The Pakistani government on Sunday approved a monsoon campaign which aims to plant more than 100 million saplings across the nation. Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid accorded the approval of what is called the Green Pakistan Programme at a meeting in which targets suggested by various government entities and non-governmental organizations were evaluated and discussed. Spokesman for the Ministry of Climate Change, Mohammad Saleem later told media that a ceremony would be held in August to launch a full-fledged monsoon plantation campaign sponsored by the federal minister for Climate Change. He explained that the various entities have already made preparations for kicking off the monsoon plantation with enough stocks of saplings in nurseries in various parts of the country.Trees mitigate impact of floodSaleem explained that the government was committed to boosting the country’s forest cover in order to mitigate the impact of floods in the most eff...
The Pakistani government on Sunday approved a monsoon campaign which aims to plant more than 100 million saplings across the nation. Minister for Climate Change Zahid Hamid accorded the approval of what is called the Green Pakistan Programme at a meeting in which targets suggested by various government entities and non-governmental organizations were evaluated and discussed.
Spokesman for the Ministry of Climate Change, Mohammad Saleem later told media that a ceremony would be held in August to launch a full-fledged monsoon plantation campaign sponsored by the federal minister for Climate Change. He explained that the various entities have already made preparations for kicking off the monsoon plantation with enough stocks of saplings in nurseries in various parts of the country.
Trees mitigate impact of flood
Saleem explained that the government was committed to boosting the country’s forest cover in order to mitigate the impact of floods in the most effective way. In this task all provincial and federal government organizations, educational institutes, corporate sector, the NGOs and media were being approached and engaged.
According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) forests hold back flood water by nearly 72 hours. Forests reduce intensity of the deluge water, lower chances of deaths and damages to roads, building infrastructures, bridges as well as standing crops from being washed away or wiped out, the spokesman for the Ministry for Climate Change explained. He said the 4-month long monsoon season was the best time for the growth of the country’s forest cover as the wet season provided the much needed rain water for the saplings to grow fast and take a strong grip on the soil.
The Catholic diocese in India’s troubled Jammu and Kashmir state has launched a programme to educate young people on the need for peace on the Indian side of the India-Pakistan border where hostilities between the two countries have killed hundreds of people. India-Pakistan rivalry since partitionJammu-Srinagar Diocese covers the entire state, of which the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since the partition by the British between the two nations 1947, and over which the two nuclear-armed rivals have fought at least three major wars. The border between the two countries in Kashmir is one of the world’s heavily militarized, with frequent cross-fire shelling between them. The peace project of Jammu-Srinagar Diocese is "an effort to foster friendship and oneness by accepting that we belong to one human family," explained Father Saiju Chacko, director of Catholic Social Service Soci...
The Catholic diocese in India’s troubled Jammu and Kashmir state has launched a programme to educate young people on the need for peace on the Indian side of the India-Pakistan border where hostilities between the two countries have killed hundreds of people.
India-Pakistan rivalry since partition
Jammu-Srinagar Diocese covers the entire state, of which the Muslim-majority Kashmir Valley has been claimed by both India and Pakistan since the partition by the British between the two nations 1947, and over which the two nuclear-armed rivals have fought at least three major wars. The border between the two countries in Kashmir is one of the world’s heavily militarized, with frequent cross-fire shelling between them.
The peace project of Jammu-Srinagar Diocese is "an effort to foster friendship and oneness by accepting that we belong to one human family," explained Father Saiju Chacko, director of Catholic Social Service Society, the social service wing of Jammu-Srinagar Diocese. The project funded by Caritas India called "Maitri Abhiyan" (peace movement), focuses on school children. "So far, we have 12 schools from Jammu and in border areas…,” project coordinator, M. Tongpang Longchar told UCANEWS. "We also provide a platform for children to explore diversity and encourage relations within and across the region," he said.
Kashmir seccionist movement
Besides cross-border tensions, India’s Kashmir Valley has been embroiled in a violent secessionist movement. In the last 30 years, an estimated 100,000 people have died in Jammu and Kashmir, including civilians, militants and army personnel, after groups began an armed struggle for freedom from Indian rule or to merge with neighboring Pakistan. Separatist violence and street protests have surged in Kashmir since July last year after security forces killed a popular separatist commander. Separatists accuse Indian forces of rights abuses.
Mutual love
Deepak Kumar, an eighth grader from Kristu Jyoti School in Samba, said programmes associated with the projects are fun to attend because besides lectures they also include exhibitions and essay competitions and painting. "We only will achieve success when we love each other irrespective of religion, caste and creed. This is what I have learnt from these programmes," he said.
According to Father Premful Tigga, assistant director of the social service wing, 30-35 children from various schools are grouped under teachers to help them discuss and share their knowledge and experience of peace. Currently they are focusing on high school students to form such "peace clubs," Father Tigga told UCANEWS.
Longchar said a major challenge is to make school principals understand the need for such a project because they are already pressed for time to finish their routine syllabus. "Disturbances along the Indo-Pak border often results in school shutdowns, which are slowing the project flow. But I hope we will be able to overcome some of these challenges," he added. (Source: UCANEWS)
By Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on Muslims andJews in the Holy Land to "moderation and dialogue" as tensionscontinued around a key site in Jerusalem that is sacred to members of bothfaiths.After reciting the Angelus July 23, the pope asked peoplegathered in St. Peter's Square for the midday prayer to join him in asking theLord to inspire reconciliation and peace in the region.Tensions in Jerusalem have been high since July 14 whenthree Israeli Arabs armed with knives and guns killed two Israeli policeofficers at an entrance to the site the Jews call Temple Mount and the Muslims call Haram al-Sharif.The site includes the Western Wall and Al Aqsa mosque.In his main Angelus talk, Pope Francis spoke about theparable of the weeds among the wheat from the Sunday Gospel reading.The farmer in the parable from the Gospel of Matthew tellshis workers not to pull up all the weeds because they might uproot the wheat,but to wait until the harvest when the wheat and weeds...
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called on Muslims and
Jews in the Holy Land to "moderation and dialogue" as tensions
continued around a key site in Jerusalem that is sacred to members of both
faiths.
After reciting the Angelus July 23, the pope asked people
gathered in St. Peter's Square for the midday prayer to join him in asking the
Lord to inspire reconciliation and peace in the region.
Tensions in Jerusalem have been high since July 14 when
three Israeli Arabs armed with knives and guns killed two Israeli police
officers at an entrance to the site the Jews call Temple Mount and the Muslims call Haram al-Sharif.
The site includes the Western Wall and Al Aqsa mosque.
In his main Angelus talk, Pope Francis spoke about the
parable of the weeds among the wheat from the Sunday Gospel reading.
The farmer in the parable from the Gospel of Matthew tells
his workers not to pull up all the weeds because they might uproot the wheat,
but to wait until the harvest when the wheat and weeds can be separated.
"With this image, Jesus tells us that in this world
good and evil are so intertwined that it is impossible to separate them and
eradicate all the evil -- only God can do that," the pope said.
Human beings are called to the "difficult exercise of
discernment" in choosing between good and what is evil, he said, and when
they fail -- which all people do sometimes -- the church stands ready to help
with the grace of baptism and of confession.
Like the farmer in the parable, the pope said, God calls
Christians to be patient as they await the harvest.
"Patience means preferring a church that is leaven in
the dough, that is not afraid of getting its hands dirty washing the clothes of
its children, rather than being a church of the 'pure,' who insist on judging
beforehand who is in the kingdom of God and who isn't."
NEW YORK (AP) -- Print outlets like The New York Times and Washington Post have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with cable television news over a string of bombshell stories about the Trump administration. It's a news war with a twist....
NEW YORK (AP) -- Print outlets like The New York Times and Washington Post have developed a mutually beneficial relationship with cable television news over a string of bombshell stories about the Trump administration. It's a news war with a twist....
BERLIN (AP) -- A man armed with a chainsaw wounded five people at a health insurer's office Monday in the northern Swiss city of Schaffhausen, police said, triggering a manhunt for a suspect described as aggressive and psychologically unstable....
BERLIN (AP) -- A man armed with a chainsaw wounded five people at a health insurer's office Monday in the northern Swiss city of Schaffhausen, police said, triggering a manhunt for a suspect described as aggressive and psychologically unstable....
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner denied Monday that he colluded with Russians in the course of President Donald Trump's White House bid, declaring in a statement ahead of interviews with congressional committees that he has "nothing to hide."...
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner denied Monday that he colluded with Russians in the course of President Donald Trump's White House bid, declaring in a statement ahead of interviews with congressional committees that he has "nothing to hide."...
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The driver of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants outside a Walmart in San Antonio was charged Monday in the deaths of 10 of his passengers and could face the death penalty....
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The driver of a broiling tractor-trailer found packed with immigrants outside a Walmart in San Antonio was charged Monday in the deaths of 10 of his passengers and could face the death penalty....
(Vatican Radio) There is serious concern in Italy as soaring temperatures and a lack of rain deplete vital water sources which could lead to water rationing for Romans.Listen to this report: Walk along the cobbled streets of Rome and you’re sure to find a fountain which supplies fresh drinking water to Romans and tourists alike. These fountains don’t have taps to stem the flow and now risk being turned off as searing heat and a lack of rain dry up vital water sources.Meteorologists say that Italy had one of its driest springs in 60 years and rainfalls in some parts of the country have been 80 per cent below normal. Rome had just 26 days of rain in the first six months of this year.It’s a disaster for agriculture in the country which has so far suffered 2 billion euro worth of damage. And if that weren’t enough, Italy is also grappling with a series of forest fires which also need gallons of water in order to be brought under control.The lack of w...
(Vatican Radio) There is serious concern in Italy as soaring temperatures and a lack of rain deplete vital water sources which could lead to water rationing for Romans.
Listen to this report:
Walk along the cobbled streets of Rome and you’re sure to find a fountain which supplies fresh drinking water to Romans and tourists alike. These fountains don’t have taps to stem the flow and now risk being turned off as searing heat and a lack of rain dry up vital water sources.
Meteorologists say that Italy had one of its driest springs in 60 years and rainfalls in some parts of the country have been 80 per cent below normal. Rome had just 26 days of rain in the first six months of this year.
It’s a disaster for agriculture in the country which has so far suffered 2 billion euro worth of damage. And if that weren’t enough, Italy is also grappling with a series of forest fires which also need gallons of water in order to be brought under control.
The lack of water in Rome and beyond has lawmakers extremely worried. The governor of the Lazio region, Nicola Zingaretti, which includes the Eternal City, spoke of the seriousness of the situation.
He said he has ordered no more water to be drawn from Lake Bracciano, which supplies some parts of the Italian capital, because the decreasing water levels pose a clear and present danger to the lakes’ aquatic life.
As the soaring temperatures continue and the country prays for rain, Romans could well see water rationing as early as this week.
(Vatican Radio) Residents of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo have staged a week-long silent protest intended to send a message to the kidnappers of two Catholic priests kidnapped Sunday 16 July from a parish of Bunyuka. Activity in the area came to a complete standstill as residents shunned farms and public spaces. Silence marked entire villages. It was the least they could do in the face of all manner of gunmen.Bishop Sikuli Paluku Melchisédech of Butembo-Beni, who confirmed the silent protest to Vatican Radio said that Fathers Charles Kipasa and Jean-Pierre Akilimali, parish priest and assistant respectively, were abducted on the night of Sunday 16 July from their parish house of Marie Reine des Anges de Bunyuka by “men in uniform.”“It is with great sadness that we inform you that Fathers Charles Kipasa and Jean-Pierre Akilimali, respectively parish priest and vicar of Marie Reine des Anges de Bunyuka were abducted on Sunday around 9 pm by...
(Vatican Radio) Residents of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo have staged a week-long silent protest intended to send a message to the kidnappers of two Catholic priests kidnapped Sunday 16 July from a parish of Bunyuka. Activity in the area came to a complete standstill as residents shunned farms and public spaces. Silence marked entire villages. It was the least they could do in the face of all manner of gunmen.
Bishop Sikuli Paluku Melchisédech of Butembo-Beni, who confirmed the silent protest to Vatican Radio said that Fathers Charles Kipasa and Jean-Pierre Akilimali, parish priest and assistant respectively, were abducted on the night of Sunday 16 July from their parish house of Marie Reine des Anges de Bunyuka by “men in uniform.”
“It is with great sadness that we inform you that Fathers Charles Kipasa and Jean-Pierre Akilimali, respectively parish priest and vicar of Marie Reine des Anges de Bunyuka were abducted on Sunday around 9 pm by a group of ‘men in uniform,’” Bishop Melchisédech said in a statement.
The kidnap was accompanied by the looting of two parish vehicles, two motorcycles and several goods of the parish. The vehicles were later found dumped in the forest along the Karuruma road. The motorcycles are thought to have been used to spirit away the two priests.
Soon after the abduction of Fathers Kipasa and Akilimali, some parishioners rang the Church bell, and the faithful who rushed to the parish house started a silent protest against extreme insecurity in the area. All of last week since the abduction, both Catholics and ordinary residents simply stayed at home and did not go to their fields.
Catholic Bishops under DRC’s Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo (CENCO) have appealed for the immediate release of the priests. Bishop Melchisédech of Butembo-Beni urged the faithful to persevere in prayer for peace and security.
“We strongly condemn this kidnapping of priests and ask that they be released immediately without delay so that they can fulfil their pastoral mission. We ask all the faithful of the diocese and people of good will to remain vigilant and to persevere in prayer for the peace and security of all in our Province of North Kivu,” said Bishop Melchisédech.
According to the local publication, BeniLubero Online, which documents in very graphic terms, atrocities in the area, the abduction of the priests recalls another case of the kind that occurred in October 2012 in Mbau. Three Assumptionist Catholic priests abducted at the time have never been found.
Founder of the Online publication, BeniLubero Online, Fr. Vincent Machozi was killed in Bukavu by gunmen in March 2016. In December 2016, a Franciscan religious sister, Sr. Marie-Claire Kahambu of South Kivu was stabbed several times and killed, during the day, as she worked in her office at a girls’ training centre.
It is not just priests and the religious that are victims of the violence in Congo’s Kivu area. The local civilian population bears the brunt of most of the violence as BeniLubero attests. Workers of Faith Based and humanitarian organisations such as Caritas have also not been spared.
