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A suspected drug trafficker and former associate of the late Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has been arrested in Medellín following an international operation, Spanish police said on Saturday.
He is thought to be one of the main leaders of the Medellín Cartel - once recognised as the largest drug-trafficking syndicate in the world. The group was a powerful and highly organised Colombian drug cartel and terrorist organisation that was founded and led by Pablo Escobar.
The suspect was arrested in a joint operation by the National Police of Spain and Directorate of Police Intelligence (DIPOL) of the National Police of Colombia.
The suspect - whose arrest warrant was issued in Spain - is thought to be the direct responsible for the Cartel's operations in Europe, acting as a nexus between the Medellín Cartel, Italian mafia group "Ndraguetta" and Mocro Mafia, which operates from the Netherlands.
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Pope Francis said in an interview that Ukraine, facing a possible defeat, should have the courage to negotiate an end to the war with Russia and not be ashamed to sit at the same table to carry out peace talks.
The pope made his appeal during an interview recorded last month with Swiss broadcaster RSI, which was partially released on Saturday.
“I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates,” Francis said, adding that talks should take place with the help of international powers.
Ukraine remains firm on not engaging directly with Russia on peace talks, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said multiple times the initiative in peace negotiations must belong to the country which has been invaded.
Russia is gaining momentum on the battlefield in the war now in its third year and Ukraine is running low on ammunition. Meanwhile, some of Ukraine’s allies in the West are delicately raising the prospect of sending troops.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Saturday that Francis picked up the “white flag” term that had been used by the interviewer. He issued a statement of clarification after the pope’s “white flag” comments sparked criticism that he was siding with Russia in the conflict.
Throughout the war, Francis has tried to maintain the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality, but that has often been accompanied by apparent sympathy with the Russian rationale for invading Ukraine, such as when he noted that NATO was “barking at Russia’s door” with its eastward expansion.
Francis said in the RSI interview that “the word negotiate is a courageous word.”
"When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate,” he said. “Negotiations are never a surrender.”
The pope also reminded people that some countries have offered to act as mediators in the conflict.
“Today, for example, in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate,” he said. “Turkey has offered itself for this. And others. Do not be ashamed to negotiate before things get worse."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — whose NATO-member country has sought to balance its close relations with both Ukraine and Russia — has offered during a visit Friday from Zelenskyy to host a peace summit between the two countries.
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Another top donor to the UN agency aiding Palestinians, UNRWA, said on Saturday that it would resume funding, weeks after more than a dozen countries halted hundreds of millions of dollars of support in response to Israeli allegations against the organisation.
Sweden's reversal came as a ship bearing tons of humanitarian aid was preparing to leave Cyprus for Gaza after international donors launched a sea corridor to supply the besieged territory facing widespread hunger after five months of war.
Sweden's funding decision followed similar ones by the European Union and Canada as the UN agency known as UNRWA warns that it could collapse and leave Gaza's already desperate population of more than 2 million people with even less medical and other assistance.
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are acute,” Swedish development minister Johan Forssell said, adding that UNRWA had agreed to increased transparency and stricter controls.
Sweden will give UNRWA half of the €34.7 million funding it promised for this year, with more to come.
Canada also said on Friday that it would re-start funding for UNRWA while investigations into the agency's staff continue.
Israel had accused 12 of UNRWA's thousands of employees of participating in the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel that killed 1,200 people and took about 250 others hostage. Countries including the United States quickly suspended funding to UNRWA worth about €411 million, almost half its budget for the year. The UN has launched investigations, and UNRWA has been agreeing to outside audits to win back donor support.
The daily number of aid trucks entering Gaza since the war has been far below the 500 that entered before 7 October because of Israeli restrictions and security issues. The recent opening of a new sea corridor from Cyprus to Gaza showed increasing frustration with Gaza's humanitarian crisis and a new willingness to work around Israeli restrictions.
Overall, the ministry said at least 30,878 Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The toll does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tallies but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and its figures from previous wars have largely matched those of the UN and independent experts.