News

• 16 October 2015
  ASIA/SYRIA - Fifty Christians in Qaryatayn held hostage by jihadists have been released Damascus (Agenzia Fides) - At least fifty Christians in Qaryatayn taken hostage last August by jihadists of the Islamic State (Daesh) were released on Sunday 11 October, and were able to return to the villages of Zaydal ...
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  16 October 2015
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - Caritas Jerusalem: pilgrimages cancelled due to the blocks in the neighborhoods of the Holy City Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - All the security measures which have taken place by the Israeli authorities in Jerusalem - especially those inside the Old City - are causing the cancellation of pilgrimages, "which means the ...
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  16 October 2015
  EUROPE/SPAIN - The redemption of rights: day for the eradication of poverty Seville (Agenzia Fides) - On October 17 in Andalucía, as in the rest of Spain and the world people and organizations will mobilize to collect and launch proposals for Human Rights, in order to have a sustainable world, ...
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  15 October 2015
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Over 1400 cases of blasphemy in a year Karachi (Agenzia Fides) - In 2014, 1,400 cases of blasphemy were registered in Pakistan: it is a peak, compared with the trend of recent years, which reveals a very worrying situation. This was reported by senior lawyer ...
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  15 October 2015
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - New arrests and violence against Christians for alleged blasphemy Lahore (Agenzia Fides) – The arrests of Christians falsely accused of blasphemy continues. According to new cases one of the victims is the young Christian Naveed John, 24, accused and arrested in Sargodha, Punjab. Ac ...
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  15 October 2015
  ASIA/HOLY LAND - Religious leaders and Shimon Peres against sectarian violence Tel Aviv (Agenzia Fides) - The leaders of different faith communities and religious traditions met former Israeli President Shimon Peres to talk about the escalation of violence that is bloodying the Holy Land again. The ...
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  15 October 2015
  EUROPE/SERBIA - Rigid temperatures and difficult conditions for refugees Presevo (Agenzia Fides) - According to data collected by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at the end of September the number of people emigrated between Turkey and Greece reached 7,000 a day. The rough ...
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  15 October 2015
  AMERICA/ECUADOR - Spanish missionary in Ecuador turns 100 on World Mission Day Los Rios (Agenzia Fides) - His Exc. Mgr. Bittor Garaygordobil, Bishop Emeritus of Los Ríos (Ecuador), one of the first eight missionary priests of the Basque dioceses of Spain, on October 17 turns 100 on the eve of Worl ...
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  15 October 2015
  AMERICA/BOLIVIA - The Maryknoll Mission Center has been offering missionaries a valuable service for half a century Cochabamba (Agenzia Fides) - The Maryknoll Mission Center is 50 years old. Best known as the CMM, the center was created thanks to the missionary work of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, who in 1965 founded the Padres ...
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  15 October 2015
  ASIA/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Minister of Culture to Christians in Abu Dhabi: "We have learned a lot from you" Abu Dhabi (Agenzia Fides) - Sheikh Nayan bin Mubarak al Nayan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development of the UAE, spoke at the ceremony organized on the occasion of the completion of the restoration of the ...
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  15 October 2015
  AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - Food crisis: there are no basic social services Harare (Agenzia Fides) - In Zimbabwe there is a new food emergency. The UN estimates that more than 1.5 million Zimbabweans, 16% of the population, need urgent help. The southern regions are in particular at risk, where ...
• 15 October 2015
  AFRICA/TANZANIA - Resignation of Bishop of Mtwara and appointment of successor Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On 15 October 2015 the Holy Father accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Mtwara (Tanzania), presented by Mgr. Gabriel Mmol, in accordance with can. 401 § 1 of t ...
• 15 October 2015
  AFRICA/MALAWI - Appointment of the Bishop of Zomba Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On 15 October 2015 the Holy Father appointed Rev. Fr. George Desmond Tambala, O.C.D., General Definitor of the PP. Discalced Carmelites as Bishop of the diocese of Zomba (Malawi). Rev. Fr. ...
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  14 October 2015
  ASIA/PAKISTAN - Peace and prosperity, the duty of every citizen Faisalabad (Agenzia Fides) - "Every Pakistani citizen has a responsibility and a key role in building peace in Pakistan": said His Exc. Bishop Joseph Arshad, Bishop of Faisalabad, speaking at a recent seminar dedicated t ...
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  14 October 2015
  ASIA/INDIA - Hindu extremists demand an anti-conversion law in Jharkhand Ranchi (Agenzia Fides) - Hindu extremist groups have begun a campaign to promote the adoption of a new "anti-conversion law" in the Indian state of Jharkhand, in north central India. As Fides learns, after the news of th ...