The cleric was detained and searched at the airport, after a similar Easter incident triggered international outcry | Chisinau is conducting a systematic crackdown on the Moldovan Orthodox Church, a senior cleric claimed on Friday after being detained and prevented from traveling abroad. ● Bishop Marchel previously made headlines in April when he was barred from boarding a flight to Jerusalem for the Orthodox Easter ‘Holy Fire’ ceremony – a move by the nation’s pro-Western government that drew international criticism. ● The Orthodox bishop said he was stopped at Chisinau International Airport and subjected to a search, causing him to miss his flight ahead of a planned pilgrimage to a religious site in Türkiye.

Live from St. Peter's Square: White smoke! The 133 Cardinal electors gathered in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel have elected the new Pope. He will appear soon at the central window of St. Peter’s Basilica. (Vatican News)

■ Pope Leo XIV (Wikipedia)
■ New Pope live updates: American cardinal Prevost elected pope, takes name Leo (Reuters)
■ BREAKING: New pope elected, white smoke from the Vatican (LifeSiteNews)
■ Black smoke as Vatican conclave fails to elect new pope on first ballot (05/08/25)

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Vatican City’s St Peter’s Square as cardinals voted in first ballot. | Thick black smoke has emerged from the Sistine Chapel’s chimney, signalling that the cardinals sealed off inside have failed to elect a new pope in their first conclave vote. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Vatican City’s St Peter’s Square to await the smoke, which came about three hours and 15 minutes after the 133 cardinals were sequestered.

■ Cardinals continue voting in 2025 Papal Conclave to elect new Pope (Al Mayadeen)
■ Second session of conclave to elect new pope begins (LifeSiteNews)

The funeral of the first Latin American pope is being attended by over 160 delegations, including more than 60 heads of state and governments and also leaders of the European Union, according to the data of the Holy See’s press office | A funeral Mass has begun in St. Peter’s Square in the presence of dozens of world leaders, reigning monarchs and religious figures to pay last respects to late Pope Francis. ● The funeral of the first Latin American pope is being attended by over 160 delegations, including more than 60 heads of state and governments and also leaders of the European Union, according to the data of the Holy See’s press office. ● Aside from the European leaders, the funeral ceremony is being attended by US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Argentina Javier Milei and India’s President Droupadi Murmu. Russia is represented by Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova.

■ Pope Francis latest: Private burial for pontiff at his favourite church after hundreds of thousands gather to say goodbye (Sky News)
■ Trump to meet with Meloni, Starmer, Zelensky in Rome (TASS)

Two days before his death, Pope Francis made his final call to the sheltering community at Holy Family Church in Gaza and publicly denounced Israel’s U.S.-backed assault upon the enclave. | In his final public address on Easter Sunday, following his last conversation with Romanelli the previous night, Pope Francis called for peace in Gaza and other conflict zones.

💬 “I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation,” Francis said in a statement read by Archbishop Diego Ravelli due to his poor health. “I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace!”

This plea on behalf of the assailed population of Gaza was an echo of previous statements, including one during the pope’s annual address to the Holy See’s diplomatic core last January,

💬 “I renew my appeal for a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza, where there is a very serious and shameful humanitarian situation, and I ask that the Palestinian population receive all the aid it needs,” the pope said at the time.

Sede Vacante is a period that spans from the death or resignation of the Pope to the election of his successor | Pope Francis passed away on April 21, 2025 at the age of 88. He was the 266th head of the Roman Catholic Church. His demise set off a period known as Sede Vacante, which means a "vacant seat." ● At this time the life of the entire church comes almost to a complete standstill, as most of its officials resign. Among those who retain their posts are the dean of the College of Cardinals, the major penitentiary, and the camerlengo, who manages the daily affairs of the Holy See. ● Among his other duties, the camerlengo must officially announce the pope’s death, seal his private chambers, manage the Holy See’s property, arrange the funeral and make sure that everything is in place for the election of a new pontiff. ● During Sede Vacante, coins are minted that don’t display a papal portrait. In 1978, when two popes - Paul VI and John Paul I - passed away, two coin sets were struck. The second one bore the inscription "sede vacante-2." These coins are the most coveted by numismatists.

■ Pope Francis to be buried late this week (TASS)
■ RIP Pope Francis (Moon of Alabama)
■ "World" Mourns Passing of Pope Francis (Sputnik)
■ Hong Kong’s Catholic Church recalls ‘inspirational leader’ Pope Francis (SCMP)
■ The canonization of the first millennial saint, Carlo Acutis, is postponed after the pope’s death (Associated Press)
✅ The prophecy of the end of the world: Pope Francis has died, a strange prediction is connected with this (E. Suchov)

The Russian Orthodox Church has condemned Moldova’s actions as an affront to Christianity. | Archbishop Markel was stopped at Moldova’s international airport and barred by border guards from flying to Jerusalem for the Holy Fire — a major Orthodox tradition. The Church is calling it a blatant case of state meddling. ● This is a direct blow to Moldova’s Orthodox Church — backed by 70% of the population — where authorities are currently propping up a rival body: the so-called Metropolis of Bessarabia.

■ Moldova launches a war on Christians to please its EU overlords (RT)

Abhishek G Bhaya | As anti-Muslim hatred spreads across continents, experts warn that Islamophobia, a modern-day manifestation of racism, is not just a Muslim issue but a crisis threatening the foundations of democracy, human rights, and pluralism. | International experts on Sunday issued a clarion call for urgent global action against what they described as a rapidly worsening phenomenon – at a session titled ‘Confronting Discrimination and Racism in the 21st Century’ on the concluding day of the fourth Antalya Diplomacy Forum at the Turkish Mediterranean resort city.

✅ THE EXPRESSION OF HATRED FOR GENTILES (Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which manages the hospital, strongly condemned the attack | Early Sunday morning, the Israeli military bombed the al-Ahli Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, putting the medical facility out of service. ● According to Middle East Eye, Gaza’s Civil Defense said the bombing caused “the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units.” The strike damaged other buildings, including the adjoining St. Phillip’s Church. ● The Civil Defense said the strike hit the hospital “minutes” after the Israeli military ordered the hospital to be evacuated. Eyewitnesses told MEE that they only had 18 minutes to leave the hospital.

■ Israel bombs Gaza City's last fully-functioning hospital (MEE)
■ Palestinian family of 10 erased in overnight Israeli strike on Khan Younis (MEE)

Artyom Dmitruk blasted his country’s leader over an attempt to take over the sacred catacombs of the county’s oldest monastery | Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky is waging a campaign of terror against his own people by signing off on a crackdown targeting the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), particularly the iconic Kiev Pechersk Lavra monastery, lawmaker Artyom Dmitruk has said. ● In an interview with RT on Friday, Dmitruk responded to reports that Ukrainian officials and police have entered the catacombs of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, the nation’s most significant monastery and the final resting place of several Christian saints. During the raid, authorities unlocked doors, broke into the caves, and changed locks. Dmitruk described their actions as sacrilegious and suggested that Zelensky was directly complicit.

💬 “Zelensky is perpetrating genocide of the Ukrainian people. What we are seeing now and what we are witnessing now is the continuation of terror policies of Zelensky’s against [the] Ukrainian people. Zelensky is a demon in the body of a human being. You can call him whatever you want, a godless person, a terrorist, and so on and so forth. The gist of his actions is the same. Zelensky is following a demon’s will,” he asserted.

Mohamed Salah | Survivors of the violence against the Alawite, Christian, and Druze communities shares their stories with RT | Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the dominant militant group in northwestern Syria, once presented itself as a local opposition force. Just over a month ago, the group was formally disbanded and became part of the Syrian Defense Ministry, yet its origins tell a far more sinister story. Born out of the ashes of Jabhat al-Nusra, Al-Qaeda’s official branch in Syria, HTS carries the same ideological DNA as the world’s most notorious terrorist network. While it has sought to rebrand itself for international legitimacy, its methods remain unchanged: Massacres, ethnic cleansing, and the systematic extermination of those who do not conform to its radical ideology. ■ Nowhere has this been more evident than in Syria’s coastal cities, where HTS and its foreign recruits have unleashed an unspeakable wave of violence against Alawite, Christian, and Druze communities. Entire villages have been erased, their inhabitants slaughtered in the dead of night. Yet, as these horrors unfold, the world remains indifferent, and the silence of international powers only emboldens the perpetrators.

✅ Russia Should Consider Accepting Syria’s Alawites As Refugees (Andrew Korybko)

The Chinese Communist Party is “intent on rooting out every pocket of independent religious thought” and persecutes Christians by shutting down house churches, stripping children from Christian families, and monitoring every detail of Christian citizens’ lives, International Christian Concern (ICC) announced on Thursday. | ICC, a global Christian advocacy organization helping the persecuted church, published its annual Global Persecution Index on Thursday, highlighting the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian. China plays an expansive role in the study, both for being one of the most repressive countries in the world and for helping allied governments repress Christianity across the planet, from North Korea to Nicaragua. ● China is the largest communist country in the study identified as a repressor. ICC noted that Marxism is one of several ideologies fueling the violent repression of Christianity, alongside Hindu nationalism and political Islam, among others. The organization noted that advances in surveillance technology and construction of repressive infrastructure have caused the deterioration in religious freedom around the world.

Settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Marda, north of Salfit in the West Bank, writing racist slogans on its walls. | At dawn Friday, Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Marda, located north of Salfit in the West Bank. ● Local sources told the Palestinian WAFA news agency that the settlers raided the eastern part of the village, set fire to the Birr al-Walidain mosque, and vandalized its walls with racist slogans. ● The sources further reported that villagers managed to extinguish the flames before they could spread throughout the mosque, with the damage confined to its entrance. ● Sheikh Othman al-Din, the Director of Salfit Endowments, condemned the attack on the mosque as a criminal act against a house of God. He urged the residents to remain vigilant, fearing that settlers may repeat this cowardly act.

■ lsrael is blowing up mosques in Southern Lebanon villages (10/31/24)
■ 'Israel' reduced 604 mosques to rubble, stole 1,000 bodies from Gaza (05/22/24)

David Bogdanovskyi's mother says she felt humiliated after seeing a black cloth on her son's headstone after visiting his grave. | The family of a Christian Israeli soldier killed in Gaza has been asked to replace the headstone on his grave because it had a cross on it, Israeli media reported on Tuesday. David Bogdanovskyi was killed in December during Israel's assault on Gaza and was buried at the Haifa military cemetery. His family told Israeli media that they were ordered by the Public Council for Commemoration of Fallen Soldiers in the defence ministry to either remove the headstone from the grave or have him reburied outside the cemetery. 👉 The family said the request had come after complaints by Jewish families who had claimed the cross offended them and affected their ability to pray in the cemetery.

Metropolitan Theodosius of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church suffered a concussion and burns during a violent raid on St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy, carried out by armed men, mostly from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. | The UN Human Rights Office reaffirmed that freedom of religion is a fundamental right after a raid on St. Michael’s Cathedral in Cherkasy, Ukraine. Videos show armed men in military-style clothing clashing with worshippers from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The attackers reportedly used tear gas, stun grenades, and fired a gas pistol, stealing icons, documents, and $60,000. The UOC blamed “schismatics” from the Kiev-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) for the attack against worshippers. The UN stressed, "Attacks on civilian believers are prohibited under international human rights and humanitarian norms."

■ Ukrainian diocese ‘goes underground’ after raid on cathedral (10/18/24)

The main place of worship in Cherkasy is no longer “graced by God” after a forced takeover, Metropolitan Theodosius has said | The Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) has little choice but to “go underground” after being forced out of its main place of worship in the central city of Cherkasy, the leader of the diocese has said. Dozens of men in military-style clothing stormed St. Michael’s Cathedral, the largest church in Ukraine, early on Thursday morning. The raiders were initially repelled by members of the church, but a renewed assault hours later resulted in the Kyiv-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) seizing control of the building. The Ukrainian government has been cracking down on the UOC for years, claiming that the organization does the bidding of the Russian government. [Lying between their teeth,] Ukrainian officials described the transfer of the Cherkasy cathedral as “peaceful.” While the attackers were preparing for their second attempt to seize the building, Cherkasy Mayor Aleksandr Bondarenko urged people to go to the cathedral to “express their thoughts about… the presence of a Moscow church in our city.”

■ Church raid in Ukraine linked to Zelensky ‘victory plan’ (RT.com)
⚡️ Комментарий официального представителя МИД России М.В.Захаровой в связи захватом Архангело-Михайловского собора Украинской православной церкви в Черкассах (МИД России 🇷🇺)

Irish schoolteacher Enoch Burke has been sent to prison for the third time following his arrest outside the school that sacked him for refusing to ‘call a boy a girl’. | On 2nd September 2024, Mr Burke was placed inside a Garda vehicle outside Wilson’s Hospital School in Ireland’s Co Westmeath and driven to the Four Courts in Dublin, according to the Irish Independent. ■ The judge made the decision after Mr. Burke repeatedly refused to give a direct answer when asked if he would continue to ignore an order from Mr. Justice Alexander Owens, which prohibits him from attending the school. ■ Mr. Justice Quinn stated that he was ‘satisfied’ Mr. Burke was in contempt of court and noted that his presence at the school was ‘disruptive to the staff’s ability to provide orderly education to pupils’. He ordered that Mr. Burke be detained at Mountjoy Prison until he ‘purges his contempt’ [sic].

The bill outlaws any religious organizations considered to have ties to Moscow | Vladimir Zelensky has signed a law that calls for the banning of any religious group suspected of having ties to Russia. It threatens to effectively shut down the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) – the largest faith-based organization in the country. ● The Ukrainian parliament introduced the legislation earlier this week; it is expected to take effect in 30 days. After that, all the activities of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and all affiliated religious organizations will be outlawed. ● The UOC will have nine months to sever all ties with the ROC, despite the Ukrainian church having already declared full autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict. ● After signing the legislation on Saturday, the country’s Independence Day, Zelensky released a video address stating that “Ukrainian Orthodoxy is today taking a step towards liberation from Moscow’s devils.” [...] Moscow has condemned Ukraine's crackdown on religious communities; the Holy Synod of the ROC issued a statement on Thursday comparing the new legislation with Soviet-style repression and other historical persecutions of Christians.

■ Kiev’s Plan To Ban The Ukrainian Orthodox Church Shows How Insecure It Is About National Identity (A. Korybko)
■ The country will be destroyed like Sodom and Gomorrah (Dmitry Medvedev)

Ukraine’s parliament has passed a bill that would allow authorities to ban any religious community deemed to have ties to Moscow | Ukraine’s latest legislation, which aims to grant the government the right to ban any church or religious community with suspected ties to Russia, is akin to Soviet-style repression, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) said in a statement on Thursday. ● Earlier this week, Ukrainian MPs approved the bill, which is seen by the ROC as directly targeted against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). Despite the UOC officially declaring full autonomy from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, Kiev has nevertheless repeatedly accused the church and its clergy of maintaining ties to Moscow. The legislation also outright bans the ROC and all affiliated religious institutions from operating in Ukraine.

■ Kiev’s Plan To Ban The Ukrainian Orthodox Church Shows How Insecure It Is About National Identity (A. Korybko)

Ron Unz | Israel Shahak and the Middle East ● The Unusual Doctrines of Traditional Judaism ● The Attitude of Judaism Towards Non-Jews ● The Historical Role of Jews in Western Societies ● The Controversial Scholarship of Ariel Toaff [...] My encounter a decade ago with Shahak’s candid description of the true doctrines of traditional Judaism was certainly one of the most world-altering revelations of my entire life. But as I gradually digested the full implications, all sorts of puzzles and disconnected facts suddenly became much more clear. There were also some remarkable ironies, and not long afterward I joked to a (Jewish) friend of mine that I’d suddenly discovered that Nazism could best be described as “Judaism for Wimps” or perhaps Judaism as practiced by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. [...]

■ “Jewish values”? (Nahida Izzat)
■ THE EXPRESSION OF HATRED FOR GENTILES Richard Edmondson/Nahida Izzat) (10/04/14)

While Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò is excommunicated, the same Vatican tolerates and even supports figures like Theodore McCarrick and others who abuse and challenge Church teaching. | We find ourselves at a strange moment in Church history when Archbishop Viganò is excommunicated swiftly while Theodore McCarrick remains unexcommunicated after years of his crimes against the Church have come to light. We should look closely at a Vatican that operates in this manner. Rather than addressing the serious questions and allegations Archbishop Viganò raises, he is summarily removed from the Church with an apparent motive to silence him. Meanwhile McCarrick and a lengthy list of others have promoted a culture that ignores or wants to change Church teachings and their voices are allowed and even overtly supported. It seems we are left with only stones to cry out for justice because the voices of faithful disciples are mute, ignored, or even silenced.

■ We must become saints to defend the Latin Mass (Life Site News)(VIDEO)
■ Vatican says Archbishop Viganò ‘guilty’ of schism and excommunicated (07/06/24)

Pope Francis' Vatican announced it had found former Nuncio to the U.S. Archbishop Viganò 'guilty of the reserved delict of schism' on July 4, and that consequently he is automatically excommunicated. | The Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) announced July 5 that it had declared former U.S Nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò to be guilty of “schism” and automatically excommunicated. In a statement issued without warning to the Holy See press corps, the DDF stated that its Congress met on July 4 to decide against Viganò. [...] Under the terms of the latest edition of Canon Law, one who is excommunicated is prohibited from offering the sacraments. On June 20, Viganò revealed that the DDF had, by way of a letter dated June 11, begun an “extrajudicial penal trial” against him, accusing the prelate of “the crime of schism.”

■ LifeSiteNews launches petition praying for Archbishop Viganò after excommunication (Life Site News)
■ Archbishop Viganò: I accuse Bergoglio of heresy and schism (Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop / Life Site News)
■ EXCLUSIVE: Archbishop Viganò confirms he has not and will not attend Vatican ‘schism’ trial (06/27/24 )

The Indonesia foreign minister said in statement that there have been efforts from Israel and its allies to persuade countries with Muslim majority to establish diplomatic relations. "There are systematic efforts by Israel and its allies to lobby and pressure Muslim countries into considering normalizing ties with Israel," Retno Marsudi told a conference at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, central Java province. | The Indonesia foreign minister on Monday said Israel and its allies had been trying to get Muslim countries to normalize ties. ● "There are systematic efforts by Israel and its allies to lobby and pressure Muslim countries into considering normalizing ties with Israel," Retno Marsudi told a conference at the Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, central Java province. ● Jakarta has no diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, but Israeli media recently claimed Indonesia was mulling establishing ties to gain entry to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Israel is one of the members of the OECD, and Jakarta has to get its approval if it wants to have its membership bid accepted. The government has denied opening ties with Israel.

Kevin MacDonald | Israel has hardened, and the signs of it are in plain view. Dehumanizing language and promises of annihilation from military and political leaders.

[...] Pre-Enlightenment Jewish ethics was entirely based on whether actions applied to the ingroup or the outgroup. Non-Jews had no moral worth and could be exploited or even murdered as long as doing so did not threaten the interests of the wider Jewish community.
[...] This weighs heavily on my mind. This Jewish pose of moral superiority is a dangerous delusion, and we must be realistic what the future holds as Whites continue to lose political power in all Western countries. When the gloves come off, there is no limit to what Jews in power may do if their present power throughout the West continues to increase. The ubiquitous multicultural propaganda of ethnic groups living in harmony throughout the West will quickly be transformed into a war of revenge for putative historical grievances that Jews harbor against the West, from the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans to the events of World War II. This same revenge was fatal to many millions of Russians and Ukrainians. It’s the fate of the Palestinians that we are seeing unfold before our eyes.
[...] The existential problem for us is that we have to avoid the fate of the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the Palestinians. Jews in power will do what they can to oppose the interests of non-Jews of whatever society they reside in, whether by promoting nation-destroying immigration and refugee policy or — when they have absolute power — torture, imprisonment, and genocide.
[...] It should be obvious at this point that Western cultures are the the opposite of Middle Eastern cultures where ethnocentrism and collectivism reign. Westerners have far less of the ingroup-outgroup thinking so typical of Jewish culture throughout history.
[...] Individualism has served us poorly indeed and has been a disaster for Western peoples. Nothing short of a strong ingroup consciousness in which Jews are seen as a powerful and very dangerous outgroup will save us now.

■ Sad To Say, but, by the Numbers, Israeli Society Is Systemically Sociopathic (Ilana Mercer)
■ The Jewish Plot to Enslave Humanity (Pierre Simon)
■ On Israeli Genocidal Inclinations and The Jewish Problem (Gilad Atzmon)(08/08/14)
■ Poll Confirms -Israelis Love To Kill (Gilad Atzmon) (07/30/14)

Pierre Simon | At the Roots of Political Judaism

[...] It is [the] ideas from the Torah, the Talmud, and the Cabala that animate the Likud party, the Tsahal army, as well as the Jewish media, academics, banks, financiers, corporations, and the tens of thousands of synagogues, Jewish associations, foundations, and think tanks spread out in a spider web fashion all over the world. These ideas are the blueprints or protocols that the Jewish race follows to impose its will on the world and to enslave humanity. As stated by the greatly beloved Sephardic rabbi of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, who passed away in 2013.

[...] Should we be concerned about the hegemonic, revolutionary, even tyrannical, and genocidal character of globalism and its off-shoot Zionism? To watch the “most moral army in the world,” of the “only democracy in the Middle East,” unabashedly torture, rape, and exterminate the Palestinian children, women, and the elderly of Gaza, without a shred of human remorse, in front of the entire planet, and with the consent of the Jewish-controlled Western governments, it’s high time to ask some serious questions.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs in Gaza revealed in a statement that 604 mosques had been fully demolished during the current war, with another 200 partially destroyed. | The Gaza Strip's Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs has revealed that Israeli occupation forces (IOF) completely demolished or damaged hundreds of mosques in the Strip since the deadly onslaught on Gaza began on October 7. ● The ministry detailed in a statement that 604 mosques have been reduced to rubble during the current war, with another 200 partially destroyed, in addition to three churches that were completely destroyed. ● Moreover, according to the statement, Israeli troops desecrated at least 60 cemeteries during their ground assault on Gaza, using bulldozers to dig up graves, and stole the bodies of over 1,000 Palestinian martyrs. [...] The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced in its daily report today that the number of Palestinians killed in Gaza due to the Israeli genocidal war ongoing since October 7 has now reached 35,386, in addition to 79,366 injured.

Warsaw’s new policy is aimed at ensuring the “neutrality” of public offices | Poland’s capital has instructed civil servants not to display crucifixes and other religious symbols at Warsaw City Hall, sparking backlash from conservative groups. ● According to the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, officials will not be permitted to hang crosses or crucifixes on the walls or keep them on their desks. Government employees will still be allowed to wear crosses while at work, however. ● The new rules are part of a broader set of regulations aimed at combating various forms of discrimination. Officials have been instructed to use gender-neutral language, address people by their preferred pronouns, and not discriminate against same-sex couples. “Warsaw is the first city in Poland to adopt such a document,” City Hall spokeswoman Monika Beuth said. ● Some politicians and religious groups have argued that such regulations are inappropriate in a predominantly Catholic country.

Amid nationwide persecution of Orthodox Christians, the Ukrainian president claimed that God is his nation’s “ally” | Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has proclaimed that God is an “ally” of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia. Despite his invoking of the Almighty, Zelensky has led a crackdown on the Orthodox Church for the last two years. ● As Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter on Sunday, Zelensky released a video address from Kiev’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, in which he accused Russia of “breaking all the commandments.” [...] Zelensky’s appeal to Christians came as Ukraine’s parliament examines legislation that would close down the country’s largest Christian church, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). While the law has sat in parliament for months, Zelensky’s government has moved to restrict the Church’s activity since the conflict began in 2022.

■ Moscow ridicules Zelensky’s claim about God and Ukraine (RT.com)
■ Multiple dead in Ukrainian drone raid on Belgorod Region (RT.com)

The witch hunt takes place against a background of historical structural disadvantage facing Muslims in the Civil Service. | The British government's assault on all things Muslim carries on apace. No sooner had the toxic minister Michael Gove smeared five specific Muslim groups as potentially extremist than he widened the attack by turning on Muslims working in the civil service. ● Echoing the shift in policy from individual extremism to targeting Muslim institutions, the Civil Service Muslim Network was in the crosshairs. ● The Times reported that meetings held under the auspices of the network 'featured numerous antisemitic tropes.' The only alleged trope the Times was able to identify was “one official involved in the webinars allegedly told staff that the ‘Israel lobby’ had an ‘insidious influence’ on British politics, widely regarded as a common antisemitic trope.” ● The Times also reported that the official also shared anecdotes from a lecture given by Lowkey, a controversial anti-Zionist rapper, claiming Western media were covering up US and UK involvement in the war against Hamas… The same official claimed mainstream media were “biased” and “full of lies” None of this is anti-Semitic or even inaccurate.

■ Renowned British-Palestinian surgeon denied entry into France (Al Mayadeen)

Muslims in Iran and many other countries are celebrating Eid al-Fitr at the conclusion of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, after the new moon of the lunar month of Shawwal was sighted the previous night. | Naqareh drums were played at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Shia Imam, in Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad on Wednesday morning, and Muslim worshippers who had fasted for a month took part in Eid prayers there and across the country early in the morning of the occasion of the festive event, which marks the end of Ramadan – the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. ● In the capital, Tehran, people gathered at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla (Congregational Prayers Site) to perform Eid al-Fitr prayers. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei led the prayers.

■ Palestinians commemorate Eid al-Fitr amid oppression, genocide (Al Mayadeen)