International
Argentine ex-president to be questioned over sunk sub ‘espionage’
AFP
Former Argentine president Mauricio Macri will be questioned in a probe into spy claims regarding the 2017 sinking of a submarine that left 44 people dead, the investigating judge said Friday.
Macri, 62, led the country from 2015 to 2019 and is now the leader of Argentina’s rightwing opposition.
He is in the United States, but on his return home, will be barred from leaving again under an order issued Friday by judge Martin Bava.
Macri has been summoned for questioning on October 7.
The ARA San Juan sub disappeared in November 2017. When it was found just over a year later, it was at a depth of more than 900 meters in a desolate area of the South Atlantic some 400 kilometers off the coast of Argentina.
It had been crushed from an implosion apparently caused by a technical fault. Authorities decided against attempting to refloat it.
Family members of the 44 crew members told investigators they were followed and wiretapped, filmed and intimidated into abandoning any claims related to the incident.
Macri is accused of ordering the espionage. He risks between three and 10 years in jail for allegedly violating Argentina’s intelligence laws.
Bava on Friday ordered the prosecution of secret service heads Gustavo Arribas and Silvia Majdalani, who reported to Macri at the time.
In March, two former Argentine military chiefs were sanctioned over the sinking.
Retired admiral Marcelo Srur was handed “45 days of arrest” for having given an “incomplete” picture to the defense ministry of what happened.
Claudio Villamide, the former commander of the Submarine Force, was dismissed after he was found guilty of a “lack of care and neglect of the troops and equipment under his charge.”
Two active captains were given 20 and 30-day detentions and the former head of a naval base in the south of the country 15 days.
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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