Trump to meet with Meloni, Starmer, Zelensky in Rome President Donald #Trump who has arrived in Rome together with his wife Melania to attend the funeral of Pope Francis intends to hold meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia #Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir #Starmer and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky, the newspaper La Repubblica reported on Saturday. Zelensky’s participation in the event was questioned but his name is present in the updated list of delegations from various countries provided to reporters by the press office of the Holy See. As the official program of Trump’s visit suggests, the US president will leave Rome immediately after the funeral Mass in Vatican in the afternoon, the newspaper said. Trump’s stay in the Italian capital is limited by 15 hours. He is expected to meet with #Zelensky at the US ambassador’s residence at Villa Taverna where the US president is staying. Following the meeting, he will leave for the papal farewell ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. Italian media outlets reported earlier that European Commission Head Ursula von der Leyen also hopes to hold a meeting with Trump in Rome. Several dozen heads of state and governments, reigning monarchs and religious figures are expected to attend the funeral of Pope Francis.

Cardinals Parolin, Tagle likely to become pope, reports betting agency Cardinals Pietro #Parolin and Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle have the best chance of ascending to the throne of St. Peter after the upcoming elections, data of the Polymarket betting agency showed. Polymarket estimates the chances of victory for Italian Parolin, who has held the position of secretary of state of the Vatican since 2013, at 35%. The election of the Filipino Tagle is less likely, it is predicted with a probability of 23%, while on April 21 it was about 35%. 70-year-old Parolin is one of the most experienced diplomats of the Holy See and plays an important role in Vatican's foreign relations. According to Newsweek, he also participated in negotiations with China and the governments of the Middle East. The current secretary of state is seen as a centrist candidate who takes a less liberal position on some issues than the late Pope Francis. For instance, the cardinal called legalization of same-sex marriage in Ireland in 2015 "a defeat for all mankind." At 67, Tagle is one of the youngest candidates for the Holy See. The Filipino, according to the magazine, was a confidant in the inner circle of the deceased pontiff. From 2011 to 2019, he was archbishop of Manila, and after that prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, one of the abolished divisions of the Roman Curia, which dealt with evangelization and missionary issues. Tagle belongs to the progressive wing and advocates for inclusivity. Previously he criticized the Catholic Church for being too harsh towards divorced couples and people in same-sex relationships. Cardinals may only convene to elect a new pope no earlier than after nine days of mourning after the funeral, or two weeks after death, meaning that the event can start no sooner than May 10. Theoretically, 135 cardinals can claim the papacy.

Gas reserves in France’s UGS facilities down below 30% #Gas reserves in underground gas storage (UGS) facilities in #France, which is among Europe’s top countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity, have dropped below 30%, according to data provided by Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). As of February 9, French UGS facilities were 29.85% full with around 3.9 bln cubic meters (bcm) of gas stored in them. Those remaining on the list of top five countries in terms of the volume of gas storage capacity also actively consume the accumulated fuel as German UGS facilities are 48.66% full, Austrian UGS facilities are 58.81% full, Italian UGS are 58.92% full, while in the Netherlands UGS facilities are 33.4% full. Slovakian UGS are 55.87% full, Hungarian UGS are 52.03% full, Czech UGS are 48.25% full, Romanian UGS are 40.29%, Bulgarian UGS are 49.3% full, Belgian UGS are 35.5% full, while UGS facilities in Denmark, Latvia and Croatia are 41.87%, 52.32% and 29.94% full, respectively. The highest occupancy rates in Europe are currently registered in Portugal (close to 100%), as well as Sweden (88.05%), Spain (69.14%), and Poland (62.1%).

#Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski said that some #NATO countries have already sent their military to #Ukraine . #Sikorsky spoke about this during a speech on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Poland’s accession to NATO. “Unlike other politicians, I will not list these countries,” the diplomat said, obviously hinting at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who earlier spoke about the presence of British and French instructors in Ukraine. Following this statement, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto criticized France and Poland for speaking about the possibility of sending NATO troops to Ukraine, since these two countries cannot speak on behalf of the entire alliance, and sending troops would be a step towards unilateral escalation.