International
The 287 students kidnapped by armed individuals in a school in Nigeria have been released
The 287 students kidnapped on the 7th after an attack by armed individuals against a school in the state of Kaduna, in north-central Nigeria, have been released, the state governor, Uba Sani, reported on Sunday.
“I want to announce that our children from the Kuriga school have been released,” Sani said in a statement.
The attack occurred early in the morning of March 7 at the primary school of the Local Educational Authority in the town of Kuriga, when about a hundred attackers – as a resident pointed out to EFE at the time – assaulted the school.
The governor of Kaduna expressed his “special thanks” to the president of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for “giving priority to the safety of Nigerians and, in particular, for ensuring that the kidnapped Kuriga schoolchildren were released unharmed.”
“While the school children were in captivity, I spoke to the president several times. He shared our pains, comforted us and worked day and night with us to ensure the safe return of the children,” Sani said.
The kidnappers asked the families for a ransom of one billion nairas (about 567,000 euros) to free the students and some teachers, two leaders of local civil society confirmed to EFE on the 13th.
Speaking to the press that same day in the country’s capital, Abuya, the Nigerian Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, assured that Tinubu had ordered the Government “not to pay any ransom to any of these criminal elements.”
Some states of Nigeria – especially in the center and northwest of the country – suffer incessant attacks by “bandits”, a term used in the country to name criminal gangs that commit assaults and mass kidnappings to demand large ransoms and whose members the authorities sometimes call “terrorists.”
The attacks are repeated despite the repeated promises to end the violence by the Nigerian Government, which has reinforced the deployment of security forces.
To this insecurity is added that caused since 2009 by the activity of the jihadist group Boko Haram in the northeast of the country and, from 2016, also by its splinterion, the Islamic State in the Province of West Africa (ISWAP).
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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