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6 Mar

#BREAKING Pope meets top Iraq Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani

#UPDATES Iraq's Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the top religious authority for most Shiite Muslims, hosts the head of the world's Catholics, Pope Francis, in the shrine city of Najaf
Sistani almost never holds meetings but made an exception for Francis

Pope Francis extends his hand to the world's Shiite Muslims, meeting top cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in a landmark moment in modern religious history
The two met at Sistani's humble home in the shrine city of Najaf u.afp.com/UGXF

Read 11 tweets

AFP News Agency

@AFP

5 Mar

A protester was shot dead in Myanmar in the latest round of bloodletting at anti-coup demonstrations, as the UN Security Council prepares to meet on the escalating crisis
u.afp.com/UGWm

Despite an increasingly brutal crackdown that has seen more than 50 people killed, protesters took to the streets again in towns and cities around Myanmar to denounce the February 1 coup

#BREAKING 'The repression must stop,' envoy on Myanmar tells UN

Read 4 tweets

AFP News Agency

@AFP

5 Mar

NEWS BULLETIN AT 1200 GMT

🇮🇶 Pope Francis embarks on a historic trip to war-battered Iraq, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities
▶️ u.afp.com/UGsM
[THREAD: 1/5]

🇨🇳 China unveils plans to grant itself veto powers over Hong Kong's lawmakers, part of a campaign to eliminate dissent in the city following huge democracy rallies in 2019
▶️ u.afp.com/UGW4
[THREAD: 2/5]

🇲🇲 UN Security Council prepares to meet on the escalating crisis in Myanmar as a protester is shot dead in Mandalay, in the latest round of bloodletting at anti-coup demonstrations
▶️ u.afp.com/UGWm
[THREAD: 3/5]

Read 5 tweets

AFP News Agency

@AFP

5 Mar

Pope Francis starts a historic trip to war-battered Iraq today, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world's oldest and most persecuted Christian communities.

The 84-year-old says he is making the first-ever papal visit to Iraq as a "pilgrim of peace"

Christians in the Middle East.

#AFPGraphic showing the geographic spread of Christians in selected Middle Eastern countries and the percentage of each country's population they represent in the region

Iraq's ancient Christian community, decimated by violence, fear.

Iraq's last two violent decades have hollowed out its Christian community which dates back two millennia.

Today, only 400,000 Christians remain in a mostly Muslim country of 40 million

u.afp.com/UGdU

Read 15 tweets

AFP News Agency

@AFP

5 Mar

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will address his nation on Friday, kicking off an annual legislative session that is expected to further tighten Beijing's grip on Hong Kong u.afp.com/UGQ7

#BREAKING China military budget to grow 6.8% in 2021: finance ministry

#UPDATE China's military budget -- the second largest in the world after the US -- is set to increase by 6.8% in 2021, finance ministry says.

Beijing plans to spend 1.36 trillion yuan ($210 billion) on defence, which is still less than a third of Washington's military budget

Read 6 tweets

AFP News Agency

@AFP

5 Mar

#BREAKING New Zealand cancels tsunami evacuation orders after Pacific quakes

Tsunami sirens rang out in coastal communities across the South Pacific Friday, as a cluster of powerful earthquakes struck near New Zealand's remote Kermadec Islands, triggering warnings for tens of thousands to flee to higher ground

#AFPgraphic on the Pacific Ring of Fire

#UPDATE New Zealand lifts tsunami evacuation orders covering large swathes of its coastline Friday, declaring "the largest waves have now passed" after a swarm of powerful offshore earthquakes.

"All people who evacuated can now return," says National Emergency Management Agency

Read 6 tweets

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