International
Biden: “Our commitment to Israel’s security is armored”
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, said on Wednesday that his country’s commitment to Israel’s security in the face of Iran’s threats “is armored.”
“As I have told Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel’s security against the threats of Iran and its allied groups is armored,” Biden said during a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
“I say it again: armored. We are going to do everything we can to protect Israel’s security,” he added, referring to the threats made by Iran after Israel bombed its embassy in Damascus.
Biden and Kishida spoke at a meeting about the security of Israel but also about the war in the Gaza Strip, where both support the proposal for a truce that will alleviate the humanitarian crisis and the release of hostages from Hamas.
In addition, the US president again referred to the possibility of the United States changing its position regarding that conflict, just as Biden warned Netanyahu that it could happen if Israel continued with its current strategy.
“We will see what (Netanyahu) does in terms of fulfilling the commitments he made with me,” Biden said.
For his part, moments earlier, former US president and Republican pre-candidate Donald Trump (2017-2021) affirmed that Joe Biden has “totally” lost control of the Israeli situation.
“He has abandoned Israel, he has totally abandoned Israel,” he told the press upon his arrival in Atlanta (Georgia), where he is planning a fundraising act.
Trump considered that Biden “has no idea where he is or who he supports,” he considered that he is a person “with little intellectual capacity” and maintained that “any Jew who votes for a Democrat or votes for Biden should have his head examined.”
This same Wednesday, in the White House, Biden said that he is still negotiating a possible ceasefire between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas.
The day before, in an interview with Univision, the US president criticized the way of acting of the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Gaza in response to the attacks in Hamas on October 7, which has led to the occupation by force of almost the entire enclave, the destruction of homes and the death of more than 33,400 civilians.
“I think what you’re doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his way of doing things,” he told the Latin American media.
Biden said in that intervention that what he requested “simply” is a ceasefire, that the Israelis allow access for the next six or eight weeks of food and medicine.
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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