MORONI, Comoros: The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Comoros warned Friday it would not accept migrants expelled from the neighbouring French island of Mayotte in a looming operation that has triggered a diplomatic spat.
Authorities in Mayotte are expected to launch Operation Wuambushu ("Take Back") next week to remove illegal migrants who have settled in slums on the island.
Those without papers are to be sent back to the Comoran island of Anjouan, 70 kilometres (45 miles) away.
"The Comoros do not intend to welcome people expelled as part of the operation planned by the French government in Mayotte," government spokesman Houmed Msaidie told AFP.
Msaidie said the planned action went against "the spirit and the letter" of agreements between the two countries.
Around half of Mayotte's roughly 350,000 population is estimated to be foreign, most of them Comoran.
On Friday, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed the operation would take place but declined to give a date for its start.
Some 1,800 police officers were already in Mayotte to deal with "criminal gangs," he said.
In total, around 2,500 personnel from law enforcement, health and judicial services have been mobilised, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Moroni earlier urged Paris to drop the operation -- plans for which were first reported by the French satirical weekly Le Canard enchaine in February.
Anjouan governor Anissi Chamsidine said the island was unable to "cope with the violence created from Mayotte by the French state."
Comoros' President, Azali Assoumani told AFP last week he hoped the plan would be abandoned, but acknowledged he lacked "the means to stop the operation through force."
Mayotte and the three islands of the present-day Comoros were French territories until 1975.
Following a referendum on independence, Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan islands declared themselves to be a separate country, the Union of the Comoros.
But Mayotte voted to remain a French overseas territory and later became a French department -- a status rejected by the Comoros, which continues to claim the island.
It is France's poorest department with around 80 percent of the population living beneath the poverty line and high levels of social delinquency.
But it also benefits from French infrastructure support and welfare, and this has encouraged an influx from the Comoros, with many migrants attempting the hazardous crossing on rickety boats used by smugglers.
In 2019, France stepped up efforts to stem the flow, strengthening sea patrols that are supported by air surveillance.
Earlier this month, civil society groups in Comoros warned that Operation Wuambushu -- which has been approved by French President Emmanuel Macron -- was a "massacre waiting to happen" and urged international organisations to intervene.
Intense negotiations between Moroni and Paris have taken place in recent weeks, raising the possibility of a last-minute agreement.
Comoros refuses migrants expelled in France standoff
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Comoros refuses migrants expelled in France standoff
- Authorities in Mayotte are expected to launch Operation Wuambushu ("Take Back") next week to remove illegal migrants who have settled in slums on the island
- "The Comoros do not intend to welcome people expelled as part of the operation planned by the French government in Mayotte," government spokesman Houmed Msaidie told AFP
Beijing slams ‘groundless accusations’ after Ukraine summons Chinese envoy
“China firmly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulation,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said at a press conference in response to a question about China’s ambassador being summoned by Kyiv.
Pope Francis’s coffin arrives in Saint Peter’s Basilica to lie in state
- Heads of state are expected for Pope Francis’ funeral Saturday in St. Peter’s Square
- The three days of public viewing are largely for ordinary Catholics to grieve the pontiff
VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis’s body arrived at Saint Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday to lie in state before his weekend funeral.
The late pope’s open wooden coffin was carried by pallbearers the 500 meters from the Casa Santa Marta where he lived and died, behind a procession of red-robed cardinals.
Heads of state are expected for the funeral Saturday in St. Peter’s Square, but the three days of public viewing are largely for ordinary Catholics to grieve the 88-year-old pope, who died Monday after suffering a stroke.
Francis first lay in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household. Images released by the Vatican on Tuesday showed Francis lying in an open casket, wearing the traditional pointed headdress of bishops and red robes, his hands folded over a rosary. The Vatican’s No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, was pictured praying by Francis.
Italian police have tightened security for the viewing and the funeral, carrying out foot and horse patrols around the Vatican, where pilgrims continued to arrive for the Holy Year celebrations that Francis opened in December. The faithful who walk through St. Peter’s Holy Door are granted indulgences, a way to help atone for sins.
“For me, Pope Francis represents a great pastor, as well as a great friend to all of us,’’ said Micale Sales, visiting St. Peter’s Basilica from Brazil.
“I think he spread a positive message around the world, saying there shouldn’t be any violence, there should be peace around the world,’’ said Amit Kukreja, from Australia.
The funeral has been set for Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter’s Square, and will be attended by leaders including US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky.
Cardinals are continuing their meetings this week to plan the conclave to elect Francis’ successor, make other decisions about running the Catholic Church as world leaders and the ordinary faithful grieve the pontiff’s death.
History’s first Latin American pontiff charmed the world with his humble style and concern for the poor but alienated many conservatives with critiques of capitalism and climate change. He last appeared in public on Sunday with an Easter blessing and popemobile tour through a cheering crowd in St. Peter’s Square.
He had some reservations about looping through the square packed with 50,000 faithful, Vatican News reported on Tuesday, but overcame them – and was thankful that he had greeted the crowd. He died the next morning.
“The death of a pope is not a small thing, because we’ve lost our leader,’’ said Julio Henrique from Brazil. “But still, in a few days, we will have a new leader. So … the thing of hope remains. Who will assume Peter’s throne?”
China-led lunar base to include nuclear power plant on moon’s surface, space official
- The world’s second largest economy is aiming to become a major space power and land astronauts on the moon by 2030
SHANGHAI: Preliminary plans for the China and Russia-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) include building a nuclear reactor on the moon’s surface, a presentation by a Chinese space official on Wednesday showed.
The presentation by Pei Zhaoyu, chief engineer for China’s 2028 Chang’e-8 mission, showed that the base’s energy supply could also depend on large-scale solar arrays, which would be built on the moon’s surface.
China’s Chang’e-8 mission aims to lay the groundwork for the construction of a permanent manned lunar base. The world’s second largest economy is aiming to become a major space power and land astronauts on the moon by 2030.
China’s timeline to build an outpost on the moon’s south pole coincides with NASA’s more ambitious and advanced Artemis program, which aims to put US astronauts back on the lunar surface in December 2025.
Wu Weiren, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief designer of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Project, said last year that a “basic model” of the ILRS, with the South Pole of the Moon as its core, would be built by 2035.
The Chang’e lunar probe launches are part of the construction phase for the “basic model” outlined by Wu.
In future, China will create the “555 Project”, inviting 50 countries, 500 international scientific research institutions, and 5,000 overseas researchers to join the ILRS.
Russia destroys energy facility in Ukraine’s Kherson
- The drone attacks are continuing and there could be emergency power cuts
DUBAI:Russian forces destroyed an energy facility in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson early on Wednesday, the regional governor said.
Oleksandr Prokudin said the facility, which provided the city of Kherson with electricity, had come under Russian artillery and drone attacks for more than 24 hours.
“Our military fought all night to repel the enemy attacks. However, in the morning, the Russians succeeded in destroying the energy facility,” Prokudin said on Telegram.
The drone attacks are continuing and there could be emergency power cuts as energy workers are working to stabilize the situation, he added.
China’s Xi says tariffs ‘hurt’ multilateral trade
- China responded with a 125 percent duty on goods from the United States.
Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday tariffs “hurt” the multilateral trading system as he hosted his Azerbaijani counterpart for talks in Beijing, state media said.
Tariff and trade wars “undermine the legitimate rights and interests of all countries, hurt the multilateral trading system, and impact the world economic order,” he told Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, state news agency Xinhua reported.
Beijing and Washington have been embroiled in a blistering trade war since US President Donald Trump this month slapped a 145 percent blanket tax on Chinese imports.
China responded with a 125 percent duty on goods from the United States.
Beijing’s commerce ministry this week warned other nations to be wary in seeking a deal with Washington.
“China firmly opposes any party reaching a deal at the expense of China’s interests,” a ministry spokesperson said Monday in a statement.
“Appeasement will not bring peace, and compromise will not be respected,” the statement said.
On Wednesday, Xi said that “despite a constantly changing international situation,” China and Azerbaijan had maintained close ties.
A day earlier, in phone calls with his British and Austrian counterparts, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi urged Britain and the European Union to help in defending multilateral trade.
