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
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America3 days agoGuatemala arrests first escaped gang member after Barrio 18 prison break
-
International3 days agoMexico reports 64 dead, 65 missing after devastating central region floods
-
International3 days agoVenezuela calls for continued global pressure to secure ‘just peace’ for Palestine
-
International3 days agoPope Leo XIV to skip COP30 in Brazil but plans future visit, Lula confirms
-
Central America4 days agoFraijanes II prison in Guatemala reports gradual escape of 18th Street gang inmates
-
International2 days agoSheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
-
International4 days agoHeavy rains leave dozens dead in Hidalgo, Puebla, and Veracruz
-
International2 days agoArmed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
-
International1 day agoMexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
-
International2 days agoVenezuelan media faces fresh restrictions after reporting on opposition leader’s Nobel win
-
International1 day agoNew road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
-
International2 days agoCaracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win