catholicHerald.co.uk

The Prince of Wales has made a donation in aid of suffering Christians in the Middle East as the crisis in the region deepens.

The undisclosed gift from Prince Charles’s charitable foundation was made to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and came after the Prince made a speech about persecuted Christians at an advent reception hosted by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, in London last month.

In his address to invited guests including Church leaders and Middle East Christians, he warned that the growing crisis of extremism could threaten “the very existence of Christianity in the land of its birth”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Syria needs to start working on a new constitution as a first step to finding a political solution to its civil war, though he acknowledged the process was likely to be difficult.

Putin, who has thrown Russia's support behind Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with air strikes, also said in an interview with the German newspaper Bild that the crisis in relations between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran would complicate the search for peace in Syria.

"I believe it's necessary to move toward constitutional reform (in Syria). It's a complicated process, of course. And after that, on the basis of the new constitution, (Syria should) hold early presidential and parliamentary elections", Putin said in the interview which was conducted on Jan. 5.

BEIRUT | iloubnan.info -

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri praised the decision of the emergency meeting of the Arab Foreign ministers, which translated the unified stance of the Arabs in the face of the blatant Iranian interference in their internal affairs, and their solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia concerning the attack on its diplomatic mission in Iran.

iloubnan.info

 Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister, Gebran Bassil, indicated Sunday that Lebanon has "refrained from voting for the Arab Foreign Ministers final decision at the closing of its meeting in Cairo," adding that the Lebanese delegation also objected to, and demanded the elimination of, the statement's mentioning of "Hezbollah" and linking it to "terrorist acts."

"We have succeeded in maintaining our unity, without causing any sabotage to the Arab consensus," said Bassil, on emerging from the Arab Summit meeting earlier today.

Top Arab diplomats rallied behind Saudi Arabia on Sunday in a dispute with Iran that has threatened to derail efforts to resolve Middle East conflicts, including the war in Syria.