Georgia has arrested two men for allegedly attempting to illegally sell weapons-grade uranium, officials in the Caucasus nation said on Thursday.

Counter-intelligence and special operations units detained a Georgian and a foreign national while they were allegedly trying to sell radioactive uranium that “could be used to manufacture explosive devices or carry out terrorist attacks”, the security services said.

The two men were seeking $3.0 million for the uranium when they were arrested in the Black Sea port city of Batumi, the services said.

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The “nuclear material”, described as a “radioactive chemical element emitting alpha and gamma radiation”, was deemed capable of causing mass casualties if weaponised, the agency added.

It said the plot had been “detected and neutralised at an early stage.”

The suspects face up to 10 years in prison for the illegal handling of nuclear material.

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Concerns have existed for years that extremist groups could get hold of unsecured radioactive materials from countries across the former Soviet Union.

Georgia and neighbouring Armenia — both ex-Soviet states — have reported numerous cases of people trying to sell radioactive substances, including attempts to smuggle weapons-grade uranium.

AFP

...I’m deeply saddened – Pope Leo XIV 

An Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church killed two people on Thursday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as Israel said it “never targets” religious sites and regretted any harm to civilians.

Pope Leo XIV said he was “deeply saddened” by the attack, which came as Gaza’s civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory killed at least 20 people.

“With deep sorrow the Latin Patriarchate can now confirm that two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning.

“We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians,” it said in a statement.

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said “two citizens from the Christian community” were killed in an Israeli strike on the church in Gaza City, with which the late Pope Francis kept regular contact through the war.

READ ALSO:‘Netanyahu Must Go’, Israel’s Ex-PM Calls Leadership ‘Catastrophic’

AFP photographs showed the wounded being treated in a tented area at Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, with parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli with a bandage around his lower leg.

Christian Palestinian mourners take the body of a loved one for burial from the city’s Arab Ahli, also known as Baptist Hospital, following an earlier Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church, in Gaza City on July 17, 2025. An Israeli strike on Gaza’s only Catholic church killed two people on July 17, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as Israel said it “never targets” religious sites and regretted any harm to civilians. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP)

The patriarchate, which has jurisdiction for Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus, condemned the strike and said it “destroyed large parts of the complex”.

“Targeting a holy site currently sheltering approximately 600 displaced persons, the majority of whom are children and 54 with special needs, is a flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sitses, which are supposed to provide a safe haven in times of war,” it said.

Israel expressed “deep sorrow” over the damage and civilian casualties, adding that the military was investigating.

“Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians,” the foreign ministry said on X.

– ‘Serious act’ –

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said attacks on civilians in Gaza were “unacceptable” while her Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called the church attack “a serious act against a Christian place of worship”.

READ ALSO:Hamas Attacks Aid Workers In Gaza, Kills Five

Out of the Gaza Strip’s population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory.

Since the early days of the war which erupted in October 2023, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at the Holy Family Compound in Gaza City, where some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge.

Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war and in his final Easter message, a day before his death on April 21, he condemned the “deplorable humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territory.

– ‘Totally unacceptable’ –

Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch, the head of Catholic charity l’Oeuvre d’Orient, told AFP the raid was “totally unacceptable”.

“It is a place of worship. It is a Catholic church known for its peaceful attitude, for being a peacemaker. These are people who are at the service of the population,” he said.

READ ALSO:Israeli Strikes Kill 13 In Gaza

“There was no strategic objective, there were no jihadists in this church. There were families, there were civilians. This is totally unacceptable and we condemn in the strongest possible terms this attitude on the part of Israel.”

More than 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza’s population, displacing most residents at least once and triggering severe shortages of food and other essentials.

The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 58,573 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties.

AFP

France will on Thursday formally hand back its last military bases in Senegal, leaving the French army with no permanent camps in west and central Africa.

Ending the French army’s 65 years in Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler.

Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, will leave the west African nation after a three-month departure process. France started ceding its bases to Senegal in March.

After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025.

Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris.

READ ALSO:CHAN 2025: Nigeria Drawn In Group D With Senegal, Others

In a ceremony in Dakar, France will return Camp Geille, its largest base in the country, and its airfield at Dakar airport.

Senegal’s Chief of General Staff, General Mbaye Cisse, and General Pascal Ianni, who commands France’s troops in Africa, will attend.

– ‘Sovereignty’ –

After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France’s staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its history.

Faye’s predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition.

Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal would treat France like any other foreign partner.

READ ALSO:Faye: 15 Things To Know About 44-year-old Senegal’s President 

Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw.

“Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country,” Faye said at the end of 2024, while maintaining that “France remains an important partner for Senegal”.

Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944 of dozens of African troops who had fought for France in World War II.

– Continent-wide pull-out –

With governments across Africa increasingly questioning France’s military presence, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire.

In February France handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site.

READ ALSO:AFCON: Senegal Devour Cameroon 3-1 In Lions Showdown

The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region.

Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel’s decade-long jihadist insurgency.

The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out.

Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation.

Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will be home to a permanent French army base following Thursday’s withdrawal.

France intends to make its base in Djibouti, with some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa.
(VANGUARD)