分类： world

On a high-stakes 11-day tour of Africa that has already captured global attention, Pope Leo XIV is set to hold a massive open-air mass Friday in Douala, Cameroon’s bustling economic capital and one of Central Africa’s busiest deep-water ports. The event is expected to draw more than one million worshippers, marking the largest gathering of the pontiff’s trip, which has been defined by bold calls for global peace and an unprecedented public clash with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Six months prior to the visit, Douala was the site of a brutal government crackdown on protests following the disputed re-election of 93-year-old incumbent President Paul Biya, the world’s oldest sitting head of state who has held authoritarian control over Cameroon since 1982. Witnesses confirm security forces opened fire on unarmed demonstrators, with authorities admitting dozens of deaths amid widespread unrest, though an exact casualty count has never been released. By Thursday evening, thousands of devoted Catholic pilgrims were already streaming into the city to claim viewing spots on the esplanade outside the 50,000-seat Japoma Stadium, where the mass will take place. After the service, the Pope is scheduled to visit Saint Paul’s Catholic Hospital in the city.

This landmark African tour has marked a clear shift for Pope Leo, who has set aside prior diplomatic restraint to deliver impassioned, unflinching remarks on conflict, inequality, and political corruption. The high-profile dispute with Trump erupted after the Pope called for an immediate end to the ongoing war in the Middle East, drawing a sharp rebuke from the former American president. During a solemn address Thursday at Saint Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda, the heart of a nearly 10-year separatist insurgency that has killed thousands of Cameroonians, Pope Leo declared, “The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants.”

Trump responded hours later, stating the Pope was free to share his views but needed to grasp the realities of what he called a “nasty world.” Despite the transatlantic political drama, the pontiff has been met with jubilant, singing crowds across every stop of his Cameroon itinerary, with locals turning out in massive numbers to welcome the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.

Even ahead of the visit, the trip sparked quiet controversy among some Cameroonian Catholics, who raised concerns that a high-profile papal visit could inadvertently help Biya rebrand his authoritarian rule on the global stage. Pope Leo has not shied away from sharp critique, however, avoiding direct naming of Biya or Trump but delivering pointed remarks that hit at both domestic and global issues. He pushed back against calls from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, to limit his public remarks to purely moral issues, instead using his platform to condemn exploitation and corruption.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth,” the Pope told crowds in Bamenda. During a Thursday mass, he also targeted foreign and elite exploitation of the continent, saying: “those who, in the name of profit, continue to lay their hands on the African continent to exploit and plunder it.” Cameroon boasts abundant natural resources, including oil, timber, cocoa, coffee, and rare minerals, which have drawn foreign investment and been exploited by local and global elites for decades.

Shortly after arriving in Cameroon’s capital Yaoundé Wednesday, the Pope delivered his critique directly to Biya and other top government officials, urging leaders to root out systemic corruption and human rights abuses committed in the name of national security. “Security is a priority, but it must always be exercised with respect for human rights,” he said, speaking within earshot of the long-ruling president.

Samuel Kleda, Archbishop of Douala and one of the most prominent clerical critics of Biya’s government, shared cautious optimism ahead of the mass, saying he hopes the papal visit will catalyze progress toward resolving the country’s multiple ongoing crises. “Our country has gone through many crises; some crises are still ongoing. The fruit we must draw from this visit is to commit ourselves as architects of peace,” Kleda said. Catholicism holds a major social and cultural role in Cameroon, where more than one-third of the country’s 30 million residents identify as Catholic.

The African tour began in Algeria, a majority-Muslim nation, where the visit was marred by two deadly suicide bombings. After leaving Cameroon Saturday, Pope Leo will travel to Angola, before concluding the 18,000-kilometer tour in Equatorial Guinea.

Four days into their first private visit to Australia since stepping back as working British royals in 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, made a meaningful stop at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach to connect with those impacted by the December 2024 antisemitic shooting that left 15 people dead and dozens more injured.

The couple’s first official engagement on Friday morning brought them to the Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club, where they held private conversations with two survivors of the attack: Jessica Chapnik Khan and Elon Zizer, both of whom credited quick thinking and community support for saving their children’s lives during the mass shooting at an on-beach Hanukkah gathering.

They also sat down with the club’s volunteer lifeguards, a group that has been widely celebrated as national heroes for their quick, brave actions to shield beachgoers and move civilians to safety during the chaotic attack. Representatives from the Sydney Jewish Museum, which is currently preparing a special commemorative exhibition honoring the victims and first responders of the tragedy, also joined the meeting. A spokesperson for the museum described the royal couple’s gesture of solidarity as “really special” for a community still processing the attack.

After the heartfelt meeting at Bondi, the Duke and Duchess moved on to their next engagement, where they were greeted by crowds of cheering fans lining the steps of the Sydney Opera House. The couple boarded a private vessel for a sailing event hosted by Invictus Australia, the national affiliate of the Invictus Games — an international adaptive sporting competition Prince Harry founded in 2014 for wounded, injured, and sick military veterans and service personnel. It was during Harry and Meghan’s 2018 official royal tour that the pair first announced Australia would host a future iteration of the Invictus Games.

This visit marks the couple’s first time back on Australian soil since that 2018 official tour, and they are undertaking the entire trip in a private, non-working capacity, separate from the formal duties of the British Royal Family. The stop at Bondi Beach, however, has drawn widespread praise from Australian community leaders for centering the needs of the affected community rather than formal ceremonial obligations.

In a high-profile development that has rocked Australia’s national security and military establishment, a once-revered former Australian special forces soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has been granted bail by a Sydney court more than a decade after his alleged unlawful killings of unarmed detainees in Afghanistan. Once one of Australia’s most decorated war heroes, Roberts-Smith has now gone from being celebrated as a national icon to standing as a defendant in one of the most consequential war crimes cases in the nation’s history.

Roberts-Smith first became a household name across Australia in 2011, when he was awarded the Victoria Cross – the country’s highest honor for wartime gallantry, reserved only for acts of extraordinary courage in combat. In the years that followed, his fame extended far beyond military circles: he met Queen Elizabeth II, his portrait was hung in the Australian War Memorial, and he was even named Australia’s “Father of the Year” in 2013.

But cracks in his public reputation began to emerge in 2018, when two major Australian publications, *The Age* and *The Sydney Morning Herald*, published a series of investigative reports linking Roberts-Smith to systemic war crimes in Afghanistan. The outlets alleged that between 2009 and 2012, during Australia’s deployment to the country as part of the US- and NATO-led counter-terrorism mission, Roberts-Smith participated in multiple unlawful killings of unarmed captives. The most shocking claims included that he kicked an unarmed Afghan civilian off a cliff before ordering his subordinates to shoot the man, and that he and other soldiers used the prosthetic leg of a man killed by machine gun fire as a drinking trophy.

Roberts-Smith has consistently denied all allegations against him from the moment they were first made public. In response to the 2018 reports, he launched a multi-million dollar defamation suit against the two newspapers, seeking to clear his name. However, the legal backfired dramatically: in 2023, a judge ruled that the core claims made by the journalists were “substantially true”, in a civil ruling that severely undermined his public defense. That civil proceeding carried a lower standard of proof than the criminal charges Roberts-Smith now faces.

The broader context for these charges stretches back to 2020, when a landmark independent public inquiry into Australian military conduct in Afghanistan – the Brereton Report – exposed a pattern of systemic abuse among elite special forces units deployed to the country. The report detailed grave accusations of torture, extrajudicial summary executions, and even “body count” competitions, where competing units sought to kill more unarmed detainees than one another. Over two decades of deployment, Australia sent 39,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight against the Taliban and other militant insurgent groups.

Earlier this month, Australian prosecutors formally charged Roberts-Smith with five counts of war crime murder, alleging he was complicit in a string of unlawful killings between 2009 and 2012. After spending 10 days in pre-trial detention, the former soldier was granted bail on Friday, in a ruling delivered by Judge Greg Grogin. Grogin noted that the complex nature of the case means Roberts-Smith would face “years and years” of pre-trial detention before the case ever goes to a jury trial, a factor that weighed heavily in the court’s bail decision.

Roberts-Smith appeared before the court via video link, dressed in a green prison tracksuit, and showed no visible reaction to the bail ruling. His defense lawyer, Slade Howell, had argued that detaining his client for years while the case wound through the overloaded court system was fundamentally unjust. “It will take many, many years and will have many twists and turns,” Howell told the court.

Prosecutors had pushed back against the bail application, arguing that the extreme gravity of the alleged crimes required strict conditions for release. Prosecution lawyer Simon Buchen told the court: “The applicant is accused of either killing or directing his subordinates to kill unarmed detainees in the custody of Australian armed forces.”

If he is ultimately convicted on all charges, Roberts-Smith faces the possibility of a life sentence in prison. The case has already forced a long-overdue national reckoning over Australia’s military conduct in Afghanistan, and the final criminal trial is expected to draw international attention as it unfolds over the coming years.

Two Iranian female footballers who have been granted political asylum in Australia have opened up about their new chapter, saying the country has given them a renewed chance to build a secure life where they can both live and compete without fear. Atefeh Ramezanisadeh and Fatemeh Pasandideh were part of a seven-member group of Iranian national team delegation that initially received humanitarian visas while participating in the 2024 Women’s Asian Cup hosted in Australia. In a surprise turn of events, the remaining five members of the group ultimately chose to return to Iran, reversing their initial decision to seek protection abroad.

The crisis surrounding the team began shortly after the squad declined to sing Iran’s national anthem ahead of their opening tournament match, a silent protest that came just days after joint air strikes by Israel and the United States sparked deadly conflict in Iran starting February 28. After the protest, footage emerged of an Iranian state television host labeling the players as “traitors” who deserved punishment for their silence during the anthem, triggering widespread international alarm over the players’ safety if they returned home.

In their first formal public statement since their asylum application was approved, Ramezanisadeh and Pasandideh expressed gratitude to supporters who have stood by them, while requesting space to adjust to their new lives. “At this stage, our primary focus is on our safety, our health and beginning the process of rebuilding our lives,” the joint statement reads. The pair added that they have been deeply moved by the warmth and generosity of Australia’s large Iranian diaspora community, saying that widespread community support has made them feel welcome and eased the isolation of their major life transition. They also extended thanks to the Australian government for granting them a safe haven in the country, and to Home Affairs department officials for their committed, personalized support throughout the visa and asylum process.

The two players have already begun integrating into Australia’s domestic football landscape, with recent photos showing them training with A-League Women side Brisbane Roar. They confirmed in their statement that they aim to continue pursuing elite professional football careers in their new home.

To understand the full context of the players’ decision, the sequence of events that unfolded during the Asian Cup offers critical context: after the anthem protest sparked backlash back home, the players were relocated from their original accommodation on the Gold Coast to Brisbane, roughly an hour’s drive north. It was there that they slipped away from the minders accompanying the Iranian delegation, seeking protection from the Australian Federal Police before starting their asylum claims.

Human rights activists have long raised allegations that the five players who chose to return to Iran faced extreme coercion, arguing that Iranian authorities made threats against their immediate family members remaining in the country to force the players to reverse their decision to seek asylum. Speaking at the height of the crisis earlier this year, Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke acknowledged that the government could not ignore the immense external pressures that shaped each player’s impossible decision.

The Iranian government has pushed back sharply against the events, with the country’s sports ministry claiming that the return of the five players proved they had “defeated the enemy’s plans” through national unity and patriotism. The ministry also accused the Australian government of advancing foreign political agendas, claiming Canberra was “playing in Trump’s field.” Tasnim News Agency, an outlet closely affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has further claimed that the two players who stayed were subjected to systematic “psychological warfare, extensive propaganda and seductive offers” from Australian actors to convince them to remain in the country.

The case has drawn global attention to the risks facing Iranian athletes who speak out against their government, and has sparked renewed debate over Australia’s humanitarian visa obligations for at-risk sportspeople from conflict zones.

A stark visual testament to the accelerating impacts of human-caused climate change has emerged from the Colombian Andes, where the Cerros de la Plaza glacier has been officially declared completely vanished after more than a century of gradual retreat driven by rising global temperatures.

New satellite composite imagery compiled from 2026 Copernicus Sentinel data illustrates the dramatic transformation: in late December 2015, the mountain peak still retained a visible layer of permanent ice and snow, but by the end of February 2026, no frozen cover remained, leaving only exposed bedrock where the glacier once stood. Official confirmation of the glacier’s total disappearance came last week from Colombia’s Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), the government agency tasked with monitoring the country’s changing natural landscapes.

Historical data compiled by IDEAM underscores the scale of the loss: at its peak in the 19th century, Cerros de la Plaza spanned 5 square kilometers (1.93 square miles) across the high peaks of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy range in northeastern Colombia, where summits rise more than 5,000 meters above sea level. Decades of rising temperatures pushed the glacier into steady retreat, with the ice sheet shrinking incrementally from 2015 until it vanished entirely by March 2026.

IDEAM’s official statement framed the loss as a tangible warning of climate change’s irreversible impacts. “Climate change is a reality that is already transforming our territories. And what is at stake is not only the landscape, but the very balance of these ecosystems,” the agency said.

The Colombian Andes are recognized as one of the world’s most biodiverse mountain regions, hosting iconic threatened species including Andean condors and the rare spectacled bear, a mammal endemic to South America’s high altitude ecosystems. The Sierra Nevada del Cocuy glacial system is already one of only six remaining glacial networks left in Colombia, and national environment ministry data shows the country’s total glacial ice coverage has plummeted by 90% since the 19th century.

Beyond biodiversity, the loss of Andean glaciers carries direct consequences for human communities across the region. Glacial melt feeds critical freshwater sources that sustain mountain ecosystems, and underpin key human activities ranging from agricultural crop irrigation to commercial and subsistence fishing.

The disappearance of Cerros de la Plaza aligns with broader global climate trends: both the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and U.S.-based non-profit research organization Berkeley Earth have confirmed that the past 11 years are the warmest ever recorded on Earth. A landmark 2023 study published in the *Science* journal projected that even if all nations meet their Paris Agreement commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, half of the planet’s total glacier mass will have melted by the end of the 21st century.