International
Ghana parliament hears testimony on law curbing LGBT+ rights
AFP
Ghana’s parliament began hearing testimony Thursday on a bill that will further curb gay rights in a proposal widely condemned by the international community.
The committee-level hearing of testimony for and against the draft law titled “Promotion of proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values” is the initial stage of debate over the bill.
Gay sex is already illegal in the deeply religious West African country, but the law would toughen sentences for same-sex relations and make LGBT+ advocacy a criminal offence.
The committee on constitutional, legal and parliamentary affairs is expected to hold public hearings on the bill for 15 weeks before debate begins in the house.
Apostle Abraham Ofori Kuragu of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council was among the first to testify on Thursday.
“LGBTQI+ activities pose a great threat to Ghanaian culture and values,” he said.
“The bill seeks to protect children from the dangerous activities of LGBTQI+ community. The bill before us is a proper vehicle to integrate sound cultural values into our body politic.”
While condemned by rights groups, the bill is widely supported in Ghana and by local church organisations which dismiss LGBT+ community as against Ghanaian culture.
“The bill violates virtually all the fundamental human rights of people. It stigmatises the LGBTQ+ community as inhuman,” said Akoto Ampaw, who heads the Concerned Ghanaian Citizens group.
“This is not the republic that Ghanaians fought for,” added the human rights lawyer who has served as the Ghanaian president’s counsel.
Presented by opposition lawmakers, the draft law criminalises LGBT+ advocacy, requires that “suspects” be denounced, advocates for conversion therapy and imposes longer jail sentences.
President Nana Akufo-Addo faces a difficult decision over whether to veto or sign the bill as it is condemned overseas but widely supported at home.
Already the proposed law has caused a rift between Britain’s Bishop of Canterbury and the former British colony’s Anglican Church which strongly supports the bill.
More than half the countries in sub-Saharan Africa have laws against homosexuality, with some carrying the death penalty, although no executions are known to have been carried out in the modern era, according to Human Rights Watch.
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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