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.
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.
– ‘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.
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.
International
Ukraine declares nationwide energy emergency amid russian attacks and extreme cold
The Ukrainian government on Wednesday declared a nationwide energy state of emergency amid continued Russian military attacks and extreme winter weather, with nighttime temperatures dropping as low as minus 18 degrees Celsius.
“The consequences of Russian attacks and worsening weather conditions are severe (…) Overall, a state of emergency will be declared for Ukraine’s energy sector,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement posted on social media following a meeting with senior officials.
Zelensky announced the creation of a “permanent coordination headquarters” to manage the crisis in the capital, Kyiv, and tasked former defence minister and current energy chief Denys Shmyhal with overseeing support efforts for affected individuals and communities, including addressing power outages, heating shortages and other “practical issues.”
“There are many problems that require urgent solutions,” the president said, noting that repair crews, energy companies, municipal services and the State Emergency Service are working “around the clock” to restore electricity supplies. Kyiv has been particularly affected after Russian strikes last Friday disabled key parts of the power grid, as daytime temperatures hover around minus 12 degrees Celsius and plunge to minus 18 at night.
Zelensky added that public authorities will “maximize efforts with partners to obtain the necessary equipment and additional support,” while the government will ensure “maximum deregulation of all processes” to speed up the connection of backup power equipment to the grid. He also confirmed that work is underway to significantly increase electricity imports into Ukraine.
The Ukrainian leader further instructed his Cabinet to review curfew regulations in light of the extreme cold, arguing that citizens must have the greatest possible access to assistance centers, while businesses should be given flexibility to plan their operations according to the state of the energy system.
International
France joins Denmark’s ‘Operation Arctic Resistance’ in Greenland amid U.S. tensions
French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed in the early hours of Thursday (Wednesday afternoon in El Salvador) that France will take part in “Operation Arctic Resistance,” after Denmark announced it would expand its military presence in Greenland amid rising tensions with the United States over Washington’s stated ambitions regarding the semi-autonomous territory.
“At Denmark’s request, I have decided that France will participate in the joint exercises organized by Denmark in Greenland, ‘Operation Arctic Resistance,’” Macron said in a brief message posted on social media at 5:18 p.m.
The French president added that “the first French military elements are already on their way, with others to follow,” though he did not specify the number of troops being deployed or the scale of France’s planned contribution.
The governments of Sweden, Norway and Germany have also confirmed the deployment of military contingents to Greenland. Germany’s armed forces will send a 13-member reconnaissance team to the Greenlandic capital, Nuuk, to take part in a mission scheduled to run from Thursday through Saturday, according to the German Ministry of Defence.
Denmark’s announcement came shortly before a Danish delegation met at the White House with U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss Washington’s plans regarding Greenland. Copenhagen said the military activities would be carried out “in close cooperation with NATO allies.”
International
Iran closes airspace amid U.S. threats and deadly nationwide protests
Iranian authorities closed the country’s airspace in the early hours of Thursday, according to data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, amid growing threats of a possible U.S. attack as protests across the country continue and have reportedly left thousands dead.
According to FlightRadar24, the Iranian government suspended all flights to and from the country, except for international flights that have received special authorization. The notice was initially issued for a duration of just over two hours.
The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump in recent days threatened to strike Iran if its security forces failed to halt the deaths linked to weeks-long protests that began in Tehran and later spread to other Iranian cities. Despite the threats, the White House said diplomacy remains Trump’s preferred option.
Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump claimed that “the deaths in Iran have stopped” and said there would be no executions of protesters following his warnings to Tehran. He added that his administration would seek to verify those claims.
“I’ve been told the deaths in Iran are stopping. They’ve stopped, and that there are no plans for executions,” Trump told reporters, cautioning that the United States would be “very upset” if those assurances proved to be untrue.
The statements contrast with reports from rights groups. The Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said on Wednesday that more than 3,400 people have been killed since the protests erupted. Meanwhile, Kurdish-Iranian rights group Hengaw reported this week that a 26-year-old Iranian man, Erfan Soltani, was facing execution as of Wednesday.
Ukraine declares nationwide energy emergency amid russian attacks and extreme cold
France joins Denmark’s ‘Operation Arctic Resistance’ in Greenland amid U.S. tensions
Iran closes airspace amid U.S. threats and deadly nationwide protests
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