Author: AFP
Cardinals electing Pope Francis’s successor will have an easier time than many of their predecessors, who endured spartan conditions and were even locked up so long that some of them died. Here are some notable papal elections through the ages. – THE DOVE DECIDES – In 236, the Christian community of Rome was debating potential papal candidates when a white dove landed on the head of a bystander, Fabian. “At this, everyone, as if moved by a single divine inspiration, eagerly and wholeheartedly called out that Fabian was worthy,” according to Eusebius, a Church historian of the era. The blessing…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday said Ukraine’s army was still fighting in Russia’s Kursk a day after Moscow claimed the “full liberation” of its western region. Kyiv had hoped it could use land in the Kursk region as a bargaining chip in future peace talks with Russia, which has seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine since launching its offensive in February 2022. “Our military continues to actively defend the designated areas of the Kursk and Belgorod regions,” Zelensky said on Telegram, adding that the situation remained difficult in many areas including Kursk. Russia said on Saturday it had…
Negotiations between the United States and Iran on a potential nuclear deal will continue with a fourth round next week, mediator Oman’s foreign minister said on Saturday. “Talks will continue next week with a further high level meeting provisionally scheduled for May 3,” Badr Albusaidi posted on X, adding that “core principles, objectives and technical concerns were all addressed” in Saturday’s meetings in Muscat.
Nearly 500 people were injured Saturday as an explosion ripped through a key port in southern Iran, state media said, with the cause of the blast not immediately clear. State media reported a “massive explosion” at Shahid Rajaee, the country’s largest commercial port located in Hormozgan province on Iran’s southern coast. Citing local emergency services, state television reported that “281 people have been injured, dozens of whom have been transferred to nearby medical centres,” revising earlier tolls. “The explosion occurred in a part of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are extinguishing the fire,” state TV quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh,…
Hamas is open to an agreement to end the war in Gaza that would see all hostages released and secure a five-year truce, an official said Saturday ahead of talks with mediators. A Hamas delegation was in Cairo to discuss with Egyptian mediators ways out of the 18-month war, while, on the ground, rescuers said an Israeli strike on a family home in Gaza City killed at least 10 people with more feared buried under the rubble. The Hamas official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the Palestinian resistance group “is ready for an exchange of prisoners in…
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky met briefly in the hush of St Peter’s basilica on the sidelines of Pope Francis’s funeral on Saturday in their first encounter since a noisy White House clash, as the US president pushes the Ukrainian leader to make a peace deal with Russia. Zelensky said they discussed a possible unconditional ceasefire with Russia and was “hoping for results” from a “very symbolic meeting that has the potential to become historic”. The war cast a shadow over preparations for Francis’s funeral, and even as it took place, Russia claimed its forces had “fully liberated” the border…
A “massive explosion” and fire took place at a key port in the Iranian province of Hormozgan more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) south of Tehran, state media reported Saturday. “The explosion occurred in a part of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are extinguishing the fire,” state television quoted senior Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Administration official Esmaeil Malekizadeh as saying.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for attacks on civilian areas of Ukraine in recent days, and said “maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war.” In a post on Truth Social after his talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Rome, Trump also said maybe Putin “has to be dealt with differently,” possibly through additional sanctions targeting Moscow. “There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump said in the post. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to…
Nearly 300 people were injured Saturday as an explosion ripped through a key port in southern Iran, state media said, with the cause of the blast not immediately clear. State media reported a “massive explosion” at Shahid Rajaee, the country’s largest commercial port located in Hormozgan province on Iran’s southern coast. Citing local emergency services, state television reported that “281 people have been injured, dozens of whom have been transferred to nearby medical centres,” revising earlier tolls. “The explosion occurred in a part of the Shahid Rajaee port dock, and we are extinguishing the fire,” state TV quoted Esmaeil Malekizadeh,…
Russia is ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine “without preconditions”, President Vladimir Putin told US envoy Steve Witkoff at a meeting on Friday, the Kremlin said Saturday. “During yesterday’s talks with Trump’s envoy Witkoff, Vladimir Putin reiterated that Russia is ready to resume negotiations with Ukraine without any preconditions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that Putin has repeated that several times in the past.