World
John Paul I, briefly serving, ‘smiling” pope, is beatified
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Sunday beatified one in all his predecessors, John Paul I, a briefly serving pontiff who distinguished himself along with his humility and cheerfulness, and whose abrupt loss of life in his bed room in 1978 shocked the world and fueled suspicions for years about his demise.
The ceremony in St. Peter’s Sq. constituted the final formal step within the Vatican earlier than attainable sainthood for Albino Luciani, an Italian who died 33 days after being elected pontiff.
“With a smile, Pope John Paul managed to speak the goodness of the Lord,” Francis stated in his homily.
“How stunning is a church with a cheerful, serene and smiling face, that by no means closes doorways, by no means hardens hearts, by no means complains or harbors resentments, isn’t indignant, doesn’t look dour or undergo nostalgia for the previous,″ the pontiff stated.
Francis then inspired individuals to hope to the newly beatified churchman to “acquire for us the smile of the soul.”
Final 12 months, Francis authorized a miracle attributed to the intercession of John Paul I — that of the restoration of a critically ailing 11-year-old woman in 2011 in Buenos Aires, the hometown of the present pope. Now a younger girl, Candela Giarda advised a Vatican press convention final week by way of a video message that she had wished to attend the ceremony however couldn’t as a result of she lately broke a foot figuring out in a gymnasium.
For Luciani to be declared a saint, one other miracle, following his beatification, should be attributed to his intercession and licensed by the Vatican.
Seated below a cover exterior St. Peter’s Basilica, Francis led the ceremony, which was punctuated by booms of thunder, flashes of lightning and pouring rain, prompting cardinals, bishops, the choir and hundreds of rank-and-file trustworthy within the sq. to open umbrellas.
However by the top of the ceremony, the solar was shining, and Francis, waving whereas seated in a popemobile, toured the sq., waving to the gang, a few of whom shouted, “Lengthy stay the pope!”
When elected pontiff on Aug. 26, 1978, Luciani, 65, had been serving as patriarch of Venice, one of many church’s extra prestigious positions. In that function in addition to that beforehand as a bishop in northeastern Italy, Luciani sounded warnings in opposition to corruption, together with in banking circles.
In his short-lived papacy, which concluded with the invention of his physique in his bed room within the Apostolic Palace, John Paul I instantly established a easy, direct method of speaking with the trustworthy within the addresses he gave, a mode change thought of revolutionary contemplating the stuffiness of the setting of church hierarchy.
Those that have campaigned for him to sometime be made a saint have pressured his deep spirituality and his tireless emphasis on key Christian virtues — religion, hope and charity.
John Paul “lived with out compromise,″ Francis stated, praising him as mild-tempered, humble pastor.
Luciani overcame “the temptation to his personal self on the heart and to hunt one’s glory,” the pontiff stated.
The Vatican stated John Paul died of a coronary heart assault, however no post-mortem was completed. It gave conflicting variations of the circumstances of how his physique was found. First it stated {that a} priest who served as his secretary discovered him, however later acknowledged John Paul was discovered useless by one of many nuns who introduced him his customary morning espresso.
With an enormous monetary scandal creating on the time in Italy involving figures who had hyperlinks to the Vatican’s financial institution, suspicions shortly took root within the secular media that maybe Luciani was poisoned as a result of he meant to root out wrongdoing.
Books speculating on the circumstances surrounding his loss of life bought tens of millions of copies.
___
Alessandra Tarantino contributed to this report.
World
Memes, Jokes and Cats: South Koreans Use Parody for Political Protest
As South Koreans took to the streets this month demanding the ousting of their president, some found an unexpected outlet to express their fury: jokes and satire.
They hoisted banners and flags with whimsical messages about cats, sea otters and food. They waved signs joking that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law had forced them to leave the comfort of their beds. Pictures of the flags spread widely on social media.
The idea was to use humor to build solidarity against Mr. Yoon, who has vowed to fight his impeachment over his ill-fated martial law decree on Dec. 3. Some waved flags for nonexistent groups like the so-called Dumpling Association, a parody of real groups like labor unions, churches or student clubs.
“I just wanted to show that we were here as part of the people even if we aren’t actually a part of a civic group,” said Kim Sae-rim, 28, who waved the flag of the dumpling group at a recent protest she went to with friends. Some groups referred to other local favorites like pizza and red bean pastries.
Kwon Oh-hyouck, a veteran protester, said that he had first seen such flags emerge during demonstrations in 2016 and 2017 that ultimately resulted in the removal of President Park Geun-hye. Mr. Kwon said that satire was part of the Korean spirit of protest.
“People satirize serious situations, even when those in power come out with guns and knives,” he said. “They are not intimidated.”
In the past month, protesters have come up with a wide range of unorthodox groupings. Some were self-proclaimed homebodies. Still others came together as people who suffered from motion sickness.
Lee Kihoon, a professor of modern Korean history at Yonsei University in Seoul, said that he believed the flags at this month’s protests were an expression of the diversity of people galvanized by the president’s attempt to impose military rule.
“They’re trying to say: ‘Even for those of us who have nothing to do with political groups, this situation is unacceptable,’” he said. “‘I’m not a member of a party or anything, but this is outrageous.’”
Some held signs ridiculing Mr. Yoon, saying that he had separated them from their pets at home and disrupted their routine of watching Korean dramas. One group called itself a union of people running behind schedule, referring to the idea that the need to protest over martial law had forced them to reschedule their appointments.
And of course, there were animals, both real and fake.
South Koreans have shown that protests for serious causes — like the ousting of a president — can still have an inviting, optimistic and carnival-like atmosphere.
“I don’t know if the protesters realize it, but even though they’re angry, they haven’t gotten solemn, heavy or moralistic,” Mr. Lee said. “The flags have had an effect of softening and relaxing the tension.”
On the day that lawmakers voted to impeach Mr. Yoon, protesters who were K-pop fans brought lightsticks to rallies and danced to pop songs blasting from speakers. “Even though this is a serious day,” said Lee Jung-min, a 31-year-old fan of the band Big Bang, “we might as well enjoy it and keep spirits up.”
World
Two US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent 'friendly fire' incident: US military
Two U.S. Navy pilots were shot down Sunday over the Red Sea in what appeared to be “friendly fire”, the U.S. military said.
The pilots were found alive after they ejected from their aircraft, with one suffering minor injuries.
The incident demonstrates the pervasive dangers in the Red Sea corridor amid ongoing attacks on shipping by the Iranian-backed Houthis, even as U.S. and European military coalitions patrol the area.
The U.S. military had conducted airstrikes targeting Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the time, but U.S. Central Command did not elaborate on what their mission was.
US NAVY SHIPS REPEL ATTACK FROM HOUTHIS IN GULF OF ADEN
The military said the aircraft shot down was a two-seat F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet assigned to the “Red Rippers” of Strike Fighter Squadron 11 out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia.
The F/A-18 shot down had just flown off the deck of the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, according to Central Command. On Dec. 15, Central Command said the Truman had entered the Mideast, but did not specify that the carrier and its battle group were in the Red Sea.
“The guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, which is part of the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, mistakenly fired on and hit the F/A-18,” Central Command said in a statement.
It is unclear how the Gettysburg had mistaked an F/A-18 for an enemy aircraft or missile, particularly since ships in a battle group are linked by radar and radio communication.
US MILITARY CONDUCTS SUCCESSFUL AIRSTRIKES ON HOUTHI REBEL FORCES IN YEMEN
Central Command said that warships and aircraft earlier shot down multiple Houthi drones and an anti-ship cruise missile launched by the rebels. Fire from the Houthis has previously forced sailors to make decisions in seconds.
The U.S., since the Truman arrived, has ramped up its airstrikes targeting the Houthis and their missile fire into the Red Sea and the surrounding area. But an American warship group in the region may lead to additional attacks from the rebels.
On Saturday night and into Sunday, U.S. warplanes conducted airstrikes that shook Yemen’s capital of Sanaa, which the Houthis have held for a decade. Central Command said the strikes targeted a “missile storage facility” and a “command-and-control facility.”
Houthi-controlled media reported strikes in both Sanaa and around the port city of Hodeida, but did not disclose details on any casualties or damage.
The Houthis later acknowledged the aircraft being shot down in the Red Sea.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October of last year, the Houthis have targeted about 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones.
The rebels say that they target ships linked to Israel, the U.S. or the U.K. to force an end to Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which began after Hamas’ surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, although many of the ships the rebels have attacked have little or no connection to the ongoing war, including some headed for Iran.
The Houthis also have increasingly targeted Israel with drones and missiles, leading to retaliatory airstrikes from Israeli forces.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
AfD party calls for big rally after Germany's Christmas market attack
Leading right-wing figures in Europe have also weighed in, criticising the German authorities for failing to take stronger preventative action.
German far-right political party Alternative for Germany (AfD) is calling for a major rally following the attack at a Christmas market in Magdeburg which left several people dead and hundreds injured.
At a memorial site for the victims, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla called on Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to take stronger action to ensure the safety of the German public.
“I am now demanding answers from the interior minister: What is actually going on here in this country? What is actually happening in this country? We put up with it week after week, we put up with attacks, we put up with murders of our own people. This has to be cleared up now, and these phrases from politicians that things can’t go on like this, which I’ve heard again today, are actually upsetting,” Chrupalla told the press at the site.
Experts are now raising concerns that far-right groups could exploit the tragedy to fuel their anti-immigration rhetoric after police identified the assailant as a doctor from Saudi Arabia.
“Magdeburg is in eastern Germany where the support for the AfD is quite high. So, in elections usually, they have in the region more than one-third of the votes. So about 30% of the votes in the city, not as much as in the rural areas around,” says Matthias Quent, Professor of Sociology at Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences.
“The region in general, eastern Germany, is a hotspot of far-right mobilisations. And we are facing election campaigns until the federal elections in February. And so this is not just a critical time because of Christmas and the trust that gets destroyed by such an attack but, also, regarding questions of disinformation and polarisation and the spread of hate that will and could happen over these kinds of attacks now,” he added.
Leading right-wing figures in Europe have also weighed in, criticising the German authorities for failing to take stronger preventative action.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán drew a direct link between immigration and Friday’s deadly attack in Germany, telling a news conference on Saturday, “These phenomena have only existed in Europe since the start of the migration crisis. So there is no doubt that there is a link between the changed world in Western Europe, the migration that flows there, especially illegal migration and terrorist acts.”
However, Quent explains that this particular case becomes more complex as further details emerge on the background of the attacker.
Investigators have found that the perpetrator had tried to build connections to far-right organisations in Germany and the UK, including Germany’s far-right AfD party as well as Tommy Robinson, the founder of the far-right English Defence League.
“So it’s a very complicated case we are facing here. And it’s not an Islamist attack. It’s quite sure, a kind of anti-Islam. More like far-right attacks than any other, if you want to search a kind of context on the political radar,” Quent says.
Identified by local media as 50-year-old Taleb A., a psychiatry and psychotherapy specialist, authorities said he had been living in Germany for two decades.
Taleb’s alleged X account is filled with tweets and retweets focusing on anti-Islam themes and criticism of the religion while sharing congratulatory notes to Muslims who left the faith.
He also described himself as a former Muslim.
He was critical of German authorities, saying they had failed to do enough to combat the “Islamism of Europe.”
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