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Ukraine: Russia launched an “massive” attack on energy infrastructures

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EuropeanTimes
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Russian armed forces launched an eighth “massive” attack on energy infrastructures in western and southern Ukraine on Friday night, according to the Ukrainian Energy Ministry.

On Friday night, the Russian armed forces launched a massive attack on Ukrenergo facilities in the regions of Zaporijjia (south) and Lviv (west), damaging them”, said the Ukrainian Energy Ministry, adding that two employees had been injured and hospitalised in Zaporijjia. According to the ministry, this was the eighth “massive” attack on Ukrainian power stations in the last three months, forcing the imposition of frequent power cuts.

The Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday that energy infrastructures, including a power station, had been damaged by a major Russian attack at night, which left seven of their employees injured.

Kiev appeals to the West for help in rebuilding its network

Russia’s increasing attacks have destroyed half of Ukraine‘s energy capacity, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Thursday, he called for solar panels and energy storage units to be installed “in every school and every hospital, as soon as possible”.

Maxime Timtchenko, managing director of the operator DTEK, warned that Ukraine risked “facing a serious crisis this winter” if its Western partners did not take action. Kiev is urging its Western partners to help it rebuild its electricity network, a project that requires major investment, and to provide it with more air defence equipment to counter Russian bombardments.

Against this backdrop, Washington has “taken the difficult but necessary decision” to give Ukraine priority over other allies in the supply of missiles used for air defence. 

Ukrainian forces hit four Russian oil refineries with drones on the night of June 20 to 21

Ukrainian long-range attack drones hit four Russian oil refineries as well as radar stations and other military targets in Russia in an offensive early on Friday, the Ukrainian military said. “Drones attacked oil refineries in Afipsky, Ilsky, Krasnodar and Astrakhan,” the army said in a statement posted on the messaging application Telegram. It had previously announced that it had shot down 70 drones over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, 43 drones over the Russian region of Krasnodar and another aircraft over the Russian region of Volgograd on Friday. According to a Kiev intelligence source, the Afipsky, Ilsky and Krasnodar oil refineries produce fuel for Russia’s Black Sea fleet. The offensive targeting them was carried out jointly with the Ukrainian security service SBU, this source added to Reuters.

“Damage to these refineries will considerably complicate the logistics of supplying fuel oil, making it more expensive and more time-consuming, since it will have to be delivered by other refineries”, said the source. The Ukrainian army also claims to have targeted radar stations and electronic intelligence centres in the Bryansk region and in occupied Crimea. The statement did not specify the exact nature of these sites. Drone storage and launch sites, as well as command and control centres in Russia’s Krasnodar region, were also hit, the statement said, adding that explosions and fires were confirmed at these facilities.

The source said that the drone attack had targeted a training centre in the town of Ieïsk, in the Krasnodar region, used by Russia to launch drone attacks against Ukraine. The Ukrainian army also claimed responsibility for Thursday’s drone attacks on fuel depots in the Russian regions of Tambov and Adygea.

Russia announced that it had neutralised 114 Ukrainian drones overnight, targeting the Krasnodar region in the south of the country, where one person was killed, according to the local authorities. Russian air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 70 drones over annexed Crimea, 43 drones over the Krasnodar region and one drone over the Volgograd region, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence.

Russian President continues to invoke nuclear threats to discourage further support for Ukraine

Vladimir Putin continues to invoke nuclear threats as part of his ongoing information campaign to discourage further Western support for Ukraine and undermine the international community’s efforts to cohere its strategic vision for defeating Russia’s war of conquest against Ukraine.

UEFA: Netherlands 0-0 France: Defences on top in goalless draw

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Newsdesk
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UEFA – Netherlands and France cancelled each other out in Leipzig with both level on four points at the top of Group D.

There was nothing to choose between the Netherlands and France in a goalless UEFA EURO 2024 draw in Leipzig which keeps Group D wide open going into the final matchday.

Key moments

1′: Frimpong tests Maignan
14′: Griezmann mis-kicks, curls wide
28′: Thuram smashes over
60′: Thuram strikes past the post

Match in brief: Heavyweight defences come out on top

In the end both sides will probably feel relatively satisfied with a draw, with each now a point above third-placed Austria ahead of next week’s final games in the group.

It was a tussle in which the defenders were the stars of the show, with the Netherlands’ captain Virgil van Dijk particularly impressing to keep France’s potent attacking threats quiet.

The Oranje almost led within a minute, Jeremie Frimpong showing lightning-quick pace to burst clear and latch onto a through ball, only for the winger to have his effort tipped around the post by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.Netherlands 0-0 France: as it happened, reaction

It looked for all the world as though Les Bleus skipper Antoine Griezmann would open the scoring in the 15th minute after Adrien Rabiot laid the ball on a plate for him close to goal, but the evergreen forward just couldn’t get it out of his feet, and Griezmann also curled wide moments later.

Marcus Thuram then broke the Dutch offside trap to race onto a wonderful pass from Jules Koundé, but could only blast over from a tight angle and the first half ended level.

There was little goalmouth action in the second period until space suddenly opened up in front of Thuram, but the 26-year-old dragged his shot wide.

France upped the intensity, and looked the more likely of the sides to strike, Rabiot’s late break down the left a particular concern. However, there was no way through the orange wall as the game finished 0-0, with Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps opting to keep Kylian Mbappé on the bench.

Vivo Player of the Match: N’Golo Kanté (France)

Kanté was defensively good throughout the whole game, but was also influential in France’s attacking moments – as his statistics reflect. UEFA Technical Observer panel

Derek Brookman, Netherlands reporter

The Oranje are likely to be pretty satisfied with a point. The French were stronger after the break, yet never dominated to the point where the Dutch defence looked in serious danger of being breached. Van Dijk had one of his best games in an orange shirt, and full marks to goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen too for a very accomplished performance.

Alex Clementson, France reporter

A clash of two titans of European football. It might have ended goalless, but that doesn’t tell the full story. This was an engrossing encounter from the first minute. France created chances, with Griezmann coming close on two occasions, but unfortunately for the French, the final finishing touch evaded them. Four points from two, Poland up next, and an opportunity to top the group.

Reaction

Ronald Koeman, Netherlands coach: “The result is a bit disappointing, but if we think about the whole game in some parts we lost ball possession when we shouldn’t have, and that wasn’t great. It’s always complicated to come up against a team like France. We want to play our style of football and be audacious, but we can’t lose the ball like we did this evening. We need to be quicker in how we react and create more chances up front. We’re a team that still needs to grow.”

Bart Verbruggen, Netherlands goalkeeper: “It’s a bit of a funny one, I guess. Mixed feelings. Of course you’re disappointed that you don’t win the game, because you want to win every one, especially against a good opponent like France. But on the other hand, [we kept a] clean sheet, a point is a point, and you move on.”

Didier Deschamps, France coach:”I was happy with what my boys pulled out of the bag tonight, even though I was disappointed with our lack of efficiency in front of goal. There are a lot of positives to take away, and you have to consider the opponents, both of whom have been strong (Austria and Netherlands). But obviously, to win games you need to score goals. We’ll be looking at that and hoping to improve for the next game so we can meet our objective of making it through to the next round.”

Olivier Giroud, France forward: “I think we dominated the game in the sense that we created more chances. We’re a little bit frustrated, because we wanted the three points. But at the end of the day, a draw isn’t too bad. Our destiny is still in our own hands.”

Key stats

  • This was the only the second time the Netherlands have failed to score in their last 19 EURO group stage matches. It was their first 0-0 draw since a stalemate with Scotland at EURO ’96.
  • Prior to tonight, none of the last 50 EURO matches had ended goalless since England and Scotland played out a 0-0 draw at EURO 2020
  • The game brought to an end Cody Gakpo’s run of scoring in four successive major tournament group matches (three at World Cup 2022 and one at EURO 2024).
  • Excluding penalty shoot-outs, France have now lost only one of their last 13 EURO games (W7 D5).
  • Les Bleus are unbeaten in their last eight EURO group stage matches (W4 D4).
  • Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have both made 13 EURO appearances for France, moving level with Laurent Blanc and Didier Deschamps. Only Lilian Thuram (16), Hugo Lloris (15) and Zinédine Zidane (14) have more.

Line-ups

Netherlands: Verbruggen; Dumfries, De Vrij, Van Dijk, Aké; Schouten (Veerman 73), Simons (Wijnaldum 73), Reijnders; Frimpong (Geertruida 73), Depay (Weghorst 79), Gakpo

France: Maignan; Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernández; Dembélé (Coman 75), Kanté, Tchouaméni, Rabiot; Griezmann, Thuram (Giroud 75)

Spain 1-0 Italy analysis: Fabio Capello and Ioan Lupescu pinpoint Rodri’s role in La Roja’s dominant victory

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Newsroom
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uefa spain italy 2024

UEFA – Technical observers Fabio Capello and Ioan Lupescu offer their insight into La Roja’s victory in Gelsenkirchen.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente described it as the most “complete performance” of his reign. Italy coach Luciano Spalletti admitted there was a “gulf” between the sides. The scoreline was 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen, but the control that Spain asserted against Italy earned rich praise from the UEFA Technical Observer Panel.

Spain 1-0 Italy as it happened

According to UEFA observers Fabio Capello and Ioan Lupescu, there were several outstanding performers in the Spain side, including Vivo Player of the Match Nico Williams and attacking midfielder Pedri. Yet the chief focus of this analysis is Rodri, the holding midfielder in their 4-3-3 set-up, who was pivotal to Spain’s dominance with his ability to find the space to run the game.

This is highlighted at the start of the video sequence below as we see the way Rodri finds space and takes up the perfect position, behind the ball, to receive the pass. As the telestration displays, before the pass reaches him, he is scanning the space both behind him and over to his left. Indeed, for the UEFA performance analysis unit, he offers a perfect example – from a technical viewpoint – of how to receive the ball: on his back foot, with shoulders opened up and facing forward. This means he is ready to play forward straight away.

As the sequence unfolds, we see Rodri then deliver a line-breaking pass to Pedri (one of 95 successful passes from a total of 97 attempted). Overall, the Spain No16 produced 17 forward passes, with Pedri receiving seven of them. As such, the latter’s movement and link-up play with Rodri were a significant feature of Spain’s attacking work. “Pedri did very well between the lines,” Capello and Lupescu observed. “He was always free there, which was a big problem for Italy. That’s why they changed Jorginho at half-time.

From an Italian perspective, coach Spalletti admitted that his team were “never able to squeeze the gaps between the various units”, while winger Bryan Cristante said they “couldn’t get going” as Spain kept pinning the Azzurri deep in their own half – and here Spain’s rest defence was a factor. This is illustrated as the video concludes when, thanks to their excellent balance behind the ball, Spain are able to sustain their attack by winning the ball back quickly after Pedri’s pass is intercepted.

Fabián Ruiz alone produced 14 regains – the most on the night, with left-back Marc Cucurella second with seven. “We struggled with their counter-press but we also made some simple mistakes on some simple passes,” added Spalletti. As for De La Fuente, he concluded: “We knew when to push, when to play vertically, when to control the ball. I thought that, defensively, we were terrific.”

One final aspect worthy of note was the performance of winger Williams, who excelled on the left with the support of Cucurella and earned the Player of the Match award. “Williams was excellent in his one-v-one play and created chances, including the goal,” concluded Capello and Lupescu. The data underlines the impression he created on the pitch, as his total number of take-ons (12, with four successful) was the most by any player yet at EURO 2024.

An ancient arm of the Nile that passed through 30 pyramids in Egypt discovered

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Newsroom
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Photo by AXP Photography - Pexels

Scientists have discovered an ancient arm of the Nile, which has now dried up, but used to pass by thirty pyramids in Ancient Egypt, including those in Giza.

This 64 km long sleeve is known as Ahramat (“pyramids” in Arabic) and has long been buried under farmland and desert sand, the study found. It was used to transport the necessary materials for the construction of the monumental buildings more than 4000 years ago.

Its existence explains how so many pyramids were once built west of the Nile Valley, near the ancient Egyptian capital of Memphis. Now, in the same place where the river once ran, there is a strip of desert.

This vast area stretches from the Pyramids of Lish in the south to the Pyramids of Giza in the north, where those of Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus are located. A total of 31 pyramids were built during the Old and Middle Kingdoms, between 4700 and 3700 BC.

Ancient Egyptian experts believe that the people of the time used the nearby waterway to build these gigantic complexes, a few kilometers from the main course of the Nile.

“But no one was sure about the location, shape and size of this water arm,” Eman Goneim, lead author of the study from the University of North Carolina (US), told AFP.

The team of researchers used radar satellite images to map it.

Field analyses, involving deep soil borings, confirmed the satellite data and revealed the hidden arm. It stretched for 64 km, with a width of between 200 and 700 meters, which is equal to the current course of the Nile.

The level of the Nile then was much higher than it is today. It had numerous branches crossing the flood plain. They are difficult to trace because the landscape has changed so much.

The pyramids were located on average only 1 km from the banks of the Ahramat branch. And those in Giza were even located on a plateau.

“Our research revealed that many of these pyramids had a raised causeway leading to temples located lower in the valley, which served as river ports,” Eman Ghoneim said.

According to her, all this is evidence that the Ahramat tributary played the role of a highway for transporting the huge quantities of materials and workers needed to build the pyramids. She adds that the temples on the banks of the Ahramat served as a pier for the pharaoh’s funeral retinue. “This is where the rites were performed before the body was transported to its final burial in the pyramid,” she said.

The consumption of fossil fuels has reached new heights

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Newsroom
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The consumption of fossil fuels, but also of energy emissions on a global scale, reached record heights in 2023. That’s what the global energy statistics report cited by Reuters says. Decommissioning fossil fuels and increasing renewable energy sources can prevent the transition to low-carbon energy.

According to the report, the total global demand for renewable energy has reached 620 exajoules (EJ), with emissions exceeding 40 for the first time gigatons of CO2. The increase in the global temperature reaches 1.5C – the threshold beyond which the impact of many higher temperatures, rains and floods will become more common remember.

The year 2023 was the first full year of peak energy flows from the West since the invasion of Moscow in Ukraine in 2022, and also the first full year without major restrictions on movement, related to the pandemic.

The trends in the use of fossil fuels in different regions of the world are changing. In Europe, the share of energy from fossil fuels has fallen below 70% for the first time since the industrial revolution. With the developed economies, however, we observe signs of a peak in the exploitation of fossil fuels.

Last year, almost all of the traffic in India was due to the consumption of fossil fuels, while in China their use increased by 6% to a new year.

In 2023, global natural gas production and demand will remain relatively unchanged on an annual basis. Deliveries of liquefied natural gas increased by almost 2% to 549 billion m3, which are the world’s leading supplier of liquefied natural gas. The total gas consumption in Europe by 2023 will decrease by 7% on an annual basis, and the share of Russia in the supplies to Europe is only 15%, compared to 45% by 2021.

Coal production is expected to reach 164% by 2023, up 1.6% year-on-year, thanks to China and India. Coal production in the US is down 17% by 2023 and has halved over the past decade.

The significantly higher share of energy production from renewable sources is due to the larger heating and cooling capacity.

Illustrative Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-black-stones-46801/

Albino Children: Superstitions in Africa

By
Gabriel Carrion Lopez
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Toon Sanders, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Being an albino child in Africa is like carrying a permanent tombstone on your shoulders. When they are born, they are usually, in many cases repudiated, in others sold to those who kill them and trade their remains. In others, the worst, they are bred like dogs until they grow up and at an early age they are killed and dismembered to sell everything from their hair to their genitals as aphrodisiacs. Albino children in Africa are worth their weight in gold.

When Europe talks about evolution, about the Agenda 2030, about values, we forget the treatment that millions of people around the world receive. Women are removed from academic training, subjected to humiliating marriages, and hidden behind clothes more typical of the Middle Ages than of the twenty-first century. We Europeans and Americans feel obliged to protest, inventing non-existent genocides or we entertain ourselves by consolidating beliefs that keep us from approaching the darkness that reigns in the chaos of black Africa. We package food and let others do the dirty work for us. As the poet would say: let others speak of the government of the world and its monarchies, while butter and soft bread govern my days. But there are issues that cannot be ignored and that of the albino (cursed) children of Africa is one of them.

When an albino child is born, he has to be accepted by the family. If not, their life will be very short. This acceptance is the only way they have to survive. In areas such as Sierra Leone and surrounding countries where magical beliefs and superstition prevail, recognition by the family means that both the child and his or her environment are considered plagued. He is not repudiated, but he is singled out.

The zeru or invisible as they are called in  the Swahili language, are usually strangled at birth, and are even buried far from the village in order for their remains to rest in peace. Their graves are not marked so that they are not desecrated and the family forgets them. There is a widespread belief among many African peoples that they are jinxes, beings that if they live will bring bad luck to the people. However, if they die, things change. In an article in April 2009, in the magazine XL Semana, in Spain, based on the testimony of one of these children, who arrived on the Mediterranean coast by boat, named Moszy, the following could be read:

… He says he does not want to return to his country because he fears being killed and devoured in a black magic ritual. Before he died, his arms and legs would be amputated with machetes. With their blood, the sorcerers would make a broth called muti. With the fingers of his hands amulets. With his genitals a sexual potion as effective as Viagra. Each of his bones is worth its weight in gold. Each phalanx is capable of being used for a necklace…

All of the above is true. Significant amounts of money are paid for these remains. In 2009, a bone could cost up to 1,500 dollars. Imagine now. Over the centuries albinos, like Jews, have been exterminated in a slow genocide. Some of the former continue to be cannon fodder, the others try to defend themselves from the rest of the world that condemns them for trying to live in peace. Cursed beliefs, perverse ideas, in the end prevail in a globalized world where fear prevails.

The figures of the time are shocking (2009): in Tanzania alone, 41 have been kidnapped and killed in the last year. Another 10 in Burundi. Seven in Mali in Cameroon… And so country after country the figure is increasing mercilessly.

Salif Keita, an eminent albino musician born in Mali, whose music can still be heard, was born in 1949 in Djoliba, in the central-southwest of French Sudan at the time. He is considered the golden voice of Africa and escaped assassination because he was a direct descendant of King Sundiata Keita (1190-1255) who was the founder of the Mali Empire. Even so, he confesses in all the interviews in which the subject comes up, that he escaped death due to his lineage, but that he was repudiated by the family and hidden from society because he was considered a jinx in the Mandingo culture. He assures that albinos continue to be sacrificed today and in general when in any of the countries where these miserable and superstitious beliefs prevail, these children are kidnapped and sacrifices are made with them in order to obtain better results in the elections. In general, Keita himself confesses that in his country, even today, if they go to a hospital, doctors do not usually touch them in case they catch their bad luck.

In 2023, just a year ago, in the newspaper La República (1) one of its headlines could be read: Living in fear: albino children and adults in Africa are killed for organ trafficking. More than 24 years have passed since the reference in the previous article (2009) to this one and everything remains the same. But the worst thing is that there is no legislation that regulates this issue. From Interpol, to Brussels, and the different governments over the years, no one seems to have acted effectively. Sorcerers who carried out these practices have been arrested, but in most cases they have had to be released, because no one was going to testify against them. Europe washes its hands of it and this is not an issue that seems to be of interest to the Criminal Court in The Hague, even if it is a full-fledged genocide.

In the introductory of the same previous newspaper it was stated: A single bone of an albino person can be worth about 1,000 euros on the black market. A recent United Nations report states that a “complete set” reaches up to 60,000 euros. We know exactly what 1,000 euros or 60,000 euros mean in the non-existent economy of that area of the world. Why is there a United Nations report dated 2023 and nothing is done about it? Who buys these amulets? Why is both the seller and the buyer not persecuted in a real way?

In the end, it is a nefarious market for trafficking in human remains that promotes a genocide that has been practiced in one area of the world for hundreds of years. But who cares, at the end of the day it is not enough for a television reality show, nor would its dissemination contribute absolutely anything to any decent media. Society in general and ours, that of well-being more, have too many navels in which to look at ourselves, while we continue  to “fight” for human rights in the world. But is it really fought? I wonder, or is it just propaganda.          

Reference LaRepublica.PE here 

RUSSIA: Heavy prison terms for 9 Jehovah’s Witnesses in the occupied territory of Crimea

By
Willy Fautre
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Sergey Filatov, a Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony for worshipping in private
Sergey Filatov, a Jehovah’s Witness sentenced to 6 years in a penal colony for worshipping in private (Credit: jw-russia.org)

Nine Jehovah’s Witnesses living in the occupied territory of Crimea are currently serving heavy prison terms of 54 to 72 months for exercising their right to freedom of assembly and worship in private houses:

  • 4 years 1/2: Vladimir Maladyka (60), Vladimir Sakada (51) and Yevgeniy Zhukov (54)
  • 5 years and 3 months: Aleksandr Dubovenko (51) and Aleksandr Litvinyuk (63),
  • 6 years: Sergey Filatov (51), Artem Gerasimov (39) and Igor Shmidt
  • 6 years ½: Viktor Stashevkiy

Releases should not be expected until 2016 in six cases, 2017 in one case and 2018 in two cases.

In Russia the government has not only banned the Witnesses’ legal entities but it has clearly shown its intent to wipe out their peaceful worship.

Since the ban of their religion in April 2017, the authorities have conducted numerous raids on their gatherings throughout the country, resulting in the arrest and imprisonment of scores of Witnesses. The same heavy-handed tactics have also been used against Jehovah’s Witnesses in Crimea.

The first mass raid in Crimea took place on 15 November 2018, in Dzhankoy, when approximately 200 police and special forces officers raided eight private homes in which small groups of Witnesses were meeting together to read and discuss the Bible.

At least 35 armed and masked officers forcibly entered the home of Sergey Filatov, where a group of six Witnesses were gathered. The Witnesses were terrorized by this aggressive action. The intruders pinned a 78-year-old man against the wall, forced him to the ground, handcuffed him, and beat him so badly that he was rushed to the hospital. Two other older men were so traumatized that they were rushed to the hospital with extremely high blood pressure. Tragically, a young woman whose house was also raided suffered a miscarriage.

Following the raid, Sergey Filatov was criminally charged under Article 282.2(1) of the Russian Criminal Code with organizing the activity of an “extremist organization.” On 5 March 2020, the district court in Crimea sentenced him to six years in a general regime prison colony.

In the years following the 2018 raid in Dzhankoy, special forces officers continue to forcibly enter the homes of Witnesses who were suspected of  the ‘extremist activity’ of worshipping. The most recent raid occurred on 22 May 2023. At 6:30 in the morning, more than ten officers, five of whom were armed, entered a home in Feodosia. They ordered the Witnesses to lie on the floor while they searched the home for more than three hours. One of the male Witnesses was detained and taken to Sevastopol for questioning.

As of 21 June 2024, 128 Jehovah’s Witnesses were serving a prison term in Russia and 9 more in occupied Crimea. All have been charged with promoting the activities of an ‘extremist organization.’ See the documented cases in HRWF Database of FORB Prisoners.

The leader of the independence protests in New Caledonia arrested

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Newsroom
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Police in New Caledonia have arrested the leader of the country’s independence protest, Reuters reports. Christian Thane was detained before giving a press conference. Apart from Thane, seven other people have been arrested.

Thane led a branch of the Caledonian Union, which organized barricades in the capital Noumea that disrupted traffic, movement and food supplies. He was among the pro-independence political figures who met French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to New Caledonia.

Nine people died, including two policemen, in the unrest that gripped New Caledonia last month after France proposed electoral reforms allowing thousands of French residents who have lived in the French Pacific territory for more than 10 years to vote.

Local Kanaks fear this will dilute the vote and make it more difficult to hold a future independence referendum. According to Paris, the measure is necessary to improve democracy.

Macron announced last week that he was suspending electoral reform. Pro-independence groups for New Caledonia want it to be fully withdrawn before dialogue on the island’s political future can begin again.

New Caledonia’s international airport reopened this week, although a curfew is still in place and several thousand French police reinforcements remain.

Illustrative Photo by Kindel Media: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-person-s-hands-on-the-table-wearing-handcuffs-7773260/

What did Kim Jong Un give Putin?

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Newsroom
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Among the gifts was a portrait of the Russian leader

Vladimir Putin presented his friend Kim Jong Un with a new luxury limousine and other fine gifts. And in return he received a pair of North Korean hunting dogs during his historic state visit to Pyongyang.

The two leaders exchanged gifts on the sidelines of their summit to deepen ties as Russia and North Korea face growing isolation on the world stage.

Kim presented the Russian president, who is a dog lover, with two poungsan quadrupeds, a white-furred hunting dog breed that is mainly bred in North Korea and is not popular outside its borders.

The two leaders were photographed looking at the dogs, who were tied to a rose-covered fence.

Putin also received various works of art depicting his likeness, including a bust and a portrait.

Faces of interreligious dialogue today

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Guest Author
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By Martin Hoegger. www.hoegger.org

The spirituality of the Focolare, a movement recognized by the Catholic Church, is also experienced to some degree by members of other religions. During the interreligious congress that Focolare recently organized, witnesses from faithful of various religions testified to this.

Farouk Mesli encountered the Focolare ideal a long time ago, in 1968. At that time, he lived in confusion, confronted with ideologies of all kinds. When meeting the Focolare he was touched that they live the Word of God together. For him, an ideal that is not lived and shared is worth nothing.

But, at the adhering to the Movement a doubt had set in within him, because it is a Christian Movement. This led him to reflect on his own faith, purify his heart and be a Muslim by choice, living the Word of God. “I was then convinced that fraternity is achieved through love, by loving the faith of others as my own,” he said.

Unity in diversity

A Hindu, Vinu Aram, tells her story of friendship with Chiara Lubich, the founder of Focolare and Niko Niwano , founder of the Risho – Kosei -Kai Buddhist movement in Japan. She always has a photo in front of herself with them. “I have had 30 encounters in 29 years and I have discovered that reciprocal listening is the cornerstone of dialogue,” she says.

Through these encounters, she received the gift of unity in diversity that Gandhi desired. She was very touched by the love of several members of the Movement, a love that transcended differences.

Vinu Aram explains that the search for truth, unity and God is at the heart of Hinduism. We must always ask ourselves: “what can strengthen trust in others”? The solid basis of our dialogue is the concrete way of loving and building trust, which arouses joy. “I hope that we can demonstrate that it is possible to build this unity in diversity in the next 20 years.” . What we experience today determines what we will experience tomorrow.”

Ask good questions

Jessica Sacks, a young Jew from Tel Aviv, quotes Rabbi Shimeon ben Azzai : “Do not despise anyone or reject anything, for everything has its function. ” Everyone has a time in their life where they are called to greatness. She is here to meet different people, but also discovers so many points in common between her spirituality and that of the Focolare. It strengthens her in the spirit of dialogue and the desire for peace, while war rages at home.

“The wise man is not the one who studies much, but the one who learns from everyone he meets ,” says another thinker of the Mishnah. The dialogue begins by asking questions. She is blessed here to meet people who know how to ask good questions.

Receive new momentum

A Jordanian working with Caritas, Omar Keilani grew up in an open Muslim family. He met the Focolare 20 years ago and was touched by their listening. During the meetings, everyone could retain their own identity. It strengthened his relationship with God and taught him how to build relationships with people of all walks of life. “God created us different to compete in mercy,” says the Koran. This is what I explored further in contact with them. I hope that this meeting will give us new impetus to live as a single human family. I’m not surprised that everyone here is smiling,” he says.

Accept suffering

Preeyanoot Surinkaev comes from Thailand and lives the ideal of Focolare among Buddhists. The meaning of his new name “ Meta ”, which Chiara Lubich gave her, is “love” in Thai. “ Thanks to the encounter with this spirituality, the roots of my Buddhist faith deepened ,” she confides.

One day she asked her who God is, love. A great light then entered her. She discovered that everything that happened to her was an expression of his love. “We must therefore not flee suffering, but welcome it in the present moment, in love. What really matters is to love. “It gave me a better understanding of Buddhism’s ‘four noble truths’ about suffering,” she says.

Love is the answer

Emilia Khoury, a Christian from the Holy Land, felt great suffering after the massacres of October 7 and the war that followed. But she remembered the suffering of Jesus who continued to love until the end. She understood that love is the answer to all suffering and division. ” I have this responsibility to be a witness to God’s love in all circumstances. In the current situation, I also understood that my love must be manifested above all in listening. And I pray a lot, because Prayer is even more necessary than food.

Peace, a constant choice

Taj Basman, comes from the Philippines and experienced diversity from his childhood: his father being Muslim and his mother converted to Christianity. However, he faced discrimination. He wanted to overcome stereotypes by showing what Islam really is. Marked by his mother’s commitment to forgiveness, he wants to perpetuate her legacy of peace and understanding. “For me, peace is not an idea, but a choice to be made again every day; it begins with us, with our closest relationships.”

The “dice of love”

The coordinator of the “Living Peace” initiative, Carlos Palma lived in Jerusalem. He was shocked the day some children asked him what would happen when there were no more wars. He realized that these children did not know peace since they were born. This posed the question: “What am I doing for a culture of peace”?

For him, this culture begins with a culture of love. He then launched the “Living peace” project inspired by Chiara Lubich’s “Art of loving ”, with the practice of the “ love dice ”. On the faces of the dice is written the various points of the “art of loving”. ( see : https://www.focolare.org/fr/2011/10/15/francais-le-de-de-lamour/ ) He experienced it with children in Cairo and asked them to tell how they experienced the sentence read in the morning. It all started with these 12 Muslim children. This practice then spread to the Gulf countries. Sometimes with words inspired by the Koran. The same experience was then experienced with Buddhists, Hindus and members of a Gandhian movement.

Win the children

A Muslim from Macedonia, Liridona Suma had to go against the current to live the spirituality of the Focolare. She works in a multi-ethnic school where she noticed the tensions between the children. She wanted to organize a concert with them but did not receive permission until one day she proposed a benefit concert for a sick child. This was a success, and the children began creating bonds of friendship.

A dialogue between Jews and Muslims

Ramazan Özgü, from the Turkish community in German speaking Switzerland, experiences beautiful interreligious encounters. Since 2012, he has worked with a group of Jews. A mutual understanding was then born. The situation in the Middle East was a test, but it strengthened their relationships. The group grew and formed an “anti-hate coalition” and helped each other counter anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.

After October 7, Muslims and Jews felt judgments. “Safe spaces” were then created for participants to express their feelings. They understood that mourning and victim status is common to both religions. “I also had to fight my own prejudices, which are ready to come out. I understood that I must work on myself first,” he confides.

Political friendship is possible

Former Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of Slovenia, Silvester Gaberscek had the responsibility of liaising with religious communities. He organized a two-day march with people of various religions, creating a beautiful relationship with the Mufti of Ljubljana. This friendship proved very useful in overcoming, subsequently, a crisis due to intolerant positions regarding Islam on the part of a politician.

Thanks to this good relationship, the Minister of Culture was won over to interreligious dialogue. This relationship then expanded to many other people, reaching several religious and political leaders, within the framework of an International Forum held in Koper, Slovenia. This Forum in the very secularized society of this country received a positive response. The decision was made to hold this Forum again in June 2025.Other articles on this conference: https://www.hoegger.org/article/one-human-family/

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