International
The US accuses Russia of using its nationals as a “exchange currency”
As part of the anniversary of the arrest in Russia of the American journalist of The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, the United States accused Moscow on Friday of using its citizens as a “exchange currency.”
“We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s atrocious attempts to use Americans as a bargaining chip,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Gershkovich, 33, was arrested at the end of March 2023 in Yekaterinburg, capital of the Urals, and on April 7 he was formally accused of espionage by the Federal Security Service (FSB, former KGB).
According to the FSB, “he was on behalf of the American side, he compiled secret information about the activities of one of the companies of the Russian military industrial complex.”
This week, the Russian Justice extended his arrest until June 30. By then, he will be in pretrial detention for one year and three months.
Biden said that the United States will continue to work “every day to achieve his release” and will continue to remain “firm” against all those who “seek to attack the press or attack journalists, the pillars of free society.”
“Journalism is not a crime and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter, risking his safety to shed light on the truth about Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” he said.
In another similar statement, the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, stated that to date “Russia has not provided any proof of irregularities” because “Evan did nothing wrong.”
“Journalism is not a crime. In the year since Evan’s unjust arrest, Russia’s already restrictive media landscape has become more oppressive, with a continuous attack on independent voices that point to any form of dissent,” he said.
Blinken recalled Paul Whelan, a former Marine infantryman, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of 2018 and sentenced for espionage to 16 years in prison in 2020.
The United States “continues to be committed to bringing Evan and Paul home,” said the head of American diplomacy.
“People are not a currency. Russia should put an end to its practice of arbitrarily detaining people for purposes of political influence and should immediately release Evan and Paul,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal published this Friday in white part of the cover of its printed edition to remember its correspondent in Russia, Evan Gershkovich.
About the blank space the headline ‘Your story should be here’ and that accompanies a note about what the journalist has not been able to enjoy on a personal and professional level during the year in which he has been in prison.
The digital edition publishes instead of the blank space a photo of the journalist with the same article but under the title of ‘Evan Gershkovich, a year stolen in a Russian prison’, which also includes biographical data.
The Wall Street Journal also published other articles about the danger faced by journalists.
“Evan Gershkovich was supposed to be with his friends in Berlin the first week of April 2023,” the report begins and highlights the plans that the young reporter had to share with a group of journalist friends.
“It was the beginning of his stolen year,” the note adds.
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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