ITAR-TASS Presents… Uncommon Holiday Trees From All Over the World

                           

New Year tree in the shape of an ice-cream cone, at Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure (TsPKiO Gorkogo) in Moscow (Federal City of Moscow. Central Federal District) RF

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A statue of St George the all-Victorious decorated like a Christmas tree in the centre of Tbilisi (Tbilisi Capital Region) GEORGIA

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Christmas Tree made of plastic cups in Kaunas (Kaunas City Municipality. Kaunas County) LITHUANIA

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An inverted Christmas Tree in the Galeries Lafayette in Paris (Département de Paris. Région Île-de-France) FRANCE

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Colourful Christmas illumination in Colombo (Colombo District. Western Province) SRI LANKA

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21-metre-high (69-feet-high) Christmas Tree at Seoul City Hall Plaza, Seoul (Special City of Seoul) ROK

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World’s highest floating Christmas Tree in Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State. Southeast Region) BRAZIL

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Installation of a New Year Tree outside a shopping mall in Beijing (Beijing Municipality) PRC

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30-metre-high (99-feet-high) Christmas Tree covered with 2,500 gold-coloured metal leaves in Byblos (Jbeil District. Mount Lebanon Governorate) LEBANON, 40 kilometres (26 miles) north of Beirut

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Lego Christmas Tree made of colourful interlocking toy bricks created by The Lego Group in Sydney (Sydney District) NSW AUSTRALIA

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New Year Tree made of colourful illuminated balls in Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure (TsPKiO Gorkogo) in Moscow RF

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Pakistani Christian boy decorates a tree in preparation for the upcoming Christmas holiday in the slums of Islamabad (Islamabad Capital Territory) PAKISTAN

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People stroll around a Christmas Tree in the Old City of Vilnius (Vilnius City Municipality. Vilnius County) LITHUANIA

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A metal New Year Tree outside of a commercial enterprise in Moscow RF

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Christmas tree near Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur (Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur) MALAYSIA

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Countries around the world start preparations for the Christmas and New Year holidays from late November. The main symbol of the celebration is the decorated tree. Although most people prefer traditional designs, some do extraordinary decorations such as ice-cream cones, Legos, plastic cups, and other uncommon ideas.

26 December 2014

ITAR-TASS

http://itar-tass.com/en/non-political/769339

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Communist and Workers’ Parties Launch Worldwide Campaign of Solidarity with Ukrainian Communists

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Communists and workers’ parties launched a worldwide campaign of solidarity with Ukrainian communists. Many parties are making statements condemning the EU/American intervention into Ukrainian internal affairs, and denouncing the rightwing terrorist campaign against the KPU. The KPRF is actively involved in promoting solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Our party was a co-author of a statement on the Ukraine adopted at a meeting of the working group preparing for the International Meeting of Communist and Workers’ Parties scheduled for the Lebanese capital of Beirut. Currently, we’re collecting signatures on a joint document of protest in support of the Communists of the Ukraine. One of the problems for foreign Communists is a lack of information about the real state of affairs in their languages. Many turn to the KPRF for help. With great attention, many foreign comrades read our statement from the Presidium of the TsK KPRF. The Central Committee also directed their statement to the PACE and to the European Parliament.

 27 February 2014

KPRF.ru

KPRF official website

http://kprf.ru/international/capitalist/128760.html

Hopes Rise for Abducted Bishops after Pilgrims Freed by Syrian Oppos

Syrian bishops with HH… one of the topics under discussion was a confab to figure out what to do for the two abducted bishops.

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On Sunday, two caretaker ministers said that the release of nine Lebanese pilgrims held hostage in Syria raised hopes for the freedom of two Orthodox bishops kidnapped by Syrian rebels in April. Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel denied earlier reports that the bishops were dead, telling the Daily Star, “The two bishops are alive and are held in an area around Aleppo”. Asked which group in the Syrian opposition was holding them, he said, “We don’t know yet who’s holding the two bishops. We’re trying to determine the group that kidnapped them before launching moves to secure their release”.

On 22 April, armed men kidnapped Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos al-Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Youhanna Ibrahim whilst they were enroute to the northern city from the Turkish border. Reportedly, a small group of rebels holds them in the town of Bshaqtin, 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) northwest of Aleppo. However, Charbel struck an upbeat note about freedom for the two bishops following the release of nine Lebanese pilgrims on Saturday, who returned home from Turkey after spending 17 months captive at the hands of Syrian rebels in the Aleppo region town of Azaz near the Turkish border, saying, “The release of the kidnapped Lebanese in Azaz gives hope for the release of the two bishops”.

Similarly, Caretaker Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour was optimistic about the release of the two bishops following the three-way swap deal that also involved the release of two Turkish Airlines pilots kidnapped in Beirut in August and dozens of Syrian women detained by President Bashar al-Assad’s régime. Mansour told the Daily Star, “There’s hope for the release of all detainees and kidnapped people in Syria. The release of the Lebanese hostages in Azaz could be a prelude toward releasing all the kidnap victims in Syria, including the two bishops”. Noting that Lebanon plays “a humanitarian role” to help secure the freedom of the two bishops, Mansour said, “We should combine local and international efforts, especially with the Syrian authorities and countries that wield influence on the kidnappers, to secure the release of the two bishops”. He added that, so far, the kidnappers hadn’t announced their motive for holding the two bishops or issued any demands for their release. Mansour said, “Lebanon had nothing to do with the kidnapping of the two bishops because the abduction took place on Syrian territory and the two bishops are Syrian citizens. Lebanon only plays a humanitarian role in helping to secure the release of the two bishops”.

Caretaker Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn said that serious efforts were underway to secure the two bishops’ freedom, saying, “Serious efforts are continuing towards eliminating all obstacles in the way to secure their release”. He expressed hope that these efforts would succeed, so that “we could see the two bishops safe, amongst us”. Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of General Security, who shuttled to and from regional capitals to facilitate negotiations on the release of the Lebanese, promised to continue efforts to secure the two bishops’ freedom. He told reporters after arriving with the nine freed Lebanese at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport Saturday night, “We have a lot of work to do because the two bishops and others are still [held captive]. The case isn’t finished. Only part of the work is done”.

Maronite Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi voiced hope that the two bishops would gain their freedom following the release of the pilgrims. Mar Bechara said during Sunday Mass in Metn, “We thank God for the release of the nine Lebanese kidnapped in Syria. We celebrate with their families over the joy of their safe return. We particularly pray for the release of Bishops Boulos al-Yazigi and Youhanna Ibrahim … We pray that this human tragedy comes to an end”.

21 October 2013

Hussein Dakroub

The Daily Star (Lebanon)

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Oct-21/235187-hopes-rise-for-abducted-bishops-after-pilgrims-freed.ashx#axzz2iK75i8zs

Patriarch Youhanna and General Ibrahim Discuss Kidnapped Syrian Bishops

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On Thursday, Patriarch Youhanna al-Yazigi of Antioch and all the East discussed recent developments in the case of two kidnapped bishops in Syria with Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of General Security. The two held talks at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport for 20 minutes before Youhanna departed for the Vatican. Patriarch Youhanna told reporters at the airport in response to questions about his meeting with Ibrahim, “We thank everyone for their efforts, particularly, General Abbas Ibrahim, for the efforts he’s exerted in the case of the kidnapped two bishops. We’ll remain hopeful. God willing, soon, we’ll all celebrate the presence of Bishops Boulos and Youhanna amongst us”.

In April, armed men abducted Aleppo’s Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos al-Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Youhanna Ibrahim whilst they were on their way to Aleppo from the Turkish border. Patriarch Youhanna shall hold talks with the Pope of Rome to discuss the situation in Syria and Christians in the Middle East. He said, “Wherever we go, we carry the concerns of our people and the region so there’ll be deliberations about the situation in our countries in the east, Syria and Lebanon”. He also thanked Pope Francisco for the call for peace he made earlier this month for the world and in Syria.

Patriarch Youhanna also discussed the situation of the predominantly-Christian Syrian village of Ma’loula, which came under attack by radical rebel groups who reportedly destroyed and looted churches, forcing dozens of families to flee. The patriarch said that he made an appeal earlier this week for Ma’loula in order to give the village a respite from more clashes and to spare it damage. The village is of great significance to Christianity as many of its inhabitants speak Aramaic, the language reputedly spoken by Jesus.

Youhanna said, “The appeal was also for all international organisations, the International Red Cross, the Red Crescent, and government and non-government organisations to help the village from a humanitarian aspect, to provide it with water, electricity, and food for the 40 individuals, including nuns and orphans in the Mar Takla monastery”. He noted that the nuns weren’t hostages, but they refused to leave the monastery. Asked about the presence of Christians in the Middle East, which many argue is under threat, the patriarch said that Christians and Muslims in this region share a similar history and fate, and “we’ve always lived side by side despite some circumstances”.

26 September 2013

The Daily Star

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2013/Sep-26/232679-yazigi-ibrahim-discuss-kidnapped-syrian-bishops.ashx#axzz2g4HGfu1U