Vatican meeting ends with call for greater role for women in Church

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A major meeting of Catholic bishops ended on Saturday with a call for women to play a greater role in Church decision making as a “duty of justice”, but appeared to water down language that would have been more welcoming to gays. The role of women took center stage at the synod, which was focused on reaching out to young people but has been overshadowed by the scandal over sex abuse in the Church and acrimony between social conservatives and reformers.

In a sign of the divisions, the synod used what appeared to be compromise language on the topic of homosexuality, saying people could not be identified solely by sexual orientation. A working paper for the gathering, which began on Oct. 3, had used the acronym LGBT, but this did not appear in the 60-page final document. The document also called for stricter measures to combat sexual abuse, including more transparency in Church structures, and denounced a culture of elitism among some Church leaders which it said can facilitate cover-up and corruption. All three issues were among the subjects debated at the gathering, officially titled “Young People, Faith and Discernment of Vocation” and attended by some 300 bishops, priests, nuns and lay participants.

Only “synod fathers”, including bishops and some other male representatives, were allowed to vote on the final document. It will be sent to the pope, who will take it into consideration when he writes his own document. Attention was drawn to the issue of women’s rights by the synod’s own rules, under which two non-ordained monks who lead religious orders were permitted to vote, while a nun with a similar role was not. [L8N1X366M] The Catholic Church restricts the priesthood to men, but allows people of both sexes who are not priests to hold positions of authority in other areas. However, none of the Vatican’s 60 departments is headed by a women and only six women hold decision making roles in the Vatican bureaucracy. Young people, the document said, believed the Church still lagged in attempts to give women “space in decision making processes” in jobs not restricted to priests.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-synod/vatican-meeting-ends-with-call-for-greater-role-for-women-in-church-idUSKCN1N10UW?il=0

Rouhani reshuffles economic team, says U.S. isolated against Iran

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran’s parliament approved a government economic reshuffle on Saturday, days before new U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports take effect, after President Hassan Rouhani said Washington was isolated among its allies in its confrontation with Iran. “It does not happen often that the U.S. makes a decision and its traditional allies abandon it,” Rouhani told parliament before the vote to approve the new appointments.

Academic Farhad Dejpasand, widely seen as a technocrat, received a vote of confidence by a wide margin as the new minister of economics and finance. The reshuffle, approved in a parliamentary session carried live on state TV, also brought in new industry, labor and roads ministers.

Washington reintroduced sanctions against Iran’s currency trade, metals and auto sectors in August after it pulled out from a multinational 2015 deal that lifted sanctions in return for limits on Iran’s nuclear program. European countries have criticized the United States for withdrawing from the accord and have been putting together a package of economic measures to help offset the impact of U.S. pressures on Tehran’s economy. Diplomats told Reuters that a new European Union mechanism to facilitate payments for Iranian exports should be legally in place by Nov. 4, when the next phase of U.S. sanctions targeting Iran’s vital oil exports take effect, although it will not be operational until early next year.

“Our main enemy, America, faces us with a drawn sword and we have to fight it and we have to unite. Regardless of factions … we are all part of the Iranian nation,” Rouhani said earlier, urging MPs to vote for his proposed ministers. “Part of our economic problems has to do with the (high) rate of exchange of hard currencies, but our foreign exchange reserves are better than in any of the past five years,” he said, without giving figures.

The cabinet changes come as the government faces intense pressure over the economic instability mostly caused by the U.S. sanctions. The economy has markedly deteriorated in the past year, suffering rising inflation and unemployment, a 70-percent fall in the value of the rial currency so far this year and state corruption. “A year ago no one would have believed … that Europe would stand with Iran and against America,” Rouhani said. “Russia, China, India, the European Union, and some African and Latin American countries are our friends. We have to work with them and attract investments,” he added.

Mohammad Shariatmadari, the outgoing industries minister, was approved to head the Labour, Cooperatives and Social Affairs Ministry. Parliament also approved the appointment of Mohammad Eslami to head the Urban Development and Roads Ministry, while Reza Rahmani, who previously headed a parliamentary commission on mining and industry, became the new industry, mines and trade minister.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bahrain-summit-oman/oman-says-time-to-accept-israel-in-region-offers-help-for-peace-idUSKCN1N10BH

Alphabet ad machine aids Tim Cook’s data case

Alphabet’s ad machine is aiding Tim Cook’s data case. The Google parent raked in more revenue and profit during the third quarter. The stronger the $730 billion firm gets, the more scrutiny it will attract from watchdogs who want to safeguard consumer data. The Apple boss’s willingness to call for tighter privacy restrictions is a telling sign.

Google’s autopilot continues to guide the company higher. Revenue increased 21 percent as rising numbers of searches, especially on mobile devices, allowed the company to serve up more ads. But attempts to diversify remain relatively modest. Lower-than-expected growth in non-advertising revenue hit Alphabet shares in after-hours trading, wiping out an earlier gain of more than 4 percent. Still, given that people are spending more time online, advertisers have little choice but to follow them, creating a big wind at the company’s back for many quarters to come. Alphabet is attracting unwanted attention, though, as European and U.S. regulators examine consumer data privacy, the use of social media by foreign actors to influence domestic politics, political bias in search results, and anticompetitive behavior by tech giants. The company has tried to keep a low profile on those issues. During Senate hearings on election interference in September, it refused to send founder Larry Page or Google head Sundar Pichai to testify alongside the chief executives of Facebook and Twitter. Senators put out an empty chair to symbolize Google’s absence.

So far this strategy has had some success. Sure, Google was hit with a $5 billion fine in Europe this summer for allegedly using its Android operating system for mobile phones to bolster its dominance in search. But Facebook has been the No. 1 target for most of the public’s ire over targeted advertising and data privacy, even though Google also collects prodigious amounts of personal data. The growing volume of public concern is dragging Google into the debates nonetheless. And company actions, such as sitting for months on the fact that hundreds of thousands of Google+ accounts may have been hacked, doesn’t help. Rivals’ knives are also coming out. Tim Cook warned in a speech in Brussels on Wednesday that a “data industrial complex” has risen up, and personal data “is being weaponized against us with military efficiency.” He also called for a U.S. federal privacy law. Google’s continued growth makes a reckoning virtually inevitable.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-results-breakingviews/breakingviews-alphabet-ad-machine-aids-tim-cooks-data-case-idUSKCN1MZ347

>>3631439

The ears…look different, don't they?

North Korea hospital director says Warmbier torture charges 'total distortion'

The director of the hospital in North Korea that treated an American student who died last year after detention in the country has rejected fresh charges that he died as a result of torture. The official Korean Central News Agency quoted the director of the Pyongyang Friendship Hospital as saying on Saturday that recent reports about the fate of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier, who died days after he was returned to the United States in a coma, were a “total distortion of the truth.”

“The American doctors who came … to help Warmbier’s repatriation acknowledged that his health indicators were all normal and submitted a letter of assurance to our hospital that they shared the diagnostic result of the doctors of our hospital,” KCNA quoted the unnamed director as saying. “Now the question is: what is the ulterior motive of those American doctors trying to make a different story at this point in time with regard to the cause of Warmbier’s death,” the report said, adding that medical assessments “should not be influenced by any selfish purpose or political interest.”

It added that Warmbier’s “health indicators were all normal” at the time of his release and there should instead be an investigation into the cause of his sudden death after his arrival in the United States. The KCNA report came hours after the Korean service of the Voice of America radio station carried a report on a lawsuit filed by Warmbier’s parents alleging that their son was tortured in detention.

VOA quoted declarations filed in support of the suit by Otto Warmbier’s former dentists as saying that there was evidence of trauma to his teeth. It quoted another declaration from Daniel Kanter, a neurologist who was the lead physician for Warmbier on his return to his home town of Cincinnati as saying that Otto suffered brain damage after a cessation of blood flow to the brain for five to 20 minutes. “Because the injury was so extensive, it was unlikely that Mr. Warmbier was with medical personnel who were willing and able to intervene to resuscitate him when the injury occurred,” Kanter declaration was quoted as saying.

North Korea has blamed botulism and ingestion of a sleeping pill for Warmbier’s condition. The coroner who examined Warmbier said he found no sign of botulism, adding there was no evidence of trauma to Warmbier’s teeth or of broken bones. U.S. President Donald Trump charged last year that Warmbier was tortured, but also held an unprecedented summit with the North Korean leader this year and is planning another aimed at persuading him to abandon a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-warmbier/north-korea-hospital-director-says-warmbier-torture-charges-total-distortion-idUSKCN1N10JA

>>3631472

>>3631495

Okay, good indicator that it should be the same guy..

Russia, Germany, France and Turkey call for lasting ceasefire, constitutional meeting for Syria

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - The leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Turkey stressed the importance on Saturday of a lasting ceasefire in Syria, and said a committee to create a new constitution should meet by the end of the year. The leaders of the four countries gathered for a summit in Istanbul to discuss Syria, where violence this week in the last remaining major rebel stronghold has highlighted the fragility of a deal to avert a massive government offensive.

Ankara, which has long backed rebels seeking to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, and Moscow, Assad’s principal foreign ally, brokered a deal last month to create a demilitarized zone in the northwest Idlib region. Idlib and adjacent areas are the last stronghold of the rebels, who rose up against Assad in 2011. The area is home to an estimated 3 million people, more than half of whom have already fled other areas as government forces advanced.

“Russia and Turkey have negotiated an agreement that must be strictly implemented. Assurances were made on this point… We will all be extremely vigilant to ensure that these commitments are met and that the ceasefire is stable and sustainable,” French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters. “We are counting on Russia to exert a very clear pressure on the (Syrian) regime which very clearly owes it its survival.” Shelling in Idlib killed at least seven civilians on Friday, the largest one-day loss of life there since Russian air strikes stopped in mid-August, a war monitor said.

Under their deal last month, Turkey and Russia agreed to set up a buffer zone running 15-20 km (9-13 miles) into rebel territory that had to be evacuated of all heavy weapons and all jihadist fighters. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Turkey was fulfilling its obligation regarding the agreement on Idlib. The process was not easy, and Russia plans to continue cooperating, he said. Macron, Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also called for the convening of a constitutional committee by the end of the year, according to their joint communique. Erdogan told reporters that should be done “as soon as possible”, adding he hoped it would be before the end of the year.

Participants at a Syrian peace conference in Russia in January agreed to form the 150-member committee to rewrite the Syrian constitution, with a third chosen by the government, a third by opposition groups and a third by the United Nations. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura told the Security Council on Friday that Damascus now wants the United Nations to facilitate the writing of the constitution, but does not want it to name a third of the committee members.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-turkey/russia-germany-france-and-turkey-call-for-lasting-ceasefire-constitutional-meeting-for-syria-idUSKCN1N10HU

>>3631677

Based on what I read in this, I think it is entirely possible, he was tortured on the plane… I also remember earlier discussions here with the same thought in mind.

>>3631671

Better image…here

Mattis says Khashoggi killing undermines regional stability

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Saturday that the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi undermined Middle Eastern stability and that Washington would take additional measures against those responsible. Washington Post columnist Khashoggi’s murder has escalated into a crisis for the world’s top oil exporter. Saudi Arabia’s allies have reacted with outrage toward a country that is the lynchpin of a U.S.-backed regional bloc against growing Iranian influence in the Middle East. But Mattis also said U.S. respect for the Saudi people was undiminished, while Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said those behind the killing would be prosecuted in the kingdom and that the investigation would take time.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he wants to get to the bottom of the case, while also highlighting Riyadh’s role as an ally against Tehran and Islamist militants, as well as a major purchaser of U.S. arms. “With our collective interests in peace and unwavering respect for human rights in mind, the murder of Jamal Khashoggi in a diplomatic facility must concern us all greatly,” Mattis told a conference in Bahrain. “Failure of any one nation to adhere to international norms and the rule of law undermines regional stability at a time when it is needed most,” Mattis said. He did not mention de facto Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by name at any point.

Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor said Khashoggi’s killing was premeditated, contradicting a previous official statement that it happened accidentally during a tussle in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Saudi officials have also said he was accidentally killed in a botched security operation to return him to the kingdom.

In his remarks at the Manama Dialogue security conference, Mattis went through a list of what he described as disruptive Iranian behavior - a message most Gulf allies will view positively since they share similar concerns about Iran’s increasing influence in Syria and Iraq. While these were some of the sharpest comments Mattis has made on the Khashoggi killing, he also said the two countries still needed to collaborate on stability in the region. “It’s hard to imagine that this administration in particular is going to change fundamentally how it views the role of the Saudis in terms of counterterrorism, in terms of counter-Iran,” said Dennis Ross, who served as top Middle East adviser to President Barack Obama in his first term.

Foreign Minister Jubeir, speaking at the same conference, said Riyadh’s relations with Washington were “ironclad” amid what he called “hysteria in the media” over Khashoggi’s killing. In response to the killing, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week announced moves against 21 Saudis to either revoke their visas or make them ineligible for U.S. visas after the Khashoggi killing. “Our Secretary of State …will be taking additional measures as the situation is clarified,” Mattis said.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-khashoggi-mattis/mattis-says-khashoggi-killing-undermines-regional-stability-idUSKCN1N104X

>>3631796

Those are great questions, I think we have to start with the report that was submitted..question is where do we find it?

>>3631859

Looks more like a Jester's costume….