This article represents only the opinion of the author BEIRUT, May 25 (Xinhua) — Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah launched a verbal attack …

by catholicherald.co.uk – The US president said it was a ‘very great honour’ to meet the Pope   Pope Francis and US …

By Elise Harris - CNS

Rome, Italy, May 23, 2017 / 03:18 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When U.S. President Donald Trump stops in Rome for a meeting with Pope Francis Wednesday, both his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka will have their own schedules, which include stops at a Vatican hospital and a round-table on human trafficking. Ivanka serves in her father's administration in an unpaid position as an assistant to the president. Pope Francis and Donald Trump will meet at the Vatican May 24 at 8:30 a.m., before the Pope’s General Audience. Melania and Ivanka will both be present for the public portion of the visit, but will each follow their own itinerary after.Once the meeting is finished, the First Lady will a visit the Vatican-owned pediatric hospital Bambino Gesu. During her tour of the facility, Melania is expected to greet patients and visit one of their playrooms as well as the chapel.    While Melania visits Bambino Gesu, Ivanka, a high-profile adviser to her father, will make her way to the Roman neighborhood of Trastevere to meet with the Community of Sant’Egidio to discuss efforts to oppose human trafficking.

The Sant’Egidio Community is often praised by Pope Francis for their work, in particular for the projects they lead aimed at helping the poor and refugees. During her meeting with Sant’Egidio, Ivanka is expected to meet with several women who are victims of trafficking, and discuss various ways in which the Church and the U.S. government can collaborate on the problem. Before leaving with her father on his first international tour, Ivanka hosted an anti-human trafficking round-table at the White House May 17 that hosted a swath of bipartisan lawmakers and representatives of numerous organizations that deal with human trafficking.   According to reports, during the discussion Ivanka spoke about the Trump administration’s efforts to combat trafficking not only in the U.S., but throughout the world, telling attendees that “combatting human trafficking and modern slavery is both a moral and strategic interest domestically and abroad.”

by Aoibheann O’Sullivan

The unit of six UNIFIL French peacekeepers, carrying a stretcher with a colleague strapped to it, turned the corner and saw the menacing lattice of ropes about 50 cm off the ground glinting in the afternoon light. They hardly broke their pace as they yelled instructions to each other, and then leopard-crawled at haste under the web of ropes, dragging their stretcher-bound teammate with them. The crowd watching roared in appreciation. Close on their heels were teams from the Lebanese Armed Forces, UNIFIL Malaysia, Ghana and Republic of Korea contingents. The dust kicked up by the competition caught the evening sun as it no doubt used to during Roman times when chariots entertained the crowds.The archaeological Roman hippodrome in the Lebanese city of Tyre is one of the largest and best preserved hippodrome in the world. The site once seated around 20,000 spectators and hosted dramatic chariot races. Last Sunday, this ancient site was a fitting backdrop for the annual Military Olympiad between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

 As teams of Lebanese military personnel and UNIFIL peacekeepers sweated it out in friendly, but gruelling competitions, Brigadier General Liot de Nortbecourt, UNIFIL Chief of Staff, contextualised the event, “The reason we're here today is to support two associations that take care of wounded soldiers, their families and children of martyrs. The first one is a French association based in Paris ‘Terre Fraternité’ and the second association ‘Association of the Martyr Lt Col Sobhi Al Akoury’ is named after the first LAF martyr in Nahr al-Bared battles and it protects and supports the families and children of these Lebanese Army martyrs.” Each association received a donation of US$ 23,000, but not before military personnel had to compete in boot-camp style events. These included “Chronos”, where teams of 10 personnel race to pull a 6,100-kg truck for 150 metres, and the appropriately named “Hades”, where teams of seven each had to do a rugged cross fit relay circuit.