International
17 migrants found dead on Libya beach: coast guard
AFP
The bodies of 17 migrants have been found washed up on a Libyan beach after their boat capsized during a bid to reach Europe by sea, the coast guard said on Wednesday.
Libya is a major departure point for desperate migrants, tens of thousands of whom board unseaworthy boats every year in attempts to reach Italian shores 300 kilometres (190 miles) away.
The voyages often turn deadly.
“Over the past 24 hours, the bodies of 17 migrants were found on the coast between the cities of Zawiya and Sorman, by Red Crescent teams,” a coast guard official told AFP.
The victims drowned after their boat overturned, he said.
The Red Crescent in Zawiya, 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, published images of corpses covered in shrouds.
The number of migrants who have died at sea trying to reach Europe more than doubled this year compared to the same period in 2020, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in mid-July.
In September, the IOM counted 1,369 migrants who had drowned in the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.
The latest deaths come days after a “security campaign” by Libyan authorities in the suburbs of Tripoli, mostly targeting illegal migrants.
“The numbers of migrants and refugees held in detention centres in Tripoli, Libya, have risen dramatically –- to more than threefold — over the past five days,” the aid group Doctors without Borders (MSF) said on Wednesday.
“The arrests and treatment during detention have often been violent, with multiple people beaten, injured and even killed.”
It said “at least 5,000 migrants and refugees (had) been rounded up across Tripoli,” including women and children, with many reporting violence.
The United Nations’ Libya mission UNSMIL said at least one person had been killed and 15 wounded.
Rights groups regularly warn of dire conditions for migrants at detention centres in the country, where human traffickers have profited from a decade of violence following the 2011 fall of dictator Moamer Kadhafi to carve out lucrative but brutal businesses.
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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