Pope Francis funeral on Saturday

ROME, April 22: The Vatican on Tuesday released the first images of Pope Francis following his death, showing the 88-year-old pontiff lying in repose inside the private chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, his official residence where he breathed his last on Monday.

Dressed in red vestments with a bishop’s mitre on his head and a rosary placed in his hands, Pope Francis rests in an open wooden casket. The images captured Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin praying beside the body.

The pope will be taken to St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning and his funeral will be held on Saturday.

The Vatican announced that Pope Francis died of complications following a severe cerebral stroke, which led to a coma and eventually irreversible heart failure. “The Holy Father suffered a severe cerebral stroke that resulted in a coma,” said Dr. Andrea Arcangeli, head of the Vatican’s health department. “Despite intensive care, it led to irreversible heart failure.”

He added that the pope’s existing conditions — including respiratory insufficiency, bilateral pneumonia, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension — had significantly complicated his recovery.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, a 77-year-old Irish-American prelate, has stepped in as the acting head of the Vatican during the period known as Sedes Vacans. As camerlengo, a role Pope Francis appointed him to in 2019, Farrell is responsible for certifying the pontiff’s death, sealing his private quarters, organising the funeral rites, and preparing for the conclave to elect the next pope. “The pope has returned to the home of the Father,” Cardinal Farrell announced, ushering in a new chapter of transition for the Catholic Church.

Trump asks revenue agency to cancel defiant Harvard's tax-exempt status: Report

WASHINGTON, April 17: The Trump administration has asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) attorney to cancel Harvard University's tax-exempt status amid ongoing efforts to change certain hiring and academic policies, reported The Washington Post.

President Trump was vocal in his disappointment with the institution's method of dealing with antisemitism and diversity practices.

No announcement has been made on the decision, but reports claimed that it could be announced soon.

Meanwhile, the administration has already halted over $2 billion in federal funding to the university. Harvard has pushed back, saying it has the right to run its own programs and make its own decisions.

Trump hinted at a punishment for the university. On Truth Social, he posted, "Perhaps Harvard should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity if it keeps pushing political, ideological, and terrorist inspired/supporting ‘Sickness?’ Remember, Tax Exempt Status is totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST!"

However, Harvard has not responded to the claims.

Trump Escalates Harvard Row, Threatens To Tax It As A 'Political Entity'

WASHINGTON, April 15: After Harvard refused to accept far-reaching policy changes ordered by the White House, President Donald Trump threatened to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status.

Trump said Harvard "should lose its Tax Exempt Status and be Taxed as a Political Entity" if the elite college does not agree to his demands for the college to change how it runs itself, which would include a selection of students and authority for professors.

Tax-exempt status is "totally contingent on acting in the PUBLIC INTEREST," he said in the post on Truth Social.

In a letter to students and faculty, Harvard president Alan Garber vowed to defy the government and said that the school would not "negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights."

Last Friday, the Trump Administration sent a letter to Harvard University--an institution 140 years older than the United States-- asking it to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in hiring, admissions, and programs. The letter also called on the university to reduce the power of students and faculty members over the university's affairs and demanded systematic screening of student organizations and international students -- a move supposedly aimed at curtailing antisemitism on campus.

The administration's demands also include sharing its hiring data with the government and bringing in an outside party to ensure that each academic department is "viewpoint diverse." The failure to comply could result in the loss of billions in federal funding, the administration warned.

Harvard responded swiftly, and by Monday, America's wealthiest university unequivocally rejected the administration's demands. The institution said it will not comply with demands issued by the Trump administration as they are "in contravention of the First Amendment," and "invade university freedoms long recognised by the Supreme Court."

On Monday, Trump's Joint Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, responded with a statement announcing that $2.2 billion will be held in multi-year grants, in addition to the freeze on $60 million in government contracts.