Conclave: Cardinals fail to agree on new pope in first vote
Black smoke rose from the Vatican on Wednesday, signaling that Catholic cardinals — as expected — did not reach a decision on who should lead the church as the next pope.
Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square needed to be patient as it took longer than expected for the smoke to billow from the chimney, more than three hours after cardinals began the conclave.
The next vote is to take place on Thursday.
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Times of Oman
an hour ago
- Times of Oman
Indian foreign minister welcomes Belgium's support and solidarity in combatting terrorism
Brussels: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar began his visit to Belgium on Monday with a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot. The discussions focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation and combating terrorism. He appreciated Belgium's support in combating terrorism and welcomed their solidarity and emphasised the strong momentum in the India-EU partnership, highlighting the potential for collaboration in clean energy, mobility, and pharmaceuticals. The two leaders discussed deepening cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, technology, defense, and security. Sharing the details in a post on X on Monday, EAM said, "Pleased to meet DPM & FM @prevotmaxime at the start of my visit to Belgium. Welcomed Belgium's support and solidarity in combatting terrorism. Appreciated the strong momentum of our bilateral engagement and the India - EU partnership. Also held wide - ranging discussions on deepening our cooperation including in trade, investment, technology, defence & security, pharmaceuticals, clean energy and mobility." Jaishankar's visit to Brussels comes three months after Princess Astrid of Belgium led a 300-member economic mission to India. The recent visit by Princess Astrid, who met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jaishankar, discussed key areas such as labor migration, pharmaceuticals, defense, diamonds, space exploration, and green energy. Interestingly, Jaishankar's visit coincides with the detention of fugitive Indian diamantaire Mehul Choksi in a Belgian jail. Choksi, accused of defrauding Punjab National Bank of Rs 13,850 crore, was arrested in mid-April on India's extradition request. India has an extradition treaty with Belgium, and the government is likely to pursue Choksi's extradition during the EAM's visit. Jaishankar is on an official visit to France, the European Union (EU), and Belgium from June 8 to 14, 2025, the Ministry of External Affairs announced in a press release on Sunday. The visit marks a significant step in further strengthening India's strategic partnerships with Europe. The EAM will first travel to Paris and Marseille, France, where he will hold bilateral discussions with the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Jean Noel Barrot. The EAM will hold a Strategic Dialogue with the EU High Representative and Vice President Kaja Kallas. According to the MEA press release, "India-European Union strategic partnership has strengthened over the years across diverse sectors and got a big boost with the first-ever visit of the EU College of Commissioners to India in February this year." Jaishankar will also meet senior leadership from the European Commission and European Parliament and interact with think tanks and media. MEA in its statement noted that the Belgium leg would also see the EAM meet members of the Indian community during his visit. The MEA highlighted, "India and Belgium share warm and friendly relations along with a very robust economic partnership. Today the collaboration between the two countries spans various domains like trade and investment, green energy, technology, pharmaceutical, diamond sector and strong people-to-people ties." The Ministry of External Affairs emphasized that the visit is expected to further deepen India's friendly relations with the European Union, France and Belgium and give renewed momentum to ongoing cooperation in diverse areas.
Times of Oman
2 hours ago
- Times of Oman
High Seas Treaty: UN's Guterres warns of 'wild west'
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday told delegates at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France: "The ocean is the ultimate shared resource. But we are failing it." The UN boss cited collapsing fish stocks, rising sea levels, ocean acidification, plastic pollution, destructive fishing and the quest for mineral riches at the ocean floor as key threats in his remarks. The conference was organized to ratify a treaty that would give nations the right to establish protected marine areas in international waters. Beyond providing sustenance and a habitat for local communities, sea creatures and organisms, oceans also absorb roughly 30% the globe's CO2 emissions. The High Seas Treaty, adopted in 2023, would allow countries to legally establish protection for roughly two-thirds of the world's oceans — where activities are largely unregulated today. Currently, only 8% of the world's oceans have marine conservation designations, although it is estimated that only 1% overall can be considered truly protected. Macron says High Seas Treaty a 'done deal' To go into effect, the High Seas Treaty must ratified by at least 60 countries. French President Emmanuel Macron told those gathered that 50 countries had ratified the treaty so far and another 15 had formally promised to, making it "a done deal." France's foreign minister said he expects implementation to take place by the end of the year. Macron also announced that France would partially restrict bottom-trawling — a destructive form of fishing — in half of the countries protected marine areas. But conservation groups blasted him for not going far enough to protect French waters. Guterres: Mining could turn seabed into 'wild west' The UN's Guterres began the conference by addressing a major threat facing the world's oceans — deep-sea mining. Guterres warned of the dangers of letting the ocean floor "become the wild west." The US, China and Russia, among others, are keen to exploit potential mineral wealth on and beneath the ocean floor. US President Donald Trump has moved aggressively on this front, fast-tracking US exploration in international waters and threatening to take territorial control of Greenland to get its share of Arctic rare earths. Macron is lobbying for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, calling it "an international necessity." "I think it's madness to launch predatory economic action that will disrupt the deep seabed, disrupt biodiversity, destroy it and release irrecoverable carbon sinks," he said. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva joined Macron in criticizing a "predatory race" among countries looking to extract critical minerals on the ocean floor. No US delegation present at ocean conference The US has also withdrawn from all international climate commitments and cut funding for climate and oceanographic projects under President Trump. Commenting on the fact that the US had not sent a delegation to the conference, France's Macron, said: "It's not a surprise, we know the American administration's position on these issues." "If they [the US] don't ratify it, they are not bound by it," said Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance. "Implementation will take years but it is critical that we start now," said Hubbard, adding, "we won't let the US' absence stop that from happening." Small island nations call out the big fish Investment in ocean health totaled $10 billion (€8.8 billion) from 2015 to 2019. The UN estimates that investment needs to be $175 billion annually to meet conservation coals. The UN has announced it will introduce a new scheme to mobilize new and diverse sources of capital to finance an attempt to restore ocean health by 2028. Alongside political and business leaders, ocean experts, conservationists and activists, the Nice conference was also attended by representatives from numerous small island nations facing rising seas, marine trash and decimated fish stocks. Although the conference will not produce any legally binding agreement, those engaged in its implementation are pushing ahead. Samoa, for one, led by example this week, announcing the creation of nine marine parks protecting 30% of its waters. As large nations haggle over the price of protecting the oceans, President Surangel Whipps Jr of the low-lying Pacific nation of Palau, called them out: "We say to you, if you are serious about protecting the ocean, prove it."
Times of Oman
a day ago
- Times of Oman
Indian delegation in Germany engages with lawmakers, think-tanks to highlight India's zero-tolerance stand on terrorism
Berlin: The all-party delegation led by BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad to Germany met senior representatives from German Government, Parliament (Bundestag) and Think-Tanks to convey India's principled position of 'Zero-Tolerance against Terrorism' and its strategy to tackle cross-border terrorism, especially in light of the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam, the Indian Embassy in Germany said in a statement on Friday. "During its first day of engagements in Berlin, the All-Party Parliamentary Delegation, led by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon'ble Member of Parliament & former Union Minister, met with senior representatives from German Government, Parliament (Bundestag) and Think-Tanks to convey India's principled position of 'Zero-Tolerance against Terrorism' and its strategy to tackle cross-border terrorism, especially in light of the dastardly terror attack in Pahalgam. The delegation also briefed the German counterparts and interlocutors about Operation Sindoor - India's firm, precise, targeted and non-escalatory response to the terror attack", the statement said. As per the statement, the delegation called on Johann Wadephul, Foreign Minister of Federal Republic of Germany. Recalling his recent interaction with Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Wadephul reiterated Germany's strong support for India's fight against terrorism and the right of every nation to defend itself from such terror attacks. The statement observed that the delegation deeply appreciated Germany's strong condemnation of the Pahalgam terror attack and expression of solidarity with India. The delegation also emphasized the need to hold the perpetrators of terrorist acts accountable and called for multi-lateral cooperation in this regard. The delegation called on Omid Nouripour, Vice President of the German Parliament (Bundestag) and outlined the three salient features of India's policy in dealing with terrorism- Zero tolerance, not giving in to nuclear blackmail and resolving the issues with Pakistan bilaterally. The delegation emphasised that terrorism is a global threat and must be met with a unified international response. The delegation also met with Armin Laschet, Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of Bundestag, Ralph Brinkhaus, Member of Bundestag (MdB) and Hubertus Heil, MdB. The delegation conveyed their appreciation for prompt expression of condolences for victims of the terror attack by Germany's top political leadership. They highlighted that the attack was designed to disrupt the booming tourism economy of Jammu & Kashmir and to sow seeds of communal tension in India, as per the official statement. It further observed that during their interaction, the delegation emphasised that Operation Sindoor received support from across the spectrum in India and conveyed India's united stance against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The delegation interacted with senior members of German Parliament (Bundestag) active in the fields of foreign policy and international affairs and a leading think-tank in Germany, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS). Ending the day's engagements, the delegation also had an interaction with representatives from leading German think-tanks and eminent personalities at a reception hosted by Ambassador of India to Germany, Ajit Gupte, the statement read. Notably, during the interactions, the delegation highlighted the measured, precise, responsible and non-escalatory nature of the steps taken by India in response to the terrorist attack. They emphasised that nuclear blackmail should not be allowed as a cover for terrorism and discussed India's strategy against cross-border terrorism in future. German interlocutors expressed support for India's stance, with a shared recognition of the urgent need for the international community to come together in the fight against terrorism. Both sides also discussed India-Germany cooperation in the field of Defence, Security and Counter-Terrorism as part of the deepening Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
