Pope Leo XIV calls for aid to reach Gaza and an end to hostilities in his first general audience

Pope Leo XIV calls for aid to reach Gaza and an end to hostilities in his first general audience
While low-level talks could take place in Rome, Italy would be hard-pressed to allow Putin to fly into Rome for any higher-level negotiation.(AP/FILE)
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Updated 21 May 2025
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Pope Leo XIV calls for aid to reach Gaza and an end to hostilities in his first general audience

Pope Leo XIV calls for aid to reach Gaza and an end to hostilities in his first general audience
  • Trump had referred to the Vatican’s longstanding offer to host talks in reporting on his phone call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV called Wednesday for humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip and for an end to the “heartbreaking” toll on its people, as he presided over his first general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican said that around 40,000 people were on hand for the audience, which came just days after an estimated 200,000 people attended the inaugural Mass on Sunday for history’s first American pope.

Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago, began the audience with a tour through the piazza in the popemobile and stopped to bless several babies. In addressing specific greetings to different groups of pilgrims, Leo spoke in his native English, his fluent Spanish as well as the traditional Italian of the papacy.

“I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entrance of dignified humanitarian aid to Gaza and to put an end to the hostilities whose heartbreaking price is being paid by children, the elderly and sick people,” he said. Leo didn’t mention the plight of hostages taken by Hamas during the assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as Pope Francis normally would.

The general audience on Wednesdays is a weekly appointment that popes have kept for decades to allow ordinary faithful to have a face-to-face encounter with the pontiff. It features the pope delivering a brief reflection on a theme or Scripture passage, with summaries provided by others in different languages and the pope directing specific messages to particular faith groups.

The encounter, which lasts more than an hour, usually ends with a brief topical appeal by the pope about a current issue or upcoming event. Leo began it with his now-frequent mantra “Peace be with you.”

To that end, Leo on Tuesday reaffirmed the Vatican’s willingness to host the next round of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine during a phone call with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, the Italian leader’s office said.

Meloni made the call after speaking with US President Donald Trump and other European leaders, who asked her to verify the Holy See’s offer.

“Finding in the Holy Father the confirmation of the willingness to welcome the next talks between the parties, the premier expressed profound gratitude for Pope Leo XIV’s willingness and his incessant commitment in favor of peace,” Meloni’s office said in a statement late Tuesday.

Trump had referred to the Vatican’s longstanding offer to host talks in reporting on his phone call Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

While low-level talks could take place in Rome, Italy would be hard-pressed to allow Putin to fly into Rome for any higher-level negotiation.

Putin is subject to an international arrest warrant against him from the International Criminal Court, of which Italy is a founding member and therefore obliged to execute its warrants.


Cyprus says it has been asked by Iran to convey ‘some messages’ to Israel

Cyprus says it has been asked by Iran to convey ‘some messages’ to Israel
Updated 21 sec ago
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Cyprus says it has been asked by Iran to convey ‘some messages’ to Israel

Cyprus says it has been asked by Iran to convey ‘some messages’ to Israel

NICOSIA: Iran has asked Cyprus to convey “some messages” to Israel, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Sunday, as the east Mediterranean island appealed for restraint in a rapidly escalating crisis in the Middle East.
Christodoulides spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday and he has also spoken to the leaders of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Greece, his office said.
Earlier, Christodoulides told journalists Iran had asked Cyprus to convey ‘some messages’ to Israel but he did not say who specifically the messages were from or what they said.
Cypriot officials offered no clarity on the nature of the messages, which came after the Cypriot foreign minister spoke to his Iranian counterpart on Friday night.
Christodoulides also said he was not happy with what he said was a slow reaction by the European Union to the unfolding crisis in the Middle East.
Cyprus, the EU member situated closest to the Middle East, had asked for an extraordinary meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, he said. Projectiles sent by Iran to strike Israel were visible from various locations across Cyprus on Friday and Saturday night.
“It is not possible for the EU to claim a geopolitical role, to see all these developments and for there not to be at the very least a convening of the Council of Foreign Ministers,” Christodoulides told journalists.
Cyprus has offered to assist in the evacuation of third-party nationals from the region, and has called on all sides to refrain from actions which could escalate the conflict.


Hajj operations set ‘global benchmark’ in crowd management: Sri Lanka envoy

Crowds of pilgrims gather in Mina to perform Hajj rituals on June 7, 2025. (SPA)
Crowds of pilgrims gather in Mina to perform Hajj rituals on June 7, 2025. (SPA)
Updated 8 min 29 sec ago
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Hajj operations set ‘global benchmark’ in crowd management: Sri Lanka envoy

Crowds of pilgrims gather in Mina to perform Hajj rituals on June 7, 2025. (SPA)
  • Almost 1.7m people undertook Hajj pilgrimage this year
  • Saudi authorities used AI systems to manage pilgrim flow

COLOMBO: Saudi Arabia’s organization of this year’s Hajj has set a new standard in crowd management through the use of advanced technologies, Sri Lanka’s envoy said on Sunday, as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims started to return home.

In the 2025 Hajj season, almost 1.7 million people undertook the spiritual journey that is one of the tenets of Islam. More than 1.5 million arrived in the Kingdom from abroad, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics.

Pilgrims started to arrive in May, ahead of the main rituals which this year fell on June 6-10. Many have already departed for their countries of origin but special post-Hajj flights will continue to operate until mid-July.

The way the temporary influx of people has been handled by the Kingdom has “set a global benchmark in crowd management and smart innovation,” said Ameer Ajwad, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the Kingdom, who this year was part of his country’s Hajj contingent.

Technology has played a key role in monitoring footage from more than 15,000 cameras installed in and around the holy city of Makkah.

The monitoring systems were designed to detect unusual crowd movements and anticipate bottlenecks in foot traffic to help prevent stampedes.

“The Kingdom set an exemplary global benchmark for crowd management by using AI-based crowd monitoring, predictive analytics as well as preventing unauthorized entries,” Ajwad told Arab News.

“Innovations by using advanced technologies such smart tents, digital tools and AI systems were also introduced to facilitate this year’s Hajj arrangements.”

More than 420,000 workers from the public and private sectors, including security services, served pilgrims during this year’s Hajj, GASTAT data shows.

The envoy highlighted the “tireless services rendered by the Saudi security and military officers, as well as guides and volunteers,” and extended gratitude to the Ministry of Health for “providing world-class healthcare services to the Hajj pilgrims (from) around the globe, including heart surgery for a Sri Lankan pilgrim.”

About 3,500 Sri Lankans took part in the pilgrimage this year. Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the 22 million population of the island nation, which is predominantly Buddhist.


Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister

Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister
Updated 36 min 13 sec ago
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Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister

Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister

PARIS: Greenland is a European territory and it is normal that Europe and France show their interest, French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot told RTL radio on Sunday when asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Arctic island.
Macron visits Greenland on Sunday, in a show of solidarity with Denmark that is meant to send a signal of European resolve after US President Donald Trump threatened to take over the island.


Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies

Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies
Updated 15 June 2025
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Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies

Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies
  • Russia says it has so far handed Ukraine the bodies of nearly 5,000 Ukrainian service personnel
  • Ukraine and Russia have conducted three exchanges of POWs so far, but have not disclosed exact numbers

MOSCOW: Russia on Sunday handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday, saying Moscow had not received a single Russian corpse in return.

Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA both reported the handover, citing an unnamed source.

It is the fourth in a series of handovers of soldiers’ remains to take place in the past week, in accordance with an agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine at talks in Istanbul earlier this month.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed to each hand over as many as 6,000 bodies and to exchange sick and heavily wounded prisoners of war and those aged under 25.

Russia says it has so far handed Ukraine the bodies of nearly 5,000 Ukrainian service personnel, but has only reported receiving a total of 27 Russian servicemen in return.

Ukraine and Russia have conducted three exchanges of POWs so far, but have not disclosed exact numbers.


1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye

1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye
Updated 15 June 2025
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1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye

1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye

ISTANBUL: A hot air balloon crashed in central Turkiye on Sunday, leaving its pilot dead and 19 Indonesian tourists injured, a local official said.
In a statement, the governor’s office said the balloon was affected by a sudden change of wind.
It was trying to make a hard landing near the village of Gozlukuyu in Aksaray province, when the pilot fell out of the balloon’s basket and his feet got tangled in a rope, Aksaray Governor Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu said.
“Unfortunately, our pilot got stuck under the basket and died,” he said, adding that the injured tourists were taken to a hospital.
Hot air ballooning is a popular tourist activity over the rugged landscape of central Turkiye, which is dotted with ancient churches hewn into cliff faces. The attractions include the “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia — the tall, cone-shaped rock formations created by natural erosion over thousands of years that are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Video from Ilhas News Agency showed one deflated balloon, its passenger basket lying on its side, as emergency services tended to injured people. An investigation is underway.
State-run Anadolu Agency said another hot air balloon taking off from the same location of Ilhara Valley also made a hard landing early Sunday morning, and that 12 Indian tourists were slightly injured and taken to hospital.
Two Spanish tourists were killed in 2022 when a hot air balloon made a hard landing following a sightseeing tour of Cappadocia.