(Vatican Radio) Thousands of hungry and needy Venezuelans crossed the border into Colombia, for a second time this month, to buy the bare necessities. James Blears reports about another twelve hour window of opportunity.Listen: Heavily armed with umbrellas, to combat torrential rain, thousands of Venezuelans went shopping in Colombia for food, medicines and even toilet rolls, which can`t be found in their own supermarkets. Some took eight hours to be bused to the San Antonio Del Táchira crossing, leading to Cucuta in Colombia.Smuggling of subsidised foods and gasoline into Colombia, led to armed gangs- one of which attacked and wounded three Venezuelan soldiers last August and since then, a sealed Border has created this bottleneck.Venezuela`s President Nicolas Maduro blames international enemies combining with home grown subversives, sabotaging the economy. The Opposition insists it`s decades of sole dependence on the declining ...
(Vatican Radio) Thousands of hungry and needy Venezuelans crossed the border into Colombia, for a second time this month, to buy the bare necessities. James Blears reports about another twelve hour window of opportunity.
Listen:
Heavily armed with umbrellas, to combat torrential rain, thousands of Venezuelans went shopping in Colombia for food, medicines and even toilet rolls, which can`t be found in their own supermarkets. Some took eight hours to be bused to the San Antonio Del Táchira crossing, leading to Cucuta in Colombia.
Smuggling of subsidised foods and gasoline into Colombia, led to armed gangs- one of which attacked and wounded three Venezuelan soldiers last August and since then, a sealed Border has created this bottleneck.
Venezuela`s President Nicolas Maduro blames international enemies combining with home grown subversives, sabotaging the economy. The Opposition insists it`s decades of sole dependence on the declining petroleum industry , rampant corruption in official circles and chronic mismanagement. Whoever`s to blame the common economic denominator is deprivation. Many are now calling for the Border to be completely, officially and permanently re-opened so the bridge between the two countries can serve as a vital lifeline in a time of severe recession.
Attendees lay flowers at the Tsitsernakaberd Armenian Genocide Memorial in Yerevan to mark the 109th anniversary of World War I-era mass killings on April 24, 2024. / Credit: KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty ImagesWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 18:00 pm (CNA).As historians and human-rights activists mark the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide this week, some are warning that Armenia is once again facing another existential threat.Speaking on "EWTN News Nightly" on Wednesday, Simone Rizkallah, an Armenian activist with the Philos Project, said that "this feels less like a remembrance and more like a truly historical event that we are in the midst of."The Armenian Genocide was carried out by Ottoman Turks in 1915 and resulted in the deaths of some 1.5 million Armenian Christians, according to historians. Though recognized as a genocide by the U.S. and more than 30 other countries, Turkey denies that characterization.The massacre took place over a hundred ...
null / Orhan Cam/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 12:30 pm (CNA).The addition of "gender identity" in the Biden administration's interpretation of anti-discrimination rules could jeopardize state laws that restrict women's sports and women's locker rooms to only women, according to legal scholars.Late last week, President Joe Biden's Department of Education redefined the prohibition on sex discrimination in education, enshrined in the 1972 Title IX provisions, to include discrimination based on a person's "gender identity." The new guidelines prohibit any policy and practice that "prevents a person from participating in an education program or activity consistent with their gender identity."Although the new guidelines do not clearly explain how the mandate would be enforced, experts at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and the conservative Heritage Foundation told CNA that it could force educational institutions to allow men who...
Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne attends a German Synodal Way assembly on March 9, 2023. / Credit: Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von LachnerCNA Newsroom, Apr 26, 2024 / 13:57 pm (CNA).Four German bishops on Wednesday distanced themselves from the controversial Synodal Way's plans for a permanent body to oversee the Church in Germany, instead appealing for unity with the universal Church. The four bishops are the same who have previously blocked funding for this body: Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki of Cologne and three prelates from Bavaria: Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, of Eichstätt; Stefan Oster, SDB, of Passau; and Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg.In a joint statement, the prelates confirmed on April 24 that they would not be parties to a committee charged with setting up a German "Synodal Council, as this would conflict with the sacramental constitution of the Church."The four bishops also rejected the view that the German Bishops' Conference could legally establish a "synod...