International
Queen Elizabeth II resumes public duties after hospital stay
AFP
Queen Elizabeth II resumed public duties on Tuesday for the first time since spending a night in hospital last week, holding video calls with incoming ambassadors.
The 95-year-old monarch’s overnight hospital stay, which royal officials said was for practical reasons following “some preliminary investigations”, has raised fears over her health, given her age.
She has also been seen using a walking stick for the first time at a major public event this month.
The Queen, who is currently living at Windsor Castle, held video calls to receive new ambassadors from South Korea and Switzerland, Buckingham Palace said in a statement Tuesday.
She was shown smiling as she spoke on a screen, wearing a yellow dress and pearls.
Her last public event was a busy Windsor Castle reception for attendees of the government’s global investment summit on October 19.
Doctors subsequently ordered her to rest and she cancelled a visit to Northern Ireland later in the week.
She then went to King Edward VII’s Hospital in London for tests Wednesday and stayed overnight.
It was her first hospital stay since 2013.
The Sunday Times quoted a source close to the Queen as saying “she is knackered” after attempting to keep busy following the death of her husband Prince Philip in April.
Sources told the paper the Queen has a “constant flow of lunches and dinners with family and friends” because she does not want to eat alone.
The Sunday Telegraph reported this month that the monarch is determined to stay well for her Platinum Jubilee next year.
The paper said she had recently been advised by doctors to give up drinking her regular tipples — gin and Dubonnet before lunch, and gin and vermouth before dinner.
The head of state, who has been on the throne since 1952 and is Britain’s longest-serving monarch, is due to attend the UN climate summit next week in Glasgow.
The Sunday Times reported that she is “saving her energy” for the event. Prince Charles, Prince William and other senior royals are all due to attend as well.
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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