Pope Leo continues ‘no more war’ approach
Vatican city — Pope Leo XIV appealed to the world’s major powers for “no more war” in his first Sunday message to crowds in St Peter’s Square since his election as pontiff.
The new pope, elected on May 8, called for an “authentic and lasting peace" in Ukraine and a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all Israeli hostages.
Leo also welcomed the recent ceasefire between India and Pakistan, and said he was praying to God to grant the world the “miracle of peace.”
“No more war!" the pope said, repeating a frequent call of the late Pope Francis and noting the recent 80th anniversary of the end of the World War 2, which killed about 60 million people. Reuters
Concern over reduced disaster agency training
Washington — The US federal disaster agency Fema has sharply reduced training for state and local emergency managers ahead of the start of the hurricane season on June 1, according to current and former officials, memos seen by Reuters, and three sources familiar with the situation.
The training cutbacks could leave storm-prone communities less prepared to handle the often devastating aftermath of hurricanes, the sources and some of the current and former officials warned. Leading forecasters predict a busier-than-average Atlantic hurricane season this year, with 17 named tropical storms, including nine hurricanes.
If state directors and local emergency managers are not briefed on the federal government’s latest tools and resources, it will affect their ability to prepare for and warn communities of impending storms, said Deanne Criswell, who headed Fema during President Joe Biden’s administration. Some 2,000 Fema employees — or about a third of full-time staff — have been fired or accepted incentives to quit since President Donald Trump took office in January. Reuters
Increase in US child tax credits planned
Washington — The US House committee in charge of taxes released on Friday evening a partial text of its part of President Donald Trump’s proposed tax agenda that would make his 2017 tax cuts permanent, leaving out contentious issues before a planned vote on Tuesday.
The 28-page proposal by the House ways and means committee would increase the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,500 through 2028 and to $2,000 thereafter. It adds a requirement for recipients to have a social security number and reduces some taxes for multinational companies and unincorporated businesses.
But it does not address more hotly contested issues like what to do with the current $10,000 deduction limit for state and local taxes, which is important to states with high taxes like New York, California and New Jersey. Reuters
IT bugs cause jam up at Stansted Airport
London — London’s Stansted Airport was hit by IT problems on Sunday that left hundreds of passengers stuck in long queues outside and inside the terminal building and caused delays to flights.
The technical problems, which affected check-in, baggage and security operations, were later resolved, but flights continued to run behind schedule, the airport said in a statement.
Images posted on social media showed people queueing outside the airport. A reporter for television channel ITV, Anne Alexander, said on the X platform that she had missed her flight along with other travellers.
Stansted is the capital’s third-biggest airport by passenger numbers. Reuters
Air traffic problems at Newark shake travellers
Newark — Travellers flying in and out of New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport were increasingly edgy about a host of recent problems at the busy airport, but they were most alarmed about two separate equipment outages in the last two weeks that disrupted communications between air traffic controllers and pilots.
Disruptions to communications between pilots and air traffic control left travellers shaken, with some questioning if flying out of the airport is safe.
On Friday at around 4am EST (10am), a facility that guides air traffic in and out of the airport suffered a 90-second communications outage, following an April 28 incident that also lasted about 90 seconds. Reuters
Head of Solar Energy Corp of India axed
New Delhi — India has removed the chair of the Solar Energy Corp of India (SECI) with immediate effect, the federal ministry of personnel said in a notice on Saturday, just over a month ahead of the scheduled end of his tenure.
The former top bureaucrat at India’s environment ministry was appointed SECI chairperson in June 2023, and was scheduled to end his tenure as SECI chief next month.
The government did not provide a reason for dismissing Rameshwar Prasad Gupta. Gupta declined to comment. Reuters
Britain plans visa restrictions for immigrants
London — The British government outlined plans on Sunday to end what it called the “failed free market experiment” in mass immigration by restricting skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs and forcing businesses to increase training for local workers.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to cut net migration after the success of Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party in local elections this month.
Under the government’s new plans, skilled visas will only be granted to people in graduate jobs, while visas for lower-skilled roles will only be issued in areas critical to the nation’s industrial strategy, and in return businesses must increase training of British workers. Reuters
South Korea’s Han Duck-soo drops presidential bid
Seoul — South Korea’s former prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo ended a short, ill-fated attempt to win the conservative party’s presidential nomination on Sunday after days of internecine disputes just days out from the election.
Rival Kim Moon-soo was chosen as nominee for the People Power Party after party members voted on Saturday to retain him over Han, whose late entry into the race derailed the consensus over its candidate for the June 3 presidential vote.
Han on Sunday said he “humbly accepts everything” and hopes Kim wins the snap election, which was triggered by the impeachment of the country’s former president. Reuters
Bangladesh bans Awami League under terror act
Dhaka — Bangladesh’s interim government has banned all activities of the Awami League, the political party of deposed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, under the country’s Antiterrorism Act, citing national security concerns.
The decision, announced late Saturday, follows days of street protests led by the student-driven National Citizen Party, which emerged from last year’s uprising that toppled Hasina.
Several Islamist and right-wing parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and other opposition groups, joined the demonstrations, demanding the Awami League be designated a terrorist organisation.
The ban would remain in place until the trial of the party and its leadership over deaths of hundreds of protesters at the International Crimes Tribunal is completed, the government said in a statement. Reuters
Japan’s prime minister aiming for zero tariffs
Tokyo —Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on Sunday that he will aim for the elimination of all tariffs in trade negotiations with the US.
Speaking on a Fuji Television morning programme, Ishiba said that “discussions have gradually come together,” and that Tokyo’s relationship with US President Donald Trump is “surprisingly good.”
However, Ishiba said that Washington’s agreement with London, announced on Thursday, which lowers prohibitive duties on British car exports while keeping a baseline 10% tariff in place, was “one model” for trade deals, “but we should aim for 0% tariffs.” Reuters
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