The Jubilee Wing, a facility open to all in Palestine, was inaugurated in the presence of Patriarch Pizzaballa. For Shireen Khamis, this project is of crucial importance, given the lack of specialised facilities in Palestine. Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV met today with members of L’Œuvre d’Orient and the Institut Chrétiens d’Orient to explore the conditions for “a just and lasting peace.”
Mideast Church leaders start Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Beirut. In his address, Armenian Catholic primate slams divisions that still remain in the Church. The true meaning of the sacrifice on the cross is lost when the work for unity is aimed at “winning others to one’s principles”.
More deaths follow tragedy of the mother who froze to death to warm her children. The rise of the Taliban coincides with a rise in the flow of migrants from Afghanistan to Turkey in a (vain) attempt to enter Europe is growing. The work of Caritas: meals, accommodation, language and vocational courses to promote integration. The story of Shayan, fleeing for freedom.
Today's headlines: India pays tribute to the "super-mom" tiger, the country's most famous feline; Bangkok ready to decriminalise marijuana; three Iranian officials in Saudi Arabia at the headquarters of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation;the Russian Orthodox Church issues new prayers, one against "computer addiction"; "Covid-free" Turkmenistan in preventive lockdown.
The task of the Holy Land Editions is the dissemination of the “Fifth Gospel”, i.e., “the historical and geographical environment in which the Word of God was revealed and took on the flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, for us and for our salvation.” This “also means talking about the people who live there at present, the life of Christians of the various Churches and denominations, but also that of Jews and Muslims, in an attempt to build, in a complex and difficult context such as the Middle East, a fraternal society.”
A rebel spokesman said the group launched an operation "deep in the UAE”, killing two Indians and a Pakistani. In Yemen government forces reported military progress earlier this month.
Today's headlines: Beijing cuts interest rates, retail sales fall; first North Korean goods train since the start of the pandemic returns from a lightning trip to China with 'emergency materials'; Manila says Aung San Suu Kyi is 'indispensable' to restoring democracy in Myanmar; Naval'nyj collaborators blacklisted as terrorists.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be celebrated from 18 to 25 January, centred this year on the theme: “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him”. In Cana, “the first sign Jesus accomplished was not an extraordinary healing or something prodigious in the temple of Jerusalem, but an action that responded to a simple and concrete need of common people, a domestic gesture. Let us put it this way – a miracle done on tip toes”.
This year the Council of Churches of the Middle East has been tasked with preparing the texts for the Week of Prayer that is celebrated around the world from 18 to 25 January. For its part, the Taizé community is calling on young people to come to the Holy Land in May for the new stage of its “Pilgrimage of Trust on Earth".
Turkey invested a lot in Kazakhstan in recent years, not only in economic terms. Nazarbayev’s regime pulled the country away from Russian influence in favour of a Turkic-oriented nation-building process; now the call to CSTO troops will test the power relationship with Moscow.
From a hundred in 2010, only a dozen remains: nine males and three females. Despite protection measures adopted since 2001 in cooperation with the UN, the situation has become “extremely critical”. Drought, poaching and road accidents are the main risk factors. Iran is home to at least 1,300 different animal species, 130 of which are threatened or at risk of extinction.
Beijing and Syrian representatives sign the official entry into the Belt and Road Initiative, as a means of strengthening and relaunching bilateral relations. China has sent one million anti-Covid vaccines and Assad is boosting the axis of 'resistance'. For those in favour, it is a response to the poverty caused by the conflict. But there are those who speak of "a worser evil".
Although the new variant is spreading and the number of infections has reached a new record since the start of the pandemic, Israel reopened its borders last Sunday. A new website explains the new entry rules, which apply to the vaccinated or recently recovered only. For Israeli PM Bennett, the new wave is an “unstoppable storm”, but “There's no place for panic”. Keeping the economy open and protecting the vulnerable are the priority.
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