Today, the Latin Patriarch, in cooperation with the University of Notre Dame, inaugurated Within Your Gates, a forum that brings together scholars, religious, and civic leaders to study and publicise the “universal vocation of Jerusalem”. The prelate asks “with honesty and humility” what purpose this city serves and what it asks of us.
A report shows that temperatures in the region and the eastern Mediterranean are set rise twice as fast as global average. Models project a 5-degree increase by the end of the century, putting the lives of 400 million people at risk. “Unprecedented” heatwaves will compromise water and food security.
The diplomatic representation in Doha would have a limited duration to assist the 10,000 Israeli fans expected for the World Cup. But the 'direct talks' have stalled around the issue of the Palestinians. To date, entry into Qatar is linked to the use of a "non-Israeli" passport.
For Prime Minister Edi Rama, “incontrovertible evidence” proves Iran’s involvement in a July attack that targeted Albania’s public services, administration, and an Iranian exiled group. Before leaving, embassy staff burnt documents.
In a reflection sent to AsiaNews on the 25th anniversary of the death of the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, Msgr. Martinelli recalls the nuns killed in Aden in 2016 by a jihadist commando. With their lives, and their deaths, they bore witness to "the love and presence of Christ". Even today, Yemen is marked by "war and suffering, especially for children". The sisters "have stayed" to continue their work in favour of the "poor, disabled".
The government has announced that it is using the technology against girls and women who break the hijab law, but its first use dates back to before 2020. Over 300 people have been arrested for protesting against the law. Women can be denied their civil rights and lose their job if their social media profile is inconsistent with Islamic rules. Meanwhile two LGBTQ+ activists are sentenced to death.
From Syria to Lebanon, from Iraq to Egypt, moments of prayer, awareness-raising meetings and activities dedicated to ecological themes are planned. The desire to 'recover our ability to listen to the voice of creation'. Initiatives aimed at young people and reforestation projects are planned.
Monk Boutros Kassis succeeds Mar Yohanna Ibrahim more than nine years after the latter was abducted. The new archbishop has been acting as patriarchal vicar for Aleppo’s battered community since 2019. The Greek Orthodox Church did the same thing for one of its top clerics kidnapped in 2013.
In recent weeks, Israel struck the airports of Damascus and Aleppo. According to Ynet News, contacts are centred on military rather than political issues. Israel’s aim is to weaken Iran’s presence and block attacks against its territory. For Syrian President Assad, the goal is to protect the areas under his direct control and neutralise rebel strongholds.
Saad Salloum says the political system "does not work" because diverse factions pursue "their own interest" with the support of "militias, banks, televisions". A 'mafia' paralyses the country and fuels the spiral of violence that follows every election. The Sadrist bloc is also boycotting the second round of talks promoted by the premier to overcome the institutional stalemate.
The Maronite patriarch attacks those who are deliberately preventing the election of the president and the formation of a new government. For judges, on strike for two months, what the country is going through is not a “crisis” but a real “disaster”. Many people want to emigrate, legally or not.
The humanitarian emergency has become an opportunity to relaunch partnership. Ankara is ready to build thousands of housing units for affected Pakistani families. Armaments, construction and agriculture are the sectors of greatest interest. In the background a sahred ideology marked by nationalism and a vision of Islam as well as the (possible) tensions with Iran and Saudi Arabia.
Francis receives the Avsi Foundation, which has been promoting the "Open Hospitals" project since 2017 that has made possible 80 thousand health services in Catholic facilities. After 12 years of war," the pontiff recalled, "the Syrian one remains one of the most serious crises in the world, with destruction, growing humanitarian needs, socio-economic collapse, poverty and hunger at very serious levels. Remembering "good samiratans" killed while helping others.
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