The pontiff did not specifically name the president during his speech in Cameroon. He sharply criticized those who manipulate religion “for their own military, economic or political gain.” Source link
Budapest has accused Kyiv of deliberately blocking progress on repairing the infrastructure in order to engineer an energy crisis in the Hungary. In response, Hungarian Prime Viktor Orbán has been blocking the release of a €90 billion tranche of EU funding for Ukraine needed to keep the war-torn country financially afloat. On Thursday, the European Commission proposed sending a fact-finding mission to inspect the damage to the Druzhba pipeline in an attempt to resolve the dispute. “If we have decided to restore Russian oil supplies, then I want them to know that I am against it. … But if I am given conditions that Ukraine will not receive weapons, then, excuse me, I am powerless on this issue; I told our friends in Europe that this is called blackmail,” Zelenskyy said in reported remarks. The price of oil has surged passed $100 a barrel in recent days due to disruptions linked to the war in Iran, which began with American-Israeli strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28. Washington has eased sanctions on certain Russian oil consignments …
The Biennale of Sydney, the most important biennial in the Pacific region, denied discrimination in its current edition after some members of Australia’s Jewish community repeatedly claimed that curator Hoor Al Qasimi had selected for participants with anti-Zionist politics. One prominent Jewish group, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, had initially been invited to preview the Biennale ahead of its public opening this weekend. “If there are works with a pro-Palestinian bias, fine,” president David Ossip told the Australian Financial Review in a report from February that labeled the invitation a “peace offering.” “But I will call it out if they are not balanced with anything from another point of view.” Related Articles But on Wednesday, after the Biennale opened to the press, that same publication reported that Ossip’s group had declined to attend the show’s preview. He said that the group had done so not because of any art in the show, but because it was “disappointed that further issues have since emerged involving objectionable social media activity by certain participating artists.” The Australian …
The “extermination” of the Palestinian people must end, the chairman of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, has said, as dozens of heads of state gather for the regional body’s 39th summit in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. “In the Middle East, Palestine and the suffering of its people also challenge our consciences. The extermination of this people must stop,” said Youssouf, who was elected to head the institution a year ago, declared on Saturday. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list The annual meeting is expected to focus on ruinous wars and security in the region as well as governance challenges around the world, threats to democracy and climate change, including water sanitation and water‑linked climate shocks. “International law and international humanitarian law are the basis of the international community,” Youssouf added, as he called for the lifting of the Israeli blockade of humanitarian goods into the besieged Palestinian territory. Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 72,045 people and wounded 171,686 since October 2023, and continues despite a “ceasefire”. Youssouf …
Diplomat Carlos de Cossio says US fuel embargo harms Cuba’s medical services, food production and standard of living. Listen to this article | 3 mins info Cuban diplomat Carlos de Cossio has accused the United States of imposing collective punishment on his country as the administration of President Donald Trump ramps up pressure to choke the Caribbean island’s access to oil. In a post on X on Friday, de Cossio, who serves as Cuba’s deputy foreign minister, described the situation from Havana’s perspective. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list “To be clear: a. Cuba requires importing fuel. b.The US is applying threats & coercive measures to any country that provides it. c. Lack of fuel harms transportation, medical services, schooling, energy, production of food, the standard of living. d. Massive punishment is a crime,” he wrote. The Fourth Geneva Convention says that “collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited” under international law. Cuba relied heavily on oil imports from Venezuela, which have been cut off after the abduction of …
Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose Wagner Moura-starring The Secret Agent just earned four Oscar nominations, including for best picture, has spoken out against the “outdated way” sometimes followed in film industry casting that concentrates on the look of people considered for a role. “It’s not about good looks,” he said. “It’s about something else.” Mendonça Filho made the comments during a “Big Talk” Saturday evening that also featured Spanish director Carla Simón (Romería, Alcarràs) during the 55th edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). “Every time we are looking for people to work in a film, the casting process, that’s when you open a window and begin to understand the pressures that come from the industry,” the Brazilian director said. “Because there are agencies,” and TV series, other players and input that you are asked to consider. “There is a lot of pressure on us making a film to accept, to look at certain actors for certain roles,” he said. “The pressure doesn’t necessarily work on us, but it is a little tense.” Argued Mendonça Filho: “There …
A resident holds an image of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado during a celebration in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday, after U.S. forces seized Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro. Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Cristobal Olivares/Bloomberg via Getty Images BOGOTÁ, Colombia — Venezuela’s political opposition remains largely muzzled and shut out of power. Although authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro was seized by U.S. forces in Caracas over the weekend, his authoritarian regime remains in place. Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, is now interim president. Pro-regime figures continue to run the security forces, government ministries, statehouses and most city halls around the country. The government has decreed a 90-day state of emergency that empowers security forces to capture “any person involved in the promotion or support” of the U.S. military operation. Just as under Maduro, there is almost no room for dissent in Venezuela. Speaking to NPR by phone from Caracas, Guanipa said: “The atmosphere is very authoritarian.” The sudden turn of events has left the country’s opposition activists — most of whom …
This article is republished from National Review with the permission of the author. Fetal personhood is a controversial issue that deserves respectful debate. But the New England Journal of Medicine just published a screed by two Ph.D.s associating its advocates with past slave-holding racists and — by strong implication — devaluing unborn human life as having zero intrinsic value. First, the article claims that pregnancy has been “criminalized.” From, “Fetal Personhood and Reproductive Criminalization” (citations omitted): Fetal personhood ideology is the underlying force behind abortion bans and restrictions, the prosecution of pregnant women because of conduct deemed potentially harmful to the fetus, and fetal homicide laws that allow a fetus to be treated as the victim of a crime. As a result of this ideology being embedded in state laws and judicial decisions, states have subjected women to investigation, arrest, prosecution, incarceration, civil confinement, and other deprivations of liberty because of their pregnancy. Most pregnancy-criminalization cases are related to prenatal substance use, despite the medical consensus that substance use disorder is a medical condition that requires health care …
