Egypt church quashes rumors about Pope Tawadros’ health

Several social media posts have surfaced expressing concern over the health of Egypt’s Coptic Pope Tawadros after he showed signs of tiredness during the last Easter sermon. (AFP/File Photo)
Several social media posts have surfaced expressing concern over the health of Egypt’s Coptic Pope Tawadros after he showed signs of tiredness during the last Easter sermon. (AFP/File Photo)
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Updated 10 June 2023
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Egypt church quashes rumors about Pope Tawadros’ health

Several social media posts have surfaced expressing concern over the health of Egypt’s Coptic Pope Tawadros
  • Pontiff suffers from facial nerve inflammation and diabetes, his condition is stable

CAIRO: Several social media posts have surfaced expressing concern over the health of Egypt’s Coptic Pope Tawadros after he showed signs of tiredness during the last Easter sermon at the Cathedral of the Nativity of Christ in the New Administrative Capital in Cairo.

He is the 118th pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark, succeeding the late Pope Shenouda III as leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

Church spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said that Pope Tawadros’ sudden health problem occurred after the end of the Mass prayer and that a medical examination revealed “a simple inflammation of the facial nerve.”

He added: “It is known that the facial nerve mainly shows its effects on the face and that Pope Tawadros, following the doctors’ instructions, stopped pastoral meetings for several days. However, he continues to receive visitors according to the meetings scheduled. He will not completely stop all activities.

“The treatment of inflammation of the facial nerve requires relative rest with appropriate medications and physical therapy, and recovery from inflammation varies from person to person and according to the degree of response, but in all cases, it takes several days or weeks.”

Coptic activist and researcher Robert Al-Fares told Arab News: “The pope, during the Easter Mass, adhered to meeting well-wishers on the morning of the feast, and appeared on television because he did not want people to worry about him amid the joy of the holiday.

“It was necessary for him to go to the hospital for medical analysis and x-rays. As soon as the results of the examinations appeared, he returned to the papal residence in Cairo.”

Al-Fares added: “His Holiness has a health file in a hospital in Europe for 15 years through which routine periodic follow-ups are conducted.”

Rumors circulating on social media, he said, “aim to harm society and Christians in Egypt and the East, given the status of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria, and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.”

Phipps Issa, a priest of the Syriac Orthodox Church in Egypt, said: “Prayers were made for the health and well-being of Pope Tawadros in the blessed Pentecost Mass on the morning of June 4. It is correct that the church does not respond to the rumors that are spread on social media pages, as some rumors do not deserve a church response.

“I see that 95 percent of what is published on the social media pages about the pope’s health are rumors and lies, so the church is not interested in responding to these lies and rumors.

“Yes, we know that the pope suffers from diabetes, like about 5 million Egyptians, and that he needs to change the treatment protocol from time to time, which is normal, so why do they talk on social media about severe injuries due to this chronic disease?”


Israeli strike destroys prestige Qatar-funded Gaza complex

Israeli strike destroys prestige Qatar-funded Gaza complex
Updated 03 December 2023
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Israeli strike destroys prestige Qatar-funded Gaza complex

Israeli strike destroys prestige Qatar-funded Gaza complex
  • The Gaza health ministry said at least 193 Palestinians had been killed since the truce ended on Friday, adding to the more than 15,000 Palestinian dead since the start of the war
  • Israel said it had recalled a team from Qatar, host of indirect negotiations with Hamas, accusing the Palestinian faction of reneging on a deal to free all the women and children it was holding

KHAN YUNIS, Palestinian Territories: At almost exactly the same time Israeli negotiators pulled out of deadlocked truce talks in Qatar on Saturday, Israeli jets sent a prestige Doha-funded housing development in the Gaza Strip up in smoke.
Hamad City is named for the former emir of the Gulf petro-state, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who laid the foundation stone on a visit 11 years ago.
Inaugurated in 2016, it was still among the newest projects in the Gaza Strip, the housing complex in the city of Khan Yunis boasting an impressive mosque, shops and gardens.
The first flats — more than 1,000 of them — were provided to Palestinians whose homes were destroyed in the war between Israel and Hamas two years earlier.
On Saturday it happened again, a day after a Qatar-brokered pause in the current war between Israel and Hamas expired.
First their phones pinged around noon with an “immediate” evacuation order SMS sent by the Israeli army, which says the system is aimed at minimizing civilian casualties.
Around an hour later, five Israeli air strikes rained down on the neighborhood in the space of just two minutes.
Bombs slammed into the pale apartment blocks one by one, reducing them largely to rubble and sending a huge pall of black smoke into the sky, as people fled and cries of ‘help!’ and ‘ambulance!’ rang out.
“At least we got through it,” 26-year-old Nader Abu Warda told AFP, amazed he was still alive.

The Israeli military has divided the Gaza Strip into 2,300 “blocs” and is now sending SMS messages to residents telling them to leave before they launch the strikes which they say will “eliminate Hamas.”
Around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, died in the Islamist movement’s October 7 assault on southern Israel and some 240 were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities.
The Hamas-led Gaza Strip government says Israel’s campaign has killed more than 15,000 people, also mostly civilians, since it was launched eight weeks ago.
The United Nations humanitarian agency, OCHA, has highlighted that the warning messages do not indicate where the recipients should go.
Ibrahim Al-Jamal, a civil servant in his 40s, said he does not have any “Internet, any electricity or even a radio to receive information” and that he has “never seen this map” setting out the different blocs.
“Many people in Gaza have never heard of it and it wouldn’t matter anyway as the bombings are taking place everywhere,” he said.
Humanitarian bodies say the most vulnerable in Gaza are the estimated 1.7 million displaced people.
Many of them do not have access to phones and have to rely on warning leaflets dropped by planes, not visible from inside an apartment.

According to the Gaza Strip’s Civil Defense emergency and rescue organization, in recent weeks “hundreds of displaced families” had been taking refuge in 3,000 apartments at Hamad City.
Mohammed Foura, 21, already displaced once from Gaza City, told AFP that half an hour before the strike he had been warned by other residents to flee.
They shouted “get out, get out,” he said, as families piled their belongings into cars or carried them away in enormous bundles.
Nader Abu Warda fled Jabalia, near Gaza City, at the start of the war and no longer knows which way to go or what to do.
He, his wife and three children had been staying in a friend’s apartment in the complex.
“They told us ‘Gaza City is a war zone’, now it’s Khan Yunis,” he said. “Yesterday, they were saying ‘evacuate the east of Khan Yunis’. Today, they say ‘evacuate the west’,” he added, visibly exasperated.
“Where are we going now, into the sea? Where are we going to put our children to bed?“

 


UAE leader meets US vice president, other leaders on sidelines of COP28 in Dubai

UAE leader meets US vice president, other leaders on sidelines of COP28 in Dubai
Updated 03 December 2023
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UAE leader meets US vice president, other leaders on sidelines of COP28 in Dubai

UAE leader meets US vice president, other leaders on sidelines of COP28 in Dubai
  • Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Kamala Harris discuss areas of cooperation
  • Sheikh also meets leaders of Italy, Poland, Albania

LONDON: UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed held talks with US Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai, state news agency WAM reported.

During the meeting, the officials stressed the importance of the conference in fostering cooperation to combat climate change worldwide and highlighted their countries’ collaborations on renewable energy and sustainable development.

The meeting also looked at the wider US-UAE relationship and explored ways to advance ties in various fields. A number of regional and international issues of mutual interest were also discussed, including the latest developments in the Palestinian territories.

“The importance of working toward a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, protecting civilians, providing secure channels to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza without obstruction, preventing their displacement and identifying a clear political horizon based on the two-state solution to achieve regional stability and peace were also highlighted,” the WAM report said.

Sheikh Mohammed also held individual meetings with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama.

The leaders discussed ways to increase cooperation between their respective nations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Sheikh Mohammed also stressed the need for collective action to achieve practical results with regard to tackling climate change.

The heads of several foreign delegations commended the UAE president’s initiative, launched at COP28, to create a $30 billion fund to tackle the funding gap in global climate action.


GCC foreign ministers to hold preparatory meeting ahead of leaders’ summit in Doha

GCC foreign ministers to hold preparatory meeting ahead of leaders’ summit in Doha
Updated 03 December 2023
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GCC foreign ministers to hold preparatory meeting ahead of leaders’ summit in Doha

GCC foreign ministers to hold preparatory meeting ahead of leaders’ summit in Doha
  • 158th ministerial meeting will be chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman

RIYADH: Gulf ministers are set to gather on Sunday to hold a preparatory meeting in Qatar’s capital Doha ahead of the 44th Gulf Cooperation Council Summit, the bloc said in a statement on Saturday.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Albudaiwi said the bloc’s 158th ministerial meeting will be chaired by Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman — whose country is also the current president of the ministerial council — and will be attended by member states’ foreign ministers.
Albudaiwi said the meeting is a continuation of the preparations underway for the launch of the 44th session of the GCC Supreme Council, scheduled to be held on Tuesday in Doha in the presence of Gulf leaders.
He added that during the ministerial meeting, several reports will be discussed regarding the implementation of decisions issued by the Supreme Council at the 43rd summit in the Saudi capital Riyadh last year, as well as memoranda and reports submitted by the ministerial and technical committees and the General Secretariat.
The meeting will also cover topics related to dialogues and strategic relations between GCC states and other countries and international blocs, in addition to the latest regional and international developments.


US VP Harris calls for restraint as Israel strikes southern Gaza

US VP Harris calls for restraint as Israel strikes southern Gaza
Updated 03 December 2023
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US VP Harris calls for restraint as Israel strikes southern Gaza

US VP Harris calls for restraint as Israel strikes southern Gaza
  • Jordan’s King Abdullah II and the US Vice President Kamala Harris meet in Dubai on the sidelines of COP28
  • King Abdullah stressed the need for the US to play a leading role in pushing for a political horizon for the Palestinian issue to reach peace on the basis of the two-state solution

GAZA/CAIRO: US Vice President Kamala Harris said too many innocent Palestinians had been killed in Gaza as Israeli war planes and artillery bombarded the enclave on Saturday following the collapse of a truce with Hamas militants.
Speaking in Dubai, Harris said Israel had a right to defend itself, but international and humanitarian law must be respected and “too many innocent Palestinians have been killed.”
“Frankly, the scale of civilian suffering, and the images and videos coming from Gaza, are devastating,” Harris told reporters.
On the sidelines of COP28, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and the US Vice President met in Dubai, reported the Jordan News Agency.
King Abdullah stressed the need for the US to play a leading role in pushing for a political horizon for the Palestinian issue to reach peace on the basis of the two-state solution, during his meeting with Harris.
The King called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and protecting civilians, warning of the repercussions of the continued war on international peace and security, including further violence and conflict that could plunge the entire region into a catastrophe.
The two sides reaffirmed their rejection of any attempts of forced displacement of the Palestinians internally or outside Gaza, or attempts to re-occupy any parts of the Strip, reported Petra.
King Abdullah also stressed the importance of maintaining the uninterrupted delivery of sufficient aid, including food, water, fuel, and electricity, without any impediments, warning against the targeting of hospitals and hindering the delivery of medical supplies.
Meanwhile, Harris thanked King Abdullah for his continued leadership in addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for Jordan’s leadership in providing vital humanitarian assistance to Gaza, including its three airdrops of medical supplies to the field hospital that it has established in Gaza.
She discussed the importance of the recent pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas, and the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting efforts to reach a new deal. She also discussed the US ideas for post-conflict planning in Gaza, including efforts on reconstruction, security, and governance.
The US vice president emphasized that these efforts can only succeed if they are pursued in the context of a clear political horizon for the Palestinian people, toward a state of their own led by a revitalized Palestinian Authority and backed by significant support from the international community and the countries of the region.
In a news conference in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said later on Saturday that Israel was continuing to work in coordination with the US and international organizations to define “safe areas” for Gaza civilians.
“This is important because we have no desire to harm the population,” Netanyahu said. “We have a very strong desire to hurt Hamas.”
Harris also sketched out a US vision for post-conflict Gaza, saying the international community must support recovery and Palestinian security forces must be strengthened.
“We want to see a unified Gaza and West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, and Palestinian voices and aspirations must be at the center of this work,” she said, adding that Hamas must no longer run Gaza.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority governs parts of the occupied West Bank. Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007 from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ mainstream Fatah party and has ruled the enclave ever since.

* With Reuters 


Families of Bedouin hostages wait for news as Gaza fighting resumes

Families of Bedouin hostages wait for news as Gaza fighting resumes
Updated 03 December 2023
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Families of Bedouin hostages wait for news as Gaza fighting resumes

Families of Bedouin hostages wait for news as Gaza fighting resumes
  • “There were tough times, we always had hope”
  • Bedouin Arabs make up about 4 percent of Israel’s population

TIRABIN AL SANA, Israel: The family members of four Bedouin Arabs taken hostage on Oct. 7 during the assault on southern Israel by Hamas gunmen have welcomed the return of two of the captives but wait for news of the others as fighting resumes in the Gaza Strip.
Yosef Hamis Ziadna, his sons Hamza and Bilal and his daughter, Aisha, were working on the Holit farm on Israel’s border with Gaza when they were seized by the gunmen along with more than 200 other Israelis and foreigners.
Aisha and Bilal were handed over during the seven-day truce between Israel and Hamas that ended on Friday morning but Yosef and Hamza are still being held, along with two other Bedouins, Farhan Al-Qadi and Samer Al-Talalqa.
“There were tough times, we always had hope,” said their cousin Kamel Al-Ziadna. “We want the release of Yousef and Hamza and all those held hostages, and Samer and Farhan, may God bring them back to their families.”
Bedouin Arabs make up about 4 percent of Israel’s population, living mainly in the southern Negev desert and in northern Israel.
Kamel said the families were urging Hamas to release their hostages. “They are Arab, Muslim youth,” he said.
While they wait, like the families of other hostages released during the week-long pause, their emotions are mixed.
When the news came through that Aisha and Belal were to be released, there was a large gathering of family and friends that celebrated through the night.
“It was nice moments, but the happiness was missing something, so until the whole family is reunited with Hamza and Yousef, then we will hold a huge party, and we will gather with friends and family and all those who shared these difficult times with us,” he said.