International
Al-Shabaab fighters ‘destroyed’ in Ethiopian incursion
AFP
Authorities in the Ethiopian region of Somali on Saturday said they had “destroyed” fighters from the Al-Shabaab Islamist group, in a rare militant incursion from neighbouring Somalia.
Somali’s state communication bureau in a statement said an armed Al-Shabaab group that crossed into the southeastern region on Tuesday “was surrounded in a sub-locality called Hulhul and completely destroyed”.
A three-day operation left more than 100 members of the militant group dead and destroyed 13 vehicles, it added.
The authorities said the armed group was seeking to pass through El-Kere district in the Somali region, more than 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the Somalia-Ethiopian border.
On Thursday, officials and residents of Bakool region, on the border with neighbouring Somalia, reported Al-Shabaab attacks the previous day against bases hosting a special Ethiopian police unit which helps protect the frontier.
Mohamed Malim, a local official in Somalia’s Hudur district, told AFP on Thursday that “this was the heaviest fighting ever” around the towns of Ato and Yeed in the country’s west.
“It continued about six hours before the militants had been repelled, there are dead and wounded combatants from both sides, but we don’t have the details so far,” he said.
An Islamist group linked to Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab has led an insurrection against Somalia’s federal government for 15 years.
An African Union force with soldiers from five countries including neighbours Ethiopia and Kenya has supported the government in its fight against the insurgents.
The movement has been ousted from Somalia’s main urban areas, including the capital Mogadishu in 2011, but remains entrenched in vast swathes of the countryside.
Attacks beyond Somalia’s borders are rare and have mostly targeted Kenya, notably a bloody assault on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping centre in 2013 which left 67 people dead.
An attack on Garissa University in 2015 killed 148 people and another incident at a Nairobi hotel complex in 2019 left 21 dead.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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