pope

Huge crowds flock to Vatican for Pope Francis's funeral

BY ELLA IDE, CLEMENT MELKI AND UMBERTO BACCHI

  • The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
  • Tens of thousands of mourners flooded into St Peter's Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the champion of the poor and the Catholic Church's first Latin American leader.
  • The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
Tens of thousands of mourners flooded into St Peter's Square on Saturday for the funeral of Pope Francis, the champion of the poor and the Catholic Church's first Latin American leader.
Some people waited overnight to be first in the queue for the ceremony, which will be attended by world leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky as well as royals and red-robed cardinals from across the globe.
The Argentine pontiff, who died on Monday aged 88, sought to steer the centuries-old Church into a more inclusive direction during his 12-year papacy.
Some 250,000 people paid their respects before his coffin during its three days of lying in state at St Peter's Basilica, and huge numbers gathered from dawn on Friday to attend his final send-off.
"He was not just the pope, he was what the definition of being human is," said Andrea Ugalde, 39, who flew from Los Angeles to attend Saturday's mass. 
The ceremony is due to begin at 10:00 am (0800 GMT) and is expected to draw some 200,000 people.
Italian and Vatican authorities have mounted a major security operation for the ceremony, with more than 50 heads of state on the guest list.
A no-fly zone is in place, fighter jets are on standby and snipers will be positioned on roofs surrounding the tiny city state.
"We spent the whole night here in the car with the children," said Peruvian Gabriela Lazo, 41. 
"We are very sorry for what happened to him because we hold a South American pope in our hearts."
The funeral sets off the first of nine days of official Vatican mourning for Francis, who took over following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI in 2013.
After the mourning, cardinals will gather for the conclave to elect a new pope to lead the world's 1.4 billion Catholics.

Diplomatic gathering

Many of Francis's reforms angered traditionalists, while his criticism of injustices, from the treatment of migrants to the damage wrought by global warming, riled many world leaders.
Yet the former archbishop of Buenos Aires's compassion and charisma earned him global affection and respect.
Trump's administration drew the pontiff's ire for its mass deportation of migrants, but the president arrived late on Friday with his wife Melania to pay tribute to "a good man" who "loved the world".
Making the first foreign trip of his second term, Trump will meet dozens of leaders from other countries keen to bend his ear over a trade war he unleashed, among other subjects.
Zelensky has expressed hope for a meeting, in what would be their first since their White House showdown in February, but nothing has yet been announced.
Trump's predecessor Joe Biden is also attending the funeral, as are presidents Javier Milei of Argentina, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, France's Emmanuel Macron and Lebanon's Joseph Aoun.
More than a dozen royals including Britain's Prince William will also be present.
Israel -- angered by Francis's criticism of its conduct in Gaza -- is sending only its Holy See ambassador. China, which does not have formal relations with the Vatican, is not sending any representative at all.

Simple tomb

Francis died of a stroke and heart failure less than a month after he left hospital where he had battled pneumonia for five weeks.
He loved nothing more than being among his flock, taking selfies with the faithful and kissing babies, and made it his mission to visit the peripheries, rather than mainstream centres of Catholicism.
His last public act, the day before his death, was an Easter Sunday blessing of the entire world, ending his papacy as he had begun it -- with an appeal to protect the "vulnerable, the marginalised and migrants".
The Jesuit chose to be named after Saint Francis of Assisi, saying he wanted "a poor church for the poor", and eschewed fine robes and the papal palace.
Instead, the Church's 266th pope lived at a Vatican guesthouse and chose to be interred in his favourite Rome church, Santa Maria Maggiore -- the first pontiff to be buried outside the Vatican walls in more than a century.
His send-off will be a grand affair, featuring some 224 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests alongside world dignitaries.
Catholics around the world are holding events to watch the proceedings live, including in Buenos Aires.  
"The pope showed us that there was another way to live the faith," said Lara Amado, 25.
But the humble pope asked to be put inside a single wooden coffin to be laid in a simple marble tomb.
After the funeral, the coffin will be taken to the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica via the Fori Imperiali -- where Rome's ancient temples lie -- and the Colosseum.
A group of "poor and needy" will greet the hearse on its arrival, the Vatican said.

Refusal to judge

Francis's admirers credit him with transforming perceptions of the Church and helping revive the faith following decades of clerical sex abuse scandals.
He was considered a radical by some for allowing divorced believers to receive communion, approving the baptism of transgender believers and blessings for same-sex couples, and refusing to judge gay Catholics.
But he also stuck with some centuries-old dogma, notably holding firm on the Church's opposition to abortion.
The first trip of Francis's 12-year papacy was to Lampedusa, an Italian island that is often the first port of call for migrants crossing the Mediterranean, and he visited Greece's Lesbos island, flying 12 refugees home with him.
Some of those refugees will be at his funeral.
burs-ar/bc/ach 

Kashmir

Indian army says new exchange of gunfire with Pakistan

  • India's army said "unprovoked" small arms firing was carried out by "multiple" Pakistan army posts "all across the Line of Control in Kashmir" overnight from Friday to Saturday.
  • Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire overnight in contested Kashmir for a second day running, the Indian army said Saturday, following a deadly shooting that New Delhi blames its arch-rival.
  • India's army said "unprovoked" small arms firing was carried out by "multiple" Pakistan army posts "all across the Line of Control in Kashmir" overnight from Friday to Saturday.
Indian and Pakistani troops exchanged gunfire overnight in contested Kashmir for a second day running, the Indian army said Saturday, following a deadly shooting that New Delhi blames its arch-rival.
Relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting "cross-border terrorism" after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.
Islamabad denies involvement, and calls attempts to link Pakistan to the attack at Pahalgam "frivolous".
India's army said "unprovoked" small arms firing was carried out by "multiple" Pakistan army posts "all across the Line of Control in Kashmir" overnight from Friday to Saturday.
"Indian troops responded appropriately with small arms," it said in a statement. 
"No casualties reported."
There was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan, but the two sides had confirmed gunfire between their respective forces the previous night.
The United Nations has urged the neighbours, who have fought multiple wars in the past, to show "maximum restraint".
US President Donald Trump has downplayed the tensions, saying that the dispute will get "figured out, one way or another".

'Reciprocal measures'

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both claim the territory in full but govern separate portions of it.
Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Indian security forces have launched a giant manhunt for those responsible for killing 26 men at the tourist hotspot of Pahalgam on Tuesday, with police naming two Pakistani nationals among the fugitive gunmen.
Indian police say three of the gunmen are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation, and issued a bounty for their arrest.
On Friday Indian troops blew up homes in Kashmir in their search and issued wanted posters with sketches of three men.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said his country would "track and punish every terrorist and their backer", vowing 
"We will pursue them to the ends of the Earth."
A day later, Pakistan's Senate passed a resolution condemning a "campaign by the Indian government to malign the Pakistan government".
Islamabad has warned that "any threat to Pakistan's sovereignty and to the security of its people will be met with firm reciprocal measures".
A day after the attack, New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties, and withdrew visas for Pakistanis.
Islamabad in response ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, cancelling visas for Indian nationals -- with the exception of Sikh pilgrims -- and closing the main border crossing from its side.
Pakistan also warned that any attempt by India to stop water supply from the Indus River would be an "act of war".
At the frontier, created at the end of British rule when the sub-continent was partitioned into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan, distraught citizens crossed.
The measures have abruptly ended rare visits to see relatives separated for generations by the border.
Among those at the Wagah border leaving Pakistan was 39-year-old Ghaffar Musafir, who was returning to his home in Indian-administered Kashmir.
"I'm Indian, I love India, but my family is here", he said. "And it's not like I hate Pakistan -- I love Pakistan too".
Pahalgam marks a dramatic shift in recent Kashmiri rebel attacks, which typically target Indian security forces.
Experts say that an Indian military response may still be in the pipeline.
In 2019, a suicide attack killed 41 Indian troops in Kashmir and triggered Indian air strikes inside Pakistan, bringing the countries to the brink of all-out war.
bur-pjm/mtp

Giuffre

Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre takes own life in Australia: family

  • Giuffre had accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, and said she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 -- a minor under US law -- after meeting him through the American billionaire.
  • Virginia Giuffre, who accused disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein and Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, has taken her own life at her home in Australia, her family said Saturday.
  • Giuffre had accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, and said she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 -- a minor under US law -- after meeting him through the American billionaire.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein and Britain's Prince Andrew of sexual abuse, has taken her own life at her home in Australia, her family said Saturday.
Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, was 41.
"It is with utterly broken hearts that we announce that Virginia passed away last night at her farm in Western Australia," the family said in statement provided to AFP by her agent.
"She lost her life to suicide, after being a lifelong victim of sexual abuse and sex trafficking."
Giuffre had accused Epstein of using her as a sex slave, and said she had sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 -- a minor under US law -- after meeting him through the American billionaire.
In 2019, Epstein took his own life in a New York City jail cell, while awaiting his own trial for sex crimes.
Prince Andrew repeatedly denied her allegation of sexual assault and avoided trial by paying a multimillion-dollar settlement. As part of the deal, he reportedly gave money to a charity for sex-trafficking victims.
"There are no words that can express the grave loss we feel today with the passing of our sweet Virginia," Giuffre's family said, remembering her "incredible courage and loving spirit".
"In the end, the toll of abuse is so heavy that it became unbearable for Virginia to handle its weight. We know that she is with the angels."
Western Australia police, who do not confirm identities in such cases, said emergency services gave first aid after being alerted Friday night that a 41-year-woman had been found unresponsive at a home in Neergabby, north of Perth.
"Sadly, the 41-year-old woman was declared deceased at the scene," they said in a statement.

'Awe-inspiring'

Detectives were investigating but "early indication is the death is not suspicious", police said.
Giuffre was taken to hospital after a car she was in crashed with a school bus in late March north of Perth.
Giuffre initially posted a picture to social media from her hospital bed of her bruised face, saying she only had four days to live.
Her agent later said Giuffre had not realised the post was being published to the public.
Western Australia police said at the time it was a "minor crash" between a school bus carrying 29 children and another vehicle.
Giuffre left three children, Christian, Noah, and Emily, who were "the light of her life", her family said.
Local media have reported there were difficulties between her and estranged husband Robert.
After she was reportedly charged with breaching a family violence restraining order in February, her agent said that Giuffre "looks forward to defending herself against his malicious claim".
Giuffre was "deeply concerned" about the welfare of her children who were in her husband's custody, the agent said.
Giuffre's lawyer, Sigrid McCawley, said she had been a "dear friend" and a champion for other victims.
"Her courage pushed me to fight harder, and her strength was awe-inspiring."
New York-based agent Dini von Mueffling described her client as "one of the most extraordinary human beings".
"Deeply loving, wise, and funny, she was a beacon to other survivors and victims," she said.
djw/mtp

Global Edition

Hundreds of buildings damaged, dozens injured in 6.3 Ecuador quake

  • With a magnitude of 7.8, it left 673 dead and about 6,300 injured. str-pld/arb/sla
  • A shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake left more than 30 people injured, damaged more than 800 buildings and caused widespread power cuts in the Ecuadoran port city of Esmeraldas on Friday.
  • With a magnitude of 7.8, it left 673 dead and about 6,300 injured. str-pld/arb/sla
A shallow 6.3-magnitude earthquake left more than 30 people injured, damaged more than 800 buildings and caused widespread power cuts in the Ecuadoran port city of Esmeraldas on Friday.
Ecuador's emergency response services report 32 injured, 179 homes destroyed and 716 homes that have been damaged in the shake, which was felt as far away as the capital Quito.
Fisherman Andres Mafare, aged 36, was walking to the port when he heard a loud crack followed by a strong earthquake that shook overhead cables.
He raced home to try to find his wife and two sons. "I ran like crazy, and when I got here saw that my house had been destroyed," he told AFP.
An AFP reporter in Esmeraldas witnessed tumbled-down walls, facades that had collapsed onto a road in a pile of debris and several cracked buildings.
Families stood around surveying the damage.
"It was very strong," former presidential candidate Yaku Perez told AFP at the scene.
"It felt like an eternity, but I guess it was less than a minute."
The authorities said four health centers and 18 schools had been damaged, while the facade of a military building partially collapsed. Two roads and a bridge were also damaged.
According to official estimates, about 80 percent of homes experienced power or phone outages. 
National oil company Petroecuador said it briefly "suspended operations" at the Esmeraldas refinery and a nearby pipeline.
The refinery produces 111,000 barrels a day and the Transecuadorian Pipeline System transports 360,000 barrels a day.
Daniel Noboa, the South American nation's newly re-elected president, said he was rushing ministers to the scene to help coordinate the building of shelters and delivery of humanitarian aid.
"The government is with you, and that's how it will be going forward," he said on social media.
On the streets, residents navigated debris and collapsed walls. 
Mafare said he lost "material things, three or four walls... I know the authorities are going to help us," referring to fellow residents of this impoverished area plagued by drug trafficking violence.
The US Geological Survey and local monitors said the quake struck just off the coast at a depth of about 35 kilometers (22 miles) shortly before 7:00 am local time (1200 GMT).
Ecuadorean authorities said there was no tsunami risk from the quake.
- Country of Earthquakes - 
Ecuador sits on one of the most geologically active zones on Earth, and the fault between the Nazca and South American plates runs along its coast.
The Geophysical Institute said that "the convergence of the Nazca and South American plates, which have a movement speed of 5.6 centimeters (2.2 inches) per year, is the process that generates the largest earthquakes in the country."
The tremor was felt in 10 of the country's 24 provinces, including Manabi, Los Rios, Guayas and Pichincha, Ecuadorean officials said.
There were no reports of injuries across the border in neighboring Colombia.
Last week, Ecuador marked the anniversary of the 2016 earthquake that struck the coasts of Manabi and Esmeraldas. With a magnitude of 7.8, it left 673 dead and about 6,300 injured.
str-pld/arb/sla

Kashmir

India and Pakistan's Kashmir fallout hits economy too

BY ANUJ SRIVAS

  • - Third country trade - But analysts say Pakistan's decision to halt trade is unlikely to have a major impact, as regular diplomatic flare-ups between the two nations over decades have prevented close economic ties.
  • Rapidly deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan over a deadly shooting in Kashmir are starting to have small but prickly economic consequences for both nations.
  • - Third country trade - But analysts say Pakistan's decision to halt trade is unlikely to have a major impact, as regular diplomatic flare-ups between the two nations over decades have prevented close economic ties.
Rapidly deteriorating relations between India and Pakistan over a deadly shooting in Kashmir are starting to have small but prickly economic consequences for both nations.
The killing of 26 men on Tuesday in Indian-administered Kashmir, the deadliest attack on civilians in the Himalayan region in a quarter of a century, triggered public outrage across the world's most populous country.
India has unveiled a series of mostly symbolic diplomatic measures against Pakistan, after accusing its regional rival of supporting "cross-border terrorism".
Islamabad, which rejected the allegations, responded Thursday with similar tit-for-tat measures -- but upped the ante by halting trade with New Delhi and closing its airspace to Indian airlines. 
Experts say that while the retaliatory moves will not have an immediate or far-reaching impact, it will likely result in longer and more expensive flights for Indians, while forcing Pakistan to increase pharmaceutical imports from other countries.
Pakistan's decision to close its airspace to carriers from its neighbour will see journeys from India to Central Asia, Europe and North America take up to two hours longer.
"We are currently looking at, on average, an extra 60 minutes to 120 minutes for flights depending on where they go," Sanjay Lazar, aviation expert and CEO of Avialaz Consultants, told AFP. 

'Sabre rattle'

Pakistan's move is expected to hurt Air India, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata Group, the most.
Air India said that some flights to North America, Europe and the Middle East will have to take an "alternative extended route".
And the extra flying time may eventually make flights more expensive.
"There is extra fuel burn, because you're taking a more circuitous route," Lazar said.
"And if you add an extra stop on the route, then you incur additional crew and landing costs too."
Airfares could rise if restrictions continue beyond six months, though airlines are unlikely to hike up fares immediately to avoid the risk of "not appearing patriotic enough", he added.
Mark D Martin, of Martin Consulting, said ticket prices could rise by more than 35 percent to Middle East destinations and by over 45 percent to Europe.
"It's always the airline business that gets impacted when India and Pakistan spar and sabre rattle," Martin said.
"Let's hope better sense prevails, and this situation deescalates, as this will have an earning impact on airline financials."
Indian government data shows that when Islamabad closed its airspace in 2019 -- after New Delhi hit it with airstrikes in response to an attack in Kashmir -- domestic airlines saw a financial cost of nearly 5.5 billion rupees ($64.3 million) during the nearly five-month-long shutdown.

Third country trade

But analysts say Pakistan's decision to halt trade is unlikely to have a major impact, as regular diplomatic flare-ups between the two nations over decades have prevented close economic ties.
India exported less than $450 million in goods to Pakistan between April 2024 and January 2025, a tiny fraction of its overall shipments.
Key items included pharmaceutical products worth over $110 million, and sugar worth over $85 million.
"Imports from Pakistan were negligible -- just $0.42 million, limited to niche items like figs, basil and rosemary herbs," Ajay Srivastava of Global Trade Research Initiative, a New Delhi-based think tank, said in a briefing note.
But Islamabad also said Thursday it had suspended "all trade with India" including "to and from any third country through Pakistan".
It is not immediately clear how this would impact indirect trade through countries such as the United Arab Emirates or Singapore. 
Indirect trade is far higher, totalling around $10 billion, according to Srivastava.
"Informal sources say that Pakistan imports several Indian products this way, including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cotton and yarn," he said.
"On the other hand, India may receive Himalayan pink salt and dry fruits such as dates, apricots, and almonds from Pakistan, also routed through third countries."
asv/pjm/dhw/tc

nuclear

Iran, US to hold new round of high-level nuclear talks

BY AHMAD PARHIZI WITH RAMIN KHANIZADEH IN TEHRAN

  • The technical talks will come first, followed by the high-level negotiations.
  • The United States and Iran were to hold a fresh round of technical and high-level nuclear negotiations in Oman on Saturday, after both sides reported progress in previous meetings.
  • The technical talks will come first, followed by the high-level negotiations.
The United States and Iran were to hold a fresh round of technical and high-level nuclear negotiations in Oman on Saturday, after both sides reported progress in previous meetings.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, leading Tehran's delegation, arrived in Muscat on Friday ahead of the mediated talks, with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff expected to head the American side.
Araghchi expressed "cautious optimism" about the process this week, saying that "if the sole demand by the US is for Iran to not possess nuclear weapons, this demand is achievable".
But if Washington had "impractical or illogical demands, we will naturally encounter problems", he added.
US President Donald Trump, in an interview published Friday by Time magazine, meanwhile reiterated his threat of military action if a deal fell through, but also suggested he was optimistic about an agreement, saying he "would much prefer a deal than bombs being dropped".
The technical talks will come first, followed by the high-level negotiations.
Michael Anton, the State Department's head of policy planning, will lead Washington's expert-level delegation, while deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will lead Tehran's, according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Friday that the new talks, like the previous rounds in Muscat and Rome the past two Saturdays, would be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi.
Baqaei wrote on X that Iran's delegation aimed to secure its "lawful right to use nuclear energy... while taking reasonable steps to demonstrate that our program is entirely peaceful".
The "speedy" termination of sanctions is also "a priority", he added.
The recent negotiations are the highest-level engagement between the long-time foes since Trump withdrew during his first term from a landmark 2015 nuclear accord that offered Iran sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

'Hostile' sanctions

Since returning to office in January, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Tehran.
In March, he wrote to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei proposing talks, but also warning of potential military action if diplomacy failed.
On Tuesday, Washington announced new sanctions targeting Iran's oil network -- a move Tehran described as "hostile" ahead of Saturday's talks.
Western nations, including the United States, have long accused Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied.
Iran maintains its nuclear programme is strictly for peaceful purposes.
On Wednesday, UN nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi called on Iran to explain tunnels built near its Natanz nuclear site.
The Institute for Science and International Security released satellite imagery that it said showed a new, deeply buried tunnel alongside an older one.
The Washington-based think-tank also noted construction of a new security perimeter.
"We're asking them, what is this for? They are telling us, it's none of your business," Grossi told reporters. 
He added it "cannot be excluded" that the tunnels could store undeclared material, but he did not want to speculate.
Tehran had no immediate comment.

'Non-negotiable' right

In an interview released Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated Washington's firm stance against Iran's uranium enrichment. 
"If Iran wants a civil nuclear programme, they can have one just like many other countries in the world have one: and that is they import enriched material," he said on the Honestly podcast.
Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit imposed by the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.
Araghchi has previously called Iran's right to enrich uranium "non-negotiable".
Tehran has recently sought to reopen dialogue with Britain, France and Germany -- also signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal -- holding several rounds of nuclear talks ahead of the US meetings
On Thursday, Araghchi said relations with the trio were "currently down", but he was willing to visit Paris, Berlin and London for talks on the nuclear issue and anything else "of mutual interest and concern".
Last week, Rubio urged European countries to decide whether to trigger the "snapback" mechanism under the 2015 agreement, which would automatically reinstate UN sanctions on Iran over its non-compliance.
The option to use the mechanism expires in October.
Iran has warned that it could withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if the snapback is triggered.
rkh/mz/smw/rjm

diplomacy

On the horizon? Wave of momentum for high seas treaty

BY AMéLIE BOTTOLLIER-DEPOIS

  • However, as the treaty can only take effect 120 days after the 60th ratification, there is no chance of its enactment happening before the UN Oceans Conference gathers in Nice, France on June 9-13.
  • A treaty to protect the high seas will not come to life by the time the UN Oceans Conference opens in June, but persistence by member states has nudged the landmark pact towards enactment.
  • However, as the treaty can only take effect 120 days after the 60th ratification, there is no chance of its enactment happening before the UN Oceans Conference gathers in Nice, France on June 9-13.
A treaty to protect the high seas will not come to life by the time the UN Oceans Conference opens in June, but persistence by member states has nudged the landmark pact towards enactment.
Adopted in June 2023 after years of exhausting negotiations, the pact aims to protect marine habitats vital to humanity but threatened by pollution in vast waters beyond any national jurisdiction.
It now has 113 signatories, but just 21 have ratified it. 
After the past two weeks of United Nations meetings in New York -- with the conspicuous absence of the United States -- negotiators came "one step closer to shaping the institutional backbone" of the agreement, said Nichola Clark of the Pew Charitable Trusts after the first preparatory commission for the treaty's entry into force.
However, as the treaty can only take effect 120 days after the 60th ratification, there is no chance of its enactment happening before the UN Oceans Conference gathers in Nice, France on June 9-13.
Experts now hope the 60-ratification threshold can be reached by June so the treaty can still take effect this year.
The Nice summit will feature dozens of heads of state and will be preceded by a conference bringing together 2,000 scientists from around 100 countries.
A special ceremony in Nice on June 9 will serve as "a unique opportunity to reaffirm our collective political commitment" to the treaty's implementation, French delegation head Sandrine Barbier said.
In a sign of growing enthusiasm, the opening preparatory commission moved more quickly than expected through discussions on multiple issues, including formulation of a system to exchange information between the parties.

'Exciting progress'

There was "a lot of love in the room" for the treaty during the preparatory meetings, High Seas Alliance director Rebecca Hubbard told AFP, describing the text as "one of our best opportunities to deliver action to protect the ocean."
And beyond the technical elements, said Pew's Clark, "there's been some exciting progress and movement" on the issue of marine protected areas that are emblematic of the treaty.
Overall enthusiasm was dampened however by the absence of the United States -- which had signed on to the treaty under Joe Biden's administration but did not ratify it -- and a shock announcement by Donald Trump on a major, controversial issue for the oceans: deep-sea mining.
On Thursday, the US president opened the door to commercial extraction of rare earth minerals from the ocean floor, including in international waters, bypassing the jurisdiction of the International Seabed Authority, of which Washington is not a member.
Trump's executive order "is an insult to multilateralism and a slap in the face to all the countries and millions of people around the world who oppose this dangerous industry," said Arlo Hemphill, project lead on Greenpeace USA's campaign to stop deep-sea mining. 
"This is a clear sign that the US will no longer be a global leader on protecting the oceans, which support all life on this planet."
Governments worldwide have put forward a goal to protect 30 percent of the world's land and ocean by 2030.
abd-mlm/jgc

jobs

Developing countries should fast-track US trade deals: World Bank president

BY DANIEL AVIS AND ERWAN LUCAS

  • The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said. 
  • Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the "earliest possible" opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington. 
  • The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said. 
Developing countries should strike swift trade deals with the United States at the "earliest possible" opportunity, the president of the World Bank told AFP Friday, after a busy week with global financial leaders in Washington. 
Ajay Banga was interviewed by AFP at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's Spring Meetings, which have been held this year under a cloud of uncertainty about President Donald Trump's stop-start tariff rollout.
The Bank has been advising developing countries to get a deal done quickly with the United States, and to then focus attention on cutting trade barriers and boosting regional flows of goods, Banga said. 
"You need to negotiate trade systems with the US at the earliest possible (opportunity)," he said. "If you delay, it hurts everyone."
Trump's tariffs have roiled financial markets, sent volatility surging and spooked investors and consumers. 
Since returning to office in January, the US leader has imposed a "baseline" 10 percent tariff on most countries, with much higher duties on China, and 25 percent sector-specific levies on areas including steel, aluminum, and automobiles not manufactured in the United States. 
He also introduced much higher tariffs on dozens of countries -- which have since been temporarily paused -- accusing them of having an unfair trade balance with the United States. 

Bessent 'not wrong' on China

Banga also addressed the criticism leveled by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the Bank earlier this week.
Bessent criticized China's "absurd" developing country status and called on Banga and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva to "earn the confidence of the administration." 
"I don't think he's wrong," Banga said of Bessent's comments on China. 
"A country that is the size of China and the capability of China, at some point, should no longer be taking money from IBRD," he said, referring to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development -- an arm of the World Bank that lends largely to middle-income countries. 
Such a move would require the support of the World Bank's executive board, which is made up by member states. 
China, Banga said, borrowed around $750 million from the IBRD last year, while paying billions of dollars to the institution in repayments and donations. 
"My view is, I've brought it down to 750 (million), and I'm trying to figure out a way to deal with China to bring it down further," he said. "I want to get it done. And that's what I'm talking to the Chinese about." 
Banga said the Trump administration's criticisms of the World Bank, which included "expansive policy overreach," were not unusual, citing newly elected governments in countries including France, Japan and Korea.
"I keep telling people this is a perfectly constructive request, to say, tell me and show me that you guys are the kind of people that advance the interests of my taxpayer, of my country," he said.
"I take it in that spirit," he said. "There's nothing wrong with it."

Energy at 'lowest possible cost'

Since taking the helm of the Washington-based development lender in 2023, Banga has pushed to streamline operations and encourage private sector participation, while focusing on job creation and electricity connectivity. 
Among the Bank's current priorities is a push with the African Development Bank to connect 300 million people in sub-Saharan Africa to electricity by 2030 -- a process that will require a vast amount of new energy to be brought online.
"You should try and get (energy) in the best, accessible way and the lowest possible cost," Banga said, suggesting that in addition to renewable power, nuclear and gas could help provide a base load -- two energy sources the World Bank is currently hesitant to finance.
The Bank's executive board is set to discuss its energy strategy in June, Banga said, adding that funding for both nuclear and gas would likely be on the agenda. 
Banga said the Bank is also pushing to encourage private sector job creation in developing countries -- beyond simply outsourcing jobs from advanced economies.
"Because then you end up with challenges in (advanced economies), and you can see that people are speaking about them with their votes," he added. 
da/acb

corruption

Brazil ex-president Collor de Mello jailed for corruption

BY RAMON SAHMKOW

  • Collor de Mello is not Brazil's first president to fall foul of the law.
  • Brazil's former president Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison Friday to begin serving a nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, the latest former leader to face jail time.
  • Collor de Mello is not Brazil's first president to fall foul of the law.
Brazil's former president Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested and taken to prison Friday to begin serving a nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering, the latest former leader to face jail time.
Collor de Mello, Brazil's first democratically elected president after a decades-long dictatorship, resigned in 1992 after Congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes.
His arrest stems from a conviction over bribes taken two decades later while a senator, part of the sprawling "Car Wash" corruption scandal.
The 75-year-old was detained in Maceio city in northeastern Alagoas state, where he served as a senator and governor, a federal police source told AFP.
In 2023, Collor de Mello was found guilty of having received 20 million reais ($3.5 million dollars) in bribes while a senator between 2010 and 2014 to "irregularly facilitate contracts" between a construction company and a former subsidiary of Brazil's state oil company Petrobras.
On Thursday, Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes rejected Collor de Mello's last-gasp efforts to have the arrest order annulled.
His lawyers told local media the arrest came as he was about to travel to the capital Brasilia to turn himself in.
Moraes ordered he be incarcerated in an individual cell in a "special wing" of Baldomero Cavalcanti de Oliveira prison in Maceio.
His lawyers said they would seek permission for him to serve his sentence under house arrest.
Collor de Mello is not Brazil's first president to fall foul of the law.
Four of the seven people who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached.
In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election.
While recovering in hospital this week from intestinal surgery, a court official handed the 70-year-old a summons giving him five days to submit his initial defense.

'Car Wash' fallout

Current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who served two terms between 2003 and 2010, was among dozens of top businessmen and politicians in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America who were caught up in the Car Wash mega-probe.
The investigation uncovered a vast network of bribes paid by large construction companies to politicians in several countries to obtain major public works contracts.
Lula spent a year and a half behind bars before having his conviction overturned by the Supreme Court and winning a third term in October 2022.
Collor de Mello was heralded as a youthful non-conformist figure who promised far-reaching political and social reforms when he beat the leftist Lula to the presidency in 1989.
But his day in the sun did not last long. 
Less than three years later he stood down as president as the impeachment process was nearly complete.
He returned to politics, after a period of ineligibility had expired, and in 2006 was elected senator for Alagoas, a seat he held until 2022.
In 2022, he campaigned for Bolsonaro who was seeking re-election but it was Collor de Mello's old adversary Lula who triumphed.
rsr-tmo/arb/cb/des/acb

tariff

Trump tariff promises get a reality check

BY BEIYI SEOW

  • Participants likely left the spring meetings with "a lot of anxiety about what these meetings will be like when they reconvene in six months, both for the state of the global economy and for individual countries," he told AFP. - 'Notoriously tedious' - "No deals have been announced but that's not surprising.
  • A gathering of global economic leaders in Washington wraps up Saturday with tariff talks between the United States and partners still unresolved -- and anxiety building over the state of the global economy.
  • Participants likely left the spring meetings with "a lot of anxiety about what these meetings will be like when they reconvene in six months, both for the state of the global economy and for individual countries," he told AFP. - 'Notoriously tedious' - "No deals have been announced but that's not surprising.
A gathering of global economic leaders in Washington wraps up Saturday with tariff talks between the United States and partners still unresolved -- and anxiety building over the state of the global economy.
The International Monetary Fund and World Bank's spring meetings provided an important opportunity for countries to discuss trade at the sidelines, speaking with President Donald Trump's new administration.
But despite US officials touting progress on tariff talks, analysts tell AFP that the hard work to reaching deals lies ahead.
Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has slapped 10 percent tariffs on most US trading partners and a separate 145 percent levy on many products from China.
Dozens of countries face a 90-day deadline expiring in July to strike an agreement with Washington and avoid higher, country-specific rates.
But despite Trump saying that there are many deals on the table, details have been scant.
"Coming out, I think we have more confusion, not more clarity, in terms of what the administration wants for negotiations," said Josh Lipsky, international economics chair at the Atlantic Council.
Participants likely left the spring meetings with "a lot of anxiety about what these meetings will be like when they reconvene in six months, both for the state of the global economy and for individual countries," he told AFP.

'Notoriously tedious'

"No deals have been announced but that's not surprising. Trade agreements take time to negotiate," said Wendy Cutler, vice president at the Asia Society Policy Institute and a former US trade negotiator.
While the uptick in negotiating activity is a "positive sign," she added, "holding meetings is a far step from announcing deals."
For now, Washington has prioritized discussions with key allies like Japan, South Korea and Switzerland -- in line with the Trump administration's comments that it would place more focus on about 15 important trading relationships.
Barath Harithas, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the emphasis on 15 or so partners is "likely pragmatic."
"Comprehensive tariff negotiations are notoriously tedious, typically spanning years rather than months, and cannot realistically be compressed into a 90-day ultimatum period," he added. 
US officials have met with counterparts from countries like South Korea and Japan this week.
But negotiations with Thailand, although initially scheduled, have been postponed as Washington sought further review on crucial issues, Harithas said.
EU economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters Friday that there remains "a lot of work ahead" to reach a deal with Washington.
Underscoring the differences between both sides, Dombrovskis added that tariffs are not a solution to address underlying trade imbalances -- a goal of the Trump administration as it rolled out various levies.
Earlier Friday, Trump also cast doubt on a further tariff pause when speaking to reporters.

'Frustration'

Lipsky of the Atlantic Council said it is seen as "unrealistic" for a series of deals to be struck by July, even if some discussions may bear fruit.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent maintained Wednesday that Washington was close to a pact with India and making progress with other partners.
But he added: "A satisfactory arrangement does not necessarily mean the actual trade document, it means that we have reached agreement in principle."
With current economic worries sparked by Trump's policy decisions, Lipsky said there has been disappointment with current conditions.
"The frustration that I've heard this week is that this was unnecessary," Lipsky added.
And tensions between Washington and Beijing are "not headed towards any immediate resolution," he said.
While Trump said in a Time magazine interview that Xi has called him, Beijing previously disputed that tariff talks were ongoing.
Countries are now resigned to the idea that high US-China tariffs are here to stay, at least in the near future, he added.
A European official told AFP there have been two negotiation channels that are not always in agreement -- with Bessent on one hand and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the other.
"The only thing I'm fairly sure of," the official said, "is that in the end, the decision is made by President Trump."
bys-myl/st

migration

Venezuela accuses El Salvador president of 'human trafficking'

BY PATRICK FORT

  • In an interview with AFP in Caracas late Thursday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab took aim at Bukele, suggesting he was little better than a people smuggler.
  • Venezuela's attorney general accused Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele of "human trafficking" and suggested he face international justice for accepting cash to jail deportees from the United States.
  • In an interview with AFP in Caracas late Thursday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab took aim at Bukele, suggesting he was little better than a people smuggler.
Venezuela's attorney general accused Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele of "human trafficking" and suggested he face international justice for accepting cash to jail deportees from the United States.
Over 230 Venezuelans were flown in March to Bukele's notorious CECOT prison, along with around a dozen Salvadorans, under a $6 million deal struck by President Donald Trump's government.
Venezuela reacted furiously to the deportations -- which have also prompted a fierce legal debate in the United States -- and has demanded the men's "unconditional release."
In an interview with AFP in Caracas late Thursday, Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab took aim at Bukele, suggesting he was little better than a people smuggler.
"He is committing the crime of human trafficking," the prosecutor said. "It is a dirty business."
"International justice will be done against Bukele on this issue," said Saab, who along with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been subject to US sanctions for years over allegedly suppressing their country's democratic opposition.
The Trump administration has painted the deported men as dangerous blood-crazed gang members, a claim for which they have provided scant evidence.
Some have been charged in US courts with violent offenses, but many have not.
Family members for several of the men staunchly deny any link to gangs and say their loved ones were scooped up for little more than being Venezuelan, migrants and having tattoos.
Slickly produced footage of their arrival in El Salvador -- including chained and tattooed men having their heads shaved and being frog-marched by masked guards -- was widely promoted by both the Salvadoran and US governments.
US judges have ruled that at least one Salvadoran and one Venezuelan were wrongly deported and should be returned to the United States, orders that Trump and his ally Bukele have so far ignored.
"The Venezuelans who were deprived of their liberty in El Salvador resided in the United States without having previously committed any crime in that country" said Saab "much less in El Salvador."
The White House insists that aside from having gang links, the men were in the United States illegally and are therefore criminals.

Bedfellows

Bukele has dubbed himself the "world's coolest dictator."
His hardline rhetoric against El Salvador's powerful gangs has made him one of the world's most domestically popular leaders.
But he has also been accused of overseeing mass human rights violations, epitomized by the huge, brutal prison known as CECOT.
In 2021, his government was accused by the administration of then-president Joe Biden of secretly striking deals with gang leaders.
Bukele's embrace of Trump and his willingness to help earned the Salvadoran leader a mutually fawning Oval Office meeting earlier this month.
During the meeting Trump thanked Bukele for "helping us out" and called him a "hell of a president", as both enjoyed several minutes criticizing the media and talking about transgender athletes in women's sports.
By contrast, Venezuela's leftist leader Maduro delighted his political base by frequently sparring with Bukele.
Bukele has in turn taunted the Venezuelan government about the detained men, offering to exchange them for political prisoners in Venezuela.
Saab called that offer "cynical" and demanded a complete list of the detained migrants.
pgf/arb/des

conflict

WFP says has depleted all Gaza food stocks as Israel blocks aid

  • After 18 months of war, the situation in Gaza "is probably the worst" it has been, the UN's humanitarian office has said, with the head of the world body's Palestinian refugee agency decrying the aid stoppage on Friday as "politically motivated starvation".
  • The UN's World Food Programme said Friday it had depleted its food stocks in war-ravaged Gaza, where Israel has blocked all aid for more than seven weeks.
  • After 18 months of war, the situation in Gaza "is probably the worst" it has been, the UN's humanitarian office has said, with the head of the world body's Palestinian refugee agency decrying the aid stoppage on Friday as "politically motivated starvation".
The UN's World Food Programme said Friday it had depleted its food stocks in war-ravaged Gaza, where Israel has blocked all aid for more than seven weeks.
After 18 months of war, the situation in Gaza "is probably the worst" it has been, the UN's humanitarian office has said, with the head of the world body's Palestinian refugee agency decrying the aid stoppage on Friday as "politically motivated starvation".
WFP, one of the main providers of food assistance in the Palestinian territory, said it had "delivered its last remaining food stocks to hot meals kitchens in the Gaza Strip" on Friday.
It said "these kitchens are expected to fully run out of food in the coming days".
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, said the crisis was "manmade".
"The Government of Israel continues to block the entry of food + other basics," he wrote on X. "Nearly 2 months of siege. Calls to bring in supplies are going unheeded." 
The World Health Organization said the situation was no different for medical supplies.
After blocking aid during an impasse over the future of a ceasefire with Hamas, Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza on March 18, followed by a ground offensive.
Mohammed al-Mughayyir, an official with Gaza's civil defence rescue agency, told AFP that the death toll from Israeli strikes on Friday had risen to at least 40. 
In the evening, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in Zeitun and two nearby areas in the territory's north ahead of another planned strike, saying it was responding to "terrorist activity" and "operating with force".
Gazans say they are threatened with death not just from bombardment, but from a lack of food.
In addition to the WFP, aid agencies and Western governments have also voiced alarm.
"We are literally dying of hunger," Tasnim Abu Matar, a Gaza City resident, said earlier this week.

'Lifeline'

"For weeks, hot meal kitchens have been the only consistent source of food assistance for people in Gaza. Despite reaching just half the population with only 25 percent of daily food needs, they have provided a critical lifeline," the WFP said.
The agency added that "more than 116,000 metric tons of food assistance –- enough to feed one million people for up to four months" was positioned at aid corridors ready to be brought in "as soon as borders reopen".
Following WFP's warning, the World Health Organization's chief said medical supplies were also "running out" in Gaza while 16 WHO trucks wait to enter.  
"This aid blockade must end. Lives depend on it", Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
WFP added that all 25 bakeries it supports in Gaza were forced to close on March 31 as wheat flour and cooking oil ran out during "the longest closure the Gaza Strip has ever faced".
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz last week said his country would continue blocking aid because the tactic is "one of the main pressure levers preventing Hamas from using (aid) as a tool with the population".
On Wednesday, Germany, France and Britain called for an end to the "intolerable" blockade and warned of "an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death".
The International Criminal Court in November issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partly on suspicion of the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare.
Netanyahu rejected the accusations as "absurd and false".

'I found him on fire'

At least 2,062 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its campaign against Hamas militants in mid-March.
That brings the overall death toll of the war to 51,439, most of them civilians, according to the territory's health ministry.
Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel that began the war resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures. 
Among the fatalities on Friday were five members of the al-Taima family killed when an air strike hit their makeshift tent in Al-Mawasi, near Khan Yunis, the civil defence's Mughayyir said.
Gaza resident Ramy, who gave only his first name, said he lost his three-year-old son in a strike on their tent.
"When I couldn't find him, I went back to the tent and I found him on fire," Ramy said.
Israel's military has threatened an even larger offensive if militants do not soon free hostages who remain in Gaza.
Israel says militants are still holding 58 people captured during their October 2023 attack, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead. 
Senior Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP on Friday that a delegation from the group would meet with Egyptian mediators "tomorrow to discuss Hamas's vision for ending the war", reiterating the group's weapons "are not up for negotiation".
str-jd-acc/smw/phz

pope

Pope's death triggers surge of disinformation he fought against

BY BILL MCCARTHY

  • "The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict," Pope Francis wrote in a 2018 message for World Communications Day.
  • The death of Pope Francis drew tributes from mourners around the world -- and with them a wave of disinformation, old and new.
  • "The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict," Pope Francis wrote in a 2018 message for World Communications Day.
The death of Pope Francis drew tributes from mourners around the world -- and with them a wave of disinformation, old and new.
Swarms of fake and misleading content interrupted the global rush of condolences that poured online for the 88-year-old Argentine reformer ahead of his funeral Saturday.
The outcome was in some ways par for the course for the 12-year head of the Catholic Church, who spoke out fiercely against disinformation but was also a frequent subject of it.
"The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict," Pope Francis wrote in a 2018 message for World Communications Day. He likened modern-day "fake news" to the "snake-tactics" employed by the serpent in the Christian origin story described in the Bible.
"There is no such thing as harmless disinformation," he argued. "Even a seemingly slight distortion of the truth can have dangerous effects."
Two years earlier, the pope had found himself an unwilling yet central character in one of the most prominent lies of the 2016 US presidential election, when a hoax saying he endorsed Donald Trump exploded online. The false story garnered the most engagement on Facebook of any election story in the three months before the vote, BuzzFeed News reported at the time.
Several of the falsehoods that trailed his death appeared similarly aimed at misrepresenting his actions and connections.
One widespread video appeared to show him swatting the hand of President Trump, whose deportation policies the pontiff had denounced. The clip was manipulated, however, and had originally aired as a joke on a comedian's late-night TV show.
Another video, claiming to show Satanic rituals on display at the pope's funeral, turned out to be unrelated footage from Spain. 
In a third case, a photo of the pope meeting Holocaust survivors in 2014 was misrepresented as evidence that he was beholden to the wealthy Rothschild family, a favorite target of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

'Content follows attention'

The rash of disinformation underscores how bad actors seeking to farm engagement or push targeted narratives work to exploit the buzz around major events.
Similar campaigns followed the deaths of other public figures such as Queen Elizabeth II, whose passing in 2022 inspired false claims about vaccines and pedophilia.
"In general, content follows attention," digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield, the author of a book about verifying information online, told AFP. 
"When someone dies, as morbid as it seems, people run to where the spotlight is and try to put on their show," Caulfield said. "For some people it's a chance to promote an agenda, and they connect the event or the figure to whatever political cause or conspiracy theory they generally promote. For others, it's just about the money, the trolling or the attention."
Numerous images generated by artificial intelligence -- including an AI creation of Pope Francis draped in a rainbow LGBTQ Pride flag, and the now-infamous depiction of him wearing a white puffer coat that became an internet sensation in 2023 -- also resurfaced after his death.
They were joined by new fakes spread in multiple languages, one of which portrayed the pope's body in an open casket.
Some AI-enabled images circulated alongside malicious links that led to scams or fraudulent websites, according to research from Check Point, a cybersecurity company.
The pope cautioned against such deception in January, saying AI technologies "can be misused to manipulate minds." 
The message became one of his final warnings about disinformation.
bmc/mgs/sla

court

Insurance CEO's accused killer pleads not guilty to federal murder charges

BY ANA FERNÁNDEZ

  • He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in a Manhattan court on Friday. 
  • Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance executive in cold blood in a slaying that has divided Americans, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Friday, after he was arraigned in court.
  • He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in a Manhattan court on Friday. 
Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down an insurance executive in cold blood in a slaying that has divided Americans, pleaded not guilty to murder charges Friday, after he was arraigned in court.
Mangione has now been charged in both New York state and federal court over the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He pleaded not guilty to the federal charges in a Manhattan court on Friday. 
The case has stirred debate about political violence and the state of the healthcare system in the United States, and is the first case in which the Justice Department is seeking the death penalty since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Mangione wore beige prison scrubs -- in contrast with the sharp, civilian wardrobe in which he has previously appeared -- and conferred with his lawyers, an AFP correspondent saw.
He is charged with murder, two counts of stalking, and a firearms offense.
The focus in the case will now shift to the trial date, with the judge due to set a timetable at a hearing scheduled on December 5, exactly a year and a day after last year's murder.
Outside court, a van fitted with a video screen accused the Justice Department of "barbaric" conduct alongside an image of Mangione.
Well-wishers brandished signs and chanted, with one stopping to admonish prosecutors for rushing the cases against him.

Insurance 'horror' stories

One woman dressed in the green overalls of the Super Mario character Luigi and brandished a sign relating to the case.
Lindsay Floyd, an activist working in support of Mangione, said ahead of the hearing that "these are serious accusations that deserve some reflection, not this vilification before the trial has even begun."
Early on December 4, 2024, Mangione allegedly tracked Thompson in New York, walked up behind him and fired several gunshots from a pistol with a silencer, federal prosecutors said. 
He had traveled to the city by bus from Atlanta about 10 days before the crime.
Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on December 9, following a tip from staff at a McDonald's restaurant after a days-long manhunt. 
In the state case, Mangione has also pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment with no parole, if convicted.
Mangione's lawyer Karen Agnifilo -- wife of Sean "Diddy" Combs's lawyer Marc Agnifilo -- said that the federal case should be heard before the state one because of the risk of the death penalty.
Marc Agnifilo was seen rushing from a hearing in the Combs case to attend the arraignment of Mangione, for whom he is also a lawyer.
"It's a side door kind of day," he said.
Elliott Gorn, a history professor at Loyola University Chicago, said that what struck him most in the days following the murder "was the deep sense of grievance that many Americans were suddenly talking about in the open."  
"We'd just had a months-long political campaign, and the subject barely came up, but then suddenly the floodgates opened, and everyone seemed to have a horror story of medical care denied," he said.
arb-gw/st

nuclear

Iran FM Araghchi in Oman ahead of nuclear talks with US

BY AHMAD PARHIZI

  • In an interview published by Time Magazine on Friday, Trump said the United States will "lead the pack" in attacking Iran if nuclear talks do not lead to a new deal. 
  • Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepared for fresh nuclear talks with the United States in Oman on Friday after apparent progress in previous rounds.
  • In an interview published by Time Magazine on Friday, Trump said the United States will "lead the pack" in attacking Iran if nuclear talks do not lead to a new deal. 
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi prepared for fresh nuclear talks with the United States in Oman on Friday after apparent progress in previous rounds.
Araghchi flew into Muscat ahead of Saturday's meeting with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, their third encounter in as many weeks.
Araghchi will lead Iran's delegation of diplomats and technical experts in indirect discussions with the US side, foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei posted on X.
Iran's top diplomat was a negotiator of the landmark nuclear accord abandoned by Trump during his first term in 2018.
Araghchi refused to discuss the talks as he signed copies of an Arabic translation of his book, "The Power of Negotiation" at a book fair in Muscat on Friday. 
The latest round will include expert-level talks on Iran's nuclear programme, with Michael Anton, who serves as the State Department's head of policy planning, leading the technical discussions on the US side, the department said.
Iran's Tasnim news agency reported that deputy foreign ministers Kazem Gharibabadi and Majid Takht-Ravanchi will head the Iranian technical team.
Baqaei posted that Iran's delegation is "resolved to secure our nation's legitimate and lawful right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while taking reasonable steps to demonstrate that our programme is entirely peaceful".
"Termination of unlawful and inhumane sanctions in an objective and speedy manner is a priority that we seek to achieve," he added.
According to Baqaei, the dialogue will again be mediated by Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi -- who appeared with Araghchi at the book signing -- on Saturday morning.
The meeting follows two earlier rounds of Omani-mediated negotiations in Muscat and Rome starting on April 12.

Calling for 'goodwill'

Since his return to office in January, Trump has reimposed sweeping sanctions under his policy of "maximum pressure" against Tehran. 
In March, he sent a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calling for talks but warning of possible military action if they failed to produce a deal. 
Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons -- an allegation Tehran has consistently denied, insisting that its programme is for peaceful civilian purposes.
Baqaei earlier Friday said "progress in the negotiations requires the demonstration of goodwill, seriousness, and realism by the other side".
Iran will treat Saturday's talks seriously, Araghchi said in a recent interview, "and if the other party also enters seriously, there is potential for progress".
In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal signed three years earlier between Tehran and major world powers. The agreement eased sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.
After Trump's pullout, Tehran complied with the agreement for a year before scaling back its compliance.
Iran currently enriches uranium up to 60 percent, far above the 3.67 percent limit in the 2015 deal but still below the 90 percent threshold required for weapons-grade material.
In an interview published by Time Magazine on Friday, Trump said the United States will "lead the pack" in attacking Iran if nuclear talks do not lead to a new deal. 
But he expressed hope that an agreement could be reached and said he would be willing to meet Khamenei.
rkh/it/th

diplomacy

Syrian foreign minister raises new flag at UN headquarters

  • "This flag is not a mere symbol, but rather a proclamation of a new existence," he said in his first United Nations speech.
  • Syria's foreign minister on Friday raised his country's new flag at UN headquarters in New York, hailing the move as a "proclamation of a new existence" after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
  • "This flag is not a mere symbol, but rather a proclamation of a new existence," he said in his first United Nations speech.
Syria's foreign minister on Friday raised his country's new flag at UN headquarters in New York, hailing the move as a "proclamation of a new existence" after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
Asaad al-Shaibani raised the three-starred flag, officially adopted after Assad's December ouster, and later spoke to the Security Council, where he urged a lifting of international sanctions and for Israel to be pressured to leave Syrian territory.
"This flag is not a mere symbol, but rather a proclamation of a new existence," he said in his first United Nations speech.
Since Assad's fall to Islamist-led forces, Israel has deployed troops in a UN-controlled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974.
"We would like to ask the Council to make pressure on Israel to withdraw from Syria," al-Shaibani said in his first UN speech.
Israel has also launched airstrikes in Syria, which al-Shaibani slammed Friday as "not only a flagrant violation of international law and Syrian sovereignty, but also a direct threat to regional stability."
"We have repeatedly announced our commitment that Syria will not constitute any threat to any of the neighboring countries or any country around the world, including to Israel," he said.
He also called for the lifting of all sanctions imposed under the previous government.
Economic sanctions have hit the country hard, with more than 90 percent of Syrians living below the poverty line, according to the UN.
Al-Shaibani was backed by the UN's special envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, who warned that Israel's "violations of Syria's territorial integrity are undermining the transition."
He said Israel's "highly confrontational" approach was "not warranted" given the space for diplomacy. 
Pedersen also called for sanctions to be eased. 
Some European and other Western states have eased certain sanctions on Syria, while others including the United States have said they would wait to see how the new authorities exercise their power, opting instead for targeted and temporary exemptions.
Shaibani's visit to the UN comes after Syria's central bank governor and finance minister this week attended spring meetings at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, for the first time in more than 20 years.
Pedersen said the country's transition from the Assad years was at a "truly critical juncture."
Much has been achieved, but "the situation is extremely fragile," he warned, calling for more political inclusion and economic action.
Pedersen, who was in Damascus two weeks ago, stressed the "urgent challenge" facing the Alawite community. 
In early March the minority -- associated with Assad -- were targeted by massacres, particularly on the coast, which killed more than 1,700 people, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 
bur-lk-abd-des/st/acb

Global Edition

Trinidad and Tobago votes for parliament, PM, with opposition in lead

BY PRIOR BEHARRY

  • The Caribbean's second-largest producer of natural gas, Trinidad and Tobago has also been battling an economic downturn blamed partly on a decline in production.
  • Trinidad and Tobago votes in parliamentary elections Monday that will determine whether Prime Minister Stuart Young stays in power as the twin-island Caribbean nation battles an economic slump and a rise in gang violence.
  • The Caribbean's second-largest producer of natural gas, Trinidad and Tobago has also been battling an economic downturn blamed partly on a decline in production.
Trinidad and Tobago votes in parliamentary elections Monday that will determine whether Prime Minister Stuart Young stays in power as the twin-island Caribbean nation battles an economic slump and a rise in gang violence.
Voters will choose the 41 members of the lower House of Representatives for a five-year term.
Any party that emerges with a majority of seats will form a new government with its leader as prime minister.
If none does, a coalition government is likely in the nation known for attracting tourists with its carnival, nature and sandy beaches.
Former energy minister Young, 50, took over as prime minister earlier this month after Keith Rowley resigned to make way for new blood.
But his center-left People's National Movement (PNM) has been lagging in polls behind the centrist United National Congress (UNC) of former prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, 73.
"We are peaking at the right time," Persad-Bissessar -- who has campaigned on promises of higher public wages -- she said ahead of Monday's vote.
Unrealistic promises, according to Young, who said "there is no way that a government, any government, could afford" the additional $2-billion bill this would entail.
Trinidad and Tobago has a population of 1.4 million people, of whom just over 1.1 million are eligible to vote Monday at 2,130 polling stations countrywide.
Police commissioner Junior Benjamin has warned of intelligence suggesting "that things are afoot to disrupt the electoral process," without providing details.
Since December, the country was under a state of emergency that ended this month. It was declared to contend with a rise in gang-related killings.
Official data shows more than 600 homicides committed in the nation last year, many of them linked to criminal gangs.
According to a US Department of State report from March, the murder rate of 37 per 100,000 people made Trinidad and Tobago the sixth most dangerous nation in the world.
The report said Latin American-based transnational criminal organizations operated in, and trafficked illegal goods through, Trinidad.
"The country’s southern border, which is approximately 10 miles from the Venezuelan coast, remained porous and vulnerable to illegal migration, drug trafficking, and human trafficking and smuggling," it said.
"Venezuelan organized criminal organization and designated terrorist organization Tren de Aragua has been known to exploit this proximity for the transit of personnel and material."
The Caribbean's second-largest producer of natural gas, Trinidad and Tobago has also been battling an economic downturn blamed partly on a decline in production.
It had been banking on exploitation of the Dragon gas field in nearby Venezuelan waters, but has seen its licence withdrawn by the administration of US President Donald Trump under renewed sanctions against that country.
pb-pgf/rr/mlr/bgs

religion

Pope Francis's funeral: who's attending?

  • World leaders will be in Rome on Saturday for Pope Francis's funeral, in one of the largest diplomatic gatherings of recent times.
World leaders will be in Rome on Saturday for Pope Francis's funeral, in one of the largest diplomatic gatherings of recent times.
Here is a list of heads of state and government as well as global royals in attendance, according to the Vatican.

Americas

ARGENTINA: President Javier Milei
BELIZE: Governor General Froyla Tzalam 
BRAZIL: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
CANADA: Governor General Mary Simon
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: President Luis Abinader
ECUADOR: President Daniel Noboa Azin
HONDURAS: President Xiomara Castro
UNITED NATIONS: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
UNITED STATES: President Donald Trump. Former president Joe Biden is also attending

Europe

ALBANIA: President Bajram Begaj
ANDORRA: Co-Prince Joan-Enric Vives Sicilia
ARMENIA: President Vahagn Khachaturyan
AUSTRIA: President Alexander Van der Bellen, Chancellor Christian Stocker
BELGIUM: King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, with Prime Minister Bart De Wever
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA: President Zelika Cvijanovic
BULGARIA: Prime Minister Rossen Jeliazkov
CROATIA: President Zoran Milanovic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic
CYPRUS: President Nikos Christodoulides
CZECH REPUBLIC: Prime Minister Petr Fiala
DENMARK: Queen Mary
ESTONIA: President Alar Karis
EUROPEAN UNION: European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, European Council president Antonio Costa
FINLAND: President Alexander Stubb
FRANCE: President Emmanuel Macron
GEORGIA: President Mikheil Kavelashvili
GERMANY: President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 
GREECE: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis
HUNGARY: President Tamas Sulyok and Prime Minister Viktor Orban
ICELAND: President Halla Tomasdottir
IRELAND: President Michael Higgins plus Taoiseach (prime minister) Micheal Martin
ITALY: President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
KOSOVO: President Vjosa Osmani
LATVIA: President Edgars Rinkevics
LIECHTENSTEIN: Prince Alois and Princess Sophie
LITHUANIA: President Gitanas Nauseda
LUXEMBOURG: Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, Prime Minister Luc Frieden
MALTA: President Myriam Spiteri Debono
MOLDOVA: President Maia Sandu
MONACO: Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene
MONTENEGRO: President Jakov Milatovic
NETHERLANDS: Prime Minister Dick Schoof
NORTH MACEDONIA: President Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova
NORWAY: Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide
POLAND: President Andrzej Duda
PORTUGAL: President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro
ROMANIA: Interim president Ilie Bolojan
RUSSIA: Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova
SERBIA: Prime Minister Djuro Macut
SLOVAKIA: President Peter Pellegrini
SLOVENIA: President Natasa Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob
SPAIN: King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia
SWEDEN: King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, as well as Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
SWITZERLAND: President Karin Keller-Sutter
UKRAINE: President Volodymyr Zelensky
UNITED KINGDOM: Prince William, representing head of state King Charles III, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer

Middle East

IRAN: Culture Minister Abbas Salehi, representing President Masoud Pezeshkian
ISRAEL: Yaron Sideman, Ambassador to the Holy See
JORDAN: King Abdullah II and Queen Rania
LEBANON: President Joseph Aoun
PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY: Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa
QATAR: Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Africa

ANGOLA: President Joao Lourenco
BURUNDI: Vice President Prosper Bazombanza
CAPE VERDE: President Jose Maria Neves
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: President Faustin-Archange Touadera
DR CONGO: President Felix Tshisekedi
GABON: President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema
KENYA: President William Ruto
LESOTHO: King Letsie III
MADAGASCAR: President Andry Rajoelina
MOROCCO: Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch
MOZAMBIQUE: President Daniel Chapo
SEYCHELLES: President Wavel Ramkalawan
SIERRA LEONE: President Julius Maada Bio
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Cardinal Stephen Brislin, president of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference
TOGO: President Faure Gnassingbe

Asia-Pacific

AUSTRALIA: Governor General Sam Mostyn
BANGLADESH: Prime Minister Muhammad Yunus
EAST TIMOR: President Jose Ramos Horta
INDIA: President Droupadi Murmu
INDONESIA: President Joko Widodo
KENYA: President William Ruto
NEW ZEALAND: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon
PHILIPPINES: President Ferdinand Marcos
burs/phz

Kashmir

Pakistan and India border closure separates families

BY SOHAIL ABBAS

  • Yasmine, 54, who gave up her Indian passport to marry a Pakistani, rushed to the border to return home after visiting family in India for the first time in 15 years.
  • Two months ago, Haider Ali waved goodbye to his wife as she left Pakistan, crossing the border to visit her family in India.
  • Yasmine, 54, who gave up her Indian passport to marry a Pakistani, rushed to the border to return home after visiting family in India for the first time in 15 years.
Two months ago, Haider Ali waved goodbye to his wife as she left Pakistan, crossing the border to visit her family in India. Now the couple are not sure when they will see each other again.
Pakistan and India are locked in an escalating diplomatic war of words after New Delhi said Islamabad was linked to a militant attack on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir this week.
Both sides have cancelled visas for Indian and Pakistani nationals respectively and ordered them to leave, before both shut their busiest border crossing in Punjab.
"She's on the Indian side of the border and they're not letting her cross. I'm extremely worried," Ali, a 31-year-old heating technician, told AFP.
Ali said his wife, an Indian national, has a Pakistani visa valid until November and was due to return home to Karachi soon, as he waited for news on the Pakistani side of the crossing.
"The real terrorists should be caught and action taken against them, but it's ordinary people like us who are suffering unjustly," he added.
Indian police have launched a manhunt for the fugitive gunmen, two of whom they say are Pakistani.
The orders for Pakistanis and Indians to return home has distressed many families of mixed nationalities, who often struggle to obtain visas because of poor relations between Hindu-majority Indian and Muslim-majority Pakistan.
Yasmine, 54, who gave up her Indian passport to marry a Pakistani, rushed to the border to return home after visiting family in India for the first time in 15 years.
While she crossed with her Pakistani papers, her niece travelling with her and also married to a Pakistani was left stranded at the border, prevented from crossing back into the country because she only has an Indian passport.
"She's just crying. We absolutely must give her a visa as soon as possible. Her four children are here in Pakistan, waiting for her," Yasmine told AFP.

'To part like this'

The measures have also abruptly ended rare visits to see relatives separated for generations by the border, born out of India's independence from the British in 1947.
"I'm Indian, I love India, but my family is here. And it's not like I hate Pakistan -- I love Pakistan too," said 39-year-old Ghaffar Musafir, who lives in Indian-administered Kashmir.
He had hoped to spend longer rekindling ties with his relatives, travelling to the Pakistani city of Lahore to apply for an extension before diplomatic relations plunged.
"And now I'm leaving my family behind -- you can see for yourself the kind of connection we have, how it feels to part like this."
Pakistan's foreign ministry said it did not know how many Indian nationals were in the country, but said Sikh pilgrims would be allowed to stay.
"We can only hope that things get better as soon as possible," said Musafir, before heading east, behind rows of barriers, soldiers, and flags.
vid-sbh/ecl/dhw

Bolsonaro

Brazil's Bolsonaro 'stable' after post-surgery setback

  • This came a day after a court official visited Bolsonaro in hospital and delivered a summons giving him five days to submit his initial defense against coup charges, in preparation for trial. 
  • Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, recovering from intestinal surgery, was in a stable condition Friday after a health setback that followed a court official serving him a summons in his hospital bed, hospital staff said.
  • This came a day after a court official visited Bolsonaro in hospital and delivered a summons giving him five days to submit his initial defense against coup charges, in preparation for trial. 
Brazilian ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, recovering from intestinal surgery, was in a stable condition Friday after a health setback that followed a court official serving him a summons in his hospital bed, hospital staff said.
The 70-year-old underwent intestinal surgery earlier this month, necessitated by ongoing health problems from a 2018 stabbing attack.
He remains in intensive care a month after he was ordered to stand trial on charges he directed an alleged coup plot to hold on to power.  
The DF Star hospital treating Bolsonaro said Thursday he had "shown a clinical worsening, an increase in blood pressure and worsening of liver laboratory tests."
This came a day after a court official visited Bolsonaro in hospital and delivered a summons giving him five days to submit his initial defense against coup charges, in preparation for trial. 
A video of the exchange showed Bolsonaro reacting furiously, exclaiming: "I have five days to present my defense? Five days?" while pointing out he was still in intensive care. Nurses urged him to relax as his blood pressure rose.
On Friday, the hospital said the patient had not shown any new blood pressure spikes and tests results suggested "a normal post-operative evolution."
Bolsonaro's trial will be the first of an ex-leader accused of attempting to take power by force since Brazil's return to democracy in 1985 following two decades of military dictatorship. 
He risks a 40-year prison sentence and political banishment ahead of presidential elections next year he has been hoping to run in. 
Bolsonaro has had recurring health problems since September 2018, when an attacker stabbed the then-candidate at a presidential campaign rally in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. 
He went on to win that election, serving a single term until 2022 when he lost a runoff to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva -- who he now stands accused of seeking to unseat in a coup.
lg/tmo/ial/mlr/bgs