarted its war against Hamas, which has devastated the Palestinian enclave and killed more than 51,000 people.

Another NGO ship on a similar mission to Gaza in 2010 was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops, and nine activists were killed. Other such ships have similarly been stopped and boarded, with activists arrested.

Hamas issued a statement about the incident off Malta, accusing Israel of “piracy” and “state terrorism”.

US President Donald Trump is facing backlash for publishing an AI-generated image of himself as the pope, just weeks after the death of Pope Francis. The Trump administration has been criticised before for provocative social media posts on official White House accounts, seemingly aimed at antagonising opponents while appealing to the MAGA base.

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Molly-Mae, Tommy Fury and a ‘media frenzy’

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I Kissed A Boy is back

Sonic the Hedgehog fans rejoice

Sega

PinkPantheress album

Happy birthday, Sir David Attenborough

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Other highlights this week

President Donald Trump has said he is unsure whether people in the United States are entitled to due process rights guaranteed by the US Constitution as his administration pushes aggressively to deport immigrants who entered the country illegally and other non-citizens, including some detained for pro-Palestinian activism and other political speech.

Trump made his comments during an interview taped Friday at his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida and aired Sunday on the NBC News programme Meet the Press with Kristen Welker.

Welker asked Trump whether he agreed with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said last month that “of course” all people in the US are entitled to due process, which generally requires the government to provide notice and a hearing before taking certain adverse legal actions.

“I don’t know. I’m not, I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know,” Trump said, adding that such a requirement would mean “we’d have to have a million or two million or three million trials”.

The Constitution’s Fifth Amendment provides “due process of law”, meaning a person has certain rights when it comes to being prosecuted for a crime. Also, the 14th Amendment says no state can “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”.

Trump added that his lawyers “are going to obviously follow what the Supreme Court said”.

He said he was pushing to deport “some of the worst, most dangerous people on Earth”, but that courts are getting in his way.

“I was elected to get them the hell out of here, and the courts are holding me from doing it,” Trump said.

On April 19, the Supreme Court justices temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting a group of Venezuelan migrants it accused of being gang members. Trump’s administration, which has invoked a rarely used, 18th-century wartime law, has urged the justices to lift or narrow their order.

US Solicitor General Dean John Sauer said in a filing to the Supreme Court that detainees are receiving advance notice of their removals and have had “adequate time” to file claims for judicial review.

The Trump administration has deported hundreds of men without providing evidence of gang membership. In one prominent case, that of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, authorities ignored a court order that was supposed to protect him from deportation to El Salvador. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement lawyers later acknowledged that his removal was an “administrative error”.

Third term?

Separately, Trump said during the NBC interview that pursuing a third presidential term “is not something I’m looking to do”.

“It’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do,” said Trump, who has occasionally hinted he would like to run for a third term.

The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment states in part: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”

Separately, Trump said the US economy is in a “transition period” but he expects it to do “fantastically” despite the economic turmoil sparked by his tariffs.

He offered sharp pushback when Welker noted that some Wall Street analysts now say the chances of a recession are increasing.

“Well, you know, you say, some people on Wall Street say,” Trump said. “Well, I tell you something else. Some people on Wall Street say that we’re going to have the greatest economy in history.”

He also deflected blame for the 0.3 percent decline in the US economy in the first quarter, saying he was not responsible for it.

“I think the good parts are the Trump economy and the bad parts are the Biden economy because he’s done a terrible job,” referring to his Democratic predecessor, former US President Joe Biden.

Trump also said he won’t remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who the president has repeatedly criticised for not moving faster to lower interest rates, before his term as Fed chair ends in 2026.

Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to fire Powell. His attacks came after Powell signalled that the Federal Reserve – which is responsible for conducting US monetary policy – would keep its key interest rate unchanged, while it seeks “greater clarity” on the effect of policy changes in areas such as immigration, taxation, regulation and tariffs.

During the interview, Trump also said he would extend the June 19 deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the US assets of TikTok, the short video app used by 170 million Americans, if no deal had been reached by then.

“I would … I’d like to see it done,” Trump said.

Trump said he had a “sweet spot” for the app after it helped him win over young voters in the 2024 presidential election, adding, “TikTok is – it’s very interesting, but it will be protected”.

Madrid see off late comeback by Celta to stay within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, whom they visit in next weekend’s El Clasico.

Kylian Mbappe struck twice as Real Madrid held off Celta Vigo with a thrilling 3-2 win to stay within sight of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, whom they face next weekend.

After the Catalans scraped a comeback win at Valladolid on Saturday, Madrid survived a late Celta fightback a day later to maintain the four-point gap ahead of next Sunday’s Clasico.

Defending champions Madrid, in second place, were left clinging on at the Santiago Bernabeu against a Celta side seventh and hoping to qualify for European football next season.

Madrid’s Champions League defence crumbled and Los Blancos were also beaten in the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona last week, but Los Blancos are still hopeful of overhauling Hansi Flick’s side in LaLiga.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side came into the game with a spate of defensive injuries, but after riding out an early wave of Celta chances, took control, with 20-year-old Turkish Arda Guler pulling the strings.

With Rodrygo out with illness, the youngster started in his stead and took full advantage.

Guler directed a spectacular overhead effort wide of goal in the opening stages, showing his ambition has no limits.

Former Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso headed just over and then forced a fine save from Thibaut Courtois, as Celta threatened.

Aurelien Tchouameni headed over when well-placed at the other end, as Madrid stifled the visitors.

Madrid opened the scoring through Guler after 33 minutes, when the playmaker cleverly worked some space in the box and then brilliantly curled a strike past the reach of Vicente Guaita.

Mbappe doubled Madrid’s lead after 39 minutes at the sharp end of a rapid breakaway.

Courtois saved well from Borja Iglesias and immediately Madrid thrust forward, with Bellingham setting Mbappe free down the right.

The French superstar ruthlessly lashed past Guaita from just inside the area.

Just three minutes into the second half, Mbappe struck again for his 24th league goal of the season, putting him one behind the top scorer, Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski.

Guler was the creator, playing in the striker with a perfectly-weighted ball, and Mbappe finished low with a stroke of his left boot.

It seemed the game was won for Madrid, but Javier Rodriguez pulled Celta back into it with a finish from close range after a corner.

Lucas Vazquez blocked Pablo Duran’s backheeled effort on the line, but Rodriguez was on hand to pounce.

Iago Aspas’s introduction off the bench for the Galicians immediately gave them more attacking impetus, and he produced a superb pass for Williot Swedberg to slot a second past Courtois.

The Belgian goalkeeper had his heart in his mouth a few minutes later as Duran’s shot slipped out of his hands and could have squirmed across the line behind him if it had not slowed to a stop on the grass. But Real were able to see off the late pressure to ensure the win.

If Madrid had dropped points, it would have allowed Barcelona to lift the title next weekend with a Clasico victory.

Israel has repeatedly bombed Syria it says to protect the Druze minority from violence by pro-government forces, a stance the Syrian Druze community rejects. Syrian forces have reached an agreement with Druze leaders to improve security, ending days of fighting.

Since taking office in January, United States President Donald Trump has undertaken policy after policy that has shocked Americans and the world. From launching an immigration crackdown and persecuting legal residents sympathetic to the Palestinian people to dismantling diversity and inclusion programmes and assaulting higher education and free speech, Trump has fully embraced far-right agendas. His critics at home and abroad have readily called him a fascist.

But fascism is not the ideology of choice for the US president. Fascist movements varied in their approaches to political and economic issues, but they have had several elements in common: The good of the nation is elevated above all, and the state plays an overarching role in society and the economy.

In other words, fascism was an attempt to reformulate the socialist ideal into a strong nationalistic framework. And as a historical reaction to communism and liberalism, it remains exiled in the 20th century, in “the age of extremes,” as the British historian Eric Hobsbawm famously called it.

Trump may be using the language of “America first” in his rhetoric, but he is not really pursuing the “good of the nation”. He is pursuing the good of the 1 percent.

Trump and his cheerleaders want to go beyond neoliberalism, which maintains that a minimal state is ideal for economic prosperity, and establish hypercapitalism by dissolving any controls the state has over the accumulation of wealth by the extremely rich.

They understand that we are living in times when extracting profit from society is not as easy, so they want to free capitalism from the hindrances of democracy and the demands of the people that their rights – political, social and human – be protected by the law and by the state.

The tech bros that Trump has surrounded himself with have wrapped this hypercapitalism in a technological cover, claiming that technology can solve all woes and unlimited growth – read unlimited profits for the rich – is the only way to progress.

This is clearly outlined in writings produced by the likes of Marc Andreessen, a Silicon Valley billionaire, who penned a Techno-Optimist Manifesto a year before US elections brought Trump to power for a second time. With an almost religious conception of technology and markets, he wrote: “Techno-Optimists believe that societies, like sharks, grow or die. … We believe in ambition, aggression, persistence, relentlessness – strength. … We believe in agency, in individualism. … We believe that there is no material problem – whether created by nature or by technology – that cannot be solved with more technology.”

This view combines unrestrained capitalism with transhumanism – the belief that humans should use technology to enhance their abilities – and an individualistic interpretation of Charles Darwin’s survival of the fittest. It is easy to see that this sharp individualistic vision is the opposite of historical fascism, which prioritises the nation and the community over the individual.

Some may point to Trump’s tariff policies as proof that he has statist tendencies. But if you scratch the surface, you would see that the trade war the US president is waging is really not about “bringing jobs back”, “defending national interests” or reversing globalisation.

Trump is using tariffs as a coercive tool to force various countries into negotiating with him. When he announced a 90-day pause on some tariffs, he himself bragged about 75 governments reaching out to his administration. It is far more likely that these bilateral talks will be used to extort concessions that will favour big capital closely associated with the Trump administration rather than to defend the rights of American workers and to create the conditions for the return of manufacturing jobs to the US.

It is true that Trump has attracted the support of postfascist politicians in Europe and uses fascist language and tools, but that is not enough to brand him a “fascist”. European postfascists, like Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, have themselves veered away from fascist conceptions of state and economy. Meloni and others have readily embraced “free market” policies of cutting taxes for the rich and wiping out social security provision for the poor. Her economic policies differ little from Trump’s.

The US president has fully embraced xenophobic and racist language reminiscent of fascist rhetoric and launched a vicious campaign against immigrants. He does so not only to scare and win over marginalised parts of society but also to divert their growing discontent towards a racialised “other” rather than the wealthy class.

This strategy is working not only because of the growing resentment for liberal elites that the impoverished majority has accumulated but also because the left has failed to act.

Leftist and progressive politicians have condemned themselves to fruitlessly repeating the old right and left cliches, going on tirades about “Trump’s fascism” and debates about the Nazi or Roman salutes of his associates. Engaging in such rhetoric is futile and a waste of time and energy.

Instead, the left should focus on developing concrete strategies to counter Trump’s popularity and hypercapitalist drive. It should go back to the root of problems that ordinary people face in their lives: jobs, healthcare, education and the ever-deepening cynicism about politics. It needs to not only expose Trump for who he really is – a champion of big capital interests – but also to provide a solid, realistic alternative.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.

Cardinals will gather on May 7 in a conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.

United States President Donald Trump has faced backlash, including from Catholics, after he posted an artificial intelligence-generated photo showing himself as the pope days in advance of a conclave to elect the next pontiff.

Trump, who is not a Catholic and does not attend church regularly, posted the image on his Truth Social platform late on Friday, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who died last month at the age of 88. The White House then reposted it on its official X account.

The image shows an unsmiling Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in white papal vestments and headdress, with his right forefinger raised.

It came after Trump joked to reporters this week that he would like to be the next pope, just days before cardinals are due to start the conclave to elect the successor of Pope Francis.

pic.twitter.com/x2HrR939tn

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 3, 2025

Asked who he would like to succeed Francis, Trump said: “I’d like to be pope, that would be my number one choice.”

Trump went on to say he did not have a preference, but said there was a cardinal in New York who was “very good”.

He appeared to be referring to the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, a theological conservative and fiercely opposed to abortion.

‘Blatant insult to Catholics’

The irreverent posting, however, drew instant outrage on X, including from Republicans against Trump, a group that describes itself as “pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism”. The group reposted the image, calling it “a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith”.

The New York State Catholic Conference, which says it represents bishops of the state in working with the government, voiced sharp criticism of the picture.

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President,” it wrote in a post on X.

“We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”

Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni declined to comment on the image during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, which begins on May 7.

Former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi wrote on X: “This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the global right enjoys being a clown. In the meantime, the American economy risks recession and the dollar loses value.”

Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica also featured the image on its homepage on Saturday with a commentary accusing Trump of “pathological megalomania”.

When asked to respond to the criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty.”

Pope Francis had arguably been one of the most powerful moral voices on the world stage critical of Trump.

When Trump first ran for president in 2016, Francis was unsparing on his signature promise to build a border wall to seal off Mexico.

Francis had told reporters: “Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian.”

Cardinals will gather on May 7 in a conclave in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope.

Anti-Houthi factions in Yemen could be vying for US support to attack the movement’s territory, analysts and experts told Al Jazeera, following intensified air strikes on Houthi targets by the United States.

The war in Yemen has largely been frozen for the last three years. Still, groups aligned with the Yemeni government have started signalling that they could launch operations against areas controlled by the pro-Iranian Houthis, including the crucial port of Hodeidah.

A similar campaign on Hodeidah, a critical entry point for food and goods on the Red Sea coast, seemed imminent in 2018, only to be aborted after intervention from the United Nations and the international community, who feared a humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

But experts and analysts expressed doubt that an attack by anti-Houthi groups on their domestic rival would be successful, despite some likening it to the offensive that unseated another Iran ally, former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in late 2024.

“Pro-ROYG [Republic of Yemen Government] voices have been asserting that ground operations against the Houthis – in Hodeidah and potentially elsewhere – are imminent,” Hannah Porter, an independent Yemen analyst, told Al Jazeera.

“My impression so far is that these comments are just meant to garner external support from the US or Saudi [Arabia] for a takeover of Hodeidah.”

Vying for US support

The Houthis, or Ansar Allah as they are officially known, marched into and took over the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014. Soon after, a Saudi Arabian-led coalition intervened on behalf of Yemen’s internationally recognised government to fight the Houthis.

Anti-Houthi forces achieved some success in the early years of the war, but the failed Hodeidah campaign seemed to slow their momentum, and the Houthis have largely been on top militarily since then.

Saudi Arabia announced in March 2022 that it would stop hostilities in Yemen, and a UN-brokered truce stopped much of the fighting the following month.

By then, the Houthis still controlled Sanaa and much of northwest Yemen, while various anti-Houthi groups held the key port city of Aden and much of southern and eastern Yemen.

The Yemeni government has undergone major changes in the past few years, with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi suddenly stepping down in 2022 and handing over power to an eight-member Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), which has, so far, proven ineffective.

PLC Prime Minister Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak resigned on Sunday, claiming to have been blocked from fulfilling his duties, as reports circulated of conflicts between him and President Rashad al-Alimi and accusations of mission creep.

The PLC includes members who have previously fought against the Yemeni government. They include Aydarous al-Zubaidi, the head of the separatist Southern Transitional Council (STC), and Tareq Saleh, nephew of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a one-time ally of the Houthis.

But Houthi attacks on what they claim are Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea, as well as attacks on Israel itself, have led to a bombing campaign against Yemen, and some anti-Houthi forces now see an opening.

“We’ve been seeing various anti-Houthi factions lobbying for US support since the start of the Gaza crisis,” Nick Brumfield, a Yemen expert, told Al Jazeera.

“Both the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council have competitively sought to present themselves as the solution to the US’s need for a partner on the ground against the Houthis in Yemen.”

 Plan versus reality

The Yemeni government has long emphasised that its ultimate goal is the defeat of the Houthis and an end to the group’s “coup” against the Yemeni state.

In early April, President al-Alimi spoke of the importance of national unity “to topple the coup”, adding that the “decisive hour” of the “battle for liberation” was drawing near.

Al-Alimi has not given any indication of when that battle against the Houthis would be, but forces under the umbrella of the Yemeni government may see the intensification of US air strikes under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The US claims the strikes targeted Houthi leaders and have significantly degraded Houthi capabilities. Houthi authorities say that at least 123 Yemenis have been killed in the strikes since they intensified in mid-March, many of them civilians.

Reporting from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Bloomberg has claimed that discussions for an anti-Houthi ground operation, backed by the US, are under way.

The WSJ specifically mentioned that the United Arab Emirates had raised the plan with the US, but the UAE has denied any involvement, with Assistant Minister for Political Affairs Lana Nusseibeh calling them “wild unsubstantiated stories” on April 17.

The UAE officially withdrew its military forces from Yemen in 2019.

Tareq Saleh has been mentioned in news reports as a likely figure leading any anti-Houthi campaign on the Red Sea coast.

But, experts say, there has thus far been no noticeable mobilisation on the ground by anti-Houthi Yemeni armed groups.

“The PLC has been speaking about liberating Sanaa and such,” Raiman Al-Hamdani, a Yemen researcher with ARK, an international development company, told Al Jazeera.

“As far as I know, there has been little mobilisation towards this end. Whether they can is a very different story, especially with Saudi Arabia and the UAE no longer wanting to engage in war with the Houthis.”

After years of fighting, the Saudis and Houthis entered into ceasefire discussions in 2022, leaving anti-Houthi groups – including the Yemeni government – uncertain over their future and the Houthis further entrenched in power.

Al Jazeera reached out to the Yemeni government for comment on this story but received no response before publication.

Comfortable in the status quo

An advance on Sanaa, high up in the Yemeni mountains and closer to the Houthi heartland in Yemen’s far north, would be difficult for Yemeni government forces, and would involve a massive turnaround in fortunes, as well as turning Yemen’s most powerful tribes, many of whom currently back the Houthis.

The main target of any US-backed operation, however, would likely be Hodeidah, which lies on a coastal plain and whose population is less supportive of the Houthis. Losing Hodeidah, as well as other areas of the Red Sea coast, would still represent a significant loss for the Houthis and limit their ability to attack shipping on the vital sea route.

That would line up with the primary goal of the US to curtail the ability of the Houthis to attack regionally, even if the group were still able to launch missiles further afield.

But any effort to take Hodeidah would still likely require a fierce campaign, and thus far, no force – including the US – appears to be willing to fully back anti-Houthi forces militarily.

That is problematic for the anti-Houthi forces and potentially a non-starter, considering the Yemeni government’s inability to defeat the Houthis even when it had heavy military support from the Saudi-led coalition earlier in the war.

“The Houthis will throw all their weight behind defending Hodeidah,” Porter said. “Their port access is critical to their survival.”

She added that the Houthis were likely in a better military position to defend Hodeidah than any group attempting to advance on it.

“Honestly, I think the Republic of Yemen Government and the Presidential Leadership Council are not very invested in shifting the status quo,” Porter said.

“If there was a viable opportunity to take Hodeidah Port, then they would seize on that, but I don’t think they’ll have the support they need.”