International

The pope celebrates a mass in the capital of East Timor for 600,000 people, half of the country’s inhabitants

The pope celebrated a mass on Tuesday on the esplanade of Taci Tolu, in Dili, on his second day of visit to East Timor, in which 600,000 faithful participated, half of the 1.3 million inhabitants of the country considered the most Catholic in the world, not counting the Vatican.

The country’s authorities reported that on the esplanade and in the adjacent areas the presence of about 600,000 people was calculated in one of the most massive events of the pontificate of Francis in proportion to the number of inhabitants.

Already from this Monday, the inhabitants of Dili and Timorese arrived from all over the country concentrated in this natural space where St. John Paul II also celebrated a mass in 1989, when East Timor was still a province invaded by Indonesia and that put the world’s demands for independence in the spotlight.

Francis was greeted by a tide of yellow and white umbrellas, the colors of the Vatican, in a totally festive and euphoric atmosphere in this place, where the guerrillas were buried in mass graves and independence was proclaimed after 25 years of war and the 1999 referendum.

To Taci Tolu arrived not only the inhabitants of the capital but from all parts of the country and also some pilgrims from Indonesia, from nearby West Timor and Australia, most of them dressed in commemorative T-shirts of the trip and that could be observed throughout the city, for which it has become one of the great events in the history of the young nation.

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Upon arrival, the pope was tealed with traditional dances and greeted some of those present before the mass.

Due to the heat, he walked on the esplanade on a mobile to greet the faithful only after the ceremony.

In the homily, in Spanish and translated into tetum, Francisco spoke of the joy of the birth of a child and said that in East Timor “it is wonderful what happens when a baby is born” and that here in this country “there are many children” and it is “a young country in which in every corner life feels throbbing and bubbling.”

He also pointed out that “making room for the little ones, welcoming them, taking care of them, and also making all of us little before God and before the brothers, are precisely the attitudes that open us to the action of the Lord.”

A call for the protection of minors, which he also referred to yesterday, in a country where a few years ago the scandal of the abuses committed by the Nobel Peace Prize Bishop in 1996, Carlos Ximenez Belo, broke out.

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The pope continued his homily asking the faithful of one of the poorest countries in the world: “Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to make ourselves small before God and against each other; to lose our lives, to give our time (…) to welcome others.”

The pope will end his visit to East Timor this Tuesday with a meeting with young people and then fly to Singapore, the last stage of his tour of Asia and Oceania.

International

IEA warns Middle East conflict could spark worst energy crisis in decades

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East could trigger the worst energy crisis in decades, warned Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), who described the situation as “very serious.”

Speaking at the National Press Club in Canberra, Birol compared the current scenario to the oil crises of the 1970s, noting that during those events the world lost around five million barrels of oil per day in each crisis.

“Today, we have lost 11 million barrels per day—more than the two major oil shocks combined,” he said.

The Turkish economist referred to the conflict that began on February 28, following attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, which have significantly disrupted global energy markets and driven oil prices higher.

Birol warned that the global economy is facing a “very, very serious threat” and expressed hope that the crisis will be resolved soon.

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“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues in this direction. Global efforts are urgently needed,” he emphasized.

International

Colombian Air Force Hercules plane crashes during takeoff with troops onboard

A Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Colombian Air Force was involved in a “tragic accident” while taking off from Puerto Leguízamo, in the Putumayo department of southern Colombia, as it was transporting troops, Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez reported on Monday.

The minister stated on social media that the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined. He also extended his condolences to the families affected and urged the public to avoid speculation until official information is confirmed.

“This is a deeply painful event for the country. Our prayers are with the victims and their families,” Sánchez said, adding that emergency protocols have been activated and an investigation is underway.

Meanwhile, President Gustavo Petro expressed hope that there would be no fatalities in what he described as a “horrific accident that should not have happened.”

Petro also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize the country’s air fleet and reiterated the need to acquire new helicopters and transport aircraft to strengthen military mobility, particularly in remote regions.

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According to local media reports, approximately 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft. So far, at least 20 injured military personnel have been rescued.

International

Paris prosecutors alert U.S. over alleged deepfake strategy linked to Elon Musk

The Paris Prosecutor’s Office said on Saturday that it had alerted authorities in the United States over suspicions that tech entrepreneur Elon Musk may have encouraged the spread of sexualized deepfake content on the social platform X to artificially boost the company’s valuation.

According to prosecutors, the controversy surrounding explicit AI-generated videos—reportedly linked to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence system—may have been deliberately triggered to increase the market value of X and X AI.

The office added that the alleged strategy could be tied to the planned June 2026 public listing of a new entity formed through the merger of SpaceX and X AI.

French authorities said they contacted the U.S. Department of Justice as well as legal representatives at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this week to share their concerns.

Responding on X in French to a report about the case, Musk referred to French prosecutors using an offensive term.

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When contacted, X’s legal representative in France did not immediately comment.

Grok, the platform’s AI system, has its own account on X, allowing users to interact with it or request content generation. For a period, users were able to tag the bot in posts to generate or edit images, a feature that may have facilitated the spread of such material.