Several dead in Austrian school shooting, local police say
(LONDON, PARIS and BELGRADE) — At least nine people are dead after a shooting on Tuesday at a school in Graz, Austria, the city’s mayor said, adding that the alleged shooter is also dead.
Austrian state police said earlier on social media that there had been several fatalities at the school, the BORG Dreierschützengasse.
Officers responded after gunshots were heard at the school, the Styria State Police said in a message posted on social media, later adding, “The school was evacuated and all persons were brought to a safe meeting point.”
Emergency vehicles, including Cobra tactical vehicles, had been deployed to the site, police said. Video shot near the scene showed a street lined with ambulances and other emergency vehicles.
The city of Graz sits in southern Austria, in the Styria province. It’s the second-largest Austrian city by population, with about 300,000 residents.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The U.S. and Ukrainian governments touted the signing of a controversial minerals sharing deal as a launchpad for expansive bilateral economic cooperation — and as a signal of America’s long-term investment in a free Ukraine.
American and Ukrainian representatives signed the accord in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday after months of tense negotiations, President Donald Trump long having framed the proposal as means to recoup more than $100 billion worth of aid given to Kyiv since Russia launched its invasion three years ago.
“This partnership allows the United States to invest alongside Ukraine to unlock Ukraine’s growth assets, mobilize American talent, capital and governance standards that will improve Ukraine’s investment climate and accelerate Ukraine’s economic recovery,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video announcing the deal.
Details of the agreement were later shared online by some members of Ukraine’s parliament, with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal expected to present the deal to the body — known as the Rada — on Thursday. Shmyhal this week previewed some parts of the agreement, saying it would not undermine Ukraine’s potential for accession to the European Union.
The draft published by lawmakers does not include any explicit U.S. security guarantees — long one of Kyiv’s primary demands. However, the agreement “guarantees new deliveries of American weapons, including air defense systems — their cost will be credited to a joint fund,” according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday that the deal “marks an important milestone in Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s economy and security.”
Podolyak said the deal meant “Moscow has lost: Putin’s attempt to offer the U.S. a stake in the occupied Donbas’ mineral wealth has failed. We are strengthening alliances, securing resources to continue our resistance and forcing the world to see Ukraine as an equal player.”
“To sum up, the key outcome of this agreement is that the world’s leading power has become a co-investor in Ukraine,” Podolyak wrote.
The deal will need to be ratified by the Ukrainian parliament, members of which suggested on Thursday it was too early to fully evaluate the agreement.
“Judging by the statement of the prime minister, it is better than the initial version,” Oleksandr Merezhko, a lawmaker representing Zelenskyy’s party and the chair of the parliament’s foreign affairs committee, told ABC News.
“It seems like we have managed to dodge Trump’s idea to turn the previously-provided U.S. military and material aid into Ukrainian debts,” he added.
The lawmaker suggested it was too early to say whether the deal represented a win for both Kyiv and Washington.
“It seems like Trump put pressure on us in an attempt to get a victory in his first 100 days in office,” Merezhko said. “The devil is in the details. But politically there are upsides. First, we have improved relations with Trump for whom it’s a win.”
Other members of parliament suggested that ratification would not be immediate. “I would really like to see the final document of the agreement,” lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko wrote on Telegram.
Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, meanwhile, suggested it may take until mid-May for the parliament to vote on the minerals agreement — “and that’s only if everything is submitted to the Rada on time,” he wrote on Telegram.
In Russia, Dmitry Medvedev — the former president and prime minister now serving as the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council — framed the deal as a defeat for Kyiv.
“Trump has broken the Kyiv regime into paying for American aid with minerals,” Medvedev — who through Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become known for his hawkish statements — wrote on Telegram. “Now they will have to pay for military supplies with the national wealth of a disappearing country,” he wrote.
Nonetheless, Bessent said the agreement “clearly to Russian leadership that the Trump administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine over the long term, it’s time for this cruel and senseless war to end the killing must stop.”
Bessent also said this deal was because of “President Trump’s tireless efforts to secure a lasting peace.”
ABC News’ Oleksiy Pshemyskiy, Nataliia Popova and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
(ROME) — Cardinal Robert Prevost was chosen as Pope Francis’ successor on Thursday, taking the papal name Leo XIV. The world is wondering how the first American pope compares to his predecessor.
In his first public remarks, Pope Leo XIV called for unity.
“We have to be a church that works together to build bridges and to keep our arms open, like this very piazza, welcoming,” he said.
The 69-year-old Chicago native, known for being reserved and private, brings a different style to the papacy compared to his predecessor, according to Time. While Francis was famous for his outgoing personality and spontaneous interactions with crowds, Leo is described by those who know him as more cautious and measured.
Before becoming pope, Leo played a key role in the church, leading Francis’ team that chose new bishops. He made history by adding three women to the group that recommends bishop appointments to the pope — a major change in church tradition, according to the Associated Press.
Many Catholics are watching closely to see how Leo will handle important issues that Francis championed during his time as pope. Francis took progressive positions on many issues, including allowing Catholic priests to bless same-sex couples in December 2023 and strongly defending immigrants’ rights.
The contrast between the two leaders’ styles is already clear. While Francis was known for blessing babies and engaging with crowds until his death last month, Leo reportedly takes a more reserved approach.
“He does not have excesses,” the Rev. Michele Falcone told the New York Times about Leo. “Blessing babies, yes. Taking them in his arms, no.”
LGBTQ+ issues and role of women in the church
Leo’s past statements suggest he may take different positions on some social issues than his predecessor did.
In 2012, he expressed concern about Western media promoting what he called “beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” including same-sex relationships, according to the Times. As a bishop in Peru from 2015 through 2023, he opposed teaching gender studies in schools, stating that “gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.”
That appears to mark a departure from Francis’s more welcoming approach to LGBTQ+ issues. Francis famously asked “Who am I to judge?” when discussing gay clerics, and made headlines with his decision to allow same-sex couple blessings.
In other areas, like women serving in leadership roles in the Catholic Church, Leo has taken a more progressive stance.
In a 2023 interview with Vatican Media, Leo XIV highlighted his experience with having women in church leadership, particularly discussing the three women appointed to help select bishops — a reform he oversaw under Francis.
“Their opinion introduces another perspective and becomes an important contribution to the process,” he told Vatican Media, emphasizing that their roles represent “real, genuine, and meaningful participation.”
Immigration and treatment of migrants
During his time in Peru, Leo earned praise for supporting Venezuelan immigrants, the Times reported.
Francis had been particularly vocal on this issue, recently condemning the Trump administration’s deportations of migrants in the U.S. after the president’s second inauguration, calling it a “major crisis.”
In an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Pope Leo’s brother John Prevost cited his brother’s missionary work.
“I think because he was trained in missionary work in South America for so many years, I think he will be looking out for the disenfranchised,” John Prevost said. “He will be looking out for the poor. He will be looking out for those who don’t have a voice.”John Prevost also said immigration is an important issue for his brother.
“I think because the way our country is going, I don’t think he necessarily will always agree [with] what’s happening. I think a big thing for him is immigration and is it right — what’s going on? I think that will be a challenge for him, because I think he’ll say something about it, too.”
Church sexual abuse scandals
Questions have emerged about Leo XIV’s handling of abuse cases in both the U.S. and Peru. In Chicago, activists raised concerns about his role in a case involving a monastery placement, the Times reported.
When discussing the ongoing challenge of sexual abuse in the church, Leo acknowledged there is “still much to learn” in handling these cases. He stressed the importance of supporting abuse victims, saying “silence is not the solution” and emphasized the need for transparency.
“We must be transparent and honest, we must accompany and assist the victims, because otherwise their wounds will never heal,” Leo told Vatican Media in 2023, adding that cultural differences often affect how abuse cases are handled in different regions.
The new pope’s more recent comments indicate he plans to continue addressing the abuse crisis that has plagued the church, while maintaining the reforms started under Francis’ leadership, though with his characteristically more measured approach.
Leadership style
Those who know Robert Prevost before he became Pope Leo XIV describe his communication style as more measured than Francis’, the Times reported.
“Where Francis might immediately speak his mind, Cardinal Prevost holds himself back a bit,” the Rev. Moral Antón, who succeeded Leo as leader of the Augustinian order, said.
Despite these differences in style, some expect Leo to maintain certain aspects of Francis’ legacy.
The Rev. Mark R. Francis, who knew Leo XIV as a classmate, told the Times he believes the new pope will continue Francis’s practice of including regular Catholics in church discussions.
“I know that Bob believes that everybody has a right and a duty to express themselves in the church,” he said.
(SEOUL) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, whose short-lived declaration of martial law late last year plunged the country into political chaos, in a decision that removes the suspended leader from office.
The verdict was read in court shortly after 11 a.m. Friday local time (10 p.m. Thursday ET). Police across the country had been placed on the highest security alert level ahead of the verdict, with a security perimeter established around the court in Seoul, according to the Yonhap news agency.
With the court’s decision, Yoon is formally removed from office and South Korea will hold a snap presidential election within 60 days, according to the news agency.
Yoon was removed from office by the opposition-controlled National Assembly after declaring martial law in a televised speech on Dec. 3, claiming the opposition party sympathized with North Korea and was paralyzing the government.
The move sparked fierce protests, and several hours after the declaration, the National Assembly voted to demand that the president lift the martial law order.
Separate from his removal from office, Yoon was indicted by South Korean prosecutors on insurrection charges over the brief imposition of martial law.
An arrest warrant against him led to a standoff between his security team and police earlier this year.
In a dramatic scene, thousands of police descended on his home and were met with crowds of the impeached president’s backers, including some who lay down in front of police vehicles in an attempt to block authorities from reaching the residence.
Yoon was eventually arrested several days later and held in custody until March 8.
