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Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: ASIA/SYRIA – Relatives of former IS fighters are returning to Raqqa

Raqqa – The Kurdish Alliance of Democratic Forces of Syria, which controls northeast Syria, has ordered the release of about 400 families of former Islamic State militants from the Al Hol prison camp and their return to the city of Raqqa, a city that for a long time, during the years of conflict, was the main stronghold of Daesh in Syria. The release of families of Syrian IS members was motivated by the overcrowding of the camp, in which living conditions are becoming increasingly unbearable and where serious acts of violence occur again and again. Most of the relatives released from the Al Hol prison camp are widows and children of jihadists who were killed during the long conflict.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: AFRICA/ALGERIA – Archbishop of Algiers: “We are a Church dedicated to encounter and brotherhood”

Algiers – “The Church of Algeria dates back to the 2nd century, with its martyrs and Saint Augustine. It is a church that lives with and for its mostly Muslim fellow men. In the footsteps of Archbishop Henri Teissier, it will continue to be a Church of encounter, at the service of brotherhood with and for all. As I wrote in our diocesan magazine, “Rencontres”, December 8th was the day on which our brother Henri’s body returned to the land he loved and served, a great sign of brotherhood in the sky of Oran almost exactly two years after the beatification of our nineteen martyrs”, said Mgr. Paul Desfarges, Archbishop of Algiers, in an interview with Agenzia Fides about the Church in Algeria, the death of Archbishop Henri Teissier and the celebration of the second anniversary of the beatification of the 19 martyrs of Algeria . This is how the Archbishop recalls Mgr. Teissier: “He was a brother to me. He opened and paved a way and we will continue down the same path. Bishop Jean-Paul Vesco described him in the newspaper “La Croix” as “the twentieth blessed”. He could have been with the other 19 during the wave of violence that devastated Algeria and killed them. But he was allowed to continue to accompany his church through the difficulties and help her to remain firm in the faith, in the sign of forgiveness and peace, connected with the people with whom she had a terrible fate. Days full of emotions showed the brotherhood that connects the two Mediterranean coasts from Lyon to Algiers via Marseille. In these moments everyone could hear and experience the happiness of the Beatitudes. The kingdom of a brotherhood was felt that transcends any culture and religion and is really universal”.

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: NEWS ANALYSIS – For a “new economy”: tax havens must be abolished

Rome – “The abolition of tax havens is an absolute priority as they are an inequality tool that the weakest countries always pay for. In 2013, the Credit Suisse bank released a chart known as the ‘Pyramid of Inequality’, showing that 91.7 % of the world’s population only had access to 17% of the wealth this year, while 0.7% of the population reached 41%. This picture, which already seems pretty merciless, has actually become an almost benevolent representation, because from 2013 until today Inequality between rich and poor, between those who do not pay taxes and those who are harassed is actually widening. It is therefore clear how necessary a fiscal pact is: it would redistribute wealth and create a system of putting money back into circulation. We always hear that there is a lack of resources, but the reality is that there is an estimated $ 21,000 to $ 36,000 billion hidden in tax havens. A solid fiscal policy based on progressive taxation would make it possible to put all this wealth back into circulation and use it for the production of common goods”.This is what Nicoletta Dentico, expert in international cooperation and global health explains to Agenzia Fides, offering a reflection on the strategies and meaures to be taken to build the “new economy” promoted by the “The Economy of Francesco” initiative. [ – continues]

Source: Agenzia Fides – MIL OSI

Headline: AFRICA/IVORY COAST – Church media work in times of Covid

Abidjan – The first ordinary session of the Episcopal Social Media Commission of 2021 met in Yamoussoukro from January 11th to 14th. About a dozen communication officers from the dioceses and employees of the local church media emphasized the negative effects of the outbreak of the Covid 19 pandemic on media work. The focus of the conference was the future of the two most important Catholic media, the Catholic radio station RNC, and television of the Catholic Church of the Ivory Coast, Ecclésia TV. “We discussed the management of our facilities since the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic and asked ourselves: what have we achieved, what have we achieved so far, what alternatives have we found so that our radios, our televisions, our newspapers and magazines work?”, said to Fides Fr. Augustin Obrou, National Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Commission for social media. Questions that, according to Fr. Obrou, were answered in the innovations brought about by a restructuring of the programs and editorial offices, as the media today must offer a new way to carry out their mission in times of pandemic and to be close to the faithful to maintain. For this reason, programs have been expanded above all, which enable dialogue with the faithful and listening, and programs with the transmission of masses and moments of prayer have been added. At the end of the meeting, the Chairman of the Episcopal Media Commission, Bishop Raymond Ahoua of Grand-Bassam, saidon January 14th: “I think everyone should preserve our identity and pursue specific goals. We are not in competition with other media and therefore we must remain calm”.