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05 Apr 2022
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Pope Francis to visit Lebanon in June: Statement

April 5, 2022

Pope Francis will visit Lebanon in June, the Lebanese presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.The Vatican’s ambassador to Lebanon informed President Michel Aoun, according to the statement.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.An exact date will be set in the coming weeks. “The Lebanese people await Pope Francis’s visit to express their gratitude for [the Pope’s] interest in Lebanon and to thank him for the initiatives and prayers he has carried out for peace and stability in the country,” Aoun said.The Lebanese president was in Rome last month, where he met with the pope.The pope has repeatedly expressed a desire to visit Lebanon, which is facing one of the worst economic crashes in history. Pope Francis made a historic visit to Iraq last year.Read more: US announces $64 mln in emergency food aid for struggling Lebanon
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Pope Francis to visit Lebanon in June: Statement

05 Apr 2022
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Zelenskyy tells UN to ‘act immediately’ on Russia or close

April 5, 2022

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy challenged the United Nations to “act immediately” or “dissolve yourself altogether” during a blistering address in which he showed a harrowing video of dead bodies - including children - he said were victims of Russian atrocities.Likening Russia’s actions in Ukrainian cities such as Bucha to violence carried out by “terrorists” such as ISIS, Zelenskyy called on the 15-member council, which aims to ensure international peace and security, to expel Russia “so it cannot block decisions about its own aggression, its own war.”Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, has a veto, which it has repeatedly wielded to block resolutions and negotiations on the global stage.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.“If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be dissolve yourself altogether,” Zelenskyy continued.The United Nations could be “simply closed,” he said. “Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to close the UN? And the time of international law is gone? If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately.”Bearded and dressed in his now trademark military green T-shirt, Zelensyky gave a chilling rendition of the atrocities he said were carried out by Russian troops against civilians in Bucha, a town outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and aired the graphic video showing dead bodies, including several children.“They were killed in their apartments, houses, blowing up grenades, civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for their pleasure. They cut off limbs... slashed their throats,” he said.“Women were raped and killed in front of their children, their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressors did not hear what they wanted to hear from them.” “So this is no different from other terrorists such as [ISIS] who occupied some territory, and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council,” he said.“Accountability must be inevitable,” he said, adding that “hundreds of thousands” of Ukrainians had also been deported to Russia.UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the meeting by warning of the global fallout from the conflict, with soaring food, energy and fertilizer prices affecting up to 1.2 billion people in 74 countries.“The war in Ukraine must stop - now,” Guterres told the Council, after calling it “one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order.”“We need serious negotiations for peace, based on the principles of the United Nations Charter,” he said.UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths is also due to update the body after his recent visit to Moscow.Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, sparking outrage across the world and displacing millions of Ukrainians.Read more:Czech Republic sends tanks, infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine: SourcePutin says Russia will ‘monitor’ food exports to ‘hostile’ countriesRussia waged deliberate campaign to commit atrocities in Bucha: Blinken
Source: Al Arabiya
Full Article: Zelenskyy tells UN to ‘act immediately’ on Russia or close