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More than 120,000 people are expected to attend Pope Leo XIV’s mass in Beirut on Tuesday, the final day of his Lebanon visit and a chance to pay his respects at the site of the huge 2020 port explosion.The pontiff arrived from Turkey on Sunday on his inaugural visit abroad as pope and brought a message of hope, particularly to young people in Lebanon, whose faith in their beleaguered country has dwindled.His visit brought a welcome distraction to a land still reeling from a war with Israel last year, with many fearing a renewal of hostilities.Yasmine Chidiac, who was hoping to catch sight of Pope Leo on Monday, said the trip “has brought a smile back to our faces”.More than 120,000 people have registered to attend the mass near Beirut’s waterfront.From Monday evening, authorities will prohibit access to large parts of central Beirut where the mass is taking place, and will set up checkpoints.Before heading to the port, site of the massive explosion that devastated the capital and killed more than 220 people, the pope will visit a psychiatric hospital run by nuns in the capital.Pope Leo will then hold a silent prayer at the site of the blast.He will pay his respects to relatives of victims and survivors who are still fighting for justice.The August 4, 2020 disaster was one of the world’s largest non-nuclear explosions, and devastated swathes of the Lebanese capital.Authorities have said the blast was triggered by a fire in a warehouse where tonnes of ammonium nitrate fertiliser had been stored haphazardly for years after arriving by ship, despite repeated warnings to senior officials.The investigation has yet to wield results, as political figures have obstructed the work of the independent judge in charge of it.On Monday, the pontiff called on Christian and Muslim religious leaders gathered for an interreligious meeting to combat intolerance and violence.He also got a rock star welcome from thousands of Lebanese youth in Bkerke, the seat of the Maronite church, calling on them to build “a new future”.”You have the enthusiasm to change the course of history,” he told around 15,000 young Lebanese.

Dozens of oil tankers suspected of smuggling contraband crude for Russia and Iran have been using a beachside office in the tropical South Pacific to cover their tracks, an AFP analysis of sanctions data has revealed.Nestled next to a pizza shop in the far-flung Cook Islands is the modest headquarters of one of the fastest-growing shipping registries in the world.Without ever setting foot in the palm-fringed microstate, foreign ship owners can pay Maritime Cook Islands to sail under its star-studded flag.United States sanctions data identifies 20 tankers registered in the Cook Islands suspected of smuggling Russian and Iranian fuel between 2024 and 2025.A further 14 Cook Islands-flagged tankers are blacklisted on a separate database of British sanctions covering the same period.New Zealand, by far the Cook Islands’ closest diplomatic partner, said it was “alarming and infuriating” to see sanctions efforts undermined.”New Zealand continues to hold serious concerns about how the Cook Islands has been managing its shipping registry, which it has repeatedly expressed to the Cook Islands government over many years,” said a spokesman for Foreign Minister Winston Peters. “This is a completely unacceptable and untenable foreign policy divergence.” The self-governing Cook Islands remain in “free association” with former colonial ruler New Zealand, which is still involved in areas such as defence and foreign affairs.Maritime Cook Islands, which runs the shipping registry, denies failing to conduct proper checks or harbouring sanctioned vessels, saying any such ships are deleted from the registry.- Shadow fleet -Western sanctions aim to curb Iran and Russia cashing in on oil sales, limiting funding for Tehran’s nuclear programme or Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.”There are countries around the world that sign up to sanctions against Russia that wouldn’t allow these ships to fly their flag,” said Anton Moiseienko, an expert in sanctions and financial crime at Australian National University.”But there are countries that are a bit more lax about that,” he told AFP.”This is where the Cook Islands comes in.”A UAE-based shipping company was in April accused of smuggling “millions of dollars” of fuel on behalf of the Iranian military in the Gulf.The company owned tankers flagged in Barbados, Gambia, Panama and the Cook Islands, according to US sanctions.Ships like these are allegedly cogs in a maritime smuggling network known as the “shadow fleet”, skirting sanctions by passing themselves off as cargo vessels on legitimate business.They cover their tracks by registering in places such as the Cook Islands, where they can enjoy much less stringent oversight. Often the registries are unaware of the vessel’s true purpose.- ‘Fastest growing’ -Shipping journal Lloyd’s List last year crowned Maritime Cook Islands the “fastest growing registry” in the world.”There are a number of ships flying the Cook Islands flag that have been identified as part of the shadow fleet,” said Moiseienko.”When it comes to flag states — Cook Islands, Liberia and others — there isn’t really any international mechanism to enforce their obligations.”A few months later the registry was in the headlines again, when a tanker called the Eagle S damaged five underwater cables in the Baltic Sea.Finnish investigators would later suggest the Cook Islands-flagged vessel — allegedly part of Russia’s shadow fleet — had sabotaged the cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed. – Flags of convenience –  Shipping registries are also an easy way for revenue-starved Pacific island nations to bolster government coffers.But these registries, typically operated as private companies, have run into trouble.North Korean smuggling networks have long exploited shipping registries in South Pacific nations such as Palau, Niue and Tuvalu.Many, including the Cook Islands, do not publicly list their fees.But AFP obtained an estimate from Palau that suggested a 30,000 tonne oil tanker could expect to pay around US$10,000 in registration fees.Shipping registries allowing foreign-owned ships to fly under their banner are known as “flags of convenience”.”Many shadow fleet vessels use flags of convenience from countries that are either less inclined or unable to enforce Western sanctions,” notes a European Parliament briefing from 2024. The Cook Islands was one of the “top countries whose flags are used by shadow tankers transporting Russian crude oil”, according to the briefing.The Royal United Services Institute, a leading UK think tank, said Iran and North Korea had been exploiting small shipping registries for years. But shadow fleet activity had “expanded dramatically” after Russia was hit with crippling sanctions following its invasion of Ukraine, the institute said in September.- Diplomatic headaches -Maritime Cook Islands operates the shipping registry as a private company “under a delegation of authority” from the government, and is overseen by the nation’s transport regulator.Government revenue from shipping fees climbed more than 400 percent in the past five years, Cook Islands budget papers show, and were on track to total US$175,000 over the past financial year.Maritime Cook Islands said any vessels accused of dodging sanctions were swiftly deleted from its shipping registry.Sometimes suspicious vessels were deleted before they were named in sanctions, it said. “The Cook Islands register has never harboured sanctioned vessels.”Any sanctioned vessels are deleted.”And the registry denied that it failed to conduct appropriate checks before signing up dubious vessels.”The Cook Islands Registry has platforms that enable effective monitoring and detection of illicit activity.It said it was “not aware” of concerns about sanctions-busting or of any instances of abuse.

The United States has meddled for decades in elections around the world. But no modern president has done so as brazenly as Donald Trump.Forget shady CIA-hatched plots or surreptitious media campaigns. Trump has openly called on other countries’ electorates to vote for his right-wing friends, often deploying his favorite tool of social media.Most recently, Trump on his Truth Social platform endorsed Honduran right-wing candidate Nasry Asfura as “the only real friend of Freedom” and vowed to work with him. Asfura held a narrow lead after voting Sunday.”I cannot think of a time when a US president was willing to just openly state his preferences in foreign elections in this way, at least in modern history,” said Thomas Carothers, director of the democracy, conflict and governance program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.Trump has felt especially emboldened in Latin America, where the United States has long intervened.Trump’s secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has belittled Colombia’s elected left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, as a “lunatic,” and imposed sanctions on a Brazilian judge who prosecuted former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro for trying to overturn election results.In Argentina, Trump promised $20 billion to prop up the struggling economy but warned it would vanish if voters rejected President Javier Milei in legislative elections. The firebrand libertarian’s party ultimately triumphed.”It’s a consistent attempt to influence the politics, to reinforce what I think they see as already a shift towards the right that’s gaining force across the region,” said Will Freeman, a fellow on Latin America at the Council on Foreign Relations.In Venezuela, where there is no election to influence, Trump has suggested the use of US military might to remove leftist leader Nicolas Maduro.- Eye on Europe -Trump has also sought to tip the scales in Europe. His homeland security chief, Kristi Noem, on a visit to Poland openly endorsed Karol Nawrocki, the conservative candidate for president who went on to win.Trump had less success in Romania, where a far-right ally lost the presidential election, but only after a previous vote was controversially annulled.Vice President JD Vance on a trip to Germany publicly attacked restrictions on the far-right AfD party. Trump or his aides have heaped praise on British anti-migrant lawmaker Nigel Farage and criticized a court ruling in France against far-right leader Marine le Pen.The Trump administration has also stripped back decades of efforts to promote democracy overseas, with Rubio issuing a cable instructing embassies to avoid most commentary on the legitimacy of elections abroad.The stance mirrors Trump’s approach to elections at home. He refused to accept his 2020 loss and was charged with trying to overturn results in the state of Georgia — a case dropped last week in light of his 2024 election victory.Trump, perhaps mindful of his own experience, has publicly urged Israel’s president to pardon scandal-tainted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.- Unique Trump approach -Ironically, Trump in a speech in Riyadh in May denounced interventionism, at least in the Middle Eastern context, saying that past US efforts had turned into disasters.Political scientist Dov Levin in a 2021 book found that the United States had intervened in foreign elections more than 80 times since the end of World War II — more than any other country.Still, Carothers said that Trump was unique not only in his public methods but in his apparent motivations.”It’s different than during the Cold War when the United States often favored a particular person, but they did so for geostrategic reasons,” he said.”What we have here is more that Donald Trump feels he has a group of friends out there in the world whom he wants to help,” he said.Carothers said that only Russia came close in tactics, with the Kremlin weighing in heavily to make known its preferences in former Soviet bloc countries, such as recently in Moldova where its candidate lost.”A very high percentage of European leaders would like to see Viktor Orban lose the next election, but they’re not going to say so out loud,” he said, referring to Hungary’s right-wing populist prime minister.Trump welcomed Orban to the White House last month. Speaking together to reporters, Trump said that European leaders needed to appreciate Orban more.

US President Donald Trump told Israel on Monday to avoid destabilizing Syria and its new leadership, days after a deadly operation by Israeli forces killed 13 people.Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and invited him for another White House visit, Netanyahu’s office said shortly after Trump issued the warning.”It is very important that Israel maintain a strong and true dialogue with Syria, and that nothing takes place that will interfere with Syria’s evolution into a prosperous State,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.The US leader has been pushing for a security pact between Israel and Syria since President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s Islamist coalition overthrew longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad a year ago.But tensions have risen over hundreds of strikes by Israel on Syria, and in the deadliest so far Israeli forces killed 13 people on Friday in an operation in the southern village of Beit Jin.Syria called the Israeli operation a “war crime.” Israel said it targeted an Islamist group.Trump said he was “very satisfied” with Syria’s performance under former Islamist rebel Sharaa, who made a historic visit to the White House a few weeks ago.The US president insisted that Sharaa “is working diligently to make sure good things happen, and that both Syria and Israel will have a long and prosperous relationship together.”He added that the United States was “doing everything within our power to make sure the Government of Syria continues to do what was intended” to rebuild the war-torn country.- ‘Expanding’ peace agreements -Good relations between Syria and Israel would add to his efforts for a wider Middle East peace following the fragile Gaza ceasefire in October, added Trump.The Trump administration lifted sanctions against Syria as part of its efforts to help Sharaa, while Washington says Damascus is joining the global coalition against the Islamic State group.Netanyahu and Trump discussed “expanding” regional peace deals when they spoke on Monday, the Israeli prime minister’s office said in a statement that came hot on the heels of Trump’s post.”Trump has invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to a meeting at the White House in the near future,” it said. Netanyahu has already made more visits to Trump than any other foreign leader since the US president’s return to power.”The two leaders stressed the importance and obligation of disarming Hamas and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, and discussed expanding the peace agreements,” Netanyahu’s office said.Israel has defended its right to keep on striking militant groups in neighboring countries despite the Gaza deal with Palestinian armed group Hamas and last year’s ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.The Israeli army said the targets of the Beit Jin operation were fighters from Jamaa Islamiya, an Islamist group based in Lebanon and allied with Hamas.Netanyahu meanwhile drew a sharp rebuke from Damascus and others in the region after visiting Israeli troops deployed in the buffer zone which has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the Golan Heights since 1974.

In a Beirut square that was once a physical embodiment of Lebanon’s sectarian rifts, Christian and Muslim leaders united around Pope Leo XIV on Monday as he urged them to work for peace in their divided nation.Lebanon, whose political system has long been based on religious balance, suffered through years of sectarian conflict, and faith leaders at Monday’s interreligious meeting emphasised the importance of unity and coexistence.Speaking from Martyrs’ Square — which served as a demarcation dividing Beirut along sectarian lines during Lebanon’s 1975-1990 civil war — Leo called on the leaders to be “builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice and concord”.He sat surrounded by the spiritual heads of 16 Muslim and Christian denominations, out of the 18 recognised by Lebanon.The Jewish and Ismaili faiths were not represented, as those recognised communities have very few members remaining in the country.As the call to prayer was heard from the nearby Mohammed al-Amin mosque, which is located next to a church, clerics gave speeches and a children’s choir sang Christian and Muslim hymns.Under a pavilion erected for the occasion, the leaders stood on a stage bearing the word “peace” in French and Arabic.The meeting “highlights that Lebanon is a country with great experience in dialogue and meetings between sects”, said Naila Tabbara, founder of the Adyan foundation, which focuses on interreligious rapprochement.”Even in the most difficult times, this dialogue has continued,” she added, saying that the pope wished to show that “solidarity that transcends affiliations does not exist in any other country” in the region.- Symbolic olive tree -Lebanon’s religious diversity is reflected in its political system.The president of the republic must always be a Maronite Christian — the only Christian leader in the Arab world — while the prime minister must be a Sunni Muslim and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim.But political and religious divisions have repeatedly been exacerbated by Lebanon’s many crises, most recently the war between the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah and Israel.Shiite Hezbollah had opened a “solidarity front” with its ally Hamas in Gaza by launching rockets at Israel, sparking anger in other Lebanese communities.Leo’s visit — part of his first trip abroad as pontiff — “underscores the importance of dialogue and coexistence in Lebanon”, said Fuad Khreis, a Shiite cleric.”Lebanon is strong because of its people and all its sects… We must stand together as one and talk to each other, especially in light of the difficult situation we are suffering through.”In his speech, Pope Leo said coexistence in Lebanon was “a mission that remains unchanged throughout the history of this beloved land: to bear witness to the enduring truth that Christians, Muslims, Druze and countless others can live together and build a country united by respect and dialogue”.He concluded the meeting by planting an olive tree, saying it “not only adorns this space in which we gather today, but it is also revered in the sacred texts of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, serving as a timeless symbol of reconciliation and peace”.

Pope Leo XIV got a rockstar welcome from thousands of Lebanese youth on Monday, bringing them a message of hope on the second day of his visit to the crisis-hit country.Locals have joyfully welcomed the American pontiff, turning out in their thousands to his public appearances and lining streets where his motorcade has passed, waving Vatican flags, ululating and throwing rice in celebration despite intermittent rain.But at Monday evening’s youth event in Bkerke, north of Beirut, the jubilation hit a fever pitch as the pope was met with cheers, whistling and thunderous applause as attendees jostled to shoot photos and videos with their mobile phones.Leo urged the crowd — said by organisers to number around 15,000 — to “build a better world than the one you inherited”, after hearing testimonies from several young people who spoke of the grave difficulties they and their country are facing.”You have the enthusiasm to change the course of history,” the pontiff said.”Young people of Lebanon, grow strong like the cedars and make the world blossom with hope!” he continued.”Be the source of hope that the country is waiting for!”Many Lebanese, particularly young people, left the country after the 2019 onset of a crushing economic crisis, widely blamed on official corruption and mismanagement, or following the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port the following year.Fears have also grown recently of renewed war between Israel and Hezbollah despite a ceasefire in November 2024 that sought to end more than a year of hostilities between the foes.- ‘Coexistence’ -Stephanie Nasr, 25, said she was “very moved” by the pope’s message.”Of course it’s a message of peace, but it’s also recognition of all the resilience that we’ve shown, and the solidarity that Lebanon and young people have displayed in recent years,” she told AFP.Earlier Monday, Pope Leo met with leaders from Lebanon’s myriad religious communities in a show of unity.”You are called to be builders of peace: to confront intolerance, overcome violence, and banish exclusion, illuminating the path toward justice,” he told them.”In an age when coexistence can seem like a distant dream, the people of Lebanon… stand as a powerful reminder that fear, distrust and prejudice do not have the final word, and that unity, reconciliation, and peace are possible,” he added.While long hailed as a model of coexistence, Lebanon was devastated by a 1975-1990 civil war waged along sectarian lines, and the country is still plagued by deep rifts.On Monday morning, Leo visited a monastery hosting the tomb of Saint Charbel, who enjoys broad popularity in Lebanon beyond the Christian community.”For the world, we ask for peace. We especially implore it for Lebanon and for the entire Levant,” he said.In Harissa, where a giant statue of Our Lady of Lebanon overlooks the Mediterranean from a plunging hilltop, Leo shook hands with religious people and pastoral workers who had gathered for a packed event in the nearby basilica. Prayer “gives us the strength to continue to hope and work, even when surrounded by the sound of weapons and when the very necessities of daily life become a challenge”, he told attendees.- ‘Message of peace’ -Tony Elias, 43, a priest from the village of Rmeish along Lebanon’s border with Israel, said that “we have lived through nearly two and a half years of war, but have never been without hope”.Leo “has come to confirm that what we have gone through has not been in vain, and we believe that he brings a real message of peace — a living peace”, he told AFP from Harissa.In spite of the ceasefire, Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Lebanon, intensifying its attacks in recent weeks, and the cash-strapped Lebanese government has come under heavy US pressure to disarm the Iran-backed militants.Pope Leo arrived from Turkey on Sunday on his inaugural visit abroad as pontiff.Lebanese authorities have proclaimed Monday and Tuesday official holidays, and ramped-up security measures include road closures and a ban on drone photography.”Everyone goes to Rome to see the pope, but he has come to us,” said Therese Daraouni, 61, calling the visit “the greatest blessing”.Yasmine Chidiac, who was hoping to catch sight of Leo, said the trip “has brought a smile back to our faces”.

Iran has sentenced Palme d’Or-winning filmmaker Jafar Panahi in absentia to one year in prison and a travel ban over “propaganda activities” against the country, his lawyer told AFP on Monday.The sentence includes a two-year travel ban and prohibition of Panahi from membership in any political or social groups, lawyer Mostafa Nili told AFP, adding that they would file an appeal.Nili said the charges against Panahi were engaging in “propaganda activities” against the state but did not elaborate. “Mr. Panahi is outside Iran right now,” he added. Panahi, 65, won the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize this year for “It Was Just an Accident”, a film in which five ex-inmates contemplate whether to exact revenge on a man they believe to be their former jailer. Last month, he was on a tour of the United States visiting Los Angeles, New York and Telluride to promote his latest Oscar-hopeful movie. The film has been selected by France as its official nomination for the Academy Awards, and is widely expected to make the shortlist for the Best International Feature at the gala event in March.Panahi’s win was reported by Iranian media which at the time hailed the award with a picture of him.Panahi has won a host of prizes at European film festivals and showcased his debut film “The White Balloon” in Cannes in 1995 which won an award for best first feature. In 2010, Panahi was banned from making movies and from leaving the country after supporting mass anti-government protests a year earlier and making a series of films that critiqued the state of modern Iran.Convicted of “propaganda against the system”, he was sentenced to six years in jail but served only two months behind bars before being released on bail.A year after being handed a 20-year ban on filmmaking he dispatched a documentary with the title “This is Not a Film” to the Cannes Festival on a flash drive stashed in a cake.His 2015 movie “Taxi” featured him acting as a taxi driver and was shot entirely in a car.In 2022, he was arrested in connection with protests by a group of filmmakers but was released nearly seven months later.Iranian filmmakers, prominent media figures and celebrities are closely monitored in Iran and their work reviewed for content deemed critical of the Islamic republic. Last year, multi-award-winning director Mohammad Rasoulof fled Iran to escape a prison sentence on charges of “collusion against national security”.