Cardinals elect first US-born pope as Robert Francis Prevost becomes Leo XIV

Update Cardinals elect first US-born pope as Robert Francis Prevost becomes Leo XIV
Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost arrives on the main central loggia balcony of the St. Peter’s Basilica for the first time, after the cardinals ended the conclave, in The Vatican, on May 8, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 09 May 2025
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Cardinals elect first US-born pope as Robert Francis Prevost becomes Leo XIV

Cardinals elect first US-born pope as Robert Francis Prevost becomes Leo XIV
  • “To all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to the whole Earth, peace be with you,” a smiling Leo told the crowd
  • “Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace“

VATICAN CITY: Robert Francis Prevost became Pope Leo XIV on Thursday after cardinals from around the globe chose him as the first US-born leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
A crowd tens of thousands erupted in prayer and emotion as Leo, successor to the late Francis, appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica to deliver the first address of his ministry.
“To all people, wherever they are, to all peoples, to the whole Earth, peace be with you,” a smiling Leo told the crowd.
“Help us, and each other, to build bridges through dialogue, through encounter, to come together as one people, always in peace.”
Leo’s speech was cheered, especially a section where the prelate — who spent many years in Peru — broke into Spanish, and also when he paid warm tribute to his popular predecessor Pope Francis, who died last month.
“We still keep in our ears that weak, but always courageous, voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome,” he said, referring to the ailing Argentine’s Easter Sunday address, a day before his death.
“We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, which hold dialogues, which is always open,” he said.

The American’s name had circled among the “papabili” — cardinals thought qualified for the papacy — as someone who could defend and further Francis’s legacy.
But he was not a globally-recognized figure among the Catholic rank and file.
World leaders raced to welcome his appointment and promise to work with the Church on global issues.
As Cardinal Prevost, the new pope had defended the poor and underprivileged, often reposted articles critical of US President Donald Trump’s anti-migrant policies, but the White House chief nevertheless welcomed the election.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named pope,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform.
“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country.”
Earlier, the crowds had swelled in emotion when white smoke billowed into the sky from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signalling an election on the cardinals’ second day of voting.
The bells of St. Peter’s Basilica and churches across Rome rang out and crowds rushed toward the square to watch the balcony of the basilica, which has been fitted out with red curtains for the first address to the world by the 267th pope, who was introduced in Latin with his chosen papal name.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said an elated Joseph Brian, a 39-year-old chef from Belfast in Northern Ireland, who came with his mother to Rome for the spectacle.
“I’m not an overly religious person but, being here with all these people just blew me away,” he told AFP as people around him jumped up and down in excitement.
There were euphoric scenes as one priest sat on someone’s shoulders waving a Brazilian flag and another lifted a heavy crucifix into the air in jubilation.
“Habemus papam, woooo!” howled Bruna Hodara, 41, from Brazil, echoing the words to be spoken on the balcony as the new pope is introduced.
She, like others, recorded the historic moment on her phone, as others waved flags and cried out “Viva Il Papa!” — “Long live the pope!” in Italian.
“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to be here to see the pope. It’s really special... I’m excited!” said Florian Fried, a 15-year-old from Munich, in Germany.
Francis died aged 88 after a 12-year papacy during which he sought to forge a more compassionate Church — but provoked anger from many conservatives with his progressive approach.
Leo XIV now faces a momentous task: as well as asserting his moral voice on a conflict-torn global stage, he must try to unite a divided Church and tackle burning issues such as the continued fall-out from the sexual abuse scandal.
It was unknown how many ballots it took to elect the new pope, but the conclave followed recent history in wrapping up in less than two days.
While the details of the election will forever remain secret, the new pope had to secure at least two-thirds of votes to be elected.
The election has come at a time of great geopolitical uncertainty, which was seen as a key voting issue, along with the rifts within the Church.
Francis was a compassionate reformer who prioritized migrants and the environment, but he angered traditionalists who wanted a defender of doctrine rather than a headline-maker.
Some 80 percent of the cardinal electors were appointed by Francis. Hailing from 70 countries around the world, it was the most international conclave ever.
The papal inauguration usually takes place less than a week after the election with a mass celebrated before political and religious leaders from around the world.


Police detain 8 people after anti-migrant clashes in Spanish town

Police detain 8 people after anti-migrant clashes in Spanish town
Updated 19 sec ago
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Police detain 8 people after anti-migrant clashes in Spanish town

Police detain 8 people after anti-migrant clashes in Spanish town

MADRID: Eight people have been detained by police in Spain in relation to violent clashes that erupted between far-right groups, local residents and migrants in a southeastern town over the weekend, officials said on Monday.
Clashes in Torre-Pacheco in the Murcia region took place on Saturday night after an elderly resident was beaten up earlier in the week by unknown assailants, which led to a call by far-right groups to seek retribution on the area’s large migrant community.
The motivation for the initial attack was not clear.
Among those detained were two people allegedly linked to the attack on the elderly man and several others in relation to the weekend clashes, Mariola Guevara, the central government’s representative in Murcia, said Monday on X.
Six Spaniards and one North African resident were detained for the assaults, damages and disturbances, Guevara said. The two others detained had helped the perpetrator of the attack on the elderly man, she said.
A major police presence was moved into Torre-Pacheco, which has a population of roughly 42,000. About a third of its residents are of foreign origin, according to local government figures.
Large numbers of migrants also work in the surrounding area as day laborers in agriculture, a major driver of the regional economy.


German doctor goes on trial for 15 murders

German doctor goes on trial for 15 murders
Updated 48 min 6 sec ago
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German doctor goes on trial for 15 murders

German doctor goes on trial for 15 murders
  • Palliative care specialist alleged to have killed 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024 while working in Berlin
  • The case recalls that of notorious German nurse Niels Hoegel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients

BERLIN: A German doctor went on trial Monday accused of killing 15 patients with lethal injections and acting as “master of life and death” over those in his care.

The 40-year-old palliative care specialist, named by German media as Johannes M., is alleged to have killed 12 women and three men between September 2021 and July 2024 while working in Berlin.

The doctor is accused of injecting the victims, aged between 25 and 94, with deadly cocktails of sedatives and in some cases setting fire to their homes in a bid to cover up his crimes.

The accused had “visited his patients under the pretext of providing medical care,” prosecutor Philipp Meyhoefer said at the opening of the trial at the state court in Berlin.

Johannes M. had organized “home visits, already with the intention of killing” and exploited his patients’ trust in him as a doctor, Meyhoefer said.

“He acted with disregard for life... and behaved as the master of life and death.”

A co-worker first raised the alarm over Johannes M. last July after becoming suspicious that so many of his patients had died in fires, according to Die Zeit newspaper.

He was arrested in August, with prosecutors initially linking him to four deaths.

But subsequent investigations uncovered a host of other suspicious cases, and in April prosecutors charged Johannes M. with 15 counts of murder.

A further 96 cases were still being investigated, a prosecution spokesman said, including the death of Johannes M.’s mother-in-law.

She had been suffering from cancer and mysteriously died the same weekend that Johannes M. and his wife went to visit her in Poland in early 2024, according to media reports.

The suspect reportedly trained as a radiologist and a general practitioner before going on to specialize in palliative care.

According to Die Zeit, he submitted a doctoral thesis in 2013 looking into the motives behind a series of killings in Frankfurt, which opened with the words “Why do people kill?”

In the charges brought against Johannes M., prosecutors said the doctor had “administered an anesthetic and a muscle relaxant to his patients... without their knowledge or consent.”

The relaxant “paralyzed the respiratory muscles, leading to respiratory arrest and death within minutes.”

In five cases, Johannes M. allegedly set fire to the victims’ apartments after administering the injections.

On one occasion, he is accused of murdering two patients on the same day.

On the morning of July 8, 2024, he allegedly killed a 75-year-old man at his home in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg.

“A few hours later” he is said to have struck again, killing a 76-year-old woman in the neighboring Neukoelln district.

Prosecutors say he started a fire in the woman’s apartment, but it went out.

“When he realized this, he allegedly informed a relative of the woman and claimed that he was standing in front of her flat and that nobody was answering the doorbell,” prosecutors said.

In another case, Johannes M. “falsely claimed to have already begun resuscitation efforts” on a 56-year-old victim, who was initially kept alive by rescuers but died three days later in hospital.

Prosecutors said he had “no motive beyond killing” and are seeking a life sentence.

The case recalls that of notorious German nurse Niels Hoegel, who was handed a life sentence in 2019 for murdering 85 patients.

Hoegel, believed to be modern Germany’s most prolific serial killer, murdered hospital patients with lethal injections between 2000 and 2005, before he was eventually caught in the act.

More recently, a 27-year-old nurse was given a life sentence in 2023 for murdering two patients by deliberately administering unprescribed drugs.

In March, another nurse went on trial in Aachen accused of injecting 26 patients with large doses of sedatives or painkillers, resulting in nine deaths.

Last week, German police revealed they are investigating another doctor suspected of killing several mainly elderly patients.

Investigators are “reviewing” deaths linked to the doctor from the town of Pinneberg in northern Germany, just outside Hamburg, police and prosecutors said.


EU climate VP seeks ‘fair competition’ with China on green energy

EU climate VP seeks ‘fair competition’ with China on green energy
Updated 56 min 15 sec ago
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EU climate VP seeks ‘fair competition’ with China on green energy

EU climate VP seeks ‘fair competition’ with China on green energy
  • Deep frictions exist over economic relations between the 27-nation bloc and Beijing

BEIJING: The European Union is seeking "fair competition" with China and not a race to the bottom in wages and environmental standards, the bloc's vice president for the clean transition told AFP on Monday.
Deep frictions exist over economic relations between the 27-nation bloc and Beijing.
Brussels is worried that a manufacturing glut propelled by massive state subsidies could add to a yawning trade deficit and result in a flood of cheap Chinese goods undercutting European firms.
Speaking during a visit to Beijing ahead of a major EU-China summit in the city this month, Teresa Ribera dismissed China's claims that the bloc was engaging in "protectionism".
"We Europeans don't want to go down a race towards low incomes, lower labour rights or lower environmental standards," said Ribera, who also serves as the bloc's competition chief.
"It is obvious that we could not be in a good position if there could be an ... over-flooding in our markets that could undermine us with prices that do not reflect the real cost," she said.
The EU imposed extra import taxes of up to 35 percent on Chinese electric vehicle imports in October and has investigated Chinese-owned solar panel manufacturers.
Asked whether EU moves against Chinese green energy firms could harm the global transition to renewables, Ribera said: "It is fair to say that, yes, we may benefit in the very short term."
However, she also warned "it could kill the possibility" of long-term investment in the bloc's future.

Ribera's visit comes as Beijing seeks to improve relations with the European Union as a counterweight to superpower rival the United States, whose President Donald Trump has disrupted the global order and pulled Washington out of international climate accords.
"I don't think that we have witnessed many occasions in the past where a big economy, a big country, decides to isolate in such a relevant manner," she told AFP.
"It is a pity.
"The Chinese may think that the United States has given them a great opportunity to be much more relevant in the international arena," Ribera said.
The visit also comes as the bloc and the United States wrangle over a trade deal. Trump threw months of negotiations into disarray on Saturday by announcing he would hammer the bloc with sweeping tariffs if no agreement was reached by August 1.
Ribera vowed on Monday that the EU would "defend the interests of our companies, our society, our business".
Asked if a deal was in sight, she said: "Who knows? We'll do our best."
However, she insisted that EU digital competition rules -- frequently condemned by Trump as "non-tariff barriers" to trade -- were not on the table.
"It's a question of sovereignty," Ribera said.
"We are not going to compromise on the way we understand that we need to defend our citizens and our society, our values and our market."


Father of American man slain by Israeli settlers tells Arab News US officials do not care

Father of American man slain by Israeli settlers tells Arab News US officials do not care
Updated 14 July 2025
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Father of American man slain by Israeli settlers tells Arab News US officials do not care

Father of American man slain by Israeli settlers tells Arab News US officials do not care
  • Sayfollah Musallet was beaten to death on his family’s land in the West Bank
  • ‘Where is the outcry from America for an American? We need justice now’

CHICAGO: Kamel Musallet, the father of a 20-year-old American citizen slain by Israeli settlers on Friday, told Arab News that US officials should treat his son’s killing “the same way they’d treat the murder of any American in any country.”

Sayfollah Musallet was beaten to death by settlers on land the family owns outside the Palestinian village of Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya in the occupied West Bank.

The family are American citizens of Palestinian heritage who have lived in Port Charlotte, Florida, most of their lives.

Sayfollah Musallet, who was born and raised in Florida, went to see family in Al-Mazra’a Ash-Sharqiya when he was confronted by “gangs of settlers” on their nearby land.

Kamel Musallet said he has only received condolences from “someone” at the US Embassy in Jerusalem, but not from any American officials in the US. 

“Where is the concern? My son is an American,” he added, describing him as “a kind person, a good person.”

He said Israeli soldiers prevented family and friends from reaching his son, and medical personnel from treating him.

“He was there, injured, dying, for nearly three hours … The settlers killed him and nothing has been done,” he added.

“Settlers have been going to Palestinian-owned lands randomly attacking any Palestinians they see, trying to steal these lands.

“They’re trying to put tents up on these lands to create new settlements, destroying olive trees and killing farm animals … We’ve asked for protection but have gotten nothing … They’ve been doing this for years.”

He added: “My whole family is American. Who is speaking up in America for our rights, our lives? Where is the outcry from America for an American? We need justice now.”

He said his son had been running an ice cream store that the family opened a year before in Tampa, Florida.

“Sayfollah was such a kind soul, a hard worker. I'm an entrepreneur, so he wanted to be like me … He left a positive impression on everyone he met.”


Trump envoy arrives in Kyiv as US pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Trump envoy arrives in Kyiv as US pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine
Updated 14 July 2025
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Trump envoy arrives in Kyiv as US pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine

Trump envoy arrives in Kyiv as US pledges Patriot missiles to Ukraine
  • Donald Trump last week teased that he would make a ‘major statement’ on Russia on Monday
  • US leader made quickly stopping the Russia-UKraine war one of his diplomatic priorities

KYIV: US President Donald Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, arrived in Kyiv on Monday, a senior Ukrainian official said, as anticipation grew over a possible shift in the Trump administration’s policy on the more than three-year war.

Trump last week teased that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday. Trump made quickly stopping the war one of his diplomatic priorities, and he has increasingly expressed frustration about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s unbudging stance on U.S-led peace efforts.

Putin “talks nice and then he bombs everybody,” Trump said late Sunday, as he confirmed the US is sending Ukraine badly needed US-made Patriot air defense missiles to help it fend off Russia’s intensifying aerial attacks.

Russia has spread terror in Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, with hundreds of drones and cruise and ballistic missiles that Ukraine’s air defenses are struggling to counter. June brought the highest monthly civilian casualties of the past three years, with 232 people killed and 1,343 wounded, the UN human rights mission in Ukraine said Thursday. Russia launched 10 times more drones and missiles in June than in the same month last year, it said.

That has happened at the same time as Russia’s bigger army is making a new effort to drive back Ukrainian defenders on parts of the 1,000-kilometer frontline.

A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back against Russia’s full-scale invasion. It’s a cause that Trump had previously dismissed as being a waste of US taxpayer money.

“In the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,” Graham said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He added: “One of the biggest miscalculations (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table.”

Also, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte was due in Washington on Monday and Tuesday. He planned to hold talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as members of Congress.

Talks during Kellogg’s visit to Kyiv will cover “defense, strengthening security, weapons, sanctions, protection of our people and enhancing cooperation between Ukraine and the United States,” said the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andrii Yermak.

“Russia does not want a cease fire. Peace through strength is President Donald Trump’s principle, and we support this approach,” Yermak said.

Russian troops conducted a combined aerial strike at Shostka, in the northern Sumy region of Ukraine, using glide bombs and drones early Monday morning, killing two people, the regional prosecutor’s office said. Four others were injured, including a 7-year-old, it said.

Overnight from Sunday to Monday, Russia fired four S-300/400 missiles and 136 Shahed and decoy drones at Ukraine, the air force said. It said that 61 drones were intercepted and 47 more were either jammed or lost from radars mid-flight.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defenses downed 11 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions on the border with Ukraine, as well as over the annexed Crimea and the Black Sea.