By Stefan J. Bos

A makeshift memorial has been set up outside the Basilica where locals placed flowers and lit candles for the victims of the latest Islamic terror attack that has shocked this nation.

Their mourning comes just hours after the area here turned into a war zone. Shots reverberated in and outside the church as police confronted the attacker, footage showed.

Police shot and wounded the suspected knifeman, identified as 21-year-old Tunisian Ibrahim Issaoui, who had only recently arrived in Europe. Pedestrians ran away from the gunfire into a nearby store.  

The suspected attacker was said to be in critical condition in the hospital. On Friday, authorities detained another suspect; a 47-year-old man believed to have been in contact with the attacker the night before the murders.

Murdered before Mass

The two women and a man who died were attacked inside the Basilica on Thursday morning before the first Mass of the day.

French authorities say that two died inside the church. One of them, a 60-year-old woman who has not been named, was reported “virtually beheaded” close to the font.

French media have named one victim as 55-year-old Vincent Loquès, a devout Catholic who had reportedly worked at the basilica for more than ten years.

Police say that Loquès, a father of two, loved by many of the church’s regulars, opened the building when the attacker slit his throat.

The Brazilian foreign ministry identified the third victim as Simone Barreto Silva, a 44-year-old mother of three born in Salvador on Brazil’s north-eastern coast. She had lived in France for 30 years.

She fled to a nearby cafe with multiple stab wounds but died shortly afterward. The woman reportedly told those who helped her: “Tell my children that I love them.”

Macron vows never to “give in to terror”

After the attack, French President Emanuel Macron visited the scene to express his closeness to the Catholic population and expressed outrage about the attack. “Once again, our country has been hit by an Islamic terrorist attack,” he said.

He also noted another attack Thursday at the French consulate in Jeddah, Sauguardabia, in which a quard was injured.

President Macron added:  “If we have been attacked again, it is because of our values, our taste for freedom. The possibility is here to believe and not to give in to terror. Let me say this very clearly: “we will never give in.”

On Friday morning, priest Philippe Asso was seen standing on the church steps here.  He came with other mourners before walking in with a wreath to the victims. Others gathered outside the church to pay their respects.

Samuel Paty and Charlie Hebdo

The gruesome murders happened while France and other European nations were still mourning the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty on October 16 in a Paris suburb.

An Islamist killed Paty for showing cartoons of Prophet Muhammad to students.

Those caricatures were published by French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and cited by the men who gunned down the publication’s editorial meeting in 2015.

In September, a man who had sought asylum in France attacked bystanders outside Charlie Hebdo‘s former offices with a butcher’s knife.

The Nice church’s attack happened less than a kilometer from the site in 2016, where another attacker plowed a truck into a Bastille Day crowd, killing dozens.

It has underscored tensions over freedom of expression with the Islamic community, though moderate Muslim leaders have condemned the attacks.

French churches targeted

French churches have been tar­gets of ter­ror­ist at­tacks in the past. In 2016, two men mur­dered an 85-year-old priest in a church in Nor­mandy.

A few months later, a group of women was caught at­tempt­ing to light cook­ing-gas can­is­ters on fire out­side Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

In both cases, the attackers were reportedly in touch with the Islamic State group, which has been linked to widespread terror.

Following Thursday’s attack, President Macron pledged to increase soldiers’ numbers to protect French schools and religious sites from around 3,000 to 7,000.

Authorities say schools remain open during a nationwide lockdown that started Friday to stem the coronavirus’s spread, but religious services are canceled.  

By Vatican News staff writer

A new United Nations study has revealed that used vehicles exported by developed countries to developing countries are contributing significantly to air pollution and hindering efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.  Millions of used cars, vans and minibuses exported from Europe, the USA and Japan to low and middle-income countries are greatly compromising air quality says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in a new report released on October 26.

Entitled, “Used Vehicles and the Environment – A Global Overview of Used Light Duty Vehicles: Flow, Scale and Regulation”, the research says that these vehicles not only contribute to air pollution but are often involved in road accidents,.  Many of these vehicles are of poor quality and would fail road-worthiness tests in the exporting countries.

Most used vehicles exported to Africa

The report shows that between 2015 and 2018, 14 million used light-duty vehicles were exported worldwide.  Some 80 per cent went to low and middle-income countries, with more than half going to Africa.  The European Union was the largest exporter of used vehicles during this period, accounting for 54% of the total, followed by Japan with 27% and the United States with 18%.

The major destinations for used vehicles from the EU are West and North Africa; Japan exports mainly to Asia and East and Southern Africa while the USA market is mainly the Middle East and Central America. 

Seventy per cent of exported light duty vehicles head to developing countries. Africa imported the largest number (40 per cent) in the period studied followed by Eastern Europe (24 per cent), Asia-Pacific (15 per cent), the Middle East (12 per cent) and Latin America (nine per cent).

Lax or no policies for import of used cars

The study, which is the first of its kind, notes that most developing countries have limited or no regulations governing the quality and safety of imported second-hand vehicles while few governments have adopted advanced emissions standards.  Most developing markets today are importing vehicles that would not be allowed to circulate on the exporting country’s roads. At the same time, few developed countries have restrictions on the export of used vehicles.

The report on global trade in used vehicles notes that some states are taking steps to address the problem.  A group of West African countries are about to introduce minimum requirements for used vehicles from 2021, primarily involving cleaner fuels and a maximum age for any used car, SUV or minibus sold.

Out of the 146 countries surveyed in the report, some two-thirds of them have ‘weak’ or ‘very weak’ policies to regulate the import of used vehicles.  The study shows that in countries where measures to regulate import of used vehicles are implemented – notable age and emission standards – people access high-quality used vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars, at affordable prices.  Morocco is one such country that allows only relatively advanced and clean used vehicles from Europe.

Impact of burgeoning global vehicle fleet

UNEP notes that the fast-growing global vehicle fleet is a major contributor to air pollution and climate change.  Globally, the transport sector is responsible for nearly a quarter of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions.  Specifically, vehicle emissions are a significant source of the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) that are major causes of urban air pollution.

“Cleaning up the global vehicle fleet is a priority to meet global and local air quality and climate targets,” said Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.  “The lack of effective standards and regulation,” she pointed out, “is resulting in the dumping of old, polluting and unsafe vehicles.”  “Developed countries must stop exporting vehicles that fail environment and safety inspections and are no longer considered roadworthy in their own countries, while importing countries should introduce stronger quality standards,” Andersen added. 

By Vatican News

Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham in the UK has joined the ranks of other religious and political leaders around the world in condemning the knife attack which killed three people on Thursday in the Basilica of Notre Dame in Nice, France.

In the aftermath of the killings, Pope Francis expressed his sorrow and offered prayers for the Church in France.. He also condemned “such violent acts of terror in the strongest possible way.”

The country is now on its highest state of alert and President Emmanuel Macron has deployed thousands of soldiers to protect important sites such as places of worship and schools.

France’s interior minister Gerald Damarnin said on Friday more militant attacks on its soil were likely following the second fatal knife attack in the country in two weeks.

Horrific attack

Archbishop Longley, who is also Chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Department of Dialogue and Unity described the killings as “senseless.”

Speaking to Lydia O’Kane, the Archbishop said he shared “what must be the response of most people in the UK and of course across France and the world with horror at hearing what happened at Notre Dame in Nice.”

Determination to secure peace

He spoke of a deep sense of sadness “for the French nation and people; for the Catholic Church and for all people of faith in France, and the sense of obligation that lies also upon us as Catholics, here in the UK and elsewhere, to be united in prayer with those who are suffering most closely.” He also highlighted the “determination that we can do our part in securing peace and good relations in all parts of the world.”

Over recent years France has been hit by a number of terrorist attacks. Paris suffered a series of coordinated bombings and shootings on 13 November 2015 that killed 130 people. In 2016 a fundamentalist islamic militant drove a truck through a seafront crowd in Nice celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people.

Attack in God’s house

Thursday’s attack took place inside a Church, as did an attack four years ago in which 84-year-old priest, Fr Jacques Hamel, was killed during morning Mass.

Archbishop Longley noted that when he heard the news on Thursday it immediately made him think of the murder of Fr Hamel. He went on to say that this violence in God’s house immediately undermines “the sense of peace which so many people seek within our sanctuaries and in our churches.”

The way of the Lord is dialogue

The Archbishop stressed that the Church’s way, the way of Lord is always one of dialogue, of opening up conversation with others.” He added, he was quite certain that these terrible events can only strengthen the Church’s commitment to dialogue with people of other faiths and indeed with culture and society more broadly.”

However, the Archbishop emphasized, at the moment the principal focus needed to be on those who are suffering because of these terrible events.

By Vatican News staff writer

The virus has not stopped the spirit of Christmas, today ,more than ever, it is important to remain united and empathise with our sisters and brothers until we are able to return to life as we know it.

This is precisely what symbolises the Vatican’s Christmas display this year more than others: hope, trust, love, family, and the awareness that Jesus will come among his people to save and console them.

On 11 December at 4.30 p.m., in compliance with anti covid-19 regulations, as is custom, the Nativity scene, donated by the Italian town of Castelli, the spearhead of the ceramic industry since the 16th century, and the Christmas tree, a 28m high majestic spruce (Picea abies) from Kočevje, in Slovenia, will be inaugurated.

The ceremony will be presided over by Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello and Bishop Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, respectively President and Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State. On the same day, in the morning, the delegations from Castelli and Kočevje will be received in audience by Pope Francis for the official presentation of the gifts.

The nativity scene

The Monumental Nativity Scene is made up of ceramic statues. It is a work created by the pupils and the teachers of the Art Institute “F.A. Grue”, the current state art high school for design, which, in the decade 1965-1975, dedicated its teaching activity to the Christmas theme.

St. Peter’s Square will see only part of the fragile collection, made up of 54 statues, exhibited. 

The tree

The spruce comes from Kočevje, a town on the Rinža river. The region Kočevsko is one of the Slovenian territories where nature is most intact, considering that the forests cover 90% of its territory. Since ancient times it has been a symbol of fertility and in popular tradition it is often used in occasion of ceremonies as for the feast of the 1st of May or for the Christmas solemnity.

The tallest spruce tree in Europe, “Sgermova smreka” measures 61,80 metres and is located on the Pohorje massif in Slovenia. It is about 300 years old, with a perimeter of 3 meters and 54 centimetres and a diameter of over one metre.

The tree and the Nativity scene will remain on display until the end of Christmas time, which coincides with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Sunday 10 January 2021.

By Vatican News staff writer

At least 140 migrants aboard a ship headed towards Europe drowned off the Senegalese coast marking the deadliest shipwreck recorded this year, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on Thursday.

The vessel, bound for Spain’s Canary Islands, reportedly caught fire a few hours after departing the western Senegalese coastal town of Mbour on Saturday before capsizing on the country’s northwest coast, near Saint-Louis.

According to the statement, the vessel was carrying about 200 migrants. The Spanish and Senegalese navies, as well as fishermen who were nearby were able to rescue 59 people and recover the bodies of 20 others. The others are presumed dead.

The IOM said that it “is deeply saddened by this recent tragedy which follows four shipwrecks recorded in the Central Mediterranean last week and another in the English Channel.”

The government of Senegal and the IOM have both arranged a mission to assess the survivors’ needs and provide assistance.

A dangerous route

In 2020 alone, the IOM estimates that including the victims of this latest tragic incident, at least 414 people have died along this route.

The international body notes that in recent weeks, the number of departures from West Africa to the Canary Islands has significantly increased. In September alone, “14 boats carrying 663 migrants left Senegal for the Canary Islands.” Of this number, “26 per cent were reported to have experienced an incident or shipwreck.”

Compared to figures from previous years, there have been roughly 11,000 arrivals to the Canary Islands in 2020 as opposed to 2,557 arrivals in 2019. However, this is still below the peaks in 2006 when over 32,000 arrived.

In light of this, the IOM calls for “unity between governments, partners and the international community to dismantle trafficking and smuggling networks that take advantage of desperate youth,” said Bakary Doumbia, IOM Senegal Chief of Mission.

“It is also important that we advocate for enhanced legal channels to undermine the traffickers’ business model and prevent loss of life,” Doumbia added.