The Russian entrepreneur and owner of several nightclubs, Mikhail Danilov, donated a part of the relics of St. Nicholas of Mirliki to the Moscow temple dedicated to the icon of the Virgin Mary “Znamenie”. Along with the particle, a certificate of authenticity for the relic, which was bought by the Vatican last November, according to the donor, was handed over. He acquired the relics with the idea of giving them to the Russian Orthodox Church for the Nativity of Christ. The donation made to the temple, which is located opposite the Kremlin, was filmed and circulated in the media. “We are against obscurantism, diabolical deeds and we support the Church”, declared Danilov upon handing over the relic. He emphasized that part of the money for the purchase of the relics came from several clubs, including “Mutabor”, and the priest thanked and said that this is a great honor for the temple.
The donation and the publicity with which it was made are no accident. Mikhail Danilov is the owner of the scandalous night club “Mutabor”, where the so-called “naked party” of Russian stars from the entertainment business took place on New Year’s Eve. The party caused outrage in Russia against its participants. Despite their public repentance in various video formats, most of the stars were removed from all New Year’s and Christmas entertainment programs, had their advertising contracts terminated, and were generally subjected to the so-called “cancellation” with its accompanying career collapse, public humiliation, and overall rejection. It became clear that the “naked party” dealt a strong blow to the ideology propagated by the Putin regime, that Russia is a counterpoint to the liberalism of the Western world and embodies traditional Christian values. The scale of the persecution of the participants in the party suggests that it was ordered from a higher place.
Immediately after the scandal, the Mutabor club was closed and tax and other inspections of the owner began. The donation of relics can be seen as an attempt by Mikhail Danilov to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the authorities as a supporter of Christian values and the Russian Orthodox Church.
In addition to “Mutabor” Danilov owns a dozen more nightclubs and there is a danger that his business will seriously suffer or be destroyed.
World News: The international community must take “decisive and immediate action” to bring nearly nine months of brutal civil war in Sudan to an end and boost humanitarian relief, the UN relief chief Martin Griffiths said on Thursday.
The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator said in a statement that as the conflict continues to spread “human suffering is deepening, humanitarian access is shrinking and hope is dwindling.”
He said a grim turning point between government troops and their rival RSF militia has been reached with the recent fighting in Aj Jazirah state, the country’s breadbasket. More than 500,000 Sudanese civilians have fled from the state capital region, “long a place of refuge for those uprooted from clashes elsewhere.”
Just out: Sudan Humanitarian Update 4 Jan 2024 More than 7.3 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces on 15 April 2023
Continuing mass displacement is also threatening to fuel the rapid spread of cholera there, Mr. Griffiths warned.
‘Horrific abuses’
He said the same accounts of widespread rights violations and “horrific abuses” as in the capital Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan, earlier in the conflict, were afflicting Wad Medani.
Furthermore, he warned that the fighting there – and looting of agency warehouses and supplies across what is a humanitarian hub – “is a body blow to our efforts to deliver food, water, healthcare and other critical aid.”
He said 25 million Sudanese would need help through this year but intensifying fighting may cut many off from lifesaving aid.
“Deliveries across conflict lines have ground to a halt”, he warned, which the violence is also threatening regional stability.
“The war has unleashed the world’s largest displacement crisis, uprooting the lives of seven million people.” It’s essential now to protect civilians, facilitate humanitarian access and end the fighting, he concluded.
Guterres welcomes major Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchange
The UN chief on Thursday welcomed the biggest prisoner of war exchange between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow began its full-scale invasion almost two years ago.
António Guterres said in a statement released by his Spokesperson that he commended the efforts by both countries, together with the “third-party facilitation by the United Arab Emirates that contributed to this positive development.”
The prisoner release was announced on Wednesday and was the first to take place for months.
The Russian ministry of defence said in a statement that 248 of its soldiers had been released while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that a total of 230 Ukrainians had been returned home, of whom six were civilians.
“We remember each and every one of our people”, he wrote on X, “and we must return all of them.”
There have been dozens of prisoner exchanges with more than 2,800 Ukrainian prisoners returned and at least 1,000 Russians, according to news reports.
The last reported exchange took place in August, when 22 Ukrainian soldiers were released.
In response to the latest release, the statement from the UN chief said he hoped that this “important step” would be followed by additional exchanges, “and by other de-escalation efforts.”
Rights chief expresses shock over Iran bombings
The UN’s top human rights official Volker Türk has expressed shock at a deadly terror attack now claimed by ISIL that killed scores of people taking part in a public commemoration event in the south of Iran on Wednesday.
#Iran: @volker_turk expresses shock at killings of scores during procession near Saheb al-Zaman mosque in Kerman. Those responsible must be held to account, in accordance with international standards.
Mr. Türk said in a social media post on X that those responsible for the double bombing near the tomb of a former top general “must be held to account, in accordance with international standards”.
The UN rights chief’s condemnation echoed that of the UN Secretary-General following reports of the bloodbath in Kerman city, as crowds gathered to remember and honour former top general Qasem Soleimani who was killed in 2020 in a US drone strike.
Eighty-four people including three children were reportedly killed when the bombs were detonated near the General’s tomb.
ISIL, a Sunni extremist group which regards other Muslims as apostates, claimed responsibility in a statement on Thursday for the deadly bombings in Iran, a majority Shiite country.
Security Council condemns ‘reprehensible act’
The members of the Security Council issued a statement on Thursday strongly condemning “the cowardly terrorist attack” in the city of Kerman.
Ambassadors expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, wishing a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.
Council members “reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.”
The underlined the need to hold perpetrators to account including the “organizers, financiers, and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice.”
In central Gaza, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Sunday that medics at the only functioning hospital in Deir al Balah governorate “had been forced to cease lifesaving and other critical activities…and leave” after an evacuation order issued amid “increasing” Israeli military activity.
Only five doctors reportedly remain at Al-Aqsa Hospital in the Middle Area of Gaza, where a WHO team delivered medical supplies to support 4,500 dialysis patients for three months and 500 patients requiring trauma care.
Patients treated on the floor
From Al-Aqsa, WHO Health Emergency Officer Sean Casey posted a video on X social media platform on Sunday evening showing chaotic scenes as medics treated patients on the blood-streaked floor, some of the “hundreds” being brought in for urgent treatment.
.@WHO has received troubling reports of increasing hostilities and ongoing evacuation orders near the vital Al-Aqsa Hospital in the Middle Area of #Gaza, which according to the facility’s director forced over 600 patients and most health workers to leave. Their locations are not… pic.twitter.com/Vzd9UWThNm
“They are seeing in some cases hundreds of casualties every day in a small emergency department,” Mr. Casey said. “So, they’re treating children on the floor.”
Echoing those concerns, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a post on X reported “immense needs” at the hospital, “especially health workers, medical supplies and beds. But staff said their greatest need was for their hospital, and its staff, patients and families there, to be protected from strikes and hostilities.”
More than 600 patients “and most health workers” had reportedly been forced to leave the facility, Tedros said, adding that it was “inconceivable” that the protection of health care could not be counted on.
According to the UN health agency, no hospitals are “fully functioning” in northern Gaza. Another WHO mission had to be cancelled to the north on Sunday, Tedros said, “due to dangers and lack of necessary permissions”. Elsewhere in Gaza, “a mere handful of health facilities operate”, the WHO chief said.
In recent days casualty numbers have “increased markedly”, Tedros continued, with “over 120 trauma cases and dozens of dead arriving per day due to increased shelling, gunshot wounds, crush injuries from collapsed buildings, and other war-related trauma”.
WHO is also involved in plans to deploy an emergency medical team to support medical teams at Al-Aqsa. “This will only be possible in a secure environment,” the UN health agency’s Director-General noted.
In a separate update on the emergency confirming “intense” Israeli strikes “across (central) Deir Al Balah governorate and the southern cities of Khan Younis and Rafah”, OCHA reported on Sunday evening that Israeli forces “struck targets in Gaza city, Jabaliya Camp, Tal Az Za’atar, and Beit Lahiya” causing “a very large number of fatalities” in the Al Fallouja area of Jabaliya Camp.
Rocket fire into Israel by Palestinian armed groups also continued, the UN aid office said, amid “ground operations and fighting…across much of the Gaza Strip, resulting in additional fatalities”.
No end to rising toll
Latest data from the Gazan health ministry cited by the UN aid wing indicated at least 22,835 fatalities since Israeli military strikes began, in response to Hamas-led terror attacks in southern Israel on 7 October that left some 1,200 dead including at least 33 children and around 250 taken hostage.
OCHA also noted reports of 225 Palestinian fatalities between Friday and Sunday and almost 300 injured, with 174 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza and more than 1,000 injured since ground operatio
ns began, according to the Israeli Defense Forces.
Deadly disease threat
Amid ongoing deadly violence, UN Children’s Fund UNICEF estimated that there are now approximately 3,200 new cases of diarrhoea per day among under-fives. Before the escalation in hostilities, the average was 2,000 per month.
There is also dire concern for nine in 10 children under two years old who are now in “severe food poverty” and “only getting grains (including bread) or milk” to eat.
“Time is running out. Many children already face severe acute malnutrition in Gaza,” said UNICEF’s Executive-Director Catherine Russell. “As the threat of famine intensifies, hundreds of thousands more young children could soon be severely malnourished, with some at risk of death. We cannot allow that to happen.”
Updated information from OCHA on the number of aid trucks entering Gaza indicated that on 6 and 7 January, a total of 218 trucks carried food, medicine and other supplies through the Rafah and Kerem Shalom crossings. Before the conflict erupted, more than 500 trucks carried aid into the Strip every day, some 60 per cent passing through Kerem Shalom.
UN Photo/Evan Schneider – Secretary-General António Guterres (right) meets with Sigrid Kaag, Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza.
UN Coordinator for Gaza
The new Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza officlally began her role on Monday. Sigrid Kaag will facilitate monitor and verify relief shipments coming in to the stricken enclave, in line with the Security Council resolution 2720 passed last month.
She has held a number of senior humanitarian jobs within the UN but most recently served as finance minister for the previous administration in the Netherlands.
Ms. Kaag will also have the challenging task of establishing a mechanism for accelerating aid into Gaza through States which are not party to the conflict.
She was in New York meeting the UN Secretary-General on her first day in office but will be heading to Washington DC later in the week before travelling to the Middle East.
Farmers displaced and farmlands belonging to Baha’i families in the village of Ahmadabad in Mazandaran province, were forcibly seized this week by Iranian officials.
GENEVA—4 January 2024—
Farmlands, rice paddies and walnut orchards belonging to Baha’i families in the village of Ahmadabad, a lush and fertile agricultural community in Mazandaran province, were forcibly seized this week by Iranian officials who claimed the lands on behalf of the Iranian government.
No compensation or official documents justifying the seizures were provided by the agents who conducted the raid.
The raid is the latest incident in a rising pattern of persecution against the Baha’is across Iran—and the third recent example of religiously-motivated property seizures against Baha’i farmers in Mazandaran province.
Baha’is are Iran’s largest non-Muslim religious minority and are systematically persecuted—including through economic apartheid—under the Islamic Republic. These land seizures intend to forcibly displace the Baha’i owners and constitute an example of religious cleansing by the Iranian government. These actions run counter to the prohibition of discrimination in all international legal instruments—including those against farmers who play a crucial role in a country’s food security.
The agents arrived with industrial equipment and proceeded to fence off almost 100 hectares of land owned and cultivated by the Baha’i families. More than 80 Baha’i families own farms in Ahmadabad—half as residents, the other half living nearby—and Baha’i families have lived in Ahmadabad and farmed these lands for several generations.
Local residents reported that about 200 Iranian government forces, security service agents, forest rangers, special forces, and policemen, accompanied by people from national television and radio, tried to close the roads into the village and to prevent people from entering and exiting. The authorities then took most of their cell phones from the local population to prevent them from recording and documenting their actions and then entered the land and started fencing off the farmlands and rice paddies from the Baha’is.
Agents also took photos of the identity cards of any Baha’is who protested the seizures.
The raid marks the third time in recent years that Iranian authorities in Mazandaran have seized properties owned by Baha’i farmers, further to the 2021 leaking of confidential provincial documents testifying to the Iranian government’s intention to significantly increase their repression of the Baha’is. Homes were destroyed and lands were seized in the village of Roshankouh in 2022; in 2021, an Iranian court invalidated the property deeds of 27 Baha’is in the village of Ivel. And in 2022, in Semnan province, six properties owned by Baha’is were appropriated by an organization controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The 200 agents involved in this week’s Ahmadabad raid were also many of the same individuals who conducted the 2022 land seizures and home demolitions in Roshankouh.
“Once again, the Iranian government shows its true colors by targeting innocent farmers who have tended their farms for generations, many of whom have never left their hometowns,” said Simin Fahandej, BIC Representative to the United Nations in Geneva. “These ordinary Iranian citizens not only produce food and crops for themselves but also for their community and the region. Like other Iranian citizens, they are just trying to subsist during these challenging economic conditions. The Iranian government’s discriminatory actions towards the Baha’is deprive not only these Baha’i families of their livelihoods but many others who rely on their agricultural production and who are themselves facing harsh economic and social conditions arising from the recent series of crises in Iran.”
The Baha’is in Ahmadabad believe this is an initial step, a prelude, to the demolition of their homes and future displacement.
Reports from the impacted community indicate that the agents who came to the village did not respond when the Baha’is asked for documents authorizing them to take these farmlands. Neither did the authorities provide prior notice of their action: they simply arrived at the village and built the fences. The use of force suggests that the action was taken because the locals are Baha’is.
“When will the Iranian government’s hatred and extremism end?” Ms. Fahandej said. “Many regions in Iran have suffered years of drought and the cost of living crisis has pushed basic foodstuffs beyond the reach of many ordinary families: yet the authorities have fenced off productive farms and pushed farmers off their land just because of their beliefs.”
“The Iranian government must remove these fences,” Ms. Fahandej added, “and restore access of the Baha’is to their farms. Anything less makes a mockery of their claims that Baha’is enjoy full citizenship rights in Iran. This is what is best not only for Baha’is but for everyone in the region during already challenging times.”
Whoever has left his home and Fatherland and lives on a foreign side is a stranger and a wanderer there, just as a Russian who is in Italy or in some other land is a stranger and a wanderer there. So is the Christian, removed from the heavenly Fatherland and living in this troubled world, a stranger and a wanderer. The holy Apostle and the faithful say about this: “We have no permanent city here, but we are looking for the future” (Heb. 13:14). And Saint David confesses this: “I am a stranger with You and a stranger, like all my fathers” (Ps. 39:13). And he also prays: “I am a stranger on earth; do not hide Your commandments from me” (Ps. 119:19). A wanderer, living on a foreign land, makes every effort to do and accomplish what he came to a foreign land for. So the Christian, called by the word of God and renewed by holy Baptism to eternal life, tries not to lose eternal life, which here in this world is either acquired or lost. A wanderer lives in a foreign land with considerable fear, because he is among strangers. Likewise, a Christian, living in this world, as if on a foreign land, fears and is on guard against everything, that is, the spirits of evil, demons, sin, the charms of the world, evil and godless people. Everyone shuns the wanderer and moves away from him, as if from someone other than himself and a foreigner. Likewise, all peace lovers and sons of this age alienate the true Christian, move away and hate him, as if he is not their own and is contrary to them. The Lord speaks about this: “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; And because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:19). The sea, as they say, does not hold a dead body within itself, but spews it out. So the fickle world, like the sea, drives out a pious soul, as if dead to the world. A lover of peace is a dear child to the world, while a despiser of the world and its lovely lusts is an enemy. The wanderer does not establish anything immovable, that is, no houses, no gardens, or anything else of the like, on a foreign land, except what is necessary, without which it is impossible to live. So for a true Christian, everything in this world is immovable; everything in this world, including the body itself, will be left behind. The holy apostle speaks about this: “For we have brought nothing into the world; It is clear that we cannot learn anything from it” (1 Tim. 6:7). Therefore, a true Christian does not seek anything in this world except what is necessary, saying to the apostle: “Having food and clothing, we will be content with this” (1 Tim. 6:8). The wanderer sends or carries movable things, such as money and goods, to his Fatherland. So for a true Christian, movable things in this world, which he can take with him and carry into the next age, are good deeds. He tries to collect them here, living in the world, like a spiritual merchant, spiritual goods, and bring them to his heavenly Fatherland, and with them appear and appear before the Heavenly Father. The Lord admonishes us about this, Christians: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20). The sons of this age care for the mortal body, but pious souls care for the immortal soul. The sons of this age seek their temporal and earthly treasures, but pious souls strive for eternal and heavenly things and desire such blessings that “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and nothing has entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9) . They look at this treasure, invisible and incomprehensible by faith, and neglect everything earthly. The sons of this age are trying to become famous on earth. But true Christians seek glory in heaven, where their Fatherland is. The sons of this age adorn their bodies with various garments. And the sons of the kingdom of God adorn the immortal soul and are clothed, according to the admonition of the apostle, “with mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” (Col. 3:12). And therefore the sons of this age are senseless and insane, for they are looking for something that in itself is nothing. The sons of the kingdom of God are reasonable and wise, since they care about what eternal bliss contains within themselves. It is boring for a wanderer to live in a foreign land. So it is boring and sorrowful for a true Christian to live in this world. In this world he is everywhere in exile, prison and a place of exile, as if he were removed from the heavenly Fatherland. “Woe is me,” says Saint David, “that my life in exile is long” (Ps. 119:5). So other saints complain and sigh about this. The wanderer, although it is boring to live on a foreign land, nevertheless lives for the sake of the need for which he left his Fatherland. Likewise, although it is sorrowful for a true Christian to live in this world, as long as God commands, he lives and endures this wandering. The wanderer always has his Fatherland and his home in his mind and memory, and he wants to return to his Fatherland. The Jews, being in Babylon, always had their Fatherland, Jerusalem, in their thoughts and memories, and earnestly desired to return to their Fatherland. So true Christians in this world, as on the rivers of Babylon, sit and cry, remembering the heavenly Jerusalem – the Heavenly Fatherland, and raise their eyes to it with sighing and crying, and want to come there. “That is why we groan, desiring to be clothed with our heavenly habitation,” groans the holy Paul with the faithful (2 Cor. 5:2). For the sons of this age, addicted to the world, the world is like a fatherland and paradise, and therefore they do not want to be separated from it. But the sons of the kingdom of God, who have separated their hearts from the world and are enduring all sorts of sorrows in the world, want to come to that Fatherland. For a true Christian, life in this world is nothing more than constant suffering and the cross. When a wanderer returns to the Fatherland, to his home, his family, neighbors and friends rejoice at him and welcome his safe arrival. Thus, when a Christian, having completed his wanderings in the world, comes to the heavenly Fatherland, all the Angels and all the holy inhabitants of heaven rejoice over him. A wanderer who has come to the Fatherland and his home lives in safety and calms down. So a Christian, having entered the heavenly Fatherland, calms down, lives in safety and is not afraid of anything, rejoices and is glad about his bliss. From here you see, Christian: 1) Our life in this world is nothing more than wandering and migration, as the Lord says: “You are strangers and migrants before Me” (Lev. 25:23). 2) Our true Fatherland is not here, but in heaven, and for it we were created, renewed by Baptism and called by the Word of God. 3) We, as those called to heavenly blessings, should not seek earthly goods and cleave to them, except for what is necessary, such as food, clothing, home and other things. 4) A Christian man living in the world has nothing more to desire than eternal life, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). 5) Whoever wants to be saved must separate himself from the world in his heart until his soul departs from the world. 6) Whoever in this world is looking for how to get rich and famous, thereby shows that the world, and not heaven, is the Fatherland, and is so mistaken that on the day of his death he will understand.
27. Citizen
We see that in this world a person, no matter where he lives or where he is, is called a resident or citizen of the city in which he has his home, for example, a Moscow resident is a Muscovite, a Novgorod resident is a Novgorodian, and so on. Likewise, true Christians, although they are in this world, nevertheless have a city in the heavenly Fatherland, “whose Artist and Builder is God” (Heb. 11:10). And they are called citizens of this city. This city is heavenly Jerusalem, which the holy Apostle John saw in his revelation: “The city was pure gold, like pure glass; the city street is pure gold, like transparent glass; and the city has no need of the sun or the moon to illuminate it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and the Lamb is its Lamp” (Rev. 21:18, 21, 23). On its streets a sweet song is constantly sung: “Hallelujah!” (See Rev. 19:1, 3, 4, 6). “No unclean thing will enter this city, nor anyone who practices abomination and lies, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27). “And without are dogs, and sorcerers, and fornicators, and murderers, and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices iniquity” (Rev. 22:15). True Christians are called citizens of this beautiful and bright city, although they wander on earth. There they have their abodes, prepared for them by Jesus Christ, their Redeemer. There they raise their spiritual eyes and sighs from their wanderings. Since nothing unclean will enter this city, as we saw above, “let us cleanse ourselves,” beloved Christian, “from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” according to the apostolic exhortation (2 Cor. 7:1). And may we be citizens of this blessed city, and, having left this world, may we be worthy to enter it, by the grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, to Him be glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
Source: St. Tikhon Zadonsky, “Spiritual Treasure Collected from the World.”
Today at the Hemicycle of the European Parliament in Brussels on January 9 2024 the influential Renew Europe Group is organizing a forum called “Global Europe in the Face of Multiple International Crises.” Running from 15:00h to 18:00h this event is set to be a platform for discussions and strategic planning concerning the European Union’s role in an ever changing global landscape.
Led by Stéphane Séjourné, President of Renew Europe this forum will bring together a group of notable individuals. Among them are Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro Atlantic Integration of Ukraine and Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President of the European Commission. Teri Schultz, a Senior EU and NATO Correspondent will moderate the event ensuring a lively and insightful conversation.
The timing of this forum is significant as it coincides with the EUs need to establish itself as a player amidst rising economic tensions and escalating conflicts, like the Israel Hamas standoff and Russias illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Renew Europe Global Europe Forum aims to tackle these challenges head on by exploring how cohesively and effectively the EU can respond on a level.
Today’s program will start with opening statements by Stéphane Séjourné followed by the “Voices of Europe Roundtables” where representatives from the Renew Europe family will share their views on the urgent issues and priorities for a strong Europe in the global arena.
Afterwards the forum will delve into two panel discussions. The first panel, titled “The EU as a Geopolitical Actor: Is a Project of Peace Prepared for a World of Conflicts?” will feature Olha Stefanishyna, Margrethe Vestager, Marie Agnes Strack Zimmermann (Chair of the Defence Committee of the Bundestag in Germany) and Nathalie Loiseau (Chair of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence of the European Parliament).
The second panel, named “Revitalizing Europes Economy and Its Values Based Model in a Divided World; Challenges and Opportunities ” will include Thierry Breton (European Commissioner for Internal Market) Michał Kobosko (Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of Sejm in Poland) and Ivan Krastev (Chairman of the Board at Centre for Liberal Strategies in Bulgaria).
The event will conclude with closing remarks from Stéphane Séjourné summarizing the insights and action points discussed throughout this afternoons conversations.
Interpretation services will be available, in 22 EU languages to ensure accessibility and engagement for an audience.
The Global Europe Forum organized by Renew Europe is more than a gathering of intellectuals; it is a strong call for the European Union to take proactive and unified actions in response to global challenges.
If you are interested in the future of Europes position on the world stage you cannot afford to miss this forum. Keep an eye out for updates and results, from this assembly of Europe’s political figures and thinkers.
According to IOM, in the past two months alone, nearly 375,000 Afghans left Pakistan, primarily utilizing the Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings, near Kabul and Kandahar, respectively.
The number of daily border crossings has skyrocketed from 200 to a staggering 17,000, creating an unprecedented strain on resources and infrastructure.
“Their situation is desperate; most people told us they were forced to leave the country and leave belongings and savings behind,” said Maria Moita, IOM Afghanistan Chief of Mission.
“People arriving in Afghanistan are extremely vulnerable and need immediate support at the border as well as for the long term in the areas of return,” she added.
The crisis has unfolded following Pakistan’s implementation of the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan,” which set a 1 November deadline for the “voluntary return” of all undocumented Afghans in Pakistan to their home country.
Response efforts
Critical aid, encompassing shelter, water, sanitation, essential household items, healthcare, protection, nutrition services, and cash assistance for basic needs, transportation, and food, are being delivered by an IOM-led border consortium.
However, the surge in forced returns has necessitated the establishment of larger reception centres to provide assistance to returning Afghans before they proceed to their intended areas of return.
“This is a significant humanitarian crisis and funds are urgently needed to continue providing immediate assistance after arrival to ensure a safe and dignified return,” said Ms. Moita.
Urgent support needed
As the crisis unfolds, the border consortium has launched an initial appeal for support, anticipating the need for a revision and additional resources. The situation is particularly challenging for women and girls in Afghanistan, and with winter approaching, the need for international support is even more urgent.
After decades of conflict, instability and economic crisis, Afghanistan will struggle to absorb the high number of returning families, many of whom have not lived in the country for decades if ever, according to IOM.
“With over six million people already internally displaced throughout the country, Afghans returning from Pakistan face a precarious, uncertain future,” the agency said.
Afghanistan currently has the third-largest number of internally displaced people globally.
The warning comes as aid agencies scramble to respond to a fresh wave of displacement sparked by the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Darfur region of Sudan, with reports of mass killings, rapes and widespread destruction.
The crisis is occurring amid the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) which erupted in April.
More than 2.3 million people in Chad, including 1.3 million children, were already going hungry due to climate impacts, rising food and fuel prices, declining agricultural production and intercommunal tensions.
The country is hosting more than a million refugees – among the largest and fastest-growing refugee populations in Africa.
“It is staggering but more Darfuris have fled to Chad in the last six months than in the preceding 20 years. We cannot let the world stand and allow our life-saving operations grind to a halt in Chad,” said Pierre Honnorat, WFP’s Country Director in Chad.
Aid suspension imminent
Mr. Honnorat appealed for greater support to help Sudanese refugees who “cross the border with nothing but harrowing tales of violence.”
“Cutting assistance paves the way for crises of nutrition, crises of instability, and crisis of displacement,” he warned.
WFP said it will be forced to suspend assistance to internally displaced people and refugees from Nigeria, Central African Republic and Cameroon starting in December.
The suspension will be extended in January to 1.4 million people across the country, including new arrivals from Sudan.
The UN agency is seeking $185 million to support its operations over the next six months.
The Monitoring Mission stated that the casualty figure represents deaths verified according to its methodology, cautioning that the actual figure may be significantly higher given the challenges and time required for verification.
“Ten thousand civilian deaths is a grim milestone for Ukraine,” said Danielle Bell, head of the Monitoring Mission, adding that the war, now entering into its 21st month, “risks evolving into a protracted conflict, with the severe human cost being painful to fathom.”
Monitoring also showed that a significant number of civilian casualties occurred far beyond the frontlines, primarily attributed to the Russian armed forces’ deployment of long-range missiles and loitering munitions against targets in populated areas across the country.
“Nearly half of civilian casualties in the last three months have occurred far away from the frontlines. As a result, no place in Ukraine is completely safe,” Ms. Bell warned.
Meanwhile, in New York, the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation in Ukraine, where ambassadors were briefed by senior officials.
Miroslav Jenča, Assistant Secretary-General in the Department of Political Affairs, warned that there are indications that attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine may escalate further during the upcoming coldest season.
“The impact for millions of Ukrainians will be dire as they brace themselves for the second war-time winter,” he said.
Relentless conflict
Recent developments highlight the relentless nature of the conflict, he added, noting that Russian aerial attacks persist across the country, with Kyiv experiencing missile strikes for the first time in two months on 11 November.
While the capital escaped casualties that night, attacks on Kyiv and its surroundings continue, including drone strikes over the weekend. Other parts of Ukraine, including the city of Kherson, recaptured by Ukraine over a year ago, continue enduring regular intense bombardments, resulting in civilian deaths, Mr. Jenča said.
Miroslav Jenča (on screens) briefing the Security Council.
Humanitarian situation
He also informed Security Council members that the humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating, exacerbated by attacks on energy infrastructure and anticipation of frigid weather conditions.
A Winter Response Plan, developed by the UN and its partners in collaboration with Ukrainian authorities, is in full swing, he said, calling for urgent international support to provide essential resources for 1.7 million people in need.
Humanitarian agencies are unable to reach around four million Ukrainians in Russian-controlled areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine due to limited access, Mr. Jenča said, stating:
“Humanitarian partners are ready to expand operations in these areas – if given access and adequate support.”
Domestic and global food security
Also briefing the Council, Matthew Hollingworth, Country Director for the World Food Programme (WFP), spoke of the impact of the Russian invasion on food security within Ukraine and globally.
“Today, because of hostilities, Ukrainians are being cut off from accessing markets to buy food, and farmers have reported that they can no longer produce food – a situation that has a dramatic impact inside and outside of Ukraine,” he said.
The situation is particularly dire in settlements near front lines, amid fears that it will only worsen in the winter.
“Around one in five Ukrainian families face some level of severe food insecurity. The closer someone lives to hostilities, the more critical are those needs,” he said.
Impact over years to come
Mr. Hollingworth also informed ambassadors that fields in Ukraine are contaminated with mines and unexploded ordnance and households are unable to grow food to feed themselves.
He added that if attacks on such food infrastructure and the blockage of sea export routes continue, “it will dramatically impact the agricultural production outlook over years to come.”
“This export of produce means that people are fed around the world. It is important to remember that Ukraine accounted for nine per cent of global wheat exports, 15 per cent of maize export, and 44 per cent of sunflower oil exports before February 2022,” he said.
Volkswagen has unveiled its latest compact cars equipped with a voice assistant powered by ChatGPT technology at the CES electronics trade fair in Las Vegas.
The interior of the new Volkswagen Golf GTI with an integrated ChatGPT technology. Image credit: Volkswagen
The integration of ChatGPT functionality with the automaker’s IDA voice assistant has been accomplished through collaboration with Cerence Inc and using its Cerence Chat Pro technology. The chatbot allows drivers to control in-car entertainment and seek information by having content read aloud during their journeys.
Volkswagen claims to be the first volume manufacturer to make this technology a standard feature in its compact segment cars.
This advancement allows future Volkswagen models equipped with the IDA voice assistant to provide drivers with seamless access to a growing artificial intelligence database.
This chatbot integration is now part of the next-generation infotainment system available in various Volkswagen models, including the ID.7, ID.4, ID.5, ID.3, the all-new Tiguan, the all-new Passat, and the new Golf.
It offers enhanced functionalities beyond traditional voice control. The IDA voice assistant can now manage infotainment, navigation, air conditioning, and respond to general knowledge queries. As the AI capabilities continue to expand, drivers can expect even more comprehensive information, enriching conversations, addressing queries, and providing vehicle-specific details—all hands-free.
For the driver, there is no need to undergo any training or modify the driving style. No new accounts, app installations, or ChatGPT activation is required. Activating the voice assistant is as simple as saying “Hello IDA” or pressing the steering wheel button.
IDA automatically determines the priority of tasks, whether it involves executing a vehicle function, searching for a destination, or adjusting the temperature. In cases where the Volkswagen system can’t provide an answer, the query is sent anonymously to AI, and the familiar Volkswagen voice responds.
To maintain the highest level of data protection, ChatGPT does not access any vehicle data, and questions and answers are promptly deleted.
