EU launches debit cards for refugees in Turkey

Yahoo – AFP, September 26, 2016

European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos
 Stylianides (L) delivers a speech next to Turkey’s EU Minister Omer Celik (R)
during a joint press conference following their meeting on September 26, 2016
(AFP Photo/Adem Altan)

Ankara (AFP) - The European Union on Monday launched a scheme worth almost 350 million euros providing mainly Syrian refugees in Turkey with pre-paid debit cards, the biggest project yet under a landmark deal between the bloc and Ankara.

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Christos Stylianides, in Ankara for the start of the programme, said the debit cards will help give vulnerable refugees a "sense of normality" in their lives.

The refugees will be able to use the cards in shops or institutions to pay for food, education, housing and clothing or also to withdraw cash from ATMs.

Each card will be automatically topped up with 100 Turkish lira ($33.50) a month, giving people the chance to choose their own purchases.

Stylianides said the programme was an "unprecedented response" to an "unprecedented crisis".

"This (scheme) is, in our humanitarian field, a game-changer in the delivery of humanitarian aid. Refugees can choose what they spend money on."

Turkey is home to some three million refugees, most of them Syrian. The vast majority live in cities without direct support from non-governmental organisations and aid groups.

Supported with 348 million euros ($392 million) from Brussels and its member states, the scheme will be rolled out by Turkish Red Crescent and the UN World Food Programme supported by the Turkish authorities.

Applications will start in October for the scheme. Families who have children going to school will receive more cash. All refugees registered in Turkey, including Iraqis, are eligible to apply.

Stylianides suggested that the programme would also benefit Turks.

"The money will be spent in local shops, boosting local businesses and encouraging social cohesion between citizens and refugees."

The project is part of a six billion euro ($6.75 billion) deal struck in March between Brussels and Ankara to curb the migrant influx into Europe, which saw more than a million arrive in the EU last year.

There have been fears the deal could collapse with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan complaining that the promised money was not handed directly to Turkey.

In exchange for cutting the flow, Brussels also offered Turkey visa liberalisation for its citizens to visit EU countries in the Schengen area as well as accelerated membership talks.

But Ankara has threatened to withdraw from the agreement if Europe does not allow visa-free travel for Turks by next month, though the numbers coming to Europe have dropped significantly since March.

In Tibet, religious freedom with Chinese characteristics

Yahoo – AFP, Ludovic Ehret, September 22, 2016

Pilgrims spin their prayer wheels outside the Jokhang Temple in the regional capital
Lhasa, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

The sun has yet to rise over Lhasa, but dozens of colourfully dressed pilgrims are already gathered and reciting prayers at the entrance to Jokhang, the most sacred temple in Tibetan Buddhism.

Many of those gathered -- Tibetans and Han Chinese visitors -- say religion is flourishing under Beijing's rule, with adherents enjoying the freedoms they need to follow their faith.

But this sense of freedom does not extend to the men who live inside the monasteries, analysts and monks say.

Their lives and their movements are heavily regulated by a government eager to avoid any hint of disobedience in the restive region which, although technically autonomous, is tightly controlled by Beijing.

"We are not free," said a 33-year-old monk from the neighbouring province of Sichuan. AFP is not naming the man.

"To get into Tibet from another province, you need a certificate with your name, address and identity card number.

"Everything has to be stamped by the monastery, the Bureau of Religious Affairs and the police," he said outside the Jokhang monastery.

Nearby, groups of policemen -- some from Tibet itself -- are discreetly patrolling, some holding walkie-talkies and others guns.

A monk is seen outside the Jokhang Temple in the regional capital Lhasa, in 

China's Tibet Autonomous Region (AFP Photo/Johannes Eisele)

This area of the capital is calm for now, but authorities are not taking any chances. In 2008 it was the site of deadly riots which erupted following protests by monks against Beijing's rule in the region.

The government clamped down after a period of violence against non-Tibetans, in particular the Han Chinese -- who remain a minority in Tibet.

Faith is an integral element of Tibetan identity and nationalism and is therefore perceived as a potential threat to the authority of the Chinese state, explained Kate Saunders of the US-based NGO International Campaign for Tibet.

'Keep your mouth shut'

Some ordinary Tibetans dismiss the idea their religious freedom is being curtailed.

"I come here morning and night. I have never had any problem," the 31-year-old Tibetan taxi driver Zangmai says at the temple.

"I've been praying here since I was about five or six, and one day I'll bring my son here too," he adds as he throws dried grass into a large incense burner, which belches out grey smoke.

For Zhaxi Nima, a 37-year-old Tibetan pilgrim whose left leg is amputated below the knee, faith remains an integral part of his routine.

A pilgrim (L) is seen walking past a paramilitary police patrol outside the Jokhang

 Temple, in the regional capital Lhasa, in China's Tibet Autonomous Region (AFP 

Photo/Johannes Eisele)

"Why do I come to pray, despite my handicap? Tibetans are just like that, it's our way of life," he explains.

It is not so simple for religious figures and institutions, experts say.

"Temples, monasteries... Of course, they are controlled," said Jens-Uwe Hartmann, a specialist in Buddhism at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and an expert on Tibet.

"What they are doing is very closely observed."

If religious leaders emerge who are not approved by the Chinese Communist Party, they simply disappear, Hartmann said, adding: "So you'd better keep your mouth shut."

Cultural dilution

Beijing says it "peacefully liberated" Tibet in 1951 and insists it has brought development to a previously backward region.

But many Tibetans accuse the Chinese government of exploiting natural resources, as well as promoting Han activities and business at the expense of locals and the environment.

They also accuse authorities of diluting their culture and faith as a way of exerting further influence.

China recently unveiled an initiative to get tens of millions more tourists to visit the region, and many of them wander through Jokhang along with the faithful.

Barkhor, the road around the temple that pilgrims walk in a clockwise direction as a sign of respect, displays little Chinese flags on the first floor of buildings. The street is dotted with shops and restaurants to cater to visitors from other regions.

Faith is an integral element of Tibetan identity and nationalism (AFP Photo/

Johannes Eisele)

"People's faith here is very impressive. It's not something you see anywhere else in China," says 22-year-old Peng Meng.

"In the rest of China, because of the Party, countless temples were destroyed," says a young Han, miming a fist coming down on a building.

"In Tibet, Buddhism is preserved," he adds, although many religious structures were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.

Wang Xiaobin of the China Tibetology Research Center, an official body based in Beijing, said monks were required to use travel certificates after a wave of self-immolation which began in 2009.

A total of 145 Tibetans, the majority of them monks, have set fire to themselves in the past seven years in protest against Beijing's rule and 117 of them have died, according to International Campaign for Tibet.

"Most of them came from Tibet's neighbouring provinces. And the regional government is worried that some of them are coming to self-immolate in Lhasa," Wang said.

"China recognises 'freedom of religious belief', not 'religious freedom'. Those are different things," he added.

"Clearly one has the right to believe, but there are limits to religious activity."

Philippine Govt Denies Duterte Gave Green Light for Mary Jane Veloso's Execution

Jakarta Globe, September 12, 2016

Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay Jr. has denied reports that
President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had given the green light for the Indonesian 
government to proceed with the execution of Philippine drug convict Mary
Jane Veloso, pictured. (Reuters Photo/Ignatius Eswe)

Jakarta. Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay Jr. has denied reports that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte had given the green light for the Indonesian government to proceed with the execution of Philippine drug convict Mary Jane Veloso.

"Yasay clarified further that never did Duterte give the green light to the execution of Veloso other than to tell the Indonesian president that he respects their judicial processes and will accept whatever the final decision they will arrive at regarding her case," the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday (12/09), as reported by the Philippine Star news outlet.

The statement was a response to President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's comment earlier on the same day that President Duterte apparently gave his permission for Indonesian authorities to execute Veloso, who was set to face the firing squad in April last year before a last-minute reprieve.

Jokowi said he explained to Duterte the case involving 31-year-old Veloso, who was caught with 2.6 kilograms of heroin at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta and that Attorney General H.M. Prasetyo will soon take further steps towards her execution.

Veloso's execution was put on hold last year because her testimony against alleged human trafficker Maria Christina Sergio was needed by the Philippine authorities.

During her trial, Veloso claimed that Sergio duped her into taking a suitcase to Indonesia after she lost her job in Malaysia. The suitcase was later found to have had drugs sewn into the lining.

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US President Barack Obama (left) and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte

 (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb, Manman Dejeto)

Former pope Benedict thanks God for retirement

Yahoo – AFP, September 8, 2016

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI at St Peter's basilica before the opening of the
 "Holy Door" by Pope Francis to mark the start of the Jubilee Year of Mercy
(AFP Photo/Vincenzo Pinto)

Berlin (AFP) - Retired pope Benedict XVI says he has no regrets about his 2013 decision to retire and thanks God for enabling him to recover his "freedom" from the responsibilities associated with leading the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

"I thank God that this responsibility, which I could no longer bear, no longer weighs upon me and that I can in all humility move forward with Him, that I can live with friends and friends can visit me more," Benedict, 89, says in an extract from "Final Conversations", a series of interviews with German journalist Peter Seewald.

In the work to appear Friday the former pontiff says that "of course it wasn't easy" to take the decision to become the first pope to retire in seven centuries.

But the erstwhile Joseph Ratzinger insisted that "it was the right moment" to step down.

He explained that the decision stemmed from a March 2012 visit to Mexico and Cuba during which he realised he no longer had the strength to oversee World Youth Day celebrations in Rio the following year.

After he stepped down it was successor Pope Francis who led celebrations for three million faithful on Copacabana Beach.

Seewald told German news weekly Die Zeit, in an article which appeared Thursday, that Ratzinger "fell in love... in a very serious way" as a student.

But his collection of interviews do not contain any revelations on the scandal of paedophile priests, although Ratzinger indicates that he would "deal with things straight away" if he did get wind of an issue that required action.

Benedict admitted he had initial reservations on the choice of Pope Francis, Argentine Jorge Bergoglio, to succeed him.

"I was uncertain to begin with. But then I saw how he speaks with God, with men -- and I was very happy."

He also told Seewald that he felt he himself had "perhaps not been enough among men" during his stewardship and found Francis' direct style of engagement "very good."

Even so, "I do of course ask myself how long he will keep it up... because that requires a lot of energy."

Lightning strikes St Peter's dome at Vatican on day

 the Pope announced resignation, by Filippo Monteforte

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Current" Events –  Apr 10, 2005 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

“… The Last and Next Pope

[Note that this was channelled right after the death of John Paul II, and before the conclave of Catholic Cardinals had selected the next pope.]

"Kryon, we just lost what appears to be a great religious leader, Pope John Paul II. What are the ramifications of this?" My partner eluded earlier to the man called Karol who became the pope [spoken of earlier within the seminar]. He discussed what his goals were and what he did on this planet that really had nothing to do with his religion. Oh, perhaps the hat he wore did, and the places he walked did, and the ceremony around him did. But this was only given to facilitate what he could do.

But you see, like you, we knew Karol. He leaned into the wind of birth, too - just as you did. He was no different. And Spirit said to him, "You're going to have a chance to change the earth because the energy of this planet has the potential of being very different. There are potentials when you get to be a certain age where there'll be something called the Harmonic Convergence on the planet, and things will begin to change. You can fit into this as a world leader. Are you ready for that?" And he said yes.

No angel asked Karol if he wanted to be a Catholic, as he leaned into the wind of birth. That was simply the vehicle that got him into the position where he could change the planet the way he did. You couldn't have had the absence of the Armageddon that you've experienced without Karol. Did you know that [speaking of his direct involvement in the influence of the fall of communism]? So his belief system not only served him well, but it propelled him to a special place that was his alone to be in, and one that allowed him to touch billions all at once. And so it was that this great religious leader, who also knew intuitively what he was doing, had a love of humanity. His favorite thing was to be among common people - and he was, every time he could be. When he got to the position where he could make a difference, he did.

Now, there's something you don't know about Karol. The last decade of his life, he was very frustrated. Go look at the pictures. Go look at the pictures of the first 16 years. Then look at those from the last ten. The last ten, he was suffering - not just with his health - he was anguishing over a situation that none of you truly know about. For in his last ten years this man wanted to make some more changes while the time was ripe, but he knew he was too old.

Karol didn't have the energy to make the changes he really wanted to make, and those around him fought him to keep things the way they were. It was all very political, and someday this information may come out into the open, and you'll hear about those who influenced him in the last ten years and helped to keep things on an even keel. He was too old to make a difference and he knew it.

Karol was not of a consciousness to make some of the changes that many cried out for - about poverty and the role of women in his organization (that will come later). But Karol cried out in his heart for the children that were abused by the priests, and he wanted to do something about this and make a difference. He believed that his Savior wanted him to make a difference, but he couldn't do it. So what might look to you like inaction was instead the pope suffering, for he was not allowed to do what he wanted - due to his lack of energy and those around him who made certain he didn't.

"Kryon, here we sit with conclave of cardinals about to meet and select a new pope. What's the potential based upon the energy right now of the selection? What's going to happen?" I'll give you two potentials of what might take place in the next few days, because your future is always about free choice. There is no entity who can tell you about the future, since it's totally in the hands of the free-choice of humanity. However, based on the energy of the moment, here's what we see: (1) You're either going to have an interim, temporary pope for only a short amount of time (relative to the last one), who will lead to a radical pope; or (2) You're going to go right to the radical pope. Either way, you're going to eventually end up with a man who's going to do things to shake up the establishment.

Let me give you some of the potentials of what the radical pope may be involved in: This religion he leads on earth has doctrines that no longer "square up" with what humanity is seeing around itself. He absolutely has to address this issue, for the sophisticated Humans will leave the church otherwise. There will be those who may even call him "the evil pope" because he's going to go against tradition when he slowly starts a process that honors the Virgin Mary more than any pope ever has - therefore honoring women within the church, elevating them to higher positions... even to priests.

He will speak about family planning, and start processes that will slowly justify it in the eyes of God [this will take awhile], but it must come from the man who "sits in the chair" [ex cathedra] to change the doctrine of the whole organization. Because of this, he will also be in danger and will have to have constant protection.

Then he'll talk about what to do with priests who abuse children. Watch for this. Even if you receive the interim pope, he'll set the stage for the radical pope in this area. For this is in the energy aura of what we would call the potential future around this grand event. The earth is filled with free choice and it can go any direction, but I've just given you the potentials of what is here and now. ..."

Philippines' Duterte calls Obama 'son of a whore'

Yahoo – AFP, September 5, 2016

US President Barack Obama (left) and Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte
 (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb, Manman Dejeto)

Davao (Philippines) (AFP) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte called Barack Obama a "son of a whore" on Monday as he vowed not to be lectured by the US leader on human rights when they meet in Laos.

The acid-tongued Duterte bristled at warnings he would face questioning by the US president over a war against drugs in the Philippines that has claimed more than 2,400 lives in just over two months.

"You must be respectful. Do not just throw away questions and statements. Son of a whore, I will curse you in that forum," Duterte told a news conference shortly before flying to Laos to attend a summit.

"We will be wallowing in the mud like pigs if you do that to me."

Duterte was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Obama on Tuesday afternoon on the sidelines of a gathering of global leaders hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Vientiane, the Lao capital.

But shortly after Duterte spoke, Obama appeared to cast doubt on whether such a meeting could take place.

Calling Duterte "a colourful guy", the US president said was asking his staff to find out whether a meeting would be useful.

"I always want to make sure if I'm having a meeting that it's actually productive and we're getting something done," he told reporters.

Duterte, 71, was elected in May after a promise to wage an unprecedented war on illegal drugs that would see tens of thousands of suspects killed.

Official figures released Sunday show that, since he took office on June 30, over 2,400 people have been killed in police anti-drug operations and by suspected vigilantes.

Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, Obama said Washington recognised that drugs were a significant problem for the Philippines. But he insisted that he would not shy away from raising concerns about the way the issue was being handled under the new administration.

"The issue of how we approach fighting crime and drug trafficking is a serious one for all of us. We've got to do it the right way," he said.

"Undoubtedly, if and when we have a meeting, this is something that's going to be brought up. And my expectation, my hope is that it could be dealt with constructively."

Duterte has angrily rejected criticism from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, legislators and the United Nations.

And he vowed Monday the bloodbath would continue as he pursued his goal of eradicating illegal narcotics in the Philippines.

"More people will be killed, plenty will be killed until the last pusher is out of the streets. Until the (last) drug manufacturer is killed, we will continue and I will continue," he said.

Duterte insisted he would not take orders from the United States, a former colonial ruler of the Philippines, and did not care about how he was perceived.

Duterte has quickly earned a reputation for making offensive comments about his critics, or others he does not like.

He has also branded Pope Francis and the US ambassador to Manila sons of whores.

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