INTERNACIONAL
US–Russia flashpoint looms over Putin’s plans for African naval base

The Trump administration is warning of «serious consequences» over Russia’s plans to open a naval base in war-torn Sudan. News of the development of the base has triggered an unusual warning from the State Department, Fox News Digital was told.
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, «We encourage all countries, including Sudan, to avoid any transactions with Russia’s defense sector.»
The Kremlin appears to be desperate to join the Horn of Africa global powers «naval club,» with its approved plans for a base for warships and nuclear-powered submarines at Port Sudan. This is not far down the Indian Ocean coast from Djibouti, where there are U.S. and Chinese bases. With the new Syrian government likely to kick the Russians out of their base in Tartus, Port Sudan would be Russia’s only foreign naval base.
«Moscow views Sudan, because of its strategic location, as a logical place to expand Russia’s footprint into Africa, which Putin views as a key place of geopolitical confrontation with the United States and China,» Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst, told Fox News Digital.
WORLD FORGETS ‘CATASTROPHIC’ WAR IN SUDAN AS RUSSIA, IRAN, OTHERS REPORTEDLY FEED FIGHTING WITH ARMS
This picture taken on Feb. 28, 2021, shows a view of the Russian Navy frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich (494), anchored in Port Sudan. (Ibrahim Ishaq/AFP via Getty Images)
«Russia views the U.S. and China as its top adversaries, with whom Moscow may in the long-term have a kinetic conflict. Hence, Putin wants intelligence and military capabilities stationed close to the U.S. Djibouti base and Chinese facilities,» she said.
«Given that the U.S. and China already have [a] naval presence off of the Horn of Africa,» Koffler added, «Russia is looking at Port Sudan as a logistics hub for weapons transfers, storage of military hardware ammunition, all sorts of war-fighting capabilities.»
«The potential Russian naval logistics facility in Sudan would support Russian power projection in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean,» John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), told Fox News Digital. He added that «this issue has gained greater importance for Moscow, given the uncertainty over the future of its Tartus naval logistics facility.»
A Russian naval base in the Indian Ocean has strategic military implications — it’s a relatively short sailing distance to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, a choke point through which an estimated 12% of the world’s shipping passes, while 61% of global oil tanker traffic is also said to use the canal. Koffler said this poses a significant security threat.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, right, and his Sudanese counterpart Ali Yousuf Al-Sharif shake hands during a press conference in Moscow on Feb. 12. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
«If Russia perceives an impending escalation against Russia, let’s say in Ukraine — such as an impending deployment of NATO forces or draconian economic measures designed to tank [the] Russian economy — I would not rule out the possibility that Putin could authorize something disruptive to exploit the choke point and destabilize or disrupt global shipping, as a way of deterring Western actions threatening Russia.»
The deal permitting Moscow to build a military base has been given the green light, although there are serious logistical challenges involved. «The agreement between Sudan and Russia was finalized in February, following a meeting between Sudan’s Foreign Minister Ali Yusef Sharif and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow,» Koffler explained.
US TROOPS IN STANDOFF IN AFRICAN NATIONS AS COLD WAR-LIKE TENSIONS TAKE HOLD ON CONTINENT

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov at the Naval Base of the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk, Russia, on Sept. 23, 2014. (Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images)
Hence the strongly worded comments to Fox News Digital from the State Department that «the United States is aware of the reported deal between Russia and the SAF [Sudanese Armed Forces] on establishing a Russian naval facility on Sudan’s coast. We encourage all countries, including Sudan, to avoid any transactions with Russia’s defense sector, which could trigger serious consequences, potentially including sanctions on entities or individuals associated with those transactions.
«Moving forward with such a facility or any other form of security cooperation with Russia would further isolate Sudan, deepen the current conflict, and risk further regional destabilization. «
On the (very) dry land that is Sudan, the situation Monday around the city of Al Fasher and the neighboring massive Zamzam refugee camp in the Darfur region is «horrifying,» U.N. Assistant Secretary-General Tom Fletcher posted.

Maxar satellite imagery of the ground at the Main Market Zamzam IDP civilian camp in Al Fasher on Feb. 13. (Satellite image (c) 2022 Maxar Technologies via Getty images)
The civil war in Sudan, between the government’s SAF and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has just passed its grisly second anniversary. Tens of thousands have been killed, and an estimated 13 million people have been uprooted from their homes. The U.N. describes it as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and UNICEF calls it «hell on earth.»
«There can be no overstating the brutality and destructiveness of the RSF assault on Zamzam (refugee camp),» Sudan researcher Eric Reeves told Fox News Digital this week. «The camp that has existed since 2004 is no longer, even as it had grown to more than 500,000 people.»
Ominously, Reeves added that «the real dying has only just begun. Nearly the entire population of Zamzam has fled, and in all directions the threat of RSF violence remains. This creates insecurity of a sort that prevents humanitarians from reaching these scattered people. Tremendous numbers will die either from RSF violence or the lack of food, water and shelter.»

Fighters of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a Sudanese rebel group active in Sudan’s Darfur State, which supports army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, attend a graduation ceremony in the southeastern Gedaref state on March 28, 2024. (AFP via Getty Images)
Another 30 were reported killed on Tuesday in a fresh RSF attack on Al Fasher. And just this past week, the RSF rebels announced they are setting up their own government. The State Department told Fox News Digital, «The United States is deeply concerned about the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and aligned actors’ declaration of a parallel government in Sudan. This attempt to establish a parallel government is unhelpful for the cause of peace and security and risks a de facto partition of the country.»
«It will only further destabilize the country, threaten Sudan’s territorial integrity, and spread wider instability throughout the region. The United States has made clear that our interest is in the restoration of peace and an end to the threats the conflict in Sudan pose to regional stability. The best path to peace and stability is an immediate and durable cessation of hostilities so that the processes of establishing a civilian government and rebuilding the country can begin,» the spokesperson said.

Sudanese displaced people gather at the Zamzam refugee camp outside the town of El-Fashir in the Darfour region of Sudan on July 1, 2004. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo, File)
Caleb Weiss, editor of the FDD’s Long War Journal and also a Defections Program Manager at the Bridgeway Foundation, put some of the blame for not ending the Sudanese war on the Biden administration. He told Fox News Digital that it «stopped short of seriously facilitating any sort of meaningful peace talks/mediation/or being tough on outside backers of various groups to really get them to be serious in previous negotiation attempts. This is where the Biden administration failed.»
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Weiss continued, «President Trump should continue to be aggressive on sanctioning those committing acts of violence, but also sponsor and back serious peace talks that include both parties, offer financial incentives or even threaten financial penalties, and seriously hold international backers accountable for exacerbating the conflict.»
INTERNACIONAL
Euforia y señales de un nuevo tiempo en la Iglesia Católica: recuerdos del primer día del papado de Francisco

Una caótica cobertura periodística
Emoción de los argentinos en la Plaza San Pedro
La presencia de Cristina Kirchner
INTERNACIONAL
Top union calls cops on itself to orchestrate ‘civil disobedience’ stunt at GOP office: source
FIRST ON FOX: Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), one of the largest and most politically active unions in the country, contacted local California police with a plan to get arrested on purpose during a scheduled protest outside the office of GOP Rep. Young Kim, Fox News Digital has learned.
A source familiar told Fox News Digital that SEIU informed the Anaheim Police Department about a protest held Tuesday, in which they wanted to be arrested during a staged «civil-disobedience type of event.» The protesters planned to block the office entryway to prompt an arrest by police officers.
Following conversations with law enforcement, the source said SEIU decided to go «in a different direction,» by holding a rally outside the office with «small civil disobedience toward the end,» like blocking a driver outside Kim’s office to get cited by police.
«Sorry, I have no information on that,» an Anaheim Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital when reached for comment.
FLORIDA PROTESTER SCREAMS AT REP. BYRON DONALDS DURING TENSE TOWN HALL

Members of SEIU contacted local California police with a plan to intentionally get arrested during a scheduled protest outside Rep. Young Kim’s office. (Getty Images)
When reached by Fox News Digital for comment, a spokesperson did not confirm or deny that SEIU called the cops on itself.
«I’m glad our action got your attention! You may have missed the real news today, which is that the lives of people with disabilities are at stake,» the spokesperson said while including information about the «devastating effects cutting Medi-Cal would have on Rep. Kim’s constituents who live with disabilities.»
‘CHAOS AND CONFUSION’: HOW DEMOCRATS INFILTRATED ‘THUNDEROUS’ GOP TOWN HALLS
About 1,000 people gathered outside Kim’s office on Tuesday in a peaceful protest where no one was arrested, ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported.
At one point, roughly a dozen people blocked a driveway near the building. Police instructed them to move and when they refused they were marched to another parking lot and cited with tickets for blocking a roadway, the outlet reported.

Protesters gather in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 17, 2025. Protesters also gathered outside Rep. Young Kim’s office on Tuesday. (Deirdre Heavey/Fox News Digital)
Protests outside representatives’ offices and at their town halls have erupted during President Donald Trump’s second term, as massive layoffs and spending cuts led by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have triggered outrage among Democrats across the country.
SEIU has been at the forefront of those protests nationwide, advocating for workers’ rights and protecting Americans’ access to healthcare. The protest outside Kim’s office was about protecting Medicaid as Democrats have been sounding the alarm about potential threats to the program since Trump’s November victory.
«The GOP budget would gut $880 BILLION from Medicaid – the biggest cut in U.S. history – just to hand $7 TRILLION to billionaires. This will hurt working families, seniors, kids, veterans & people with disabilities,» SEIU posted on Friday.

Rep. Young Kim speaks during a hearing March 10, 2021, on Capitol Hill. (Ting Shen-Pool/Getty Images)
While Democrats have said there is no way to preserve Medicaid given Trump’s ambitious tax cuts included in his «big, beautiful bill,» Republicans have maintained that Trump will not cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.
Kim, whom the SEIU protesters were targeting with their staged arrests, joined 12 House Republicans in a letter to House leadership opposing any budget resolution that would make cuts to Medicaid services. Her office is also shutting down the implication that congressional Republicans are hiding from their constituents.
«I had a productive meeting with many of these local healthcare advocates last week and will continue to make clear to House leadership and my constituents that any budget resolution that cuts vital Medicaid services for the most vulnerable citizens in our community will not receive my vote. My door is always open,» Kim told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders participate in a stop on the «Fight Oligarchy» tour in Bakersfield, California, on April 15, 2025. (Reuters/Aude Guerrucci)
«Rep. Kim recently wrote to House leadership to make clear once again that any budget resolution that cuts vital Medicaid services for the most vulnerable citizens in our community will not receive her vote. She appreciates the work of these advocates on healthcare issues. She is committed to protecting and strengthening our healthcare system, including vital Medicaid services for our most vulnerable, and has worked across the aisle to expand access to care for her constituents,» a spokesperson for Kim added in a statement.
Kim’s spokesperson said the California congresswoman was «recently ranked the most effective federal lawmaker from California» and emphasized her efficiency and bipartisan leadership in Congress.
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Progressive protest groups organized disruptions at Republican-held town halls and local legislative offices earlier this year, effectively shutting them down. Some lawmakers, including Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., reported safety concerns following threats of violence. Many Republicans opted for tele-town halls as a result, citing productivity in a controlled environment.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the former vice presidential candidate, has joined a growing number of Democrats hosting town halls in Republican-held congressional districts, following reports that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told congressional Republicans to stop holding in-person town hall meetings after protesters began disrupting them earlier this year.
Politics,California,US protests
INTERNACIONAL
Quién es el cardenal milenial del cónclave que elegirá al próximo papa y cuál fue su pedido

Un total de 135 cardinales, con una edad promedio de 70 años, se reunirán pronto en cónclave para elegir al próximo pontífice tras la muerte del papa Francisco. El más joven de todos ellos es el ucraniano Mykola Bychok, de 45 años, obispo en la ciudad australiana de Melbourne y que fue proclamado cardenal hace tan solo cuatro meses por el papa.
Leé también: Cómo es el protocolo del cónclave y quiénes son los principales candidatos para suceder al papa Francisco
El religioso milenial recibió la bendición de Francisco el pasado 7 de diciembre, en el último consistorio encabezado por el Papa en el que se definió el cuerpo que elegirá al sucesor de la silla de San Pedro.
El obispo de Melbourne, Mykola Bychok, fue proclamado cardenal por el papa Francisco en diciembre de 2024. (Foto: REUTERS/Remo Casilli).
Un día después de haberse convertido en cardenal, Bychok declaró a la cadena pública australiana ABC que jamás hubiera soñado con ascender a esta posición a la misma edad en la que esperaba ser un simple redentorista. “Ser sacerdote y ya”, subrayó.
Entonces, también manifestó su intención ser un cardenal “flexible, santo, accesible y sin eminencia”, comprometido a seguir denunciando la guerra en su país, que califica como un genocidio por parte de Rusia.
El pedido del cardenal Mykola Bychok antes del cónclave
El obispo llega a Roma justo 20 años después de haber sido ordenado sacerdote y tras haber pedido recientemente a los fieles “oraciones por los cardenales electores que se reunirán en el cónclave”.
Leé también: El médico del papa Francisco reveló cómo fueron los últimos minutos antes de morir: “No respondía”
“Que el espíritu santo ilumine nuestros corazones y mentes para que podamos elegir un candidato digno como el 267 obispo de Roma”, expresó a través de su página de Facebook.
Mykola Bychok duranrte una misa en la basílica de San Pedro. (Foto: AFP/Andreas Solaro).
En la misma publicación, recordó que el diciembre pasado le pidió a Francisco que orara por Ucrania, pero que ahora él mismo reza para que el difunto pontífice “interceda ante Cristo por los pueblos de Australia y Ucrania” y para que Dios le “conceda la gracia de vivir” su “misión como cardenal de la Iglesia católica”.
Leé también: La tecnología detrás del cónclave: los avances para blindar y proteger la elección del nuevo papa
Cuando será el cónclave que elegirá el próximo papa
El cónclave debe comenzar en un lapso de 15 a 20 días, luego de la muerte del papa. En este caso, se estima que el proceso de elección para elegir a quien ocupará el rol que tenía Francisco podría comenzar entre el 5 y el 10 de mayo.
El cardenal australiano-ucraniano, como él mismo se define, ingresará a la Capilla Sixtina junto a un grupo heterogéneo de electores, procedentes de 71 países, que no se conocen entre ellos y sin una idea común sobre el futuro de la Iglesia.
Fieles hacen fila para presentar sus respetos al difunto papa Francisco en la capilla ardiente instalada en la basílica de San Pedro, en el Vaticano. (Cecilia Fabiano/LaPresse vía AP)
Como el límite de edad para ser convocado al cónclave es de 80 años, 117 cardenales no participarán en la elección del próximo líder de la Iglesia católica, prevista para principios de mayo. Entre los que sí pueden votar, el de más edad es el español Carlos Osoro Sierra, de 79 años y cardenal arzobispo emérito de Madrid.
Entre los cardenales electores, los europeos serán los más numerosos en la Capilla Sixtina, con 53 representantes, es decir, el 39%.
Leé también: Nuevos audios inéditos del papa Francisco: “Le pido a Jesús que la muerte no me duela”
En 2013, durante el cónclave que condujo a la elección del papa Francisco, 60 de los 115 cardenales eran europeos, es decir el 52%, lo que demuestra el trabajo de universalización que llevó a cabo Francisco a lo largo de los 12 años de su papado.
Tras los cardenales europeos le siguen este año los de Asia (23), América del Sur y Central (21), África (18), América del Norte (16) y Oceanía (4), según la Santa Sede.
De los 135 cardenales convocados al cónclave, 108 fueron nombrados por el papa Francisco: 40 en Europa, 20 en Asia, 19 en América Central y del Sur, 15 en África, 10 en América del Norte y 4 en Oceanía. Benedicto XVI nombró a 22 y Juan Pablo II a cinco.
Cuál es el país con más cardenales en el cónclave
Italia volverá a ser el país más representado en las deliberaciones, con 17 participantes, aunque este número es inferior a los 28 de 2013. Estados Unidos (10) y Brasil (7) completan el podio de países con más cardenales participantes en el cónclave. Francia y España cuentan con cinco cada uno.

El obispo de Melbourne, Mykola Bychok, fue proclamado cardenal por el papa Francisco en diciembre de 2024. (Foto: REUTERS/Remo Casilli).
La Argentina tendrá cuatro representantes, al igual que Canadá, India, Polonia y Portugal. Costa de Marfil, con dos cardenales electores, será el único país africano que contará con más de un cardenal en el cónclave.
Quiénes son los principales candidatos a Papa
Los nombres que se barajan como posibles sucesores son solo un puñado. Entre ellos se destacan:
- Matteo Zuppi. Es relativamente joven para los parámetros que se manejan para los nuevos papas. Tiene 69 años. Es arzobispo de Bolonia y titular de la Conferencia Episcopal italiana. Se lo considera cercano a Francisco y a la Comunidad Sant’Egidio, conocida por su compromiso por los más pobres. Es el cardenal apuntado por el progresismo para suceder a Bergoglio.
- Luis Antonio Tagle. Es aún más joven que Zuppi. Tiene 67 años. Oriundo de Filipinas, también integra el grupo progresista de la Iglesia. Fue arzobispo de Manila. En 2019 fue designado prefecto de la Congregación para la Evangelización de los Pueblos. Tiene un enfoque pastoral basado en la misericordia, la inclusión y la justicia social.

El cardenal Luis Antonio Tagle durante el viaje de Francisco a Indonesia en septiembre de 2024 (Foto: Reuters)
- Pietro Parolin. A los 70 años, es uno de los rostros más reconocidos del Vaticano en su condición de secretario de Estado, una especie de canciller. Se lo considera la figura más influyente de la Curia. Si bien es muy cercano a Bergoglio, se lo posiciona como un cardenal moderado por su diplomacia y pragmatismo.
- Raymond Leo Burke. Con 76 años, es uno de los grandes “enemigos” de Francisco. Es el representante de la línea ultraconservadora de la Iglesia. Fue un duro crítico sobre la apertura del Vaticano a los homosexuales. Es señalado como uno de los cardenales que más conspiró contra Bergoglio durante su pontificado.

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke claps during the conference «The Synodal Tower of Babel» on the eve of the opening of the synod of bishops, in Rome, Italy, October 3, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
- Willem Eijk. El cardenal neerlandés, arzobispo de Utrecht, tiene 71 años. Es uno de los candidatos conservadores. Estuvo en desacuerdo con muchas de las decisiones de Francisco en los últimos años, en especial con la comunión para los divorciados vueltos a casar. Se lo relaciona con la línea conservadora heredera del fallecido Benedicto XVI.
- Peter Turkson. Su nombre completo es Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson. Tiene 76 años. De ser elegido se convertiría en el primer papa africano. Se lo señala por su perfil progresista y su liderazgo en asuntos globales. Es cercano al progresismo. Hasta 2021, estuvo encargado del Dicasterio para el Servicio del Desarrollo Humano Integral.

El cardenal Peter Turkson es uno de los favoritos para suceder a Francisco (Foto: Reuters)
- Peter Erdo. El cardenal húngaro tiene 71 años y representa al ala conservadora de la Iglesia. Se lo conoce por su capacidad de diálogo. De hecho, en los últimos años logró un acercamiento entre Francisco y el ultraderechista presidente húngaro, Viktor Orban.
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