Global actors have been seeking their own solutions to the Ukrainian conflict, given concerns of differing views within the Group of Seven, the bloc composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US. While Western states have vowed to provide huge amounts of military aid to Ukraine, countries elsewhere have been pushing for cessation of hostilities and a negotiated peace. Many politicians hope to give diplomatic initiatives a chance and have put forward peace plans with Russia and Ukraine. This includes China’s initiative, as China has significant leverage over Russia, but it has been deemed by analysts as working to preserve Russia’s advantage and undermine Ukraine, whereas Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has touted a nonaligned “peace club” to mediate a truce, irritating Washington DC further when accusing the West of helping to fuel the conflict with its shipments of weapons.
A car rammed a Vatican gate and sped past Swiss Guards into a palace courtyard before the driver was apprehended by police. Vatican gendarmes fired a shot at the speeding car’s front tyres after it rushed the gate but the vehicle managed to continue on its way, the Vatican press office said in a statement. The driver, who was about 40 years old, was in a “serious state of psychophysical alteration”. It was not clear if the Pope was anywhere near the incident. He lives on the other side of Vatican City. The Apostolic Palace, which houses the papal apartments, key reception rooms, the Vatican archives and offices, is guarded around the clock by Swiss Guards and gendarmes who staff various checkpoints. It not the first time that security at the Vatican has been scrutinised. During a 2009 Christmas Eve Mass, a woman jumped the barricade of St Peter's Basilica and tried to attack Pope Benedict XVI. He was not harmed.
Austrian actor Helmut Berger has died at the age of 78 at his home in Salzburg. Known for his intense performances and ability to charm audiences with subtle gestures, Berger was an icon in European cinema and a frequent collaborator with Italian master director Luchino Visconti. Berger appeared in three of Visconti's films, including his breakout performance in the operatic drama The Damned in which he played the psychotic grandson of a German industrial family. Berger appeared in 70 films and television shows throughout his career; in later years, he struggled with addiction and alcoholism. Berger, who was bisexual, was the subject of photography by Andy Warhol and was once named "the most beautiful man in the world" by the German press. He is survived by his estranged wife, Italian actress Francesca Guidato.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun a visit to Saudi Arabia, where he will address a summit of Arab leaders in order to "enhance bilateral relations and Ukraine’s ties with the Arab world." Among the topics he will discuss are Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a peace formula for the war that began after Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, and energy cooperation. Zelenskyy will later travel to a Group of Seven summit in Japan, where leaders will aim to step up punishment on Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Austrian actor Helmut Berger has died at the age of 78, following a career of dazzling performances in arthouse movies and TV soaps, as well as a private life which delighted gossip columnists. Berger was most famous as the lover of Luchino Visconti, the Italian director who cast him in a trio of films in the 1960s and early '70s: The Damned, in which Berger's character rapes his own mother; Ludwig, about the mad Bavarian king; and Conversation Piece, a portrayal of Visconti's own relationship with the younger man. Berger was also known for “dolce vita” style playboy antics, having a string of famous lovers of both sexes that included everyone from Ursula Andress to Jerry Hall, and both Bianca and Mick Jagger. Berger's later career was marred by breakdowns caused by drug and alcohol issues.
As the world waits for Ukraine’s spring offensive against Russia, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been on a diplomatic tour, visiting Germany, France, Italy, the Vatican, and Britain. Recently, Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet Arab leaders and secure their support. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, is facing significant international isolation amidst the International Criminal Court arrest warrant that hangs over his head, with his travel prospects dwindling including to Moscow alliances. Putin's invasion of Ukraine made him an international pariah, and many now speculate Ukraine may take its turn in the spotlight. Although conflicting information arose as to whether Zelenskyy would attend the G7 summit in Japan, it would be of significant geopolitical and symbolic significance for Ukraine. European leaders promised Ukraine missiles, tanks, and drones while the conversation of getting fighter jets continues. Zelenskyy's appearance at the Arab League summit in Jeddah highlighted Ukraine's struggle for support, even in countries whose alliances are with Moscow. It is the beginning of a larger shift in perception that could translate into potential support for Ukraine.
A man broke through the Santa Anna gate of the Vatican on Thursday after the Swiss Guards initially refused him entry. He kept accelerating after Vatican gendarmes at an interior checkpoint fired at his tires and he ultimately stopped inside one of the courtyards of the Apostolic Palace. There have been no reports about his motive for the incursion. The man was said to have appeared in an agitated psychological state after the arrest and has since been taken for psychiatric care surrounded by several law-enforcement officers. This unauthorised entry is a rare occurrence in the Vatican state.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will hold a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the Group of Seven summit, according to Japan's foreign ministry. Zelenskyy is expected to hold talks with other G7 leaders, including US President Joe Biden, on how to increase international support for Ukraine and to ramp up pressure on Russia to end the war. During his attendance at the Group of Seven summit, Zelenskyy is also due to join a meeting on peace and security with other countries' representatives.
Pope Francis has tasked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops' conference, with leading a peace mission to help end the war in Ukraine. Zuppi will try to meet separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The former hails from the Sant'Egidio Community, which brokered a deal that ended the civil war in Mozambique in 1992. Zelenskiy appeared to downplay the possibility of a papal mediation, saying on Italian television that "we do not need mediators, we need a just peace."
Greece has recovered 351 looted artefacts, which were stolen from the country and beyond by British antiquities dealer Robin Symes. The objects include a rare bronze statue of Alexander the Great, dating back to the second century BC. Repatriation proceedings against Symes’ eponymous company began in 2006, but only ended with the recovery of archaeological pieces stolen from Italy and stored by Symes in 2016. Among the objects returned to Greece are a 4th millennium BC Neolithic-era statuette and an Early Cycladic figurine from between 3200 and 2700 BC.
Greece has recovered a collection of 351 Neolithic to Byzantine artefacts, including a bronze statue of Alexander the Great, after a legal battle with Robin Symes, a notorious British antiquities dealer. The recovery came after a 17-year investigation of Symes’ company and years after Swiss and Italian police recovered a haul of artefacts stolen from Italy that Symes had stored. The collection repatriated to Greece includes several significant pieces, among them a Neolithic-era statuette carved from white stone, an Early Cycladic figurine, and a marble statue of a kore from between 550 and 500 BCE. Greece has been attempting to recover looted artefacts from museums and private collections for many years.
The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis has appointed Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who is close to the pontiff, to undertake a mission aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine and paving the way for a sustainable peace accord. The Vatican gave no indication of whether this involved mediation with Russia. The Pope has spoken out repeatedly on the war but has not accused Russian President Vladimir Putin directly, instead warning against weaponisation of the conflict.
Russia claims to have fully captured Ukraine’s Bakhmut, a salt-mining town and the longest and bloodiest battle in Russia’s 15-month war in Ukraine. The fall of Bakhmut, where both Russia and Ukraine are believed to have suffered huge losses, would represent Moscow’s first big victory in the conflict in over 10 months. However, Ukraine claims the battle is continuing; whether the Ukrainian forces have left Bakhmut or not, they have been slowly pulling back inside it, to clusters of buildings on the city’s western edge. The battle for Bakhmut has also revealed a deepening split between the mercenary group Wagner and the regular Russian military.
Pope Francis has called for the warring factions in Sudan to lay down their weapons and expressed his sadness over the month-long violence in the African nation. The pope asked the international community to help solve the situation and alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese people. In a separate peace initiative, he has asked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to undertake a peace mission to Ukraine in an attempt to end the war there. Zuppi will aim to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin separately.
James Crawford “Jim” Biggs, who died at the age of 91, pioneered medicine in Australia, undertaking the country’s first successful adult bone marrow transplant. The medical breakthrough was one of hundreds of innovative treatments provided by Dr Biggs, who was a mentor to scores of junior doctors over a 30-year career that led to him overseeing more than 2,500 bone marrow transplants. Born to a wealthy family and inspired by his father’s medical profession, in which he worked as a pioneering doctor in his own right, Dr Biggs followed an extroverted and adventurous path, becoming the first captain of his school, its first cricket and rugby captain and its first doctor. Despite personal tragedy in his personal life, Dr Biggs remained committed to charity work, leading the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of the South Pacific for two decades, which later became Action on Poverty, and he devoted energy to taking on grass roots projects throughout the Pacific and Asia. Dr Biggs was awarded an Order of Australia in 1999.
Pope Francis will travel to Portugal’s World Youth Day between 2-6 August 2023, in a longer visit than initially expected. As part of the journey, the pontiff will stop at the Fatima Marian shrine on 5 August, in what will be his second pilgrimage there, following his visit in 2017 to mark the 100th anniversary of visions of the Virgin Mary reported by three shepherd children. The “secrets” conveyed by the visions involved apocalyptic messages of war, death, hell and communism that have fascinated Catholics and non-Catholics for the last century. Francis’ visit this year comes against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has provided comparative context to the original visions, which were reported in the heart of World War I Europe.
Pope sends Vatican official to Bolivia as abuse allegations escalate
The Toronto Star
23-05-23 01:00
The Vatican has dispatched one of its top investigators of sex crimes, Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, to Bolivia amid a pedophilia scandal that has shaken the country in recent months. The visit comes as former Jesuit seminarian, Pedro Lima, who has vowed to reveal more information on alleged cases of abuse, arrived in the country. Bertomeu’s visit, though planned earlier, aims to analyse the progress made in the field of the culture of prevention promoted by the Vatican. The Bolivian Episcopal Conference has said that Bertomeu’s trip is not directly tied to the recent allegations.
