Exciting news from the European Union! They’ve recently invested a €2 billion in some fantastic projects to promote cleaner energy and make our planet greener. Can you believe it? €2 billion! It’s like hitting the jackpot and deciding to contribute it all towards efforts. Amazing don’t you think?
What does this entail? Picture brand new wind farms harnessing breezes to generate electricity solar panels absorbing the suns rays efficiently and improved insulation for buildings that reduces the need for heating or cooling. It’s akin to wrapping a house in a blanket so you can dial down the thermostat.
This isn’t a move, by the EU.They have been allocating billions of euros since 2021 and this recent round of funding is part of a strategy to achieve cleaner and more advanced energy systems across Europe by 2030. Their aim is to ensure that while we are powering our devices, lights and entertainment we minimize the harm to our planet.
Several countries are benefiting from this €2 billion investment. These include Bulgaria, Croatia and Poland each with their planned initiatives to improve and enhance energy production. For instance Bulgaria intends to upgrade its grid capacity in order to accommodate a greater amount of green energy. Croatia has goals for installing numerous solar panels while Czechia (which refers to the Czech Republic) is transitioning from coal to gas for residential heating purposes in order to reduce pollution levels.
The source of this funding is quite fascinating well. It originates from the EUs Emissions Trading System where companies are required to pay for their impact. The more pollution they generate the higher their financial contribution becomes. The EU then utilizes these funds by investing in friendly projects. It’s akin to ensuring that those who create a mess also contribute towards cleaning it up.
However it’s not, about the financial aspect involved.
The European Union (EU) has set climate goals and is diligently working towards achieving them. Among their initiatives they have introduced the Modernisation Fund as part of their broader plans, such as the REPowerEU Plan and the Fit For 55 package. These initiatives outline their roadmap towards an healthier world, where concerns about climate change are reduced.
The EU demonstrates its commitment to these goals by collaborating with the European Commission and the European Investment Bank to ensure that funds are allocated strategically for impact.
So what does this mean for us? It means that the EU is not just making promises but backing them up with substantial investments to support environmental causes. It serves as a reminder that significant efforts are being made globally to combat climate change and every individual action counts. Whether its supporting large scale funds, like this or simply increasing our recycling efforts we all have a role to play in preserving our planets well being.
To stay updated on the developments regarding this fund and how it is revolutionizing green energy practices keep an eye on news sources and visit official EU websites. They have all the details, about the projects and how thiss part of a larger plan to create a better and cleaner future.
Then, after the death of Terah, the Lord said to Abram: get out of your land, and from your family, and from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great language, and I will bless you, and I will magnify your name, and you will be blessed. And I will bless the one who blesses thee, and curse the one who swears thee: and all the families of the earth shall be blessed because of thee (Gen. XII, 1, 2, 3). Let us carefully examine each of these words in order to see the God-loving soul of the patriarch.
Let us not ignore these words, but let us consider how difficult this command is. Get out, he says, from your land and from your kindred and from your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you. Leave, he says, what is known and reliable, and prefer the unknown and unprecedented. See how from the very beginning the righteous man was taught to prefer the invisible to the visible and the future to what was already in his hands. He was not commanded to do something unimportant; (commanded) to leave the land where he had lived for so long, to leave all his kinship and his entire father’s house, and to go where he did not know or care. (God) did not say to what country he wanted to resettle him, but with the uncertainty of His command he tested the piety of the patriarch: go, he says, to the land, and I will show you. Think, beloved, what an exalted spirit, unpossessed by any passion or habit, was required to fulfill this command. In fact, if even now, when pious faith has already spread, many cling so tightly to habit that they would rather decide to transfer everything than to leave, even if it was necessary, the place in which they had hitherto lived, and this happens, not only with ordinary people, but also with those who have retired from the noise of everyday life and have chosen the monastic life – then it was all the more natural for this righteous man to be upset by such a command and to hesitate in fulfilling it. Go away, he says, leave your relatives and your father’s house, and go to the land, which I will show you. Who wouldn’t be confused by such words? Without declaring to him either a place or a country, (God) tests the soul of the righteous with such uncertainty. If such a command had been given to someone else, an ordinary person, he would have said: so be it; you command me to leave the land where I now live, my kinship, my father’s house; but why don’t you tell me the place where I should go, so that I know at least how great the distance is? How do I know that that land will be much better and more fruitful than this one that I will leave? But the righteous man did not say or think anything like that, and, looking at the importance of the command, he preferred the unknown to what was in his hands. Moreover, if he did not have an exalted spirit and a wise mind, if he did not have the skill to obey God in everything, he would have encountered another important obstacle – the death of his father. You know how often many, because of the coffins of their relatives, wanted to die in the places where their parents ended their lives.
4. So for this righteous man, if he were not very God-loving, it would be natural to think about this too, that my father, out of love for me, left his homeland, abandoned his old habits, and, having overcome all (obstacles), even came here , and one can almost say, because of me he died in a foreign land; and even after his death, I do not try to repay him in kind, but retire, leaving, along with my father’s family, his coffin? However, nothing could stop his determination; love for God made everything seem easy and comfortable to him.
So, beloved, God’s favor towards the patriarch is very great! Those, he says, I will bless who bless you; And I will curse those who curse you, and because of you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Here’s another gift! All, he says, the tribes of the earth will try to be blessed by your name, and they will place their best glory in bearing your name.
You see how neither age nor anything else that could tie him to home life served as an obstacle to him; on the contrary, love for God conquered everything. Thus, when the soul is cheerful and attentive, it overcomes all obstacles, everything rushes towards its favorite object, and no matter what difficulties present itself to it, it is not delayed by them, but everything runs past and stops not before reaching what it wants. That is why this righteous man, although he could have been restrained by old age and many other obstacles, nevertheless broke all his bonds, and, like a young man, vigorous and unimpeded by anything, he hastened and hastened to fulfill the command of the Lord. And it is impossible for anyone who decides to do something glorious and valiant to do it without arming himself in advance against everything that might hinder such an enterprise. The righteous man knew this well, and leaving everything without attention, without thinking about habit, or kinship, or his father’s house, or his (father’s) coffin, or even his old age, he directed all his thoughts to that only, as if him to fulfill the command of the Lord. And then a wonderful sight presented itself: a man in extreme old age, with his wife, also elderly, and with many slaves, was moving, not even knowing where his wandering would end. And if you also think about how difficult the roads were at that time (then it was impossible, as now, to freely pester anyone, and thus make the journey with convenience, because in all places there were different authorities, and travelers must were sent from one owner to another and almost every day moved from kingdom to kingdom), then this circumstance would have been a sufficient obstacle for the righteous if he did not have great love (for God) and readiness to fulfill His commandment. But he tore all these obstacles apart like a cobweb, and… having strengthened his mind with faith and submitted to the greatness of the One who promised, he set out on his journey.
Do you see that both virtue and vice depend not on nature, but on our free will?
Then, so that we know what situation this country was in, he says: The Canaanites then lived on the earth. Blessed Moses made this remark not without a purpose, but so that you would recognize the wise soul of the patriarch and from the fact that he, since these places were still occupied by the Canaanites, had to live like a wanderer and wanderer, like some outcast poor man, as he had to, having, perhaps, no shelter. And yet he did not complain about this either, and did not say: what is this? I, who lived in such honor and respect in Harran, must now, like a rootless, like a wanderer and a stranger, live here and here out of mercy, seek peace for myself in a poor refuge – and I cannot get this either, but am forced to live in tents and huts and endure all other disasters!
7. But so that we do not continue the teaching too much, let us stop here and finish the word, asking your love that you imitate the spiritual disposition of this righteous man. Truly, it will be extremely strange if, while this righteous man, being called from (his) land to (another’s) land, showed such obedience that neither old age, nor other obstacles we have counted, nor the inconveniences of the (then) time, nor other difficulties that could stop him were not able to keep him from obedience, but, breaking all the bonds, he, the old man, fled and hurried, like a cheerful youth, with his wife, nephew and slaves, to fulfill the command of God, we, on the contrary, are not called from earth to earth, but from earth to heaven, we will not show the same zeal in obedience as the righteous, but we will present empty and insignificant reasons, and we will not be carried away by either the greatness of (God’s) promises or the unimportance of what is visible, as earthly and temporary, nor the dignity of the Caller, – on the contrary, we will discover such inattention that we will prefer the temporary to the always abiding, the earth to the sky, and we will place the thing that can never end lower than that which flies away before it appears.”
Source: St. John Chrysostom. Conversations on the Book of Genesis.
Conversation XXXI. And Terah gave water to Abram and Nahor his sons, and to Lot the son of Arran his son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son: and I brought him out of the land of the Chaldeans, and went to the land of Canaan, and came even to Haran, and dwelt there (Gen. XI, 31)
Have you ever pondered why some days feel hotter than the ones your grandparents reminisce about?. Why weather patterns seem to be in disarray? Well the explanation may lie above us unseen but impactful; greenhouse gases. In Europe like in parts of the world these gases have become a pressing concern. Lets delve into the reasons behind their significance.
What are greenhouse gases? Imagine your car parked under the scorching sun with all its windows tightly shut. The temperature inside rises higher than outside right? That’s because the suns warmth becomes trapped within. On a scale greenhouse gases function similarly. They act as a layer around our planet capturing heat and maintaining a temperature that is conducive to sustaining life.
The prevalent greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide (CO2) methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). While these gases naturally exist in the atmosphere, human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation and industrial processes have escalated their levels significantly. Consequently more heat is retained within our atmosphere resulting in an Earth.
Europe has been a region, for a period, which means it has been generating greenhouse gas emissions for many centuries. However in times Europe has become increasingly conscious of the impact these emissions have on climate change.
The European Union (EU) consisting of countries like Germany, France and Italy has made progress in reducing emissions. From 1990 to 2019 the EU successfully decreased its emissions by 24%. Despite this achievement Europe still faces challenges in diminishing its greenhouse gas footprint.
The Present Scenario; Europes commitment to a future is evident through initiatives like the European Green Deal that aims to achieve climate neutrality within the EU by 2050. This entails not adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than can be absorbed—a state known as “zero” emissions.
Several European nations are leading by example in this regard. For instance Denmark is capitalizing on wind power while Iceland harnesses energy. Nevertheless overcoming the continents reliance, on coal, oil and natural gas remains an obstacle.
The Role of Different Sectors: Various sectors contribute differently to Europes greenhouse gas emissions.
The energy sector, which encompasses electricity and heating stands as the contributor, closely followed by transportation that heavily relies on fuels. Agriculture also plays a role, in this aspect with livestock generating methane and fertilizers releasing oxide.
To address these sectors impact Europe is making investments in energy sources promoting the use of electric vehicles and encouraging sustainable farming practices. These measures not benefit the climate. Also have the potential to create employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth.
However reducing greenhouse gas emissions comes with its share of challenges. It necessitates a transformation in our energy production methods, travel habits and land management approaches. While this can be both expensive and complex it also presents opportunities for innovation and advancement.
Europe faces the task of striking a balance between growth and environmental sustainability. This equilibrium is vital to maintain support for policies since abrupt changes can lead to social and economic upheaval.
Recognizing that climate change transcends boundaries like greenhouse gases do international cooperation becomes imperative. Europe actively collaborates with nations through agreements like the Paris Climate Accord with the shared objective of limiting warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, above pre industrial levels. Europe plays a role, in negotiations serving as a model for other regions and extending support to developing countries in their transition to cleaner energy sources.
Moving forward Europe has a direction; continue reducing greenhouse gas emissions and work towards a future. This will involve investing in eco technologies, reevaluating transportation systems and changing consumption habits.
Every European has their part to play whether its policymakers crafting laws or individuals opting for biking of driving. It’s an endeavor we all contribute to collectively acknowledging the challenge but also recognizing the reward—a healthier planet, for everyone.
To sum up greenhouse gases are a matter centered around regulating our planets temperature. Europe with its heritage and forward thinking approach is embarking on a journey to decrease these emissions. It’s a path marked with obstacles. Also filled with optimism. By comprehending the role each of us can play we can come together. Ensure that hot trends only refer to fashion and not jeopardize our planets future.
On Wednesday January 3, the Council of Europe introduced additional restrictive measures against a person and an entity responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
The sanctions on Russian diamondsT are part of a G7 effort to develop an internationally coordinated diamond ban that aims at depriving Russia of this important revenue source.
These designations complement the ban on the import of Russian diamonds included in the 12th package of economic and individual sanctions adopted on December 18, 2023 in anticipation of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
In total, EU restrictive measures concerning actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine now apply to almost 1,950 individuals and entities in all. Designated persons are subject to an asset freeze, and EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds available to them. Individuals are also subject to a travel ban, preventing them from entering or transiting EU territories.
The relevant legal acts, including the names of the persons and entities listed, have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Chinese researchers recently developed a new electronic skin that they say has “excellent isothermal regulation,” reports Xinhua.
Scientists from the Southern University of Science and Technology have developed this thermo-e-skin with biomimetic structures. Thus, it mimics the thermoregulation mechanism of the human body by integrating a flexible thermoelectric device with a hydrogel composite material.
Thanks to the delicate balance between heat generation and dissipation, thermoelectronic skin maintains a stable surface temperature of 35 degrees Celsius over a wide range of ambient temperatures – from 10 to 45 degrees Celsius.
In recent years, electronic skin has realized human-like tactile functions and formed stable neural reactivity, largely imitating the human body, making it an ideal component for future intelligent robots.
However, its thermoregulatory function was until recently limited to simple heating or cooling, meaning that it was unable to maintain isothermal regulation for a long time in a complex and changing environment.
The research was published in the journal “Nano Energy”.
Illustrative Photo by Angela Roma : https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-ethnic-person-touching-bare-skin-7480273/
“Finally, we were shown the famous words of St. Philaret, which supposedly portray patriotism as a Christian virtue:
“Didn’t the Bible give good education to the people of God in the Old Testament? Didn’t she give even more perfect education to the people of God in the New Testament? Wisely arranging the education of future citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, she did not lack wisdom to teach the correct rules for the formation of a good citizen of the kingdom of the earth, and had the need to teach them, because a bad citizen of the kingdom of earth is not fit for the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thus, it is worth the effort to look for teachings on education in the Bible.
The most ancient teaching about this can be found in the word of the Lord to Abraham: Abraham will become a great and plentiful nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed because of him: for we know that he commanded his sons and his household after themselves, and they will keep the ways of the Lord to do righteousness and justice. (Gen.18:18,19). Here, firstly, in the form of praise for the upbringing that Abraham gives to his children, the main rule of upbringing is taught: Command your sons to preserve the ways of the Lord, to do righteousness and justice – or, to say the same thing in today’s terms, give your children a pious upbringing and moral, in accordance with the Law of God. Secondly, the beneficial consequences of such upbringing are also shown here: Abraham will be great and numerous [Gen. 17:5] – the father of a family who gives his children a pious and moral upbringing can expect from himself numerous, respected and prosperous offspring. It is not difficult to understand that one who does not care about such an upbringing cannot expect the same, but threatens him with the opposite. Further, we find directly stated rules of education in the Old Testament books, mainly teaching books, in the book of Solomon’s parables and in the book of Jesus son of Sirach.”
It seems obvious to me that for the saint, a bad citizen of the earthly kingdom is not the one who does not want to devote his heart to an earthly patronymic, but the one who was brought up not on the words of God, but on lies. The worst citizen of the kingdom of earth here is the one who steals, kills, and in general was brought up not on the Bible, but on something else. In the sense of St. Philaret, the bad citizens of the kingdom of earth, unfit for the kingdom of heaven, are not the Ouranopolitans. and many of our fellow citizens are now regardless of their patriotism. If people are not raised according to the Bible, then they are unfit for the kingdom of heaven and for the earthly. Which of the Ouranopolitans would argue with this? These words in no way indicate that patriotism is a Christian virtue. To do this, you just need to take them out of context. If we were to understand them in the sense that anyone who betrays his earthly homeland for any reason, the highest, leaves it, calls on its defenders to surrender – would turn out to be a deliberately bad citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, then the saint would find himself in blatant contradiction with Scripture , where Abraham (emigrant), Rahab (traitor), Jeremiah (defeatist) would find themselves outside the Kingdom. and given that they all simply exactly carried out the will of God, then God Himself would be outside the Kingdom.
There is no such commandment. that to love the earthly homeland. but there is a direct commandment to honor and submit to authorities. That is why the uranopolite participates in just wars, pays taxes and does everything that the state requires of him, as long as it does not claim his heart and does not demand the violation of a commandment. One thing distinguishes him from the citizens of the earth – all his interests are in Heaven and in the Church – Heaven on Earth. As for the kingdom of earth, the uranopolite must do nothing without giving his heart to it.
I repeat that Scripture and Tradition (what everyone has taught, always and everywhere) does not recognize, in principle, a double homeland for Christians. We have one homeland – heaven, and there is a hotel where we are now wandering. According to Basil the Great, we are always in a foreign land, no matter where we live, but in every place there is the rule of God. And as for Orthodox patriots who want to serve two masters. then the Apostle James said about them: “a man with double thoughts is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).”
Church of Scientology’s Foundation for the Improvement of Life, Culture and Society in Spain held the 10th annual Religious Freedom Awards ceremony
MADRID, SPAIN, January 5, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ — On December 15th, 2023, the Church of Scientology’s Foundation for the Improvement of Life, Culture and Society (Fundación MEJORA) held the 10th annual Religious Freedom Awards ceremony. The event brought together authorities, academics, diplomats Czech Republic and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and civil society representatives to honour three experts for their “outstanding contribution to the study, analysis and understanding of the legal and social aspects of religious freedom,” said Mercedes Murillo, Deputy Director General for Religious Freedom at the Spanish Government Ministry of the Presidency, in a message delivered at the event.
The awards ceremony also announced an upcoming book that will compile articles from among the 30 past Religious Freedom Awards awardees over the last decade. The publication seeks to share diverse perspectives on this fundamental human right aiming to “increase awareness” and spark discussion explained event organizer Iván Arjona, who represents Scientology to European Union institutions, OSCE and United Nations institutions.
Several speakers underscored the importance of interfaith dialogue and freedom of conscience. “Interreligious dialogue is becoming increasingly important and necessary and… religion in some way forms an important part of society,” said Isabel Ayuso Puente, Secretary General of Fundación MEJORA, referencing a moral code written by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard that focuses on common-sense values.
Inés Mazarrasa, director of Spain’s public Foundation for Pluralism and Coexistence, announced the public funding for the compilation book. “The defence of religious freedom” and “recognition of religious diversity are central to our institution’s mission”, she said, as “actively defending rights” is key to “preserve them” amid concerning “regression.”
Awardees of the 10th Edition of the Religious Freedom Awards
The 2023 awards went to three long-time freedom of religion researchers representing major Spanish universities.
Prof. Igor Minteguía from the University of the Basque Country received recognition for his decades-long work on conscience protections for minorities. He spoke on “the defence of freedom and of those who are different, even if they do not share or even reject [one’s] vision of reality.”
Prof. Francisca Pérez Madrid from the University of Barcelona highlighted ongoing religious persecution in several countries that she worries elicit a “lukewarm” international response. Pérez Madrid warned of governments limiting religion and expression to force official ideologies, also criticizing trends like “cancel culture” that “silence dissenting voices.” However, she found hope in growing interfaith cooperation.
Prof. Mónica Cornejo Valle, a Professor of Anthropology of Religion at Complutense University of Madrid, explained how studying Spain’s popular religiosity revealed mistreatment of “religious beliefs and practices.” This inspired her to promote “respect for diversity” and “de-dramatise differences” through her field. Cornejo critiqued the media’s use of derogatory and discriminatory terms as disrespectful to religious freedom.
All three awardees seem to agree that embracing worldview differences, through understanding and thoughtful dialogue, is essential for peaceful pluralism. Or as Arjona summarized, “no one has the right to trample on, to undermine or to belittle what you are, because you are a spiritual being… and I invite you in your daily life… to keep in mind that great need of the human being to be free and happy with what he is.”
Scientology’s Global Human Rights Efforts
With an increasing global interest thanks to Scientology TV, Scientology entities, including Fundación MEJORA and the European Office of Public Affairs and Human Rights have actively engaged United Nations human rights mechanisms for years through events, research, and advocacy collaborations.
Arjona highlighted Scientology’s consultative status at the UN’s Economic and Social Council through its Foundation MEJORA. This position allows him to officially participate in UN debates, conferences, and information-sharing to offer grassroots expertise to policymakers and diplomates as well as other human rights activists.
Scientology-linked groups have contributed perspectives on human rights issues like human trafficking, rights of the child, freedom of religion, as well as human rights in the field of mental health and more. Just this March, for instance, Mejora co-sponsored a UN event celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights with over 30 speakers.
Through its social betterment groups, Scientology conducts many humanitarian initiatives from anti-drug campaigns to disaster relief to human rights education. The Church also runs the largest non-governmental anti-drug education campaign with some 200 million booklets distributed in over 190 countries since the 1980s.
Scientology: curiosity and language
Scientology continues to generate an always-growing curiosity over the decades, including an increasing number of collaboration requests for community outreach efforts. Part of the interest and curiosity may stem from Scientology’s effectiveness despite barriers to solving social situations emerging in 1950s America that blended spirituality, self-improvement practices, and visions for a more ethical society. It has been since the start of the leadership of Mr. David Miscavige and his global standardisation of humanitarian programs, that L. Ron Hubbard’s goals are being achieved at a new level of orders of magnitude.
Academics urge examining the actual nature and context in which Scientology evolves contributing to and respecting the diversity of belief.
As Cornejo and Pérez highlighted, language matters when it comes to inclusion. And inclusive participation and freedom of conscience and belief at its core, opens the door to greater mutual understanding between all people and thus a more effective team to help make of this one a better world.
UN humanitarians repeated dire concerns for civilians caught up in the war in Gaza on Tuesday, amid reports of continued Israeli bombardment of the southern towns of Deir al Balah, Khan Younis and Rafah, direct clashes on the ground and the firing of rockets overnight by Palestinian armed groups into Israel.
The latest warnings from UN relief agency for Palestinians UNRWA and the UN World Food Programme, WFP, highlighted the threat of starvation and disease in heavily built-up areas, where tens of thousands of people have fled intense bombing campaigns in the enclave’s north and centre.
Skipping meals
“Everyone in Gaza is hungry! Skipping meals is the norm, and each day is a desperate search for sustenance,” WFP said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday. “People often go the entire day and night without eating. Adults go hungry so children can eat.”
🔺At least 21,672 Palestinians have been killed in📍#GazaStrip since the war began.
🔺307 Palestinians, including 79 children, have been killed in #WestBank since the war began
Well over a million people are now seeking safety in the already overcrowded southern city of Rafah, according to UNRWA, with hundreds of thousands sleeping in the open with inadequate clothing or materials to keep out the cold.
Undernourished children are at particular risk, while “half of Gaza’s population is starving” UN humanitarians have warned, in line with the latest food insecurity assessments.
Infections are spreading
Echoing those concerns, the UN health agency WHO warned of an “imminent risk” of communicable disease outbreaks.
Since mid-October, there have been 179,000 cases of acute respiratory infection, 136,400 cases of diarrhoea among under fives, 55,400 cases of scabies and lice and 4,600 cases of jaundice, it reported.
Since the Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October that left some 1,200 dead and another 240 taken hostage, clashes in the Gaza Strip and strikes from the air, land, and sea by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have claimed the lives of more than 22,000 people, mainly women and children, according to local health officials.
IDF figures from 30 December indicated that 168 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the start of the ground operation in Gaza and 955 injured.
Gaza’s health ministry also reportedly stated that more than 200 Palestinians have been killed since Monday alone, with 338 wounded.
An additional 7,000 people have also been reported missing or buried under rubble, the UN health agency WHO said in its latest emergency update.
The report also noted that 600 people have been killed in nearly 300 attacks on healthcare since 7 October that have damaged 26 hospitals and 38 ambulances.
Of the 1.93 million displaced in Gaza, some 52,000 pregnant women are giving birth to around 180 babies every day, according to the WHO update. It also detailed that 1,100 patients need kidney dialysis, 71,000 have diabetes and 225,000 need treatment for high blood pressure.
Health services reviving
UN aid coordination agency OCHA also noted that the Gazan health authorities had managed to resume some hospital services in the north of Gaza.
These included Al Ahli Arab Hospital, the Patients Friends charity hospital, Al Helou International hospital, Al Awda hospital and a number of other primary care centres.
“This occurred amidst great risks surrounding the movement and work of medical teams due to the continuous bombing of residential neighborhoods and the vicinity of health facilities,” OCHA said.
“Furthermore, the Ministry of Health in Gaza, UNRWA and WHO are coordinating on a plan for the reactivation of health centres to meet the needs of displaced people in all places of displacement.”
West Bank crisis
In a related development, OCHA reported the first case of the demolition of Palestinian property in the West Bank in 2024, in al-Maniya in Bethlehem.
Some 300 Palestinians – including 79 children – have been killed across the occupied West Bank since 7 October, amid increasing attacks by Israeli Security Forces and settlers that have been confirmed and condemned by UN human rights chief Volker Türk.
Before the Hamas-led 7 October attacks, 200 Palestinians had already been killed in the West Bank last year – the highest number in a 10-month-period since the UN began keeping records in 2005.
According to a report by the UN human rights office OHCHR encompassing 7 October to 20 November, the period saw a “sharp increase in airstrikes as well as in incursions by armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers sent to refugee camps and other densely populated areas in the West Bank, resulting in deaths, injuries and extensive damage to civilian objects and infrastructure”.
Last year, Israeli authorities oversaw the demolition of 1,119 structures – a record since data collection began in 2009 – uprooting 2,210 people, according to OCHA, in its first update of 2024.
“The threat of destruction of homes and sources of livelihood contributes to the generation of a coercive environment pressuring people to leave their areas of residence,” the aid wing said on its website.
Some statistics since the ban on Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017
More than 790 Jehovah’s Witnesses from 19 to 85 years have been criminally charged or have been under investigation for the practice of their faith; among them, 205 were over 60 years old (more than 25%)
Over 2000 homes have been raided by the FSB and local police
521 believers have appeared on the national extremist/terrorist watch list (Rosfinmonitoring), 72 of them being included in this list during the sole year of 2023.
Some statistics in 2023
183 homes were raided
43 men and women were detained, including 15 sent to pretrial detention centers
147 men and women were criminally charged and sentenced
47 were sentenced to prison
33 were sentenced for 6 years or more
Last sentences in 2023: from 6 1/2 to 7 ½ years in prison
On 22 December 2023, the judge of the Cheremushkinsky District Court respectively sentenced Aleksandr Rumyantsev, Sean Pike and Eduard Sviridov to 7.5 years, 7 years and 6.5 years for singing religious songs and prayers.
At the end of the summer of 2021, a series of searches took place in the homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Moscow, as a result of which three of them ended up in a pre-trial detention center. The criminal case was investigated during 15 months. Then it was considered in court for 13 months. As a result, by the time of the verdict, they had already spent 2 years and 4 months in a pre-trial detention center.
They all denied the accusation of extremism.
A report by the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance expressed concern that “anti-extremist legislation [of the Russian Federation] is being used against certain religious minorities, in particular against Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
European Court of Human Rights
On 31 January 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) considered seven complaints by Jehovah’s Witnesses from Russia related to incidents having occurred from 2010 to 2014, before the ban.
In all of them, the court sided with the Witnesses and ordered them to pay compensation in the amount of 345,773 euros and another 5,000 euros as legal costs. This was the second decision of the ECHR in the last two years in favor of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia.
In June 2022, the ECHR declared that it was unlawful for Russia to ban Jehovah’s Witnesses in 2017. The total amount of compensation under this decision exceeds 63 million euros. So far, the decisions of the ECHR have had no impact on the practice of the Russian law enforcement system. The Russian authorities have not paid compensation to acquitted believers, and continue to sentence them to long prison terms
“Why are you proud of your fatherland,” He says, when I command you to be a wanderer throughout the entire universe, when you can become such that the whole world will not be worthy of you? Where you come from is so unimportant that the pagan philosophers themselves do not attach any importance to it, call it external and give it last place. However, Paul allows this, you will say, when he says: “concerning election, beloved of God for the sake of the fathers” (Rom. 11:28). But tell me, when, about whom and to whom does he say this? Converted pagans, who were proud of their faith, rebelled against the Jews, and thereby alienated them even more from themselves. So, he says this in order to bring down arrogance in some, and to attract and excite others to similar jealousy. When he talks about those noble and great men, then listen to what he says: “for those who speak like this show that they are looking for the fatherland. And if they had in their thoughts the fatherland from which they came, they would have time to return; but they sought what was better, that is, what was heavenly” (Heb. 11:14-16). And again: “all these died in faith, not receiving the promises, but only saw them from afar and rejoiced” (Heb. 11:13). In exactly the same way, John said to those who came to him: “Do not think to say to yourself, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (Matthew 3:9); also Paul: “Not all those Israelites who are of Israel, not children of the flesh, are children of God” (Rom. 9:6,8). In fact, tell me, what benefit did the children of Samuel have in the nobility of their father, when they themselves did not inherit his virtue? What good is it for the children of Moses who were not jealous of his strict life? They did not inherit his power. They were written by his children, but the government of the people passed to another who was his son in virtue. On the contrary, did it hurt Timothy that he had a Gentile father? What benefit again did the son of Noah have from the virtue of his father if he became a slave from a free man? Do you see how little protection children have in the nobility of their father? The corruption of the will overcame the laws of nature, and deprived Ham not only of the nobility of his parents, but also of freedom itself. Also, was not Esau the son of Isaac, who also interceded for him? Although his father tried and wanted him to be a participant in the blessing, and he himself fulfilled all his commands for this purpose, but since he was thin, all this did not help him. Despite the fact that by nature he was the first-born, and his father, together with him, tried in every possible way to preserve his advantage, he, however, lost everything, because he did not have God with him. But what am I saying about individuals? The Jews were sons of God, and yet they gained nothing from this dignity. So, if someone, even being a son of God, is punished even more for not showing virtue worthy of such nobility, then what about showing off the nobility of his grandfathers and great-grandfathers? And not only in the Old Testament, but also in the New Testament one can find the same thing. “And to those who,” it is said, “received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12); meanwhile, for many of these children, according to Paul, it is completely useless that they have such a Father. “If you are circumcised,” he says, “Christ will profit you nothing” (Galatians 5:2).
If Christ is completely useless for those who do not want to listen to themselves, then what is the use of human intercession? So, let us not be proud of either nobility or wealth, but let us despise those who are puffed up with such advantages; Let us not be discouraged because of poverty, but let us seek the wealth that lies in good deeds and flee the poverty that leads us into sin. For this last reason, the famous rich man was indeed poor, which is why he could not, despite intense requests, receive even one drop of water. Meanwhile, is there such a beggar among us who would not have water to cool himself? There is none; and those who are melting away from extreme hunger may have a drop of water, and not only a drop of water, but another, much greater consolation. But this rich man didn’t even have that – he was so poor, and, what’s most painful of all, he couldn’t have any consolation in his poverty from anywhere. So why do we covet money when it does not take us to heaven? Tell me, if any earthly king said that a rich man could not shine in his royal palaces, or achieve any honor, would not everyone throw away their possessions with contempt? So, if we are ready to despise property when it deprives us of honor from the king of the earth, then with the voice of the King of heaven, who daily cries out and says that it is inconvenient to enter those sacred vestibules with wealth, shall we not despise everything and reject wealth? to freely enter His kingdom?
Source: St. John Chrysostom, Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew. Vol. 7. Book 1. Conversation 9.
