Easter, the most significant event in the Christian calendar, commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It is a time of profound spiritual significance, marking the triumph of life over death and the promise of redemption for all believers. This essay delves into the rich history and profound meaning of Christian Easter, tracing its origins, exploring its theological significance, and reflecting on its enduring relevance in the lives of believers today.
Historical Origins The origins of Easter can be traced back to the events described in the New Testament Gospels, which recount the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. According to Christian tradition, Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, a day of solemn reflection and mourning for believers. His body was placed in a tomb, where it remained until the third day, when he rose from the dead, thereby conquering sin and death. The early Christian community celebrated the resurrection of Jesus as the culmination of God's redemptive plan for humanity. The timing of Easter, which falls on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox, was established by the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, ensuring that it coincided with the Jewish festival of Passover and the arrival of spring. Key Themes and Symbols Easter is replete with rich symbolism and profound theological themes that resonate deeply with believers. The image of the empty tomb serves as a powerful symbol of hope and renewal, signifying the victory of Christ over the forces of darkness and the promise of new life for all who believe in him. Moreover, Easter is associated with a number of ancient symbols, such as the Easter lily, which represents purity and resurrection, and the Easter egg, a symbol of new life and fertility. These symbols serve as tangible reminders of the spiritual truths embodied in the Easter story and provide opportunities for believers to reflect on the deeper meaning of the resurrection. Theological Significance At the heart of the Easter story lies the central tenet of the Christian faith: the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christians, the resurrection is not merely a historical event but a theological reality that lies at the core of their faith. It is the linchpin of Christian hope, offering assurance of salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life with God. Furthermore, the resurrection of Jesus serves as a paradigm for spiritual transformation and renewal in the lives of believers. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, Christians are called to die to sin and be raised to newness of life through faith in him. Easter thus represents not only a past event but an ongoing process of personal and communal renewal in Christ. Relevance and Celebration Today In the modern world, Easter continues to hold profound significance for Christians around the globe. It is a time of joyous celebration, as believers gather in churches and homes to proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and rejoice in the hope of salvation. Moreover, Easter serves as a reminder of the transformative power of faith in the midst of adversity and suffering. In a world marked by violence, injustice, and despair, the message of Easter offers a beacon of hope, pointing to the ultimate triumph of love over hatred and life over death. Christian Easter stands as a testament to the central truth of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a time of celebration, reflection, and renewal, as believers worldwide commemorate the victory of Christ over sin and death. As we journey through the Easter season, may we be reminded of the profound hope and joy that spring forth from the empty tomb, and may we embrace the transformative power of resurrection in our lives and communities.
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المتظاهرون المؤيدون لفلسطين يهاجمون الشرطة ويطلقون صيحات الاستهجان على كينغ عند افتتاح متحف المحرقة12/3/2024 استقبل المتظاهرون الملك ويليم ألكسندر بصيحات الاستهجان لدى وصوله لحضور الافتتاح الرسمي لمتحف المحرقة الوطني في أمستردام. كما تعرض الرئيس الإسرائيلي إسحاق هرتسوغ، الذي وصل إلى متحف المحرقة الوطني بعد وقت قصير، لصيحات الاستهجان من قبل المتظاهرين.
كما ردد المتظاهرون شعارات مختلفة مثل "فلسطين حرة" و"إسرائيل إرهابية"، حسبما سمع مراسل الشرطة الوطنية الأفغانية. وتم تعليق لافتاتين كتب عليهما "أوقفوا الإبادة الجماعية" و"لن يحدث ذلك مرة أخرى الآن" على مبنى بجوار المتحف مباشرة. وقبل دخول الملك ويليم ألكسندر المتحف، قام بتسليم مزوزة لحفيدة الناجي من المحرقة رودي كورتيسوس بمناسبة افتتاح المتحف الوطني للمحرقة. المزوزة عبارة عن جعبة تحتوي على جزء من نص التوراة، يتم لصقه على عمود الباب وفقًا للعادات اليهودية بعد التسليم، قام كورتيسوس بربط الميزوزا بإطار باب مدخل المتحف الوطني للهولوكوست. خلال هذا العرض الافتتاحي، هتف المتظاهرون بعدة شعارات، بما في ذلك "فلسطين حرة" في وجه الملك. وبعد الافتتاح بدأ جلالة الملك جولة في المتحف. أثناء افتتاح متحف الهولوكوست في أمستردام، حدثت مواجهة بين وحدة الشرطة المتنقلة (ME) والمتظاهرين عند طوق الشرطة بين واترلوبلين وفيسربلين في أمستردام. وفي وقت سابق، تمركزت الوحدة المتنقلة على الطريق بين الكنيس البرتغالي وواترلوبلين لمنع المتظاهرين من التحرك من واترلوبلين نحو الكنيس. وصعد عدد من المتظاهرين إلى سيارات الشرطة التي أقيمت كحاجز. وقام الجيش الوطني بضربهم هناك بالهراوات، وفقًا لمراسل الشرطة الوطنية الأفغانية. كما بدأ المتظاهرون في إلقاء الألعاب النارية والبيض على الشرطة ومركبات الشرطة. وألصق المتظاهرون منشورات تحمل رأس الرئيس الإسرائيلي إسحق هرتزوغ وعبارة "مطلوب" على هذه المركبات. واحتج المتظاهرون على حضور الرئيس الإسرائيلي إسحاق هرتسوغ حفل افتتاح المتحف الوطني للهولوكوست. علاوة على ذلك، تحدت مجموعات من المتظاهرين بعضهم البعض أمام المتحف الوطني للهولوكوست في أمستردام. ورددت مجموعة من أنصار فلسطين شعارات مثل "عار عليكم" و"فلسطين ستتحرر من النهر إلى البحر" أمام عشرات المتظاهرين المؤيدين لإسرائيل. وقال مراسل الوكالة الوطنية للشرطة إن المتظاهرين بدورهم لوحوا بالأعلام الإسرائيلية بشكل استفزازي.. The Houthi rebels in Yemen have been widely reported to receive support from Iran. Iran is often accused of providing financial aid, military equipment, and training to the Houthi forces. The Houthi movement belongs to the Zaidi sect of Shia Islam, and Iran, being a Shia-majority country, is seen as a natural ally. The accusations of Iranian support for the Houthis have been a significant source of tension in the region, particularly with Saudi Arabia, which views Iran as a regional rival. The Saudi-led coalition, which includes several Arab states, has intervened militarily in Yemen to support the internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels. While Iran denies direct military involvement in Yemen, evidence of its support for the Houthi rebels includes the supply of weapons, financial assistance, and alleged training of Houthi fighters. The conflict in Yemen has thus become a proxy battleground for regional powers, exacerbating the already complex political and humanitarian crisis in the country. It's important to note that the situation is fluid, and geopolitical dynamics can change. The information provided here is based on the situation as of my knowledge cutoff date in January 2022, and developments may have occurred since then. Introduction Yemen, a country steeped in history and tradition, has been home to various ethnic and religious groups for centuries. Among these groups, the Houthi community stands out as a significant and influential faction, particularly in recent times. The origins and history of the Houthi community are intertwined with Yemen's complex socio-political landscape, marked by a series of historical events, religious affiliations, and regional dynamics. Historical Background The Houthi community traces its roots back to the 1990s, when a charismatic religious leader named Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi founded the movement in the northern Saada Governorate. Al-Houthi, a Zaidi Shia Muslim, sought to address what he perceived as the marginalization of Zaidi communities in Yemen, especially in the north. The Zaidis are a sect within Shia Islam, and their historical influence in Yemen dates back to the early Islamic period. During the early years, the Houthi movement focused on socio-economic issues and the protection of Zaidi identity. However, tensions with the central government escalated, leading to a series of confrontations between Houthi supporters and Yemeni authorities. The movement gained traction by emphasizing local grievances, such as perceived discrimination and neglect, resonating with a significant portion of the population in the north. Ideological Foundation The Houthi movement draws its ideological inspiration from Zaidism, a branch of Shia Islam that has a long history in Yemen. Zaidism emphasizes social justice, equitable distribution of resources, and resistance against perceived tyrannical rule. The Houthi leaders framed their struggle within this context, presenting themselves as defenders of Zaidi rights and traditions against external and oppressive forces. The Houthi movement's ideology became more pronounced with time, evolving into a broader anti-government sentiment and opposition to foreign interference. As the Yemeni government faced internal challenges and struggled to address the grievances of various communities, the Houthi movement gained momentum, particularly in the northern regions. External Influences and Regional Dynamics The Houthi movement's evolution and growth were also influenced by external factors and regional dynamics. The complex web of alliances and rivalries in the Middle East played a role in shaping the Houthi community's trajectory. Iran, a Shia-majority country, has been accused of providing support to the Houthi rebels, amplifying sectarian tensions in the region. The ongoing conflict in Yemen, often referred to as the Yemeni Civil War, has further fueled the Houthi movement's prominence. The involvement of external actors, including a Saudi-led coalition supporting the Yemeni government, has turned Yemen into a battleground for regional influence. The Houthi community, finding itself at the center of this geopolitical struggle, has attracted attention and support from various quarters.
The history and origins of the Houthi community in Yemen are complex and multifaceted, shaped by historical grievances, religious identity, and regional dynamics. The movement's evolution from a local socio-economic protest to a prominent player in Yemen's political landscape reflects the intricate interplay of internal and external factors. Understanding the Houthi community's roots is crucial for comprehending the ongoing conflict in Yemen and exploring potential paths towards peace and stability in the region. At the beginning of this week, foreign ministers from a group of Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinian National Authority, and Indonesia travelled to China in order to seek support for a ceasefire in the ongoing Gaza war.
The unconditional backing of Israel by the United States and its allies has tanked their credibility across the Islamic world, and Beijing has positioned itself as an advocate of peace when others are not willing to take up that role. It is curious that within the following few days, a report was released by Human Rights Watch, accusing China of expanding its alleged campaign of closing down and repurposing mosques into regions other than Xinjiang – which had so far been the focus of accusations that Beijing is cracking down on the predominantly Muslim Uighur minority. Even those allegations had been somewhat on the backburner in the establishment media lately, but the HRW report was quickly picked up and amplified. Although relations between the US and China have somewhat calmed down, it is obvious that Washington does not want to see Beijing increase its influence in the Muslim world, as that would inevitably come at the expense of American clout. The attempt to draw attention back to China’s alleged repression of its Muslim population, while underreporting Israel’s devastating attack on the (also Muslim) population of Gaza, is an exercise in deflection and part of the ongoing narrative war between China and the US. Be it about Muslims or not, the Xinjiang issue has long been a key component of that struggle for influence. The Uighur minority has, since 2018, been a tool of “atrocity propaganda” used to wage public relations offensives against China. It is a means to an end, which often disappears and resurfaces in the media, coinciding with the ebb and flow of anti-Beijing rhetoric coming from the US administration or the State Department. This includes using it to turn public opinion against Beijing in selected countries, including allies, or to manufacture consent for policies aimed at supply chain shifts or “decoupling,” through the accusation of forced labor, especially in the fields of key agricultural goods, polysilicon and solar panels, or to attempt to embarrass China diplomatically at the UN, or to push for boycotting events such as the Winter Olympics. This is an incredibly opportunistic attitude to something Beijing’s detractors claim is a “genocide.” Since late 2021, the Biden administration has largely ignored the issue and it has fallen off the international agenda, precisely because Washington had gotten the sanctions they wanted from it at the time. However, the Israel-Gaza conflict introduces a new dynamic whereby the US and its allies are dramatically losing face and credibility among Muslim nations because they are backing Israel unconditionally in the wholesale slaughter of Palestinians. From a geopolitical point of view, such a policy pathway is actually strategically disastrous because it alienates the entire Global South, serves as a beacon in projecting US hypocrisy and worse still, directly empowers China as a competitor. So when you are faced with a situation whereby Beijing is gaining diplomatic capital over your own failures, what do you do? You desperately aim to deflect by trying to draw attention to another issue in the attempt to smear Beijing: Xinjiang and the Uighurs. Now as it happens, Muslim countries mostly ignore US-led propaganda over the Xinjiang issue, because they see it for what it is and also share a common norm of respect for national sovereignty with Beijing, which is politically beneficial for them. The only Muslim nation who has ever made public comment about it is Türkiye, because Uighurs are a Turkic ethnic group and the issues is viewed through the lens of Ankara’s Pan-Turk ideology. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is still likely to ignore the issue, or only involve himself in it based on what he can gain. On the other hand, the Gulf States, the key US allies in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, support China’s position, and the Gaza issue is putting them under pressure regarding their relations with the US and the decision to normalize relations with Israel. So suddenly we are seeing a resurgence of Xinjiang material because the US, even if it cannot sway their governments, wants to kindle the anger of Muslim populations about another issue instead and diminish China’s credibility. Although this is less likely in Arab States, it could cause public opinion ruptures in key Asian Islamic countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, where significant resources were placed by organizations such as the BBC in relaying Xinjiang-related content in their respective languages. But the question is, will this campaign succeed? It might be worth remembering that Xinjiang is an artificially imposed issue pushed “top-down” by governments and the media, whereas Palestine is a grassroots issue pushing from the bottom up, aspects of which media and politicians endeavor to selectively ignore. China’s heavy-handed management of Uighurs in Xinjiang is not really a genocide, and it will never rank on the same level of severity as the outright bombardment and mass killing of Palestinians, no matter how hard you try. Online abuse and hate speech targeting politically active women in Afghanistan has significantly increased since the Taliban took over the country in Aug. 2021, according to a report released Monday by a U.K.-based rights group.
Afghan Witness, an open-source project run by the non-profit Center for Information Resilience, says it found that abusive posts tripled, a 217% increase, between June-December 2021 and the same period of 2022. Building on expertise gained from similar research in Myanmar, the Afghan Witness team analyzed publicly available information from X, formerly known as Twitter, and conducted in-depth interviews with six Afghan women to investigate the nature of the online abuse since the Taliban takeover. The report said the team of investigators "collected and analyzed over 78,000 posts" written in Dari and Pashto — two local Afghan languages — directed at "almost 100 accounts of politically active Afghan women." The interviews indicated that the spread of abusive posts online helped make the women targets, the report's authors said. The interviewees reported receiving messages with pornographic material as well as threats of sexual violence and death. "I think the hatred they show on social media does not differ from what they feel in real life," one woman told Afghan Witness. Taliban government spokesmen were not immediately available to comment about the report. The report identified four general themes in the abusive posts: accusations of promiscuity; the belief that politically active women violated cultural and religious norms; allegations the women were agents of the West; and accusations of making false claims in order to seek asylum abroad. At the same time, Afghan Witness said it found the online abuse was "overwhelmingly sexualized," with over 60% of the posts in 2022 containing terms such as "whore" or "prostitute." "Since the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan, social media has turned from being a place for social and political expression to a forum for abuse and suppression, especially of women," the project's lead investigator, Francesca Gentile, said. The Taliban have barred women from most areas of public life and work and stopped girls from going to school beyond the sixth grade as part of harsh measures they imposed after taking power in 2021, as U.S. and NATO forces were pulling out of Afghanistan following two decades of war. "The Taliban's hostility towards women and their rights sends a message to online abusers that any woman who stands up for herself is fair game," added Gentile. One female journalist, speaking with Afghan Witness on condition of anonymity, said she deactivated some of her social media accounts and no longer reads comments, which affects her work when trying to reach out to online sources. The report said it found the majority of those behind the online abuse were men, "from a range of political affiliations, ethnic groups, and backgrounds." There are no winners in war, Pope Francis said on Wednesday in an interview with the Italian broadcaster RAI, urging Israelis and Palestinians to live together in peace as neighbors.
“In war, one slap provokes another. One strong and the other even stronger, and so it goes on,” the Pope said, addressing the October 7 Hamas attack and Israel’s retaliation against Gaza in a lengthy feature that aired right after the evening news. The solution to the cycle of violence, the 86-year-old Jesuit argued, is to recognize an independent Palestinian state. “Two peoples who must live together. With that wise solution: two peoples, two states. The Oslo Accords: two clearly delineated states, and Jerusalem with a special status,” the Pope told RAI. The Oslo Accords were a 1990s US initiative that envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian state. However the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel could not agree on territorial demarcation, the fate of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, the “right of return” of Palestinian refugees, and the status of Jerusalem. The agreement effectively collapsed in 2000 during the Palestinian uprising known as the Second Intifada. Israel has rejected all calls for ceasefire and declared a “total blockade” of Gaza, vowing to eradicate Hamas once and for all. Some Israeli politicians have even advocated the expulsion of all residents of the territory to Egypt and razing the enclave to the ground. “Every war is a defeat. Nothing is solved with war. Nothing. Everything is gained with peace, with dialogue,” the Pope told RAI. “The hour is very dark. One cannot find the ability to think clearly,” the pontiff said in the interview, describing the world as enveloped in darkness since 1945, because the wars did not stop after WWII. He blamed the military-industrial complex for this. “The most serious problem is still the arms industry,” the Pope argued. “A person who understands investments, who I met in a meeting, told me that today investments that generate the most income are weapons factories.” The head of the Muslim Coordination Center in Russia’s North Caucasus, Ismail Berdiev, has condemned the rioters who targeted an airport in Dagestan on Sunday, accusing them of using the term ‘Allahu Akbar’ in an unacceptable way.
Dagestani capital Makhachkala was the scene of unrest when pro-Palestinian protesters broke into the local airport looking for alleged refugees from Israel. In an interview with RIA Novosti on Monday, Berdiev criticized the rioters, noting that “extolling the Almighty by shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ is appropriate only when there is a sound reason for it.” He added that religious holidays, prayers, or family celebrations were suitable occasions, but that praising Allah “during illegal marches and demonstrations, as happened during the storming of the airport in Makhachkala, [is] unacceptable.” Berdiev also noted that rioters had used exclamations of religious praise alongside “blasphemous words” that are forbidden in Islam. “The faithful are barred from uttering profanities. A Muslim must control his actions and not shoot off the mouth, thereby setting a bad example for his brothers,” he insisted. Berdiev’s comments came after hundreds of protesters gathered outside Makhachkala Airport on Sunday, later breaking into the facility and blocking the runway. They then boarded planes in search of “Jewish refugees” allegedly fleeing their homeland following the attack by Palestinian armed group Hamas earlier this month. The unrest at the airport led to clashes with police, resulting in several officers being injured and dozens of protesters being detained. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that the riots had “obviously” been influenced by foreign forces, and stressed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was paying close attention to the issue. The head of Dagestan, Sergey Melikov, alleged that Ukrainian nationalists were trying to destabilize the situation in the republic by fomenting ethnic and religious divisions through social media channels. He also vowed that those responsible for the rioting would be held accountable, suggesting that they could atone by joining Russian forces fighting Ukraine. Linda Kim TEHRAN, August 12 -- It's difficult to combat a subject that's so taboo, discussion of it is off-limits. But the silence that has long surrounded sexual harassment and abuse of power in the Iranian workplace is finally being broken. The Information Technology Organisation (ITO), a subsidiary of Iran's ICT Ministry, has become the first Iranian government agency to publish in-house guidelines banning what it refers to as "forbidden conduct" - harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and abuse of power. Drawing on international examples, but modified to align with "Iranian and Islamic values", the harassment guidelines cover verbal and physical threats, aggressive behavior, defamation and intimidation, among other offences. Sexual harassment is described by the guidelines as any sexual advance made without consent, while discrimination is defined as "any form of unpleasant, unjust or in-equal behavior" based on race, nationality, religion, gender, age or political tendencies. The section on abuse of power covers all misuses of authority that negatively affect an individual's career. The guidelines were spearheaded by ITO's head of women participation, Meshkat Asadi. "Obviously we're still at the beginning of the road," she said in an interview with the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency. "But it seems that serious barriers can come down when thoughts turn into words and those words are put on paper, so there's hope that this could be effective." Asadi's boss, ITO head Amir Nazemy, in an effort to catalyze change within companies that fall with his ministry's remit, used Twitter to call on CEOs of major startups and fintech firms to adopt the guidelines. "As sexual harassment is a taboo [in Iran], preventing it requires special support from executives," he wrote. Several of the largest names in Iran's startup and tech scene have answered the call. Those adopting the guidelines include ride-hailing companies Snapp and Tap30, online buying platform Takhfifan and cloud computing services provider ArvanCloud. ArvanCloud has taken the initiative a step further and established an in-house online platform to give employees the option to report harassing behavior anonymously. ITO officials responsible for the guidelines refused requests for comment. The task of changing workplace culture Some Iranian executives welcome the government effort to curb abuse, and want to build on the guidelines to effect genuine change in the workplace. "Even if we set the right framework, nothing meaningful will happen if we don't work on the cultural aspect and develop a corporate culture that has the capacity to welcome such improvements," Aseyeh Hatami, CEO of recruitment and jobs site IranTalent said. That promises to be a long road, she said, because the absence of initiatives to encourage healthy sexual behaviors in the workplace and in society at large has led to confusion over what constitutes acceptable behavior. "For instance, one of my male employees had asked a female co-worker to go to a coffee shop to discuss a work project, and she perceived that as a breach of her private space and professional etiquette," Hatami said. Reporting abuses of power is difficult even in the most constructively regulated environments. It often invites personal scrutiny and ends up re-victimizing and, in the worst cases, vilifying victims of abuse. The fears associated with reporting abuse and harassment are acute in Iranian workplaces, which are often bereft of resources to deal with these issues. Many small and medium-sized businesses lack robust human resources departments to investigate complaints. Companies that have established support mechanisms reporting and rooting out abuse have done so independently because the law does not require it. While Hatami is pleased that the government has established binding rules, she is concerned about regulatory overreach. "Having regulations is great and necessary, but businesses in Iran, especially fledgling ones, take a hit both from lack of suitable regulations and from hasty laws that go into too much detail and tell executives how to run their businesses," she said. Hatami hopes the ITO guidelines can be gradually refined through community feedback. Educating executives to lead the way Though the reforms are seen by many as an important catalyst, changing attitudes, they say, needs to start at the top of an organisation. "The ITO guidelines are a positive step, but there's much to be done in terms of educating executives and other employees, and organisational structures need to be improved in a way that would support victims," a training specialist at the National Iranian Gas Company said on condition of anonymity. "If guidelines are put in place across the country, I have no doubt that many [people] will undermine [cast doubt on] whether instances of sexual harassment and abuse of power even take place due to the taboo nature of the subject," she said. In its guidelines, the ITO encourages educational initiatives including organisation-wide workshops to educate all employees about forbidden conduct, requiring executives and supervisors to undergo targeted training as a prerequisite for job promotions, and handing out copies of the guidelines to new employees. The guidelines also designate a role for local nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to act as a safety net for victims and for reporting harassment cases. "There is a tendency in companies to sweep such issues under the carpet, which encourages perpetrators," ITO chief Nazemy said in a recent interview. "By involving NGOs, at least an independent pair of eyes will scrutinize such cases". The training expert at the state-run gas company said that the company has received complaints of abuse in the past, which were mostly handled directly by high-level executives rather than the human resources department. "Management usually prefers to resolve complaints peacefully at the personal level through reaching mutual agreements, and acts very strictly in terms of requiring evidence in dealing with serious cases to prevent defamation," she said. The trainer told that in one of those cases, an executive in a provincial branch of the state-run entity was fired from his post after a victim produced video evidence of harassment. The ITO guidelines encourage the resolution of complaints by mutual agreement, including through the involvement of a third-party arbiter. If unsuccessful, the guidelines direct alleged victims to file formal complaints within 90 days of the offence that was committed or the last event in the chain of reported events and present evidence. NEW DElHI, July 6 -- The advisory board of the Tibetan government-in-exile released a statement celebrating the 84th birthday of the Dalai Lama on Saturday. "We Tibetans are eternally grateful to the lineage of the Dalai Lamas and ever more so to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama for being our ray of hope and our source of strength in our times of darkness," it said. The statement said that, 60 years into exile, Tibetan cultural identity has been revived and preserved, a full-fledged democratic Central Tibetan Administration has been established, and "the spirit of Tibetans inside and outside Tibet remain strong and united." It added that the "Middle Way Approach" in resolving the Tibet issue through dialogue continues to be widely supported by many countries. Born on July 6, 1935, in northeastern Tibet, the exiled spiritual leader was recognized as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso, at the age of 2. In March 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India following a failed Tibetan uprising in 1959 against China's control of the Buddhist region high in the Himalayas. He later set up the government-in-exile in Dharamsala, northern India. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign for Tibet democracy and its people's freedom but China always considers him as a hostile being for splitting Tibet from China. The Chinese government regards him as a dangerous separatist. Succession plans for the octogenarian have been an issue of interest in recent years. In April this year, he was discharged from a hospital in India's capital New Delhi where he had been diagnosed with a chest infection. Author: Linda Lim BANGKOK, July 3 -- The office of the Dalai Lama released a statement Tuesday apologizing for the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader's controversial remarks on women during a recent interview with the BBC. "(In) responding to a question about whether his own reincarnation could be a woman, and suggesting that if she were she should be attractive, His Holiness genuinely meant no offence," the statement said. "He is deeply sorry that people have been hurt by what he said and offers his sincere apologies." In an interview the British broadcaster aired last week, the Dalai Lama said, "If female Dalai Lama comes, then (she) should be more attractive," suggesting that otherwise "people, I think, prefer not (to) see that face." His comment drew criticism from around the world on social media platforms. According to the statement, the Dalai Lama first referred to the physical appearance of a female successor in 1992 during a conversation with the editor of Vogue magazine, wherein he said a future Dalai Lama could be a woman "if that would be more helpful." At the time, he jokingly added that she should be attractive. "His Holiness consistently emphasizes the need for people to connect with each other on a deeper human level, rather than getting caught up in preconceptions based on superficial appearances," the statement said. "For all his long life, His Holiness has opposed the objectification of women, has supported women and their rights and celebrated the growing international consensus in support of gender equality and respect for women," it added. Author: Pete McGee VATICAN CITY, June 6 -- Pope Francis will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vatican on July 4, Agence France-Presse reported on Thursday, citing a statement by Vatican Spokesman Alessandro Gisotti. "I can confirm that the Holy Father will receive Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vatican on July 4," Gisotti said. The Kremlin earlier confirmed that Putin was expected to make a visit to Italy but said nothing about the date of the visit and the president’s plans to meet with Pope Francis. In November 2018, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the date of Putin’s visit to Italy would be agreed on through diplomatic channels. He pointed out that the invitation for the Russian leader to visit Italy had been mentioned during Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s visit to Russia on October 24, 2018. In April, Kremlin Aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters that the Russian president planned to visit Italy in the summer. Italian Ambassador to Russia Pasquale Terracciano said later that Putin was expected to visit the country in July. BANGKOK, May 4 -- Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn has performed intricate Buddhist and Brahmin ceremonies to symbolically transform him into a living god as the Southeast Asian nation officially crowned its first monarch in nearly seven decades. The king was joined by new Queen Suthida on Saturday after a surprise announcement three days before the coronation that the thrice-divorced monarch had married for a fourth time. The king appeared dressed in white as he underwent a royal purification ritual, sitting under a canopied fountain that poured consecrated waters over his head. The country's Buddhist Supreme Patriarch also poured sacred waters over the king's body, followed by Brahmin priests and royal family members. Hundreds of state officials in immaculate white uniforms lined the streets around the Grand Palace. King Vajiralongkorn, 66, became constitutional monarch after the death of his revered father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, in October 2016 after 70 years on the throne. Bhumibol was seen as a figure of unity in the politically chaotic kingdom. His son Vajiralongkorn, 66, is less well-known to the Thai public, preferring to spend much of his time overseas and rarely addressing his subjects. The king's coronation, after a period of mourning for the late king, comes amid the uncertainty of an unresolved election battle between the current military government chief and a "democratic front" trying to push the army out of politics. King Vajiralongkorn has inherited one of the world's richest monarchies and a kingdom submerged in political crisis. Thai kings' coronation rituals are a mixture of Buddhist and Hindu Brahmin traditions dating back centuries. One of the many official titles King Vajiralongkorn will take is Rama X, signifying that he is the 10th king of the Chakri dynasty founded in 1782. "The monarchy is the only institution in this country that has lasted for more than 700 years," Sulak Siwarak, a historian in Thailand told Al Jazeera. "I think the new king means well about his country. He wants to do something significant." Royal patron of BuddhismSaturday's rituals are about transforming him into a "Devaraja", or a divine embodiment of the gods. As the waters started pouring, ancient cannons from the 19th century, used specifically for the coronation, started firing 10 volleys each. The king will then change into a full uniform and take a seat on an eight-sided, carved wooden throne to receive sacred waters on his hands in an anointment ritual. Selected officials, including military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, the head of the National Legislative Assembly, and the chairman of the Supreme Court, will pour the waters from eight directions, representing the cardinal and ordinal directions on a compass. The waters used in both rituals were collected from 117 sources last month and blessed by Buddhist monks and Brahmin priests in temples around the country before they were combined and consecrated. Before noon, the purified and anointed sovereign will sit under an elaborate nine-tiered umbrella, where he will receive the royal golden plaque containing his name and title, the royal horoscope, and the royal seal, which were made in a three-hour ritual last week. The king will also receive and wear five articles of the royal regalia from the chief Brahmin. Once in full regalia, the king will give his first royal command, a short utterance that will highlight the essence of his reign. The king will proclaim himself the royal patron of Buddhism later in the evening, and perform a private housewarming ritual at the royal residence where he will stay the night, as previous kings have done. SINGAPORE, April 14 -- From celebrities to ministers, condemnation from the West has been heaped on Brunei for enacting harsh anti-gay laws that prescribe death by stoning for various offences – but the tiny oil-rich nation has showed little concern it may be making foes of its traditional friends. Neither is it likely to fully alienate the West, observers say, despite remaining resolute on the implementation of sharia law in the face of backlash from world leaders. Ruler Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the world’s richest men, has a track record of balancing dialogue with the West – the United Kingdom and the United States are major export partners – while courting increased engagement with China, the country’s main import trading partner. “Brunei has been practising hedge diplomacy in its foreign policy,” says Mustafa Izzuddin, a fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. “However, the greater the criticism from Western countries – including resorting to boycotts – the more likely Brunei will turn to Asia and in particular, China, which has cleverly stayed clear of Brunei’s domestic affairs.” Beijing has developed a keen interest in Brunei, partly due to the possibility of joint development deals in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which could provide a key toehold into contested South China Sea waters. Brunei is among the claimants to the disputed sea, but its unassertive approach has made it appealing to China, says Mustafa. While Beijing has yet to propose any concrete plans, similar attempts to forge deals with other South China Sea claimants suggest it would “not be surprising to see China offer joint development prospects to Brunei”, says Joseph Liow of the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies. But if joint agreements are signed, it could prove problematic for other Southeast Asian claimants and the wider international community as it would undercut the 2016 international ruling that says China has no claims to the waters delineated by its controversial nine-dash line, says Gregory Poling, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative. If China manages to strike a development deal with Brunei, it would indicate Brunei’s EEZ waters were legally “disputed”, strengthening Beijing’s claim and weakening near-universal consensus of the ruling, says Poling. However, there is still “no evidence Brunei is willing to take that gamble”, he says. Nevertheless, ties between both countries are growing, as Brunei looks to diversify its income streams in a country traditionally reliant on oil reserves – estimated to run out within two to three decades. Brain drain is a growing issue, as is unemployment, which stood at 9.3 per cent according to latest figures. The nation, an enthusiastic supporter of the Belt and Road Initiative , has unveiled a development plan to build a dynamic and sustainable economy by 2035. TOKYO, April 1 -- Japan on Monday revealed the name of the era as "Reiwa," which will define the new emperor's reign when he ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne next month following a historic abdication. The name consists of two characters: "Rei," which can have meanings related to "order" but also "auspicious" and "Wa," usually translated as "peace" or "harmony." After weeks of fevered speculation and top-secret discussions, the two "kanji" characters were unveiled to reveal a name that will last as long as new emperor Naruhito's rule. It may appear arcane to outsiders, but the announcement of a new era name is a massive event in Japan, marked with special newspaper editions, calligraphy shows and public festivities. Although the Gregorian calendar is widely used in the world's third-largest economy, Japan is the only country still using Chinese-style imperial calendars for private and public documents as well as computer records. The new name therefore has a huge impact on daily life and people tend to recall major events in public and private life by when they fell in a certain era, 2019 is known as Heisei 31, or the 31st year of current Emperor Akihito's rule. Strict guidelines to select the name The era name must adhere to strict guidelines. It should consist of only two characters, be easy to read and write, and not employ common names or the first character of any of the last four eras: Heisei, Showa, Taisho and Meiji. Company names are excluded as well as the most popular choices in private guessing competitions, amid widespread speculation online as to what the new name could be. To prevent leaks, the panel were locked away in a special room in the prime minister's office, swept for bugs, and their phones confiscated. The 85-year-old Akihito will become the first Japanese monarch to abdicate in around two centuries when he steps down on April 30 in favor of Crown Prince Naruhito, who will ascend the throne the next day. Japan is marking the announcement of the new era in a wide variety of ways, some less serious than others. LAGOS, March 17 -- Church leaders in Nigeria have said that Christians are experiencing "pure genocide" as 6,000 people, mostly women and children, have been murdered by Fulani radicals since January. "What is happening in Plateau state and other select states in Nigeria is pure genocide and must be stopped immediately," said the Christian Association of Nigeria and church denominational heads in Plateau State in a press release last week. The church leaders said that "over 6,000 persons, mostly children, women and the aged have been maimed and killed in night raids by armed Fulani herdsmen," which is prompting their cry to the government of Nigeria "to stop this senseless and blood shedding in the land and avoid a state of complete anarchy where the people are forced to defend themselves." The press release also pleaded with the international community, as well as the United Nations, to intervene in the Fulani attacks, fearing they might spread to other countries as well. "We are particularly worried at the widespread insecurity in the country where wanton attacks and killings by armed Fulani herdsmen, bandits and terrorists have been taking place on a daily basis in our communities unchallenged despite huge investments in the security agencies," they added, saying President Muhammadu Buhari has failed to bring attackers to justice. They referenced several mass-scale attacks this year, including the slaughter of over 200 people, mostly Christians, at the end of June in raids carried out by the herdsmen on local area farmers near the city of Jos. Although some international news media has sought to characterize the killings as a land conflict between community groups, the church leaders, along with major persecution watchdog groups such as Open Doors USA and International Christian Concern, have all said that Christians are being deliberately targeted. "We reject the narrative that the attacks on Christian communities across the country as 'farmers/herdsmen clash.' The federal government has been so immersed in this false propaganda and deceit while forcefully pushing the policy idea of establishing cattle ranches/colonies on the ancestral farming lands of the attacked communities for the Fulani herdsmen as the only solution to the problem," the press release declared, accusing the government of also pushing such a narrative. "How can it be a clash when one group is persistently attacking, killing, maiming, destroying; and the other group is persistently being killed, maimed and their places of worship destroyed? How can it be a clash when the herdsmen are hunting farmers in their own villages/communities and farmers are running for their lives?" the church leaders asked. "How can it be a clash when the herdsmen are the predators and the inhabitant/indigenous farmers are the prey? Until we call a disease by its real name and causatives, it would be difficult to properly diagnose the disease for the right curative medications." There have been different reports on the number of Christians killed in Nigeria since the start of the year. The International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, stated on Tuesday that a combined total of 1,750 Christians, along with non-Muslims, have been killed both by the Fulani herdsmen, and by Boko Haram radicals, who are a separate terror group. Intersociety also warned of a genocide in its statement. "Nigeria is drifting to [a path of] genocide through killing, maiming, burning and destruction of churches and other sacred places of worship, and forceful seizure and occupation of ancestral, worship, farming and dwelling lands of the indigenous Christians and other indigenous religionists in Northern Nigeria," it said. Roman Catholic Bishop William Avenya of Gboko separately told charity Aid to the Church in Need that the world cannot wait for a full-on genocide before deciding to intervene. "Please don't make the same mistake as was made with the genocide in Rwanda," he pleaded, referring to the massacre of Tutsi people in Rwanda, where close to 1 million were killed in 1994. "It happened beneath our noses, but no one stopped it. And we know well how that ended," Avenya said. |
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