VATICAN CITY: Tayyip Erdogan made the first visit by a Turkish president to the Vatican in 59 years on Monday, discussing the status of Jerusalem with Pope Francis, as scuffles broke out between police and demonstrators nearby.
Police, who put much of the center of the city under lockdown for the visit, said two people were detained after demonstrators tried to break through cordons to get closer to the Vatican from an authorized protest several blocks away.
Returning a visit made by the pope to Turkey in 2014, Erdogan spoke privately with Francis for about 50 minutes in the pontiff’s frescoed study in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, which he uses mostly for ceremonial purposes.
A Vatican statement said the talks included “the status of Jerusalem, highlighting the need to promote peace and stability in the region (Middle East) through dialogue and negotiation, with respect for human rights and international law.”
Both Erdogan and Pope Francis are opposed to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which many US allies say could doom Middle East peace efforts..
At the end of the private part of the meeting, the pope gave Erdogan a bronze medallion showing an angel embracing the northern and southern hemispheres while overcoming the opposition of a dragon.
“This is the angel of peace who strangles the demon of war,” the pope told Erdogan as he gave him the medallion, made by the Italian artist Guido Verol. “(It is) a symbol of a world based on peace an justice.”
The public part of the meeting, with reporters and Erdogan’s entourage, was cordial, although both men seemed stiff at the start while seated at the pope’s desk before journalists were ushered out.
Erdogan’s motorcade entered a virtually deserted St. Peter’s Square after the streets that are usually bustling with tourists were closed due to security fears.
An authorized demonstration of about 150 people including Kurds and their supporters outside nearby Castel Sant’Angelo, a fortress on the banks of the River Tiber, turned violent when police in riot gear pushed back shouting and shoving protesters who tried to break through their lines. At least one demonstrator was injured, a witness said.
Some 3,500 police and security forces were on duty in Rome and authorities declared a no-go area for unauthorized demonstrations that included the Vatican, Erdogan’s hotel and Italian palaces where he is meeting the president and prime minister.
Matteo Salvini, head of Italy’s anti-immigrant Northern League, said in a tweet that it was “shameful” that the government was receiving Erdogan, calling him “the head of a bloody, freedom-killing Islamic regime.”
Erdogan and the pope spoke by phone in December after Trump made his announcement on Jerusalem and agreed that any change to the city’s status quo should be avoided.
The Vatican backs a two-state solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, with both sides agreeing on the status of Jerusalem — home to sites holy to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian religions — as part of the peace process.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state, whereas Israel has declared the whole city to be its “united and eternal” capital.
Among Erdogan’s delegation was the Mehmet Pacaci, Turkey’s ambassador to the Vatican. Erdogan recalled Pacaci to Turkey in 2015 when Francis became the first pope to publicly call the 1915 killing of as many as 1.5 million Armenians “genocide” — something Turkey has always denied.
Erdogan and pope discuss Jerusalem as scuffles break out near Vatican
Erdogan and pope discuss Jerusalem as scuffles break out near Vatican
Following Kashmir attack, Modi cuts short Saudi trip after talks on energy, defense
- Saudi Arabia is one of the top exporters of petroleum to India
- Modi met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before cutting short his visit
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia and India agreed to boost cooperation in supplies of crude and liquefied petroleum gas, according to a joint statement reported by the Saudi state news agency on Wednesday following a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which was cut short by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Saudi Arabia is one of the top exporters of petroleum to India.
Modi met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman before cutting short his visit and returning to New Delhi after an attack on India’s Jammu and Kashmir territory which killed 26 people, the worst attack in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings.
The two countries also agreed to deepen their defense ties and improve their cooperation in defense manufacturing, along with agreements in agriculture and food security.
“The two countries welcomed the excellent cooperation between the two sides in counter-terrorism and terror financing,” the joint statement said.
Staunchly Catholic Philippines begins period of mourning for Pope Francis
- “Pope Francis holds a special place in the hearts of the Filipino people,” Marcos said
- Francis drew a record crowd of up to seven million people at a historic Mass in Manila during a visit in 2015
MANILA: The Philippines began a period of national mourning for Pope Francis on Wednesday, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr ordering flags on all state buildings across the staunchly Roman Catholic country to fly at half-mast to honor the pontiff.
Francis died on Monday aged 88 after suffering a stroke and cardiac arrest, the Vatican said, ending an often turbulent reign in which he repeatedly clashed with traditionalists and championed the poor and marginalized.
“Pope Francis holds a special place in the hearts of the Filipino people,” Marcos said in a presidential proclamation, adding that the period of mourning would continue until Francis’ funeral at the Vatican on Saturday.
“The passing of Pope Francis is a moment of profound sorrow for the Catholic Church and for the Filipino people, who recognize him as global leader of compassion and tireless advocate of peace, justice and human dignity,” the proclamation said.
The Philippines is home to more than 80 million Catholics, or nearly 80 percent of the population, making it one of only two majority Christian nations in Asia along with tiny East Timor.
Francis drew a record crowd of up to seven million people at a historic Mass in Manila during a visit in 2015.
Since his death on Monday, the Catholic Church has held Masses across the Philippines for Francis.
At the Baclaran Church in Manila, some worshippers on Wednesday wore shirts bearing Pope Francis’ image — leftover merchandise from his 2015 visit.
Emma Avancena, 76, who was a volunteer during the pope’s visit, said she felt sad about his death but added: “I feel blessed because we were blessed face to face, eye to eye (during the visit).”
First Indonesian Hajj pilgrims to reach Saudi Arabia next week
- Kingdom’s Makkah Route initiative will facilitate pilgrims in Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo
- Thousands of Indonesian Hajj officers will be stationed in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah
JAKARTA: The first group of more than 1,500 Indonesian pilgrims will depart for Saudi Arabia under the Makkah Route initiative next week, as 221,000 are expected to take part in this year’s Hajj.
In 2025, the Hajj is expected to take place on June 4 and end on June 9.
Though the pilgrimage itself can be performed over five or six days, many pilgrims arrive early to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fulfill their religious duty.
“Indonesian pilgrims will start departing on May 2, and this will be our first batch,” Hilman Latief, director general of Hajj and Umrah management at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News.
“Some of them are still in the visa processing stage, but we are optimistic that their visas will be issued before their departure … we hope that the Hajj journey this year can go smoothly, and that our pilgrims will have a comfortable and safe trip.”
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, sends the largest Hajj contingent of pilgrims every year to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Its first Hajj flights are scheduled to depart from the cities of Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo, where Indonesian pilgrims will be facilitated under Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route initiative.
Launched in Muslim-majority countries in 2019, the program allows Hajj pilgrims to fulfill all visa, customs and health requirements in one place, at the airport of origin, and save long hours of waiting before and upon reaching the Kingdom.
When they arrive in Saudi Arabia, Indonesians will be assisted by more than 4,000 Hajj officers who are stationed in Jeddah, Madinah and Makkah.
Each batch will have four officers, including medics, helping them at all times, said Nasrullah Jasam, who heads the Indonesian Hajj Organization Committee in Saudi Arabia.
“On the ground, the officers are also divided into various sectors. They are tasked to serve the pilgrims with things related to accommodation, transportation and food,” Jasam told Arab News.
“Our Hajj officers have undergone the technical guidance in Jakarta and are now preparing for the same in Saudi Arabia … we are ready.”
Thailand to test disaster alerts after quake criticism
- The DDPM aimed to get alerts out within 10 minutes of an earthquake.
- The system will use three mobile networks to send warning messages
Bangkok: Thailand will conduct tests of a cellphone disaster alert system, senior officials said on Wednesday, after criticism that no alarm was sent after last month’s deadly Myanmar earthquake caused damage in Bangkok.
Director General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phasakorn Boonyalak said the Cell Broadcast System (CBS) will undergo a test run next month in localized areas including the sprawling capital, which was badly shaken by the 7.7-magnitude quake in neighboring Myanmar.
The system will use three mobile networks to send warning messages “quickly and with wide coverage, both on natural disaster and security threats,” he told a news conference.
Starting on May 2 with the smallest target area — four city hall buildings — there will be three test runs, with the third and largest drill covering the whole of Bangkok and Chiang Mai provinces on May 13.
Residents’ cellphones will get a pop-up message on their screens in Thai and English, accompanied by a siren, Phasakorn said.
The message will read: “This is a test message from Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, no action required.”
Phasakorn said it was CBS’s first public test run and that tourists on roaming networks would also receive the alert.
The DDPM aimed to get alerts out within 10 minutes of an earthquake, he said.
The March 28 quake killed more than 3,700 people in Myanmar and at least 53 in a tower block under construction in Bangkok that collapsed dramatically.
While Thailand rarely experiences such strong tremors, Bangkok often experiences heavy flooding in the rainy season.
EU slaps fines on Apple and Meta, risking Trump fury
- The fines are the first under the Digital Markets Act, which came into effect last year
- Law forces the world’s biggest tech firms to open up to competition in the EU
BRUSSELS: The EU on Wednesday slapped Apple and Meta with €700 million in fines for breaking digital competition rules, risking the wrath of US President Donald Trump.
The penalties threaten to cause more tension in the already fraught relationship between the bloc and Trump, as the two sides discuss a deal to avoid his sweeping tariffs on the EU.
The European Commission fined Apple €500 million ($570 million) after concluding the company prevented developers from steering customers outside its App Store to access cheaper deals.
The EU also fined Meta €200 million over its “pay or consent” system after it violated rules on the use of personal data on Facebook and Instagram.
The fines are the first under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into effect last year, forcing the world’s biggest tech firms to open up to competition in the EU.
They could rise further if Meta and Apple fail to comply within 60 days, the commission said, threatening the US giants with “periodic penalty payments.”
The EU bolstered its legal arsenal over the past two years with major twin laws, the Digital Services Act and the DMA.
But since Trump’s return to the White House, there have been concerns that the EU would shy away from enforcing them.
Trump frequently lashes out at the EU over its digital laws and taxes – claiming they are “non-tariff barriers” to trade – and many tech CEOs have aligned with his administration.
He has imposed 25-percent tariffs on steel, aluminum and auto imports from the EU, which Brussels hopes he will lift after an agreement.
Antitrust commissioner Teresa Ribera said in a statement the fines “send a strong and clear message,” insisting the bloc had taken “firm but balanced enforcement action.”
The fines – which come after the investigations began in March 2024 – also appear to be more modest than past penalties against US Big Tech.
When Apple committed similar offenses on its App Store, the commission slapped a 1.8-billion-euro fine in March 2024 under different EU rules.
Apple faces a litany of accusations. The EU also told Apple in preliminary findings it was in breach of the DMA – and therefore at risk of another hefty fine – for not making it easy for rivals to provide alternatives to its App Store.
Apple, however, slammed the decisions and said in a statement it would appeal the fine.
“Today’s announcements are yet another example of the European Commission unfairly targeting Apple in a series of decisions that are bad for the privacy and security of our users, bad for products, and force us to give away our technology for free,” the company said.
Meta accused the EU of “attempting to handicap successful American businesses while allowing Chinese and European companies to operate under different standards.”
“This isn’t just about a fine; the Commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” said Meta’s chief global affairs officer Joel Kaplan, a prominent Republican and Trump ally.
In a rare bit of good news for Apple, the EU closed its investigation over its user choice obligations after Apple complied with the DMA, and made it easy to select a default browser and for users to remove pre-installed apps such as Safari.
The fine against Meta concerned its “pay for privacy” system, which has faced fierce criticism by rights defenders in Europe after its introduction in November 2023.
It means users have to pay to avoid data collection, or agree to share their data with Facebook and Instagram to keep using the platforms for free.
But the commission concluded Meta did not provide Facebook and Instagram users a less personalized but equivalent version of the platforms, and “did not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.”
Meta in November last year proposed a new version, which the EU is currently assessing.
