The Know Daily - Thursday 24 April 2025

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Charity FoodCycle is helping to feed children and tackle food waste with their School Community Meals Projects in London. 🥗 Every week, volunteers cook up a free nutritious two-course after school meal using surplus food for children and their families. Not only is FoodCycle making sure kids are well fed, they’re also fostering a sense of community in a warm welcoming environment.

⛪ Picking the Pope

Pope Francis – the head of the Catholic Church – passed away on Easter Monday.

What happens next?
At the moment, Irish-American Cardinal Kevin Farrell is the acting head of the Vatican until a new pope is elected. His successor will be chosen through a process called a conclave, which typically takes place after a 15 to 20-day mourning period following the pope’s funeral on Saturday. In theory, any baptised Roman Catholic male could be chosen, but historically it is usually a cardinal – a senior member of the Catholic Church who acts as an advisor to the pope.

How does a conclave work?
Cardinals from all over the world come to the Vatican to elect a new pope. Only those under the age of 80 are allowed to vote, so around 135 will take part. A cardinal must receive two-thirds of a vote to become the next pope. It can take multiple rounds of voting over several days. The last conclave lasted 2 days, but in previous centuries it's taken weeks and even months.

It's a closed election to the public. Smoke signals from the Sistine Chapel are the only updates the outside world gets, following each round of voting. Black smoke means a consensus hasn’t been reached and another vote will be held, while white smoke means a new pope has been decided.

Who is in the running?
It’s an unpredictable event but some of the names being suggested include Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who has previously effectively acted as a deputy pope, making him a “frontrunner”, explained the BBC. However, there has been a pivot in the last few decades away from Italian popes. This being said, candidates like Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Japanese Cardinal Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi and Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu could help to strengthen the influence of the Catholic Church across Asia and Africa, if elected. Overall, voting cardinals will prioritise those who can lead the global church and offer “credible moral leadership on the world stage”, according to CNN.

👮 Police policy: Police officers in England and Wales who fail background checks will be automatically let go, under new rules coming into force.

• The bigger story: From 14 May it’ll be a legal requirement for officers to pass vetting procedures, with the Home Office set to announce more safeguards to improve national standards later in the year. The move is designed to restore the public’s “confidence in policing”, according to home secretary Yvette Cooper.

📱 Social safeguard: The European Commission has fined Apple €500m and Meta €200m for their roles in “gatekeeping” digital markets. 

🥜 Peanut protection: Adults with peanut allergies could be desensitised by daily exposure, a landmark study has found.

🎨 Contemporary culture: The prestigious 2025 Turner Prize for visual arts shortlist is out – check out the talented artists here.

🎶 Headphone dodgers: Politicians are calling for a ban on playing music and videos out loud on English public transport.

✈️ Mile-high meals: This airline has the best in-flight food, according to a recent poll.

🐴 Pony participants: Dozens of miniature horses and their owners took part in a charitable adventure race, the Great Northern Gallop – it’s just as adorable as you’d think.

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Trivia answer: C) Barbados topped the list – see which other countries made the cut.

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