India says it intercepted ‘drones and missiles’ fired by Pakistan
Sabir Mazhar/Anadolu via Getty Images
(LONDON) — India claimed on Thursday morning to have intercepted “drones and missiles” fired by Pakistan at a several military targets throughout northern and western India, saying the overnight attack amounted to a bid by Pakistan to “escalate” the conflict between the two countries.
India also said it targeted Pakistani sites, including a Pakistani air defense system at Lahore, which it said it destroyed.
“Today morning Indian Armed Forces targeted Air Defence Radars and systems at a number of locations in Pakistan,” the Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement. “Indian response has been in the same domain with same intensity as Pakistan.”
India on Tuesday and Wednesday launched aerial attacks on Pakistan, about two weeks after a deadly terror attack in the disputed Kashmir region. India blamed Pakistan for that militant attack, the Pahalgam incident, which left 26 people dead in Indian-held Kashmir. Pakistan denied involvement.
At least 16 people have been killed in India, the defense ministry said on Thursday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had convened on Thursday a meeting of his secretaries to discuss “national preparedness,” a high-level defense discussion that came as his Pakistani counterpart declared that Pakistan had “once again proven its superiority over its enemy.”
The Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, on Thursday praised the actions of his country’s military over the last few days.
“I salute the heads of all three armed forces and every brave soldier,” Sharif said, according to his office. “The 240 million people of Pakistan are proud of their armed forces.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — The Israeli military on Tuesday issued an evacuation warning for Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport, saying being in the nearby area “exposes you to danger.”
Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic spokesperson, posted the warning on social media two days after a ballistic missile launched from Yemen by the Iran-backed Houthis struck near Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.
“We call upon you to evacuate the airport area — Sana’a International Airport — immediately and warn everyone in your vicinity of the need to evacuate this area immediately,” Adraee said. “Failure to evacuate and move away from the place exposes you to danger.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(VATICAN CITY) — Pope Francis has been laid to rest, the conclave has been assembled and, after due deliberation by the participating cardinals, the world at last has seen white smoke wafting from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signaling that a new pope has been elected.
So, what happens next?
There have been just seven papal elections in the last 100 years, with more than a quarter-century passing between the election of Pope John Paul II in October 1978 and that of his successor, Benedict XVI, in April 2005. And now as then, longstanding tradition dictates both the practical and ceremonial steps that occur between the new pontiff’s election and when he is officially installed as the leader of the world Catholic Church.
While it can take days, weeks or longer for the cardinals comprising the conclave to reach the two-thirds majority required to elect a new pope – the record is 1,006 days, set in the 13th century – once the election is over, the subsequent events transpire with impressive speed.
Countdown to first public appearance
The first announcement to the world that a new pope has been selected is signaled per tradition by ringing the bells as St. Peter’s Basilica as white smoke – fumata bianca – issues from the stovepipe chimney atop the Sistine Chapel. With those ceremonial notices, an informal countdown begins to the moment that the new pope’s identity is revealed to the world.
While the faithful typically congregate in St. Peter’s Square daily during the conclave, the public signal that a pontiff has been chosen precipitates a surge of observers rushing to be among the first to see the new pope in person.
Although much ceremony remains, it’s important to note that the newly elected pope’s full authority and jurisdiction begins immediately upon his acceptance of the office, which he of course must do before any public announcement – if he refuses the office, the conclave continues the balloting.
As soon as the new pontiff has assented to his election the conclave ends, though the assembled cardinals will remain at the Vatican until the attendant ceremonies are over. In 2013, Francis requested that the cardinals remain in Rome for an extra day to pray with him.
Meanwhile, the new pope is formally asked by what name he will be known. While popes aren’t obliged to change their name, every pontiff for the past 470 years has done so, usually choosing the name of a predecessor to both honor them and signal their intention to emulate his example. Pope Francis was a notable exception, choosing not the name of a former pope but that of St. Francis of Assisi, the 13th century cleric and patron saint of animals and the environment.
The only pontifical name that hasn’t been used more than once is Peter, the name of the first pope, though there’s no prohibition against doing so.
Papal clothing for his first appearance
The next step is to get the new pope attired for his first public appearance. The liturgical garments – such as robes, stoles and hats – worn by the pope and other Christian church officials are known as vestments. Since 1798, the pope’s vestments have been manufactured by the Gammarelli family tailors in Rome, who first made the garments for Pope Pius VI. This year, however, ecclesiastical tailor Ranieri Manchinelli, also in Rome, has prepared the new pope’s vestments.
Since no one knows who will be elected pope – and therefore, what size clothing the new pope will require – three sets of vestments are prepared ahead of time for his first public appearance, in sizes small, medium and large.
The vestments are placed in the Stanza delle Lacrime, or Room of Tears, which is a small sacristy, or clergy preparation area, just off the Sistine Chapel. It’s here that the new pope will dress in his temporary vestments as the world awaits his first public appearance. However, there’s still a final bit of ceremony to complete.
The Fisherman’s Ring
Once attired in his vestments, the pontiff returns to the Sistine Chapel and sits on a papal chair. The camerlengo – that is, the cardinal who oversees the conclave, in this case Cardinal Kevin Ferrell – then escorts the master of ceremonies who bears the Fisherman’s Ring on a velvet cushion to the new pope. Pope Francis’ ring was ceremonially broken after his death – a ritual signifying the formal end of his papal authority and marking the transition of leadership and the close of his chapter in Church history.
Perhaps more than any other item, the Fisherman’s Ring in popular culture is most closely identified with papal authority. So named in honor of St. Peter the Apostle, a fisherman and the first pope, Catholics who meet the pope traditionally kiss the ring to demonstrate both their respect for the pontiff and their devotion to the Church.
The camerlengo places the Fisherman’s Ring on the fourth finger of the pope’s right hand, then kneels and kisses it. The pope then removes the ring and gives it to the master of ceremonies, who will have the new pope’s name inscribed on it.
The assembled cardinals next step up in turn and pay homage to the new pope, who leads them in a hymn and also gives them his benediction – the first blessing of his pontificate.
‘Habemus papam’
Now fittingly attired in his temporary vestments, the new pope enters St. Peter’s Basilica for the formal announcement of his election and the revelation of his identity to the faithful and the world.
With thousands gathered in St. Peter’s Square below, the attendant cardinals first emerge onto the side balconies of the St. Peter’s Basilica facade. The senior cardinal deacon then appears on the central balcony and declares in Latin: “Nuntio vobis gaudium magnum: Habemus papam” – “I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope.”
The senior cardinal deacon then announces both the birth name of the elected cardinal, and the pontifical name the new pope has chosen for himself.
It is only now – typically a mere hour or so after the white smoke first emerged from the stovepipe chimney of the Sistine Chapel – that the new pope, clad in his papal vestments, steps out onto the balcony and greets the world. He immediately delivers his first Apostolic Urbi et Orbi blessing – meaning to “the city and the world.”
Formal installation in office
A ceremonial mass to formally install the new pope is held about a week after his election, either in St. Peter’s Square or basilica, with cardinals, bishops and other international dignitaries present. While the ceremony historically featured far more pomp and pageantry akin to a coronation – including the pope being literally crowned with a triregnum, or three-tiered tiara, and sitting on an ornate papal throne – much of that pageantry has been abandoned.
Pope Paul VI was the last to wear the triregnum, during his installation in 1963. He also was the first to hold the ceremony outdoors, in St. Peter’s Square, to accommodate the enormous crowds that wished to attend.
ABC News’ Phoebe Natanson contributed to this report.
(KYIV, Ukraine) — Russia has carried out a massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight, targeting energy and gas infrastructure in various regions, Ukrainian officials said Friday morning.
A total of 261 missiles and drones were launched by Russia, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which said it used Mirage-2000 fighter jets for the first time alongside F-16s to repel the attack.
The latest attack is one of the largest air attacks of the war to date as Russia, in recent months, has dramatically increased the number of drones it can launch every night against Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there can be “no pause” in pressure on Russia earlier this week just the day after the U.S. confirmed it had stopped sharing intelligence with Kyiv.
President Donald Trump’s decision to pause all U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing has raised concerns that Ukraine’s air defenses will become less effective in the days, weeks and months to come.
The pause followed last week’s explosive Oval Office meeting between Zelenskyy and Trump. White House officials have suggested the freeze may be lifted if Ukraine takes concrete steps towards a peace deal with Russia to end Moscow’s 3-year-old invasion.
It now appears likely that Russia will try to increase these attacks at a critical time as the end of U.S. intelligence sharing and supplies of anti-aircraft missiles could weaken Ukraine’s ability to defend against them.
Russian missiles and drone attacks are a nightly occurrence in Ukraine. The country has become largely reliant on Western anti-air weapons to defeat incoming projectiles.
U.S. intelligence sharing with Ukraine had allowed Kyiv to give warnings to targeted areas ahead of Russian drone and missile strikes, tracking Russian aircraft taking off, drones being launched and missiles being fired.
A Ukrainian intelligence official told ABC News on Wednesday that the intelligence sharing pause included a halt in sharing U.S. satellite imagery through the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Trump has repeatedly — and falsely — blamed Ukraine for starting the war with Russia while seeking to undermine Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president. The White House is pushing Kyiv to accept a deal to end the fighting and to sign an agreement giving the U.S. access to Ukrainian mineral resources.
