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Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Donald and Melania Trump Will Attend Funeral of Pope He Called ‘Disgrace'
President Donald Trump said Monday he will attend the funeral for Pope Francis in Vatican City, the papal enclave in Rome. Some questioned whether the president would make the trip given his public rift with Francis on issues like immigration, which garnered headlines as recently as this weekend. 'Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'We look forward to being there!' Complete funeral arrangements have not been finalized for Francis, who died Monday morning at 88. Late pontiffs are typically buried four to six days after their death, and a ceremony takes place outside in St. Peter's Square to accommodate an influx of mourners. Francis requested to be buried in Rome at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, breaking with a longtime tradition of being buried at the Vatican. Trump, 78, spoke glowingly of Francis on Monday—an about-face from the rhetoric he has used previously. 'He's a very good man who loved the world,' Trump said Monday. 'He especially loved people that were having a hard time, and that's good with me.' Trump and Francis' public feud dates back to 2013, when Trump, then two years away from entering the political scene, scoffed at Francis' frugality. 'I don't like seeing the Pope standing at the checkout counter (front desk) of a hotel in order to pay his bill,' Trump tweeted. 'It's not Pope-like!' Francis hit back at Trump years later as a Republican presidential candidate campaigning on building a border wall and carrying out mass deportations. Francis said such policy beliefs made Trump 'not Christian.' 'I'd just say that this man is not Christian, if he said it in this way,' Francis told reporters in February 2016. 'A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges is not Christian.' Trump, of course, wasted no time firing back. 'If and when the Vatican is attacked by ISIS, which, as everyone knows, is ISIS's ultimate trophy, I can promise you that the Pope would have only wished and prayed that Donald Trump would have been President because this would not have happened,' his campaign said in a statement. 'For a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful.' The two men met for the first time in 2017—four months into Trump's first White House stint—at the Vatican. A photo went viral showing Trump beaming while Francis scowled, but their statements after the meeting were positive. Francis said he even gifted Trump a signed-and-bound copy of his remarks from World Peace Day. 'Honor of a lifetime to meet His Holiness Pope Francis,' Trump said after their meeting. 'I leave the Vatican more determined than ever to pursue PEACE in our world.' Things turned sour again in recent months. Francis described Trump's mass deportation plans as a 'major crisis' in February. 'The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,' he wrote in a letter.
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Turkey protests: Journalist arrests fuel fears for democracy
It was early morning on 23 March when the police came to Yasin Akgul's door in Istanbul – while his children were still in bed. Just hours before, the Turkish photojournalist had returned home from covering mass anti-government protests. Now he was a wanted man."I went to the door and saw there was a lot of police," he says. "They said they had an arrest order for me but gave me no details. My son was awake, and I couldn't even tell him what was happening as I didn't get it myself."Akgul, 35, has seen "plenty of action" in more than a decade as a photojournalist with the AFP news agency – from war-torn Syria to IS-controlled Iraq. On home soil in Turkey, he has been beaten by the police several times while taking pictures, he says - including on World Peace Day – and has been detained "so many times".But being arrested at home was a first."A chill fell over the house," he tells us. "In my work, at the protests, I have seen a lot of violence, and tear gas, but having the police in my home, I felt more afraid."Akgul was one of seven journalists arrested in dawn raids. All had been covering the protests sparked by the arrest of the city's opposition mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu – the main political rival of Turkey's long-time leader, Recep Tayyip protesters say the mayor's arrest over corruption charges, which he denies, is politically motivated – an attempt to end his hopes of becoming the country's next authorities had banned the protests but had been unable to stop is facing charges of "taking part in illegal rallies and marches". He says the aim is clear – to stop others taking pictures of the biggest unrest in Turkey in more than a was in the thick of it – gas mask on – when he took some of the most iconic images of the night. His photos show a man dressed as a whirling dervish (a dancing mystic) being pepper-sprayed by a line of riot police – striking images of a battle for the soul of Turkey that went around the world, before landing him behind bars."This message is to all the journalists," he says. "Don't shoot (take pictures), don't speak, don't film. They are making other journalists afraid that if they go back into the field, they could face the same thing." The fact that he works for an international news agency, AFP, makes that message even louder, he has been received and understood."After we were arrested, many freelance journalists could not shoot the next day. Everyone was afraid," he told us, sitting on his couch at home with his wife Hazal by his side. Their three-year-old daughter, Ipek, lay on the couch, holding her father's hand. Their son, Umut, eight, listened on, wearing a Harry Potter-style hat and believes those arrested were carefully chosen – among them seasoned photojournalists. "They are trying to remove us from the front lines," he of his friends – fellow journalists - have already removed themselves, leaving Turkey because they faced charges or feared they now, his family is among many here worrying that they could be torn apart by the courts. The government says the judiciary is independent. Human rights groups say judges are under political control, and Turkish democracy is being eroded, year on Erdogan – who has many loyal supporters - retains a tight grip on the levers of power. He says the protests are "street terrorism" and accuses the opposition of leading "a movement of violence". He has predicted that the demonstrations will Maybe not. As Yasin Akgul was being released from prison on the morning of 27 March, the BBC's Mark Lowen was being deported from Istanbul, after 17 hours in detention. He was given papers saying he was "a threat to public order". The authorities later said – after the BBC reported the story – that he had been deported because he lacked not only journalists who are at risk. One of the mayor's own lawyers was detained briefly "on fictitious grounds", according to a social media post that Ekrem Imamoglu sent from his cell in a high security prison. His legal team fight on, but they too are feeling the chill. "The right to a defence, I think, is sacred. It's part of a fair trial that your lawyers should feel comfortable and safe," says Ece Guner, who is both a lawyer, and an adviser to the mayor."It would be a lie to say that no-one is worried, to be honest," she tells us, "but we still feel we have a duty to our country to say the truth, to preserve democracy, and the rule of law." Where does Turkish democracy stand now? Some here fear it's on its last the past two weeks or so – since the protests began on 19 March - around 2,000 people have been detained, according to Turkey's interior of those are students and members of Generation Erdogan – those who have only known the 22-year rule of Turkey's long-time leader. Arresting them sends another message."It's a huge warning to young people, a loud and clear warning – don't get involved," says Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey Director for Human Rights says the government has also been "lashing out in all directions against perceived opposition" from any quarter, not just the mayor's Republic People's Party (CHP), which is the main opposition party here."Public bodies are under threat," she says. "If they speak out and use their voices with authority, there is an attempt to stifle them immediately."She expects that the coming months will see continuing attempts to limit the protests, and "render them invisible".That won't be hard given the government's extensive control of the media here. The huge demonstrations held so far didn't lead the bulletins on state TV and pro-government outlets, and when they were shown the protesters were referred to as most recent rally - last weekend - attracted several hundred thousand people, at the least. The opposition claims more than two million people families brought several generations with them to hear calls for change under a warm sun. We saw the usual heavy police presence but this time there was no tear gas, or rubber bullets. This rally was not banned. Among the throng we met Alp, 32, who said he had come to defend democracy while there was still time. We didn't ask for a surname – many protesters prefer not to give theirs. He said he was concerned about the risk of arrest. "The police are collecting students, and women and working people like us," he said. "So, all of us are in danger right now. But we have to stand up. That's our only choice. If we don't do anything, if we just watch, the battle is lost already."The opposition is promising to keep up its protests and its campaign on the streets. It's pressing for presidential elections to be brought forward from 2028. Opposition polls suggest President Erdogan would lose to Imamoglu – if he were freed from jail and able to run as a president himself should not be able to run - as he is already in his second term - but there's speculation here that he could try to change the opposition insists there will be weekly protests from now on. If so, it looks certain that the arrests will unclear if Yasin Akgul's case will go to trial, but the charges against him remain. Despite the danger he hopes to keep telling the story here."Someone needs to do this job," he says, "and I think I am one of those people."
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Catholic Church condemns the use of AI in war — ‘No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being'
The Vatican, the governing authority of the Catholic Church, published an ethical framework on AI, advising Catholics about its potential misuses. The Vatican forewarned the 'shadow of evil' carried by the dangers of artificial intelligence this week. The leaders of the Catholic Church released a document emphasizing necessary awareness of AI's capabilities. Specifically, the paper outlined the church's ethical framework on AI's use in warfare and emphasized the problematic nature of weaponization of AI. The use of remote military operations have contributed to a 'lessened perception' of devastation caused by the weapon systems and the 'burden of responsibility,' the document said. The Vatican urged that it's 'critically important,' to understand AI's ethical impact on humankind. 'This involves not only mitigating risks and preventing harm but also ensuring that its applications are used to promote human progress and the common good,' the document said. AI should be used as a tool to supplement human intelligence rather than 'replace its richness.' Approved by Pope Francis on Jan.14, a Vatican team from the dicastery for the doctrine of faith and the dicastery for culture and education worked on the new framework for six months, consulting consultants in the field. The document said that although the future of AI is unpredictable, autonomous machines should remain adjunct to the power of humans. 'The atrocities committed throughout history are enough to raise deep concerns about the potential abuses of AI,' the document said. 'No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being.' Additionally, the Vatican warned of AI's capabilities to spread misinformation, destroying societal trust. 'AI-generated fake media can gradually undermine the foundations of society,' the document said. The Vatican suggested cautious regulations as misinformation can fuel 'political polarization and social unrest.' Throughout the entirety of the document, the church lays out more of its perspectives surrounding AI in terms of its impact on relationships, work, health care, education, and security. The document referenced Pope Francis' 2024 World Peace Day Message when referring to autonomous military action. He said as artificial intelligence lacks the 'unique human capacity for moral judgement and ethical decision making,' AI should not have the power to operate deadly machinery. Pope Francis requested militaries discontinue the use of these systems saying, 'an effective and concrete commitment to introduce ever greater and proper human control.' In another written letter, Pope Francis addressed the world's major political, economic, and business players at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last week. He wrote that AI can intensify a growing 'crisis of truth.' He made similar remarks at a Group of 7 meeting last year. Pope Francis said that AI 'represents a true cognitive-industrial revolution, which will contribute to the creation of a new social system characterized by complex epochal transformations.'Additionally, the Vatican issued a regulatory document outlining its guidelines for the use of AI within the organization last month. This story was originally featured on
