International
Russia strikes again at grain depots in Ukraine
August 16|
Russia resumed its attacks on grain infrastructure in the Odessa region of southern Ukraine, officials said Wednesday. Several drones attacked warehouses and ports along the Danube River overnight, which Kiev has increasingly used to transport its grain to Europe after Moscow broke a crucial wartime deal to export it via the Black Sea.
Meanwhile, a full cargo ship that had been stuck in the port of Odessa since Russia’s full-scale invasion more than 17 months ago set sail and was heading for the Bosporus via the Black Sea using a temporary corridor set up by Ukraine for merchant traffic.
The Ukrainian economy, strained by the war, is heavily dependent on agriculture. Its agricultural exports, like Russia’s, are also crucial to global supplies of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other foodstuffs on which developing countries depend.
After the Kremlin last month tore up an agreement negotiated last summer by the United Nations and Turkey to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Kiev has tried to reroute goods via the Danube and road and rail links to Europe. But transport costs are much higher along those routes, some European countries have expressed misgivings about the consequences for local grain prices, and Danube ports cannot handle as much volume as sea ports.
The main target of the night’s drone bombing was port terminals and grain silos, Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper said. That included ports in the Danube delta. Anti-aircraft defenses managed to intercept 13 drones, Kiper noted.
In attacks in recent weeks, Russia has hit ports in the Danube delta, which are just 15 kilometers (10 miles) from the Romanian border. The Danube is Europe’s second longest river and a crucial transport route.
Meanwhile, the container ship leaving Odessa was the first ship to sail since July 16, according to Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister. It had been in Odessa since February 2022.
The Hong Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte was sailing through a temporary corridor that Ukraine had asked the International Maritime Organization to ratify. The United States has warned that the Russian military is preparing possible attacks against civilian cargo ships in the Black Sea.
Underwater mines also make travel dangerous and insurance costs are likely to be high for ship operators. Ukraine told the IMO it would offer “guarantees of compensation for damages.”
A Russian ship fired warning shots last Sunday at a Palau-flagged cargo ship in the southern Black Sea. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Sukru Okan was sailing north to the Ukrainian port of Izmail on the Danube.
Tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press confirmed that the Joseph Schulte was heading south.
The Joseph Schulte was carrying more than 30,000 tons of goods in 2,114 containers, including foodstuffs, according to Kubrakov.
The corridor, he said, will be used primarily to evacuate ships trapped in the Ukrainian ports of Chornomorsk, Odessa and Pivdennyi since the outbreak of the war.
On the front, Ukrainian authorities announced another milestone in the tough Ukrainian counteroffensive. Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops had retaken a village in the eastern Donetsk region.
The village of Urozhaine is near Staromaiorske, a village that Ukraine also claimed to have recaptured recently. It was not possible to independently verify these claims.
Ukraine appears to be breaking through Russian forces in the south, but it faces tight defensive lines and is advancing without air support.
Also on Wednesday, the Russian military said it had shot down three drones in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow and attributed the attack to Ukraine. No deaths or injuries were reported.
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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