International

Pope to revisit Lesbos on trip to Cyprus, Greece

AFP

Pope Francis will visit Cyprus and Greece next month and will revisit the island of Lesbos, a major point of entry for migrants into Europe, the Vatican said Friday.

His 35th trip abroad comes just five months after the Argentine pontiff, who turns 85 in December, was hospitalised following surgery on his colon.

“Pope Francis will travel to Cyprus from 2 to 4 December, visiting the city of Nicosia, and to Greece from 4 to 6 December, visiting Athens and the island of Lesbos,” spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a brief statement.

Francis has travelled widely since he took office in 2013, and although his schedule was suspended by the coronavirus pandemic, this year he has already made a historic trip to Iraq and visits to the Hungarian capital Budapest and Slovakia.

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Migration has been a key theme — his first trip as pope, in July 2013, was to the Italian island of Lampedusa, the landing point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean from North Africa.

While there, he criticised the “globalisation of indifference” over migrants.

In April 2016, he visited Lesbos, for many years the main entry point into Europe for migrants and asylum-seekers. He paid a trip to Moria, the continent’s largest migrant camp until it was destroyed by fire last year.

Josif Printezis, the Catholic archbishop for Greek islands in the Aegean, said earlier this month that the pope in Lesbos in December would “make a humanitarian statement, that the Church and all European peoples care about refugees, and that the weight borne by Greece should be recognised by the other European countries”.

After his last visit to Lesbos, Francis returned home with three Syrian families from the camp, who later settled in Italy.

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– ‘More tired’.

During his visit to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus — the first by a pope since Benedict XVI in 2010 — Francis will meet with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, the presidency said.

The island has been divided since 1974 between the Greek-speaking, Orthodox Christian-majority Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Muslim-majority Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognised only by Ankara.

UN-brokered negotiations to reunify the island collapsed in 2017.

In addition to the trip next month, several other papal visits are in the works.

The pope said in October he intends to visit Oceania for the first time next year, without specifying where, and also had “in my head” trips to Congo and the rest of Hungary.

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Speaking to Argentine news agency Telam, he said he was overdue a trip to Papua New Guinea and East Timor originally planned for 2020.

The pope had expressed hope he could fly to Glasgow for this month’s UN talks on climate change, another subject close to his heart, but in the end he sent only a video message.

Despite Francis’ busy schedule, there are signs that his age is catching up with him.

On returning from a gruelling three-day trip to Iraq, the pope admitted he “felt a lot more tired” than during other visits.

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International

Bolivia Orders Three Investigations Into Deadly Military Plane Crash

Bolivia’s Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas announced Monday that three separate investigations will be conducted into Friday’s crash of a military cargo aircraft at El Alto International Airport, near La Paz, which left at least 22 people dead.

The Hercules aircraft, operated by the Fuerza Aérea Boliviana (FAB), was transporting cash intended for the Central Bank of Bolivia when it overshot the runway after landing from the city of Santa Cruz. The plane reportedly traveled nearly one kilometer beyond the airport perimeter.

The incident sparked chaotic scenes, with individuals attempting to collect scattered banknotes. Authorities detained 51 people in the aftermath, and the government declared three days of national mourning.

Multiple Investigations Underway

The first inquiry is being led by a military board from the Bolivian Air Force, which has already taken custody of the aircraft’s black box for analysis.

Minister Salinas said two additional investigations will follow — one conducted by the insurance company and another by the aircraft’s manufacturer.

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“At least two more investigations will come, that of the insurance company and that of the aircraft manufacturer,” Salinas said during a press conference in Santa Cruz.

He cautioned that the investigative process could take between three and six months, noting that the black box cannot be opened in Bolivia due to the lack of specialized laboratories for analysis.

Awaiting Official Findings

Salinas stressed that the FAB investigative board is the highest authority in the case and urged the public to wait for its conclusions to avoid speculation about the causes of the crash.

He also confirmed that the government has contacted the families of the 22 victims and the 37 injured, as well as the owners of 15 damaged vehicles, to coordinate procedures with the insurer and cover the corresponding expenses.

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International

Mexico Calls for Immediate Probe After National Dies in ICE Custody

Mexico’s Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) on Monday called on U.S. authorities to conduct an “immediate and thorough” investigation into the death of a Mexican national while in custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a processing facility in California.

In a statement, the Mexican government described the death as “regrettable” and urged U.S. officials to clarify the circumstances surrounding the case in order to “determine responsibilities and ensure that such events do not happen again.”

Death at Adelanto Processing Center

According to available information, the Mexican citizen died at the Adelanto Processing Center in California while under ICE custody. Authorities have not yet released the individual’s identity or the cause of death.

Following the incident, Mexico’s Foreign Ministry formally requested “detailed information” from U.S. authorities, including the detainee’s medical records and custody reports.

Consular Assistance Activated

The Mexican Consulate in San Bernardino, California, has activated consular assistance protocols to provide ongoing support to the deceased’s family. Officials have contacted relatives to express condolences and offer legal guidance, as well as assistance with the necessary procedures to repatriate the remains.

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“The handling of situations like this and the establishment of mechanisms to resolve them are priorities for the Government of Mexico,” the Foreign Ministry said, adding that it will formally request an investigation into any systemic conditions that may have contributed to such incidents.

Local Mexican media reported that seven Mexican nationals died while in ICE detention last year — the highest number recorded since the agency was created.

International

Anti-ICE Billboard Campaign Targets Immigration Spending in 31 U.S. Cities

More than 200 billboards criticizing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) began appearing Monday in 31 cities across the United States, including Miami, as part of a campaign highlighting the high cost of immigration enforcement operations for taxpayers.

The initiative, titled “ICE Costs Us,” was launched by the civil rights organization Mijente and will run for four weeks.

Criticism of Spending and Enforcement Tactics

The billboards feature images of ICE agents during arrests or carrying military-style weapons. According to the organization, spending on military-grade equipment for the agency has increased by 600 percent in recent years.

Several signs display messages such as:
“Your taxes are being wasted” and “ICE’s cruelty costs you $28 billion,” referring to the agency’s annual budget.

In a statement, Marisa Franco, co-founder of the Mijente Support Committee, said:
“For too long, our government has prioritized building cages and investing billions in an immigration enforcement apparatus that has left families torn apart and communities terrified.”

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She added that “Millions of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, yet this violent agency continues operating with a blank check. These decisions do not make us safer nor improve our economic security. Our billboards highlight these choices and demand a different path.”

Budget Debate and Medicaid Comparison

The campaign also draws a comparison between ICE’s funding and the estimated 17 million people who could lose health coverage under Medicaid due to federal budget cuts under President Donald Trump.

Other billboard messages seen in various cities include:
“They get billions to beat us; we get layoffs and rising rents” and “Funding ICE is a fast track to fascism.”

Organizers say the goal is to spark public debate about the allocation of federal funds for immigration enforcement and the broader economic and social impact of such policies on communities nationwide.