I. THE FINANCIAL - International Haiti rebuilding talks to open in Montreal
Foreign ministers from all over the world will gather in Canada's second-largest city of Montreal on January 25 to discuss the rebuilding of Haiti, where a devastating January 12 earthquake claimed up to 150,000 lives. Delegations from Canada, Argentina, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, Chile, the U.S., Spain, France, and Japan, as well as representatives of international organizations, including the United Nations, the European Union, the Organization of American States, the World Bank , and the International Monetary Fund are to take part in the talks, officially known as the Ministerial Preparatory Conference of the Group of Friends of Haiti. Canada has allocated more than 100 million Canadian dollars ($94.7 million U.S.) in aid for the quake-hit nation, of which 67 million Canadian dollars ($63.4 million U.S.) were provided by Canadian citizens. The country's government has pledged to allocate some an additional 17 million Canadian dollars ($16 million U.S.) to help Haiti recover from the quake. The summit will take place less than two weeks after the 7.0-magnitude quake struck the impoverished Caribbean nation, with the final death toll estimated to range up to 200,000.
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) has responded to the urgent need for medical supplies and basic medications to treat the injured and sick in Haiti with a shipment of critically-needed medicines and hospital supplies expected to assist over 45,000 Haitians. The assistance, delivered today to King's Hospital in Port-au-Prince, is worth more than $1.2 million and was provided by IOCC's long standing partner, Medical Teams International (MTI). The supplies will help to meet some of the urgent demand for antibiotics, anesthesia medications for surgery and pain medications. "It has been a heart-rending week of loss and suffering for the people of Haiti," said IOCC Executive Director and CEO, Constantine M. Triantafilou. "We pray that the shipment of these medicines will help stem the further loss of life from injuries and will provide comfort to the suffering." Providing medical supplies and medical care remains one of the highest priorities in Haiti where people's lives are now threatened because there is not enough surgical or trauma care. Last weekend, IOCC participated in an airlift that included water purification and sanitation equipment for 10,000 people and 500 family tents. IOCC, the official humanitarian aid agency of the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas (SCOBA) and member of the ACT Alliance, is continuing to work with partners to identify unmet needs for emergency aid that will sustain survivors of the January 12 earthquake. You can help the victims of disasters around the world, like the Haiti Earthquake, by visiting http://www.iocc.org.
III. RIANOVOSTI - Putin orders free education for all Haitian students in Russia
All students from quake-hit Haiti at Russian universities will receive state funding to continue their studies, the Russian premier said on Monday. "We have decided that all those who are studying on a paid basis will study at the expense of the Russian federal budget," Putin said, addressing students at the state university in the central Russian republic of Chuvashia. The premier said that currently 75 Haitian students are enlisted in Russian higher education establishments. Many of them had been left without funds after a devastating 7.0-magnitude quake struck the impoverished Caribbean nation on January 12, almost leveling the capital of Port-au-Prince and claiming up to 150,000 lives.
IV. FINANCIAL MIRROR - Governments must do more to combat Somali piracy
The Cyprus Shipping Chamber has expressed its deepening frustration at the seeming impotence of the international community to address the continuing piracy crisis in the Indian Ocean, with around 1,500 seafarers and 50 ships having so far been taken hostage for ransom, often for months at a time, in spite of the comprehensive measures that ship operators have taken to defend their crews. The unacceptable situation prevailing now, with seafarers’ lives being threatened on a daily basis – and Somali pirates still operating with impunity – cannot be allowed to continue. If a similar number of aircraft passengers had been taken hostage there would undoubtedly have been a more robust response. However, many governments seem oblivious to the fact that ships carry around 90% of world trade, and that security of major seaways is strategically vital to the functioning of the global economy. There is growing concern that the international community is not actively seeking to eliminate piracy and is instead treating the current level of attacks against shipping as somehow ‘tolerable’. In effect, pirates are being given a message that their criminal activity carries very few risks in comparison to the millions of dollars that can be made from extorting ransom payments. As a result, the number of pirates is growing, and there is real danger that, in the absence of a firm response, their methods of hijack and violent kidnapping will be successfully emulated by others elsewhere. In cases where attacks occur hundreds of miles off the Somali coast then the skiffs must have been deployed from mother ships. The skiffs simply do not have the endurance for operations deep into the Indian Ocean. Why are the ‘mother ships’ not being intercepted and detained? While we support efforts to establish a stable government in Somalia that can enforce the rule of law, it is widely accepted that this could take years, if not decades. It is, therefore, urgent that governments consider what additional steps should be taken now, and not later. We cannot continue to allow crews to be taken hostage, a situation which is simply unacceptable. The protection of shipping from piracy – regardless of flag, or the nationality of the crew – is a clear and legitimate responsibility for governments under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Historically, as now embodied in international law, the primary role of navies has always been to protect merchant shipping and to keep the sea lanes open to trade. It is extraordinary that governments today seem less able to protect shipping than they were almost 200 years ago.
Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the election of the new Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church in a letter on January 22. In it, the Holy Father expressed his prayer that the new leader have the "inner strength to consolidate the unity and spiritual growth of the Serbian Orthodox Church." The Pope began his letter by praying that the Lord grant the new Patriarch “abundant gifts of grace and wisdom for the fulfillment of (his) high responsibilities in the service of the Church” and the people entrusted to him. The 80-year-old Irinej Gavrilovica, previously Bishop of Nis, became the 45th Serbian Patriarch when he was enthroned on Saturday in Belgrade in the first act of a two-part ceremony, the second is to take place in Pec, Kosovo. On his first day as the leader of the Serbian Orthodox Church he reaffirmed the Church's rejection of a divided Serbia and Kosovo. Serbia and Kosovo have been at odds since the latter declared independence in 2008. According to a BBC report, upon his installment he said "Our first duty as a Church is to safeguard our Kosovo, a holy and martyred land, to help our state to defend it from those who wish to seize it... Kosovo is our holy land, our Jerusalem." He asked if they would be allowed to visit the relics of the Church as they completed the ceremony in Pec. "Without them, Serbia is not Serbia, without Kosovo it is deprived of its heart and soul." In his letter, the Pope remembered fondly the previous leader of the Serbian Church, Patriarch Pavle, whom he called "a great pastor and spiritual father," in maintaining the unity of the Church and making "many gestures of openness to the Catholic Church." Patriarch Pavle had died in November of 2009 at the age of 95. The Pope finished his message to the new Patriarch with a prayer "that the Lord will grant Your Holiness the inner strength to consolidate the unity and spiritual growth of the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as to build up the fraternal bonds with other Churches and ecclesial communities."
VI. KATHIMERINI - "Kosovo is our Jerusalem"
The new head of the Serbian Orthodox church, Patriarch Irinej, vowed on Saturday to defend Serbia’s claim on Kosovo, signaling that the influential church will retain its firm opposition to the region’s Western-backed independence. Patriarch Irinej, the 45th Serbian patriarch who was chosen to the post Friday, said in a speech after the enthronement that the primary goal of the church was to “help our state, which is doing all it can to save Kosovo from those who want to grab it away. If we forget Kosovo, Kosovo will forget us,” he said. “Kosovo is our Holy Land, our Jerusalem.” Kosovo is the former Serbian province that most people here consider their historic heartland but which is mostly populated by ethnic Albanians who declared independence in 2008 with the backing of the United States and its European Union allies. Serbia has refused to recognize the split. The government position has enjoyed backing from the church, which is very influential among Serbs. The Serbian church considers Kosovo its seat, where hundreds of its churches and monasteries are located, some dating back to the 13th century. The new patriarch, who is 80, has served in Kosovo in the past as did his predecessor, Pavle, who died in November at the age of 95. Irinej, who is considered a moderate despite his tough position on Kosovo, was elected in a lottery-like draw among three candidates initially chosen in a secret ballot by 45 Serbian bishops. His election was seen as a compromise in a power struggle between hardliners and liberals in the church. The new patriarch is also widely viewed as a “man of dialogue” who is ready to improve ties with the Roman Catholic church and others. He has said in a recent interview that he would not oppose a visit by the pope to Serbia – one of the rare European countries the pontiff has never visited. The hard-liners have opposed the visit because of a historic schism between the two churches. With Irinej at its helm, the church is also not expected to oppose Serbia’s efforts to join the EU. The enthronement ceremony for Patriarch Irinej was held at Belgrade’s cathedral. It was attended by church elders, state officials, representatives of other religious groups and dozens of believers.
His Holiness, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, presented the “Unity of Orthodox Peoples Award” to Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary [SVOTS], Crestwood, NY, at a special ceremony in Moscow on Thursday, January 21, 2010. The seminary was selected to receive the award by the International Foundation for Unity of Orthodox Christian Nations for its activity “aimed at strengthening the unity of Orthodox nations through theological education.” Patriarch Kirill chairs the foundation's board of trustees. Accepting the award on behalf of the seminary were Archpriest John Behr, dean, who was accompanied by the school’s chancellor and associate chancellor for advancement, Archpriest Chad Hatfield and Mr. Theodore Bazil. Also present at the award ceremony was Archimandrite Zacchaeus, representative of the Orthodox Church in America to the Moscow Patriarchate. Following the ceremony, the seminary representatives met with Patriarch Kirill at his working residence, at which time he spoke of his respect and love for the former deans of the seminary, Archpriest Georges Florovsky and Protopresbyters Alexander Schmemann, John Meyendorff, and Thomas Hopko, whom he knew personally. He also commended the seminary for bringing the richness of Orthodox theology to the New World while maintaining a proper place within the Church’s Tradition.