International
Workers in Peru race to reopen Machu Picchu after floods
AFP
Teams of workers raced Wednesday to clear mud and debris from the only transport access to the jewel of Peru’s tourism sector, Machu Picchu, following torrential rain in the Andes.
Heavy downfalls on Friday caused the Alcamayo river that runs through the small tourist town of Machu Picchu Pueblo — at the foot of the mountain that boasts the world famous Inca citadel — to burst its banks.
Almost 900 tourists were evacuated from the town after flooding destroyed many homes and left one person missing, the tourism ministry said.
Damage to the train tracks that serve as the main transport access to the town has made it very difficult for tourists to reach the site.
“This will last a few more days because after the clean-up we have to prepare a bridge so that tourists can enter Machu Picchu, and the local population too,” said the town’s mayor Darwin Baca.
“We are asking the regional and central governments to help us with this project because we feel it when Machu Picchu closes. Because it’s not just one region that lives off tourism, many regions do,” said Baca.
The vast majority of visitors to Machu Picchu usually arrive at the town by train, either from Ollantaytambo, 32 kilometers away, or the former Inca capital of Cusco city, 72 kilometers away.
The site of the citadel is not closed but with the train tracks damaged, the only way to access the town is to take a bus to a place called Hidroelectrica — more than six hours from Cusco city — and then walk eight kilometers through the jungle along the Ruta Amazonica.
Just 300 to 400 people a day have managed to access Machu Picchu that way, compared to the 1,200 daily visitors when the train service is working.
Hotels and restaurants throughout the Cusco region have been affected.
Even as far away as in the capital Lima, tourism has been hit.
When access to Machu Picchu is affected “there are unfortunate repercussions on the economy and tourism sector” in the whole country, said Baca.
Peru Rail, one of the two railway companies serving the town of 5,000 people, said services would remain suspended until Thursday.
Some 447,800 people visited the citadel in 2021, a fraction of the 1.5 million yearly visitors before the coronavirus pandemic struck.
The citadel was closed for almost eight months in 2020 due to the pandemic, costing the Cusco region $1.4 billion due to the loss of tourism revenue.
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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