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In the news today: India fires missiles at Pakistan in a significant escalation; cardinals will begin the secret voting ritual to elect a new pope; and a declassified US intelligence memo contradicts Trump claims linking a gang to the Venezuelan government. Also, most travelers must have a state-issued license now to fly within the US.
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An army soldier examines a building damaged by a suspected Indian missile attack near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/M.D. Mughal)
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India fires missiles into Pakistani territory in what Islamabad calls ‘act of war’ |
Early Wednesday, India fired missiles at Pakistan that hit six locations, killing at least 26 people, including women and children, said Pakistan’s military spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif. Tensions have soared between the nuclear-armed neighbors since an attack in which gunmen killed 26 people, mostly Indian Hindu tourists, at a popular meadow in the disputed territory of Kashmir. Read more.
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India said the strikes were retaliation for last month's massacre. They targeted at least nine sites “where terrorist attacks against India have been planned,” India’s Defense Ministry said. Pakistan claimed it shot down several Indian fighter jets. Three planes fell onto villages in India-controlled territory. At least seven civilians were also killed in the region by Pakistani shelling, Indian police and medics said.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the airstrikes and said his country would retaliate. “Pakistan has every right to give a robust response to this act of war imposed by India,” he said. India accuses Pakistan of being behind the April 22 attack in Kashmir, which was claimed by a militant group calling itself Kashmir Resistance. India says the group is linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, a disbanded Pakistani militant group. Islamabad denies involvement.
- Several Indian states held civil defense drills Wednesday to train civilians and security personnel to respond in case of any “hostile attacks.” Such drills are rare in non-crisis times.
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The conclave to elect the next pope is set to begin
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133 cardinals begin the secretive, centuries-old ritual to elect a successor to Pope Francis, opening the most geographically diverse conclave in the faith’s 2,000-year history. Read more. |
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The cardinals, from 70 countries, will be sequestered from the outside world, their cellphones surrendered and airwaves around the Vatican jammed to prevent all communications until they find a new leader for the 1.4 billion-member church.
Francis named 108 of the 133 “princes of the church,” choosing many pastors in his image from far-flung countries that had never had a cardinal before. His decision to surpass the usual limit of 120 cardinal electors and include younger ones from the “global south” has injected an unusual degree of uncertainty in a process that is always full of mystery and suspense.
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While cardinals this week said they expected a short conclave, it will likely take at least a few rounds of voting. For the past century, it has taken between three and eight ballots to find a pope.
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Declassified US intelligence memo contradicts Trump’s claims linking gang to Venezuelan government
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The assessment confirms that analysts at American spy agencies found no coordination between Tren de Aragua, a gang that originated in a prison in Venezuela, and the Venezuelan government, contradicting statements the Trump administration used to justify invoking the Alien Enemies Act and deporting Venezuelan immigrants. Read more.
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The redacted memo from the National Intelligence Council said there was no indication that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro or other senior government officials are directing the actions of Tren de Aragua. It however noted that FBI analysts had reason to believe some Venezuelan officials may have helped some gang members move to the U.S. and other countries “to advance what they see as the Maduro regime’s goal of destabilizing governments and undermining public safety.”
Trump has invoked the Alien Enemies Act, an 18th-century wartime law, to speed up the deportations of people his administration has labeled members of the gang. Two federal judges have found that Trump is improperly using the Alien Enemies Act and barred the administration from removing immigrants under it.
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A spokesperson for Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, rejected claims that the assessment contradicted the White House and noted that it did find some ties between mid- and low-level officials in Maduro’s government and the gang. Democrats in Congress welcomed the assessment’s release and questioned why Gabbard has supported Trump’s justification for deportations, given her knowledge of the assessment.
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