In the U.S. more than 3 million shelter animals are adopted every year. But if you can’t find the animal you’ve been waiting for at your local shelter locally, or even nationally, you can look even farther afield. Svetlana Prudovskaya met with the people who make these little miracles happen. Anna Rice narrates her story.
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Albania said Wednesday it has ordered the expulsion of two Iranian diplomats and declared them “persona non grata.”Acting Foreign Minister Gent Cakaj announced the decision in a Facebook post, writing that diplomats Mohammad Ali Arz Peimanemati and Seyed Ahmad Hosseini Alast have conducted “activities in breach of their [diplomatic] status and the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.””The two representatives of the Islamic Republic have been asked to leave the territory of the Republic of Albania immediately,” Cakaj wrote, without offering further details.  Confidential sources within the Albanian government told VOA the two diplomats are being expelled for activity endangering Albania’s national security. They said that cultural attache Seyed Ahmed Hosseini Alast had previously held high positions with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and that Mohamed Peimanemati had been a member of the operational unit of Iran’s Intelligence Agency, MOIS. The source charged that he was responsible for terrorist acts in European Union countries.FILE – A picture of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, who was killed in an airstrike at Baghdad airport, is seen on the former U.S. Embassy’s building in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 7, 2020.The same sources told VOA that the two had been associates of Quds Force commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike early this month.Rising tensionsAdrian Shtuni, a foreign policy and security expert in Washington, told VOA the expulsion marks a new low in the already strained diplomatic relationship between Albania and Iran.”While the specific nature of the actions undertaken by the expelled Iranian diplomats are yet unclear, the justification used by the Albanian authorities, namely ‘activities incompatible with their diplomatic status,’ is a standard euphemism for espionage,” he said.It is the second time in 13 months that Albania has declared Iranian diplomats “persona non grata.”In December 2018, Tirana expelled Iran’s ambassador and another diplomat whom the country accused of “damaging its national security.” Following talks with other countries, including Israel, AIbania declared the two diplomats were expelled for “violating their diplomatic status.”U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently thanked Albania, saying in a letter to Prime Minister Edi Rama that the action “exemplifies our joint efforts to show the Iranian government that its terrorist activities in Europe and around the world will have severe consequences.”Reaction from IranIran blamed the United States and Israel for the expulsions. Its foreign ministry said Albania “has become an unintentional victim of the United States, Israel and some terrorist groups.”Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, seemed to target Albania in a televised address last week decrying the killing of Soleimani. He spoke of a “small and sinister” country that he claimed “was instrumental in a Western plot to effect violent unrest” in Iran in November. Mass protests swept Iran at that time following an abrupt increase in gasoline prices.FILE – In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 1, 2020.Albanian President Ilir Meta responded with a statement saying Albania “is not an evil country, but a democratic country that has suffered from an evil dictatorship unparalleled in its kind. [It] therefore considers human rights sacred.” Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha ruled for 40 years years before his death in 1985.Iranian hostility toward Albania stems in part from the Balkan country’s decision to provide a refuge for 2,500 members of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (Mojahedin-e Khalq or MEK), a militant Iranian opposition group regarded as terrorists by Tehran. The group was expelled from Iraq following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.The U.S. has assisted Albania in its efforts to resettle the MEK, which has supported the U.S. in military operations in the Middle East.Albanian police disclosed for the first time late last year that they had thwarted a 2018 plot involving a “terrorist cell” of Iran’s elite Quds Force. They said the group was targeting a gathering in Albania that included MEK members.Three Iranian men and one Turkish man were suspected of involvement in the cell.
 
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Armed security forces and civilian motorcycle groups loyal to Venezuela’s president forcefully blocked opposition lawmakers from entering the National Assembly building to hold a session on Wednesday.It’s the second time this month that lawmakers have been barred from from the building that houses the only branch of government out of control of President Nicolás Maduro’s socialist government.Attempting to reach the legislative chamber, t he caravan of cars carrying the deputies dodged through downtown streets, but ultimately failed.Gunshots could heard near the cars, but no injuries were reported. Two SUV’s carrying the lawmakers came under attack by people on the street dressed in civilian clothes. They struck the rear window of one, shattering it.“The dictatorship is intent on militarily kidnapping the Federal Legislative Palace and using repressive instruments and paramilitary groups,” Guaidó said on Twitter, accusing Maduro’s government of following a “clumsy and erroneous path.”He said that the lawmakers had decided to hold the session at another location in the Caracas suburb of El Hatillo.The incident was part of a struggle for control of the opposition-controlled National Assembly and Venezuela as a whole, a nation suffering economic and social collapse that’s led estimated 4.5 million to emigrate.A once oil-wealthy nation, Venezuela has been locked in a political, economic and social collapse for the last five years. Basic medicines, food and gasoline are scarce, despite the fact Venezuela sits atop the world’s largest oil reserves.The 36-year-old Guaidó leaped onto Venezuela’s political stage a year ago when he declared himself acting president under the constitution and vowed to to end Maduro’s rule. The United States and more than 50 other nations quickly backed him, saying Maduro’s reelection in 2018 was illegitimate.Guaidó was also blocked from the the National Assembly building early this month in a failed government attempt to prevent him from being reelected as the body’s leader.It’s unclear where Guaidó was during the attempted entry to the National Assembly building on Wednesday.Opposition lawmaker Delsa Solórzano said she was riding in a car with at least three other lawmakers that came under attack near the legislative building with rocks and sticks. She also reported hearing gunfire.“Evidently tried to kill us,” Solórzano said. “Today, our parliament is practically kidnapped.”
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A Turkish court on Wednesday lifted a ban on Wikipedia after almost three years.Turkey was the only country in the world apart from China to entirely block access to the online encyclopedia.But its constitutional court ruled last month that the ban, in place since April 2017, violated freedom of expression.Turkish officials said in 2017 that the ban was needed as Wikipedia had failed to remove content accusing its government of assisting terrorist groups.Rights groups have regularly criticized the erosion of free speech in Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, especially since a failed coup attempt in 2016 triggered a massive crackdown on government critics in the press and beyond.An Ankara judge gave the order on Wednesday for the ban to be lifted by the telecommunications watchdog.Users said the website was still inaccessible on Wednesday though it was expected to be gradually unblocked nationwide.
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The U.N. human rights office says it is alarmed at the number of human rights defenders who were killed in Colombia last year. Human rights monitors have confirmed 107 activists were killed in 2019, but they say they are in the process of verifying 13 additional cases which, if confirmed, would bring the death toll to 120.They say the danger is continuing, noting that at least 10 activists reportedly have been killed during the first 13 days of this year. Human rights spokeswoman Marta Hurtado says the majority of killings happen in impoverished, rural areas where criminal groups and armed groups operate.”The single most targeted group was human rights defenders advocating on behalf of community-based and specific ethnic groups such as indigenous peoples and Afro-Colombians,” Hurtado said. “The killings of female human rights defenders increased by almost 50 percent in 2019 compared to 2018.”Other factors contributing to the spate of killings are linked to the government’s peace agreement with the country’s main rebel group, the FARC, in September 2016. Hurtado says criminal groups and armed groups have taken over the illicit economies in areas vacated by the FARC.The government’s usual response to control violent situations is to send military troops, without tackling the structural causes behind the violence and discontent, according to Hurtado.”One answer should be to increase the military presence to control and to secure the area,” she said. “But, as well, tackling the chronic levels of poverty, the lack of the presence of the State providing basic services and other structural services that are not provided.”The U.N. human rights office is urging the Colombian government to make a strenuous effort to prevent attacks against human rights defenders, to investigate each and every case, and to prosecute those responsible for the violations.
 
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Environmental issues make up the top five risks to the global economy for  the coming decade, organizers of next week’s World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos said Wednesday.Citing  a survey of hundreds of key decision-makers, the WEF pointed to potentially catastrophic trends like global warming and the extinction of animal species — underscoring how the environment has surged up the international policy-making agenda ahead of risks like cyberattacks, recession and nuclear proliferation.
The concerns are especially acute, it added, at a time of growing international division, evident in global disputes like the trade war between the United States and China.
“The political landscape is polarized, sea levels are rising and climate fires are burning,” said Borge Brende, president of the World Economic Forum.
“This is the year when world leaders must work with all sectors of society to repair and reinvigorate our systems of cooperation, not just for short-term benefit but for tackling our deep-rooted risks.”
Brende said the world has a decade to deal with the climate emergency, and that not doing so within that time frame would be akin to “moving deckchairs on the Titanic.”
The 750 global experts and decision-makers questioned in the Global Risks Report 2020 identified economic disputes as the number one risk to the global economy this year. For the longer-term outlook, however, environmental concerns accounted for the top five risks.FILE – Climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks during the U.N. Climate Action Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, Sept. 23, 2019.The findings illustrate how environmental issues have become more important to the public and to policymakers, particularly over the past year, which has seen high-profile campaigning efforts from the likes of Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg and the Extinction Rebellion group.
The biggest long-term risk cited in the report was the possibility of extreme weather events, such as floods or storms. The others were the failure to properly plan for climate change, man-made environmental disasters such as oil spills, major biodiversity loss, and natural disasters such as earthquakes or tsunamis.
“There is mounting pressure on companies from investors, regulators, customers, and employees to demonstrate their resilience to rising climate volatility,” said John Drzik, chairman of Marsh & McLennan Insights, which along with Zurich Insurance Group helped the WEF compile the report.”High profile events, like recent wildfires in Australia and California, are adding pressure on companies to take action on climate risk at a time when they also face greater geopolitical and cyber risk challenges.”
Though there’s been a shift toward populist and nationalist politics around the world, Drzik said that those in  the executive suite are under mounting pressure from customers, employees, investors, rating agencies or regulators to tackle climate issues.
The trend was highlighted this week when BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink said his firm, which manages some $7 trillion for investors, will put climate change and sustainability at the heart of its investing approach.
“When your stakeholders align, I think there is an impact on CEOs whatever their underlying philosophy … As pressure mounts, you get more of a response,“ Drzik said.
The annual gathering of the business and political elites in Davos can help in that process, he said, as it assembles “the influencers from the sectors that have to work together.”
 FILE – A Swiss national flag waves in the wind during last year’s World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 25, 2019.The annual Davos meeting has been criticized over the years by those who say it’s just a talking shop for leaders flying in their private jets to enjoy some winter snow.
Adrian Monck, the WEF’s managing director, defended his organization’s stance when it came to climate issues. He noted that most people who go to Davos go up the mountain from Zurich by train. He also pointed out that the WEF has carbon-offsetting programs and that biofuels are available at Zurich Airport to those who opt to jet into Davos.
“It is something we take very seriously,” he told a press briefing in London. “There is nothing worse than an organization identifying a risk and doing nothing about it.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has taken a more unilateralist approach to international issues than his predecessors, is likely to be  one of the main points of interest next week, alongside Thunberg who is appearing at the forum for the second year running.  
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Britain, France, and Germany, collectively known as the EU3, have triggered a dispute  resolution mechanism which is part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, to force Tehran into  discussions on how to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement, or JCPOA, which suffered a blow when U.S. President Donald Trump, who was critical of the deal, took the United States out of it in 2018. Tehran says the European signatories have not fulfilled their part of the deal, thus releasing Tehran from its commitments to halt nuclear development. VOA’s Zlatica Hoke reports if no solution is found, international sanctions against Iran could be re-imposed.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Wednesday the future of the 2015 international deal regarding his country’s nuclear program “depends on Europe,” after the three European signatories accused Iran of breaking key restrictions.Speaking at an event in India, Zarif reiterated long-standing Iranian complaints about Europe not living up to its economic promises under the deal, citing a lack of purchases of Iranian oil and the withdrawal of companies from Iran.Zarif acknowledged that Iran has stepped back from its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but said Iran’s complaints went ignored as it complied with the deal and the United States withdrew from the pact and imposed new economic sanctions.”Our economy has suffered without any fault of Iran.  Over the past two years, hundreds of billions of dollars in damages.  Are they going to pay us back?  If they pay us back those hundreds of billions, I’ll make sure everything we have done is reversed beyond any shadow of doubt,” Zarif said.Britain, France and Germany said in a joint statement Tuesday they have upheld their responsibilities under the nuclear deal, including lifting economic sanctions against Iran and working to promote legitimate trade with the country.They said Iran’s non-compliance has left them no choice but to refer the situation to a dispute resolution process specified in the agreement.”Iran’s actions are inconsistent with the provisions of the nuclear agreement and have increasingly severe and non-reversible proliferation implications,” they said.The agreement, also signed by the United States, China and Russia, was meant to allay concerns Iran was working to build a nuclear weapon. And it put in place restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program that were meant to make such work impossible.  In exchange, Iran got relief from sanctions that had badly hurt its economy.But after the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018, Iran began reducing its compliance with steps such as going above the allowed limits on the amount of enriched uranium it can stockpile, enriching to higher levels, and using more centrifuges than allowed.Zarif on Wednesday also dismissed a suggestion by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who told the BBC that it would probably be better if what he called the “flawed” JCPOA was replaced with a new agreement negotiated by U.S. President Donald Trump.”I had a U.S. deal and the U.S. broke it,” Zarif said.  “If I have a Trump deal, how long will it last? Another 10 months?”The Iranian foreign minister said it is not in Europe’s interest to “tag along” with the United States.The Trump administration argued the nuclear deal was too generous to Iran and did not constrain what it called Iran’s malign behavior in the Middle East.  It has carried out what it calls a “maximum pressure” campaign to try to get Iran’s leaders to alter their course.Britain, France and Germany reiterated their “regret and concern” at the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement, and made clear in their statement Tuesday that seeking a resolution from the Joint Commission does not mean they are backing the U.S. strategy.”Our three countries are not joining a campaign to implement maximum pressure against Iran,” they said. “Our hope is to bring Iran back into full compliance with its commitments under the JCPOA.”The Joint Commission consists of one member from each of the signatories. Under the JCPOA they have 15 days to resolve a dispute.  The step is the first in a series of potential resolution mechanisms, the last of which involves referring the matter to the U.N. Security Council.
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Guatemala  swears in  Alejandro Giammattei, a conservative physician opposed to gay marriage and abortion, as its new president Tuesday while the country’s outgoing leader exits amid swirling corruption accusations.The 63-year-old Giammattei won the presidency on his fourth attempt in August for Vamos, a party founded in 2017 by politicians, businessmen and military officers on promises of battling poverty and providing better opportunities.Giammattei was scheduled to be sworn in before several Latin American leaders, among them Juan Orlando Hernandez of Honduras, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, Ivan Duque of Colombia and Lenin Moreno of Ecuador.One of the early challenges facing Giammattei will be an Asylum Cooperation Agreement signed by his predecessor with the United States government. There was significant opposition to the deal inside Guatemala. The U.S. began sending Honduran and Salvadoran asylum seekers to Guatemala under the agreement in November and recently said it would expand it to Mexicans. A similar deal signed with Honduras could send Guatemalan asylum seekers there.Giammattei inherits a country with grinding poverty: Fifty-nine percent of Guatemalans live below the poverty line, according to official figures, while nearly 1 million children below age 5 are estimated to live with chronic malnutrition.He has proposed to build what he calls a “Mayan Train,” high-speed rail with a line for cargo and another for passengers. The name mirrors a planned train project for neighboring Mexico that will travel between coastal resorts, cities and Mayan ruins in that country’s southeast.Giammattei will be working without a majority in Congress. His party captured 17 seats.The surgeon suffers from multiple sclerosis, a disease of the nervous system, and uses crutches to walk. He has also worked as a business consultant in the private sector.In 2006, Giammattei was the head of the country’s prison system when the interior ministry carried out a raid on the Pavon penal farm to regain control from the inmates. Thousands of police, soldiers and armed civilians raided the prison overnight and several inmates died in the operation.Authorities, bureaucrats and private citizens were arrested, tried and imprisoned for the raid, including Giammattei. After several months in jail awaiting trial he was acquitted and released.He takes over from President Jimmy Morales who spent much of his four-year term dodging corruption charges.The former television comedian who campaigned on a promise of “not corrupt, not a thief” will possibly be most remembered for kicking out a U.N. supported anti-corruption mission that was closing in on him and members of his family.Juan Francisco Sandoval, head of the special prosecutor against impunity office, said he hopes the future will be better without Morales. “He was the roadblock for the fight against corruption and impunity.”
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening action in both Libya and Syria as rhetoric ramps up in the face of looming regional setbacks and growing frustrations with Moscow.Erdogan, addressing parliament Tuesday, issued a stark warning to Damascus not to violate the latest brokered cease-fire in Syrian rebel-controlled Idlib province.”We hope the cease-fire in Syria’s Idlib is lasting. Turkey is determined to prevent (Syrian leader Bashar al-) Assad regime attacks in violation of the truce,” said Erdogan to cheers from his parliamentary deputies.”Everyone should see and accept this is no joke.  Turkey will absolutely do whatever it says it will do,” he added.The Turkish president called on Damascus to allow 400,000 Syrians that had fled to Turkey’s border to be allowed to return to their homes in Idlib.Turkey is currently hosting over 3.5 million Syrian refugees amid growing public discontent blamed in part for a series of humiliating election defeats for Erdogan’s ruling AKP.  Analysts say Erdogan is determined to prevent another exodus of Syrian refugees entering Turkey.  Turkish military forces are deployed in Idlib as part of a previous agreement struck with Moscow to enforce a de-escalation zone.  While Ankara backs Syrian rebels, the two countries are increasingly cooperating in Syria as part of a broader rapprochement.  Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, left, talk after they symbolically open a valve during a ceremony in Istanbul for the inauguration of the TurkStream pipeline, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020. The latest Idlib cease-fire was reportedly agreed to between Erdogan and Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the inauguration of a Russian-Turkish gas pipeline in Istanbul.”Turkey needs Russia in Syria desperately because Idlib probably cannot be resolved without Russia cooperation,” said Mehmet Ogutcu of the London Energy Forum. “There is an unbalanced relationship in favor of Russia; there is a marriage of convenience. But this is not sustainable in the medium to long term.”The vulnerability of Ankara’s position is underlined by the reality that Erdogan is probably unable to follow through on his threats aimed at Damascus, international studies professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara’s Middle East Technical University, said.”Without Russian permission, Turkey cannot do anything,”  he said.”Turkey is very dependent on Russia,” he added. “How can Turkey attack any force in Syria as the sky is closed to the Turkish air force?   It can only use ground forces. This is just rhetoric. Erdogan is getting angry because things are not going his way.”Moscow has deployed a sophisticated anti-aircraft missile system across northern Syria.On Monday, Syrian and Turkish intelligence met in Moscow, but local reports claim the meeting made little progress with Syrian officials demanding the full withdrawal of Turkish forces from Syria.  The gathering of intelligence chiefs in Moscow was held on the sidelines of efforts to end another conflict, the Libyan civil war.Commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar shakes hands with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu before talks in Moscow, Jan. 13, 2020.The warring parties of General Khalifa Haftar, whose forces control most of Libya and the internationally recognized Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), were supposed to sign a cease-fire agreement brokered by Putin and Erdogan Monday. But Haftar left Moscow without putting ink to the deal.Erdogan slammed Haftar Tuesday, “If Haftar continues to attack the country’s legitimate government and our brothers in Libya, we will never refrain from giving Haftar the lesson he deserves,”  he said.This month Ankara started to deploy military forces to Tripoli as part of the security agreement signed in November between Erdogan and the GNA prime minister, Fayez Sarraj.In a rare public display of frustration, Erdogan insisted Putin needs to deliver Haftar’s signature. “We did our part, now what is left is in Mr. Putin and his team’s court,” he said Tuesday.FILE – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a news conference in Rome, Italy, Dec. 6, 2019.The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, sought to calm tensions, claiming Haftar would sign in the next couple of days. Russian mercenaries of the Wagner group back Haftar.  The Wagner Group is a private security force run by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman reported to have close ties with Moscow, although Putin denied last week the forces are paid for by Moscow.However, there are growing doubts about whether Putin can deliver Haftar’s signature.”Probably General Haftar got better offers, more promises by Saudi Arabia, Israel, maybe European countries, possibly America. No one wants the Sarraj government to survive, and no one wants Turkey or Russia there,” Bagci said.U.S. official David Satterfield meets with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, March 5, 2019.Sarraj met Tuesday in Istanbul with the U.S. ambassador to Turkey David Satterfield.Some analysts suggest Haftar could be waiting to make his final decision on whether to agree to a cease-fire at Sunday’s international meeting on Libya in Berlin.  A possible move to strengthen Haftar’s hand ahead of the Berlin meeting, there are reports his forces have resumed fighting against the GNA.Ankara faces a potential deteriorating situation in both Syria and Libya, while Erdogan continues to double down with warnings and threats, something analysts warn carries risks.”Erdogan’s rhetoric is getting much harsher. He is not happy with the developments.  The problem is his own rhetoric can trap him and that he will be forced into actions he doesn’t want to do. It will not be good, neither for him or Turkey,” said Bagci. 
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed alarm Tuesday at the “staggering number” of social activists killed in Colombia despite a peace accord aimed at improving conditions in poor, rural areas.According to the U.N., 107 human rights defenders were killed in 2019, a worrying number that could grow to 120 as investigations are completed. At least 10 activists have been reported killed in the first two weeks of 2020.”This vicious and endemic cycle of violence and impunity must stop,” said Marta Hurtado, spokesperson for the high commissioner.The vast majority of the deaths happened in rural areas with higher-than-average rates of poverty and where illegal armed groups operate. Some of these areas were previously controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the rebel group that signed an historic peace accord in 2016.The U.N. pointed to challenges in implementing the accord, the presence of illegal armed groups in territory once controlled by the leftist rebels and the government’s military-focused response as all being partly to blame.The landmark agreement ending over five decades of conflict includes lengthy chapters outlining ways for the government to establish a presence in remote regions where the illicit drug trade flourishes. While some advances including the building of new roads and efforts at crop substitution have taken place, those parts of the accord are proving to be the most difficult and long-term to bring into action.”We acknowledge some positive steps,” Hurtado said, pointing to a recent security meeting. “However, the number of killings clearly shows much more needs to be done.”The numbersMore than half the killings took place in four provinces — Antioquia, Arauca, Cauca and Caqueta — and people advocating on behalf of specific community, ethnic, indigenous and Afro-Colombian groups were the most targeted.The killings of female activists increased by almost 50 percent between 2018 and 2019. The U.N. did not provide a specific number.The total number killed in 2019 is about the same or possibly a bit higher than the previous year, when 115 were killed.The U.N. is calling on the government of President Ivan Duque to redouble efforts to ensure a secure environment for civic engagement, increase the presence of state authorities and expand access to health and education.Duque won the presidency in 2018 on a platform that was critical of the peace deal, though he has not managed to reform any key components.The Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, which is charged with monitoring implementation of the accord, published a study last April finding that work had begun on more than two-thirds of the agreement’s commitments.The study found progress at the two-year mark comparable to other peace processes around the world that the institute has studied.’Profoundly worrying’ developments Special Representative Carlos Ruiz, who heads the U.N. Verification Mission in Colombia, told the U.N. Security Council on Monday that “significant strides” have been made but noted that continuing violence in conflict-affected regions remains a threat to peace.He pointed to “profoundly worrying” developments in recent weeks including territorial disputes between illegal armed groups that risk spreading into more widespread violence in areas like the province of Choco.Ruiz also highlighted the recent death of Lucy Villarreal, an activist killed just after completing a children’s workshop in the port city of Tumaco, where violence involving dissident rebels has flared in the peace deal’s aftermath.He said full implementation of the peace agreement holds the best hope for Colombia’s future.”Peace will not be fully achieved if the brave voices of social leaders continue to be silenced through violence and if former combatants who laid down their weapons and are committed to their reintegration continue to be killed,” he said.
 
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The European Union rolled out a massive, trillion-dollar investment plan Tuesday to deliver on promises to make Europe the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050.The EU would designate one-quarter of its budget to fighting climate change over the next decade. The trillion-dollar price tag would come from a mix of EU and national government funds, as well as investment from the private sector.  It targets the EU’s ambitious goal of ensuring greenhouse emissions reach net zero in 30 years. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who late last year announced that goal — a plan she calls the “Green Deal” — says the investments are for the climate, as well as EU citizens. “It will be invested in the huge transition ahead of us, which consists of upskilling people in new jobs, clean technologies, green financing, new procedures,” she said.FILE – European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a media conference after an extraordinary meeting of the EU college of commissioners at EU headquarters in Brussels, Jan. 8, 2020.The plan prioritizes investment to help coal-dependent countries like Poland transition to green energy. Poland is the only EU member that has not yet signed onto the Green Deal, which would support scientists, businesses and other players in the energy transition. Some of the financing is seed money aimed at triggering much bigger investment.  States that want to qualify for funding must present proposals on low-emission projects as part of how they plan to restructure their economies to be climate friendlier.  The European commissioner for budget and administration, Johannes Hahn, detailed the investment plan at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.  “We have no time to waste if we want to deliver results for the citizens,” Hahn said. “Or, again in a nutshell, we provide climate cash in order to avoid a climate crash.”A recent poll shows Europeans fear climate change more than terrorism or losing their jobs.   Still, some EU lawmakers suggest details of the green investment plan are too sketchy. Others believe it should link the funds to deadlines for phasing out coal.  The European Investment Bank, which is mobilizing the chunk of money, announced last year it would end financing for all fossil fuel projects by the end of 2020, and align future financing goals with the Paris climate agreement.  EU lawmakers are expected to hold a non-binding vote Wednesday on the Green Deal. Von der Leyen aims to have climate legislation adopted by March.
 
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Traveling to the British town of Bath has become a pilgrimage of sorts for people of Ethiopian heritage. When Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie had to go into exile, he landed in Bath. The town, about 145 kilometers west of London, hosted the emperor from 1936 to 1940. When the Italians under Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935, Haile Selassie, was forced to temporarily go in exile in Britain. He lived in Bath at Fairfield House, which also hosted his family, closest confidants and entourage.Emperor of Ethiopia Haile Selassie at the White House in Washington on Oct. 25, 1970. Ezra Tsegay is part of the Ethiopian diaspora community and organizes Ethiopian-related events several times a year at Fairfield House.“We feel privileged that we are continuing a historical tradition,” Ezra said. “And I think it’s a good thing that the emperor’s name is remembered and the place is in use. And we feel very attached to the place emotionally.”The emperor renovated the two-story house after he bought the property. Rooms are still decorated with impressive carpets and Ethiopian art, as well as photos of Haile Selassie. The property sits on nearly one hectare of land.An estimated 90,000 people of Ethiopian heritage live in Britain. Most are based in London. One of them — Abiyou Desta — was visiting the former residence of the Ethiopian emperor for the first time.“To be honest, as someone of Ethiopian heritage, I’m really feeling very proud about the place and about the king, what he was doing, Abiyou said. “The displays all over the walls from the first floor to the top floor are very informative. It tells you a lot of information about him, how he used to administer his country from here.”The 25-room house is now a listed building, meaning changes cannot be made without prior approval. What once used to be the empresses’ office is now an office used by Fairfield project coordinators such as Pauline Swaby Wallace. She explains why the emperor gave Fairfield House to the city of Bath in 1958.“He had come with money, he came with resources, but in time those resources had run out, so the people of Bath were kind enough to, you know, accept him in their community,” Pauline said. “Although they were told by our government that, you know, just leave him let him just live quietly at Fairfield House. So he was invited to events, and he invited people here. So I think the kindness that was shown to him, he showed it back by giving this gift.”Besides the Ethiopian community, Rastafarians use the house as they revere Haile Selassie as God. But the house is mostly used as a day care center for the elderly.After the Italians were driven out, Haile Selassie returned to Ethiopia, and ruled the country until he was deposed in 1974. He died in 1975.  
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A surge of terrorist violence in Africa’s Sahel region is forcing West African nations to reconsider their strategy and unify military forces. Leaders invited by French President Emmanuel Macron to a G5 summit in the southern French city of Pau on Monday agreed to pursue their engagements with France – and put aside their differences with the former colonial power – to fight against jihadism. For VOA, Daniel Gillet reports from Pau. 
 
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Iran’s foreign minister has cancelled an expected appearance at next week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, organizers said Tuesday, citing the “backdrop of uncertainty” in the Middle East.The move averts a possible crossing-of-paths with top U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump, in the Alpine town at a time when relations between Iran and the United States have hit a new low.WEF President Borge Brende cited only the “cancellation” by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was notably blacklisted by the Trump administration even before the new tensions. Brende declined to elaborate on the reasons for it.“We have to understand the cancellation against the backdrop of uncertainty in the region and what his happening in Iran,” he told reporters at WEF headquarters in Geneva at a look-ahead event to the 50th anniversary of the forum.Word of Zarif’s absence came as WEF founder Klaus Schwab warned that the world faces a “state of emergency” and said the window for opportunity is closing fast – notably when it comes to acting to save the environment.He insisted the annual meeting will be “a do-shop,' not atalk-shop’.”All told, nearly 3,000 leaders from 118 countries are expected for the Jan. 21-24 event. The president of Iraq, Barham Salih, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are among the 53 heads of state and government set to attend, along with hundreds of business leaders and civil society activists, like environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg of Sweden.Schwab emphasized the importance of sustainable economic growth, the need for decent jobs and salaries, and plans for skills training for a billion people worldwide over the next decade.He expressed hopes that a “Green Revolution” will go mainstream and said the World Economic Forum would encourage partner businesses to become carbon neutral. He highlighted an environmental project to plant 1 trillion trees worldwide by 2030 to help gobble up excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.Schwab revived his call for “stakeholder capitalism” to help take the lead in solving global problems.“Environmental responsibility is very much a part of the stakeholder responsibility,” he said. 
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Russia said it made progress after hosting indirect peace talks aimed at ending the conflict in Libya — despite failing to secure an open ended cease-fire deal between the warring sides in the nine-month war.“Today we can report that some progress was made,” said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, at a press conference late Monday in which he described the eight-hour parallel negotiations with co-mediator Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as “serious talks.”The head of the Tripoli-based, internationally-recognized government, Fayez al-Sarraj, agreed to sign a memorandum that promised an end to offensive military actions and creation of a commission to identify a line of division between the warring parties.  Yet Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the Libyan National Army who has made recent gains in an assault on the Libyan capital, Tripoli, asked for additional time to consider the proposal before leaving Moscow Tuesday without signing the agreement.Haftar later commented to Middle East media outlets, saying the Russian-Turkish plan “ignored many of the demands of the LNA — such as a deadline for disbanding government forces and creation of a unity government.In Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintained that Haftar had simply gone back on his word to sign the agreement while in Moscow.  Russia’s Lavrov pledged that Moscow would keep working on the Libyan peace deal “until a result is achieved.”Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, left, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attend a joint news conference following their talks in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 13, 2020.Libya descended into political chaos following a U.N.-mandated 2011 NATO military intervention that led to the ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.  Subsequent civil wars have gutted the economy and caused an outflow of Libyan migrants to Europe — often with the help of human traffickers.  The Moscow talks come amid a broader push by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan to bring an end to the fighting — despite backing different sides in the conflict.  Turkey backs al-Sarraj while Russia has provided tacit support for Haftar’s LNA alongside Egypt, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates.   While falling short of a peace agreement, the negotiations highlighted Moscow’s growing influence as a power broker in the Middle East region — with the Kremlin already involved in the war in Syria and managing a delicate balance of alliances that includes erstwhile (former) enemies Iran and Turkey, a NATO member.   Putin and Erdogan pushed through a temporary cease-fire last Sunday that provided a lull in fighting.   The Moscow negotiations also precede additional Libya peace talks scheduled in Berlin for this Sunday, when Putin and Erdogan are expected to join German Chancellor Angela Merkel.     During a recent visit to Moscow, Merkel said she welcomed the Russian-Turkish diplomatic initiative in Libya and hoped the Berlin conference would give rise to “a peaceful and sovereign country.”A statement on the Kremlin’s website said Putin had informed Merkel about the results of the most recent Libya negotiations during a phone call on Tuesday.  Yet Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu suggested the Libyan National Army’s refusal to compromise in Moscow had suddenly put the conference in question.  “The Libya Conference in Berlin has no purpose if Khalifa Haftar doesn’t change his position,” said Cavusoglu in comments carried by Russia’s TASS news agency.     
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The Academy Award nomination for a Brazilian documentary about the impeachment of then-President Dilma Rousseff has once again laid bare the polarization of Latin America’s largest democracy.
    
In “The Edge of Democracy,” 36-year-old filmmaker Petra Costa uses her personal story to argue that Brazil’s democracy is at risk after the abrupt end to governments led by the leftist Workers’ Party.
    
With Rousseff’s removal in 2016, her conservative vice president, Michel Temer, assumed power and in 2018, far-right Jair Bolsonaro defeated the Workers’ Party candidate to win the presidency.
    
Leftist politicians said Monday’s nomination validates their interpretation of Rousseff’s impeachment as a soft coup, as Costa suggests. Rousseff’s mentor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who recently was released from jail pending appeal of his corruption conviction, praised Costa on Twitter for “the seriousness in which she narrated this important time of our history.’
    
“Truth will prevail,” he wrote.
    
Conservatives fired back, slamming the film’s veracity and insisting Brazil’s first female president deserved to be ousted for manipulating budget figures.
   
 “Congratulations to filmmaker Petra Costa on her nomination for best fiction and fantasy,” the Brazilian Social Democracy Party, which was instrumental in Rousseff’s impeachment process, said on Twitter.
    
Roberto Alvim, Bolsonaro’s secretary of culture, also said Costa’s documentary amounts to fiction and told local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo that its recognition by Hollywood proves the culture wars are being waged internationally.
    
Costa, for her part, said on her social media channels that the documentary was urgent “in a time where the far right is spreading like an epidemic.”
    
The other films nominated for best documentary are “American Factory,”  “The Cave”  “For Sam” and “Honeyland.” The winning film will be announced at a Feb. 9 ceremony in Los Angeles.
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A Swiss judge Monday found a group of activists not guilty of trespassing when they stormed into a branch of Credit Suisse bank to protest its investment in fossil fuels.The defendants and their supporters screamed with joy when Judge Philippe Colelough dismissed the charges and waived the fine. He agreed with the activists that they were protesting against what they say is an “imminent danger” caused by global warming.”Because of the insufficient measures taken to date in Switzerland … the average warming will not diminish or even stabilize. It will increase,” the judge said, adding that the action of the defendants was “necessary and proportional.”Credit Suisse said it will analyze the verdict. It has previously said it respects freedom of expression, but cannot put up with “unlawful attacks on its branches.”About a dozen young men and women barged into the bank branch outside Lausanne in November 2018 and started playing tennis in the building — a living reference to Swiss tennis star Roger Federer who is sponsored by the bank.Along with protesting the bank’s multi-billion dollar investment in fossil fuels, the activists are urging Federer to cut his ties to Credit Suisse.Federer issued a statement saying he takes the impacts of climate change very seriously and is using his “privileged position to dialogue on important issues with my sponsors.”
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Queen Elizabeth II said Monday that she has agreed to grant Prince Harry and Meghan their wish for a more independent life that will see them move part-time to Canada.The British monarch said in a statement that “today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.”
She said it had been “agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK.” Harry and Meghan are also known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.FILE – Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex react as they leave after her visit to Canada House in London, Jan. 7, 2020.”These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days,” the queen said.
In a six-sentence statement that mentioned the word “family” six times, the queen said that “though we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.”
Monday’s meeting involved the queen, her heir Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry, with Meghan expected to join by phone from Canada.
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The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on seven Venezuelans, the U.S. Treasury Department said, in Washington’s latest action to ramp up pressure on the government of  President Nicolas Maduro.
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Paris commuters battled to reach work again on Monday as a 40-day-old strike dragged on and France’s premier vowed “to go to the end” with the pension reforms that sparked the action.There was still major disruption on the Paris metro and the national railway system, even after Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced a major concession to unions at the weekend.But the situation was somewhat improved from previous weeks, with all Paris metro lines now open in peak hours and the trains running slightly more regularly.National rail operator SNCF said eight out of ten high-speed TGV trains were operating, although slower regional trains were more affected.”We are going to go to the end” in implementing the pension reforms, Philippe said on France 2 television late Sunday.”Those who incite (workers) to continue the strike are leading them perhaps into a dead end… I think that they need to assume their responsibilities,” he said.”I think you know the phrase —  ‘you need to know how to end a strike’. We are not far now,” he added. ‘Not end of the story’Philippe announced Saturday that he would drop plans to increase the official age for a full pension to 64 from 62, a move welcomed by more moderate trade unions like the CFDT.President Emmanuel Macron, who has sought to stay above the fray throughout the crisis by relying on Philippe to deal with the unions, called the change “a constructive and responsible compromise.”But the more hardline CGT, FO and Solidaires unions were standing firm, calling for the strike and protests to continue, including another major demonstration on Thursday.Demonstrators in the capital on Saturday, some masked and hooded, broke shop windows and set fires along their protest route, and threw projectiles at police in riot gear who responded with tear gas.The government however is not budging on its overall plan for a universal scheme to rationalise 42 existing pension schemes into a single, points-based system it says will be fairer and more transparent.”The end of the pivot age does not mean the end of the strike,” commented the Le Parisien daily.Laurent Berger, the head of the moderate CFDT, France’s largest union, also struck a cautious note while reaffirming his welcome for the withdrawal of the so-called “pivot age” of 64 as “extremely important.””We are far from being at the end of this story on the universal system for pensions and we will need to keep up the pressure,” he told RTL Radio.The strike has also been observed by other public-service workers affected by the reforms, including staff at the Paris Opera, which on Saturday cancelled its performance of “The Barber of Seville,” its first show of 2020.Lawyers have also been striking, with the first day of the keenly awaited trial of Bernard Preynat, a priest who is charged with abusing dozens of boy scouts in the southeastern Lyon area in the 1980s and 1990s, delayed to Tuesday from Monday.”We are aware that this trial is very important but we think it would not be appropriate to give it special treatment,” said the head of the Lyon bar association Serge Deygas at the court, accompanied by a dozen striking lawyers.
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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made a brief court appearance Monday in his bid to prevent extradition to the United States to face serious espionage charges.He and his lawyers complained they weren’t being given enough time to meet to plan their battle against U.S. prosecutors seeking to put him on trial for WikiLeaks’ publication of hundreds of thousands of confidential documents.The 48-year-old was brought to court from Bealmarsh Prison on the outskirts of London. He saluted the public gallery, which was packed with ardent supporters including the musician MIA, when he entered the courtroom. He later raised his right fist in defiance when he was taken to holding cells to meet with lawyer Gareth Peirce.Peirce said officials at Belmarsh Prison are making it extremely difficult for her to meet with Assange.“We have pushed Belmarsh in every way – it is a breach of a defendant’s rights,” she said.Assange refrained from making political statements. He confirmed his name and date of birth, and at one point said he didn’t understand all of the proceedings against him during the brief hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.He faces 18 charges in the U.S., including conspiring to hack into a Pentagon computer. He has denied wrongdoing, claiming he was acting as a journalist entitled to First Amendment protection.Many advocacy groups have supported Assange’s claim that the charges would have a chilling effect on freedom of the press.A five-day extradition hearing is scheduled for late February. Assange’s legal team has tried to delay the hearing so there is more time to prepare, but these requests have been denied.Assange has already served a 50-week prison sentence in Britain for jumping bail. A rape investigation launched against him in Sweden has been dropped, so he would likely be freed from prison if extradition is denied. 
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President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Sunday that a monument will be put up to memorialize nine U.S.-Mexican dual citizens ambushed and slain last year by suspected drug gang assassins along a remote road in the northern border region near New Mexico.In remarks to members of the small town of La Mora, which was shattered by the Nov. 4 killings of three women and six children from the extended Langford, LeBaron and Miller families, Lopez Obrador said the first goal is to bring those responsible to justice.Speaking after meeting with victims’ relatives, the president said an agreement had been reached with municipal and Sonora state officials to establish a monument of some sort “here where these lamentable and painful events took place,” and also for special recognition of those who risked their lives to rush to the aid of victims and survivors.”So that we exalt this, the true solidarity: He who is willing to give his life for another,” Lopez Obrador said.He promised to meet with family members in two months to give them another in-person update on the investigation and to return in four to six months to present a plan on regional development including road improvements.The mostly bilingual American-Mexicans have lived in northern Mexico for decades and consider themselves Mormons, though they are not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.The community’s origins in Mexico date to the official end of polygamy over a century ago by the LDS church, which prompted many families that continued the practice to establish colonies elsewhere. Many of those in northern Mexico have by now, over the generations, abandoned polygamy as well.La Mora is a hamlet of about 300 people in Sonora state while Colonia LeBaron is a larger town of over 2,000 on the other side of the mountains in Chihuahua; the two are linked by a bone-jarring and treacherous dirt road where the attack occurred as the women and children were traveling to visit relatives.The areas lie in the territory of rival drug gangs with the Sinaloa cartel of convicted kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman holding sway in Sonora and the Juarez cartel dominant in Chihuahua.The killings sowed grief and fear in the tightly knit communities, and dozens fled La Mora for the United States in the subsequent days out of concerns for their safety. What was once a tranquil and even idyllic life in a fertile river valley surrounded by mountains and desert scrub had grown increasingly tenuous as criminal gangs exerted their influence and fought each other, some said.”Broken hearts, defeated, and through the fault of crime. I personally do not understand how so many people continue to die in such a beautiful country, such good people and with such richness,” community member Margaret Langford said at Sunday’s ceremony. “I was born in Chihuahua but I have been living for 20 years here in La Mora, a place that was so tranquil and neighbors we treasure so much.””I love this  country and it pains me to my soul to think of not being able to live here,” Langford said. “This massacre has left us lost and destroyed. I ask God that it not be what defines our community..”Mexico has been posting homicide totals in recent years at all-time highs since comparable records began to be kept in the 1990s.Lopez Obrador repeated Sunday that his security strategy aims to address root causes of violence such as poverty, inequality and lack of opportunity, particularly for young people, rather than the military offensive launched in 2006 by then-President Felipe Calderon and continued under Lopez Obrador’s predecessor, Enrique Pena Nieto.”Deprive the fish of water,” the president said “so there are no longer young people who want to be cartel killers.”Victims’ relatives said Thursday that U.S. authorities told them they had detained two suspects in the killings, and Mexican prosecutors said earlier in the week that more than 40 suspects had been identified.Previously, Mexican prosecutors said three men were arrested and charged with organized crime for drug offenses, though none apparently yet faced homicide charges in the case.Four other suspects were said to be under a form of house arrest, and the name of one suspect partially matched the police chief of the town of Janos, Chihuahua, near the eastern terminus of the connecting dirt road.Local media reported the chief had been on the payroll of La Linea drug gang, which is allied with the Juarez cartel.”I know there are things that do not take away the pain, that the pain remains in our hearts, but without doubt, justice, Mr. president, … will relieve a little bit the pain of these families,” Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich Arellano said Sunday.
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Retired Pope Benedict XVI has broken his silence to reaffirm the value of priestly celibacy, co-authoring a bombshell book at the precise moment that Pope Francis is weighing whether to allow married men to be ordained to address the Catholic priest shortage.Benedict wrote the book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church,” along with his fellow conservative, Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, who heads the Vatican’s liturgy office and has been a quiet critic of Francis.The French daily Le Figaro published excerpts of the book late Sunday; The Associated Press obtained galleys of the English edition, which is being published by Ignatius Press.Benedict’s intervention is extraordinary, given he had promised to remain “hidden from the world” when he retired in 2013 and pledged his obedience to the new pope. He has largely held to that pledge, though he penned an odd essay last year on the sexual abuse scandal that blamed the crisis on the sexual revolution of the 1960s.His reaffirmation of priestly celibacy, however, gets to the heart of a fraught policy issue that Francis is expected to weigh in on, and could well be considered a public attempt by the former pope to sway the thinking of the current one.The authors clearly anticipated that potential interpretation, and stressed in their joint introduction that they were penning the book in a spirit of filial obedience, to Pope Francis.Francis has said he would write a document based on the outcome of the October 2019 synod of bishops on the Amazon. A majority of bishops at the meeting called for the ordination of married men to address the priest shortage in the Amazon, where the faithful can go months without having a Mass.Francis has expressed sympathy with the Amazonian plight. While he has long reaffirmed the gift of a celibate priesthood in the Latin rite church, he has stressed that celibacy is a tradition, not doctrine, and therefore can change, and that there could be pastoral reasons to allow for a exception in a particular place.Benedict addresses the issue head-on in his chapter in the brief book, which is composed of a joint introduction and conclusion penned by Benedict and Sarah, and then a chapter apiece in between. True to his theological form, Benedict’s chapter is dense with biblical references and he explains in scholarly terms what he says is the necessary foundation for the celibate priesthood that dates from the times of the apostles.”The priesthood of Jesus Christ causes us to enter into a life that consists of becoming one with him and renouncing all that belongs only to us,” he writes. “For priests, this is the foundation of the necessity of celibacy but also of liturgical prayer, meditation on the Word of God and the renunciation of material goods.”Marriage, he writes, requires man to give himself totally to his family. “Since serving the Lord likewise requires the total gift of a man, it does not seem possible to carry on the two vocations simultaneously. Thus, the ability to renounce marriage so as to place oneself totally at the Lord’s disposition became a criterion for priestly ministry.”The joint conclusion of the book makes the case even stronger, acknowledging the crisis of the Catholic priesthood that it says has been “wounded by the revelation of so many scandals, disconcerted by the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy.”Dedicating the book to priests of the world, the two authors urge them to persevere, and for all faithful to hold firm and support them in their celibate ministry.”It is urgent and necessary for everyone-bishops, priests and lay people-to stop letting themselves be intimidated by the wrong-headed pleas, the theatrical productions, the diabolical lies and the fashionable errors that try to put down priestly celibacy,” they write. “It is urgent and necessary for everyone-bishops, priests and lay people-to take a fresh look with the eyes of faith at the Church and at priestly celibacy which protects her mystery.”
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