PATRIARCH KIRILL

Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/GettyPatriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, delivered a sermon marking Orthodox Epiphany in Moscow this week. He spoke to those who wish “to defeat Russia,” using the occasion to deliver a threat to the West: “We pray that the Lord admonish those madmen and help them to understand that any desire to destroy Russia will mean the end of the world.”Russia’s top propagandists, from former President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev

Orthodox Christians packed churches on Friday evening for Christmas Eve services, a holiday darkened for many by the conflict raging between Orthodox neighbors Russia and Ukraine

Orthodox Christians packed churches on Friday evening for Christmas Eve services, a holiday darkened for many by the conflict raging between Orthodox neighbors Russia and Ukraine.

The Russian president said he was acting on an appeal from Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church but Ukrainians swiftly rebuffed the proposal as cynical.

Russia "must leave the occupied territories - only then will it have a 'temporary truce,'" Ukraine's presidential advisor said in response to Putin's declaration.

South Africa’s lawmakers have postponed until next week a debate on the damning report that has resulted in calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step down.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party says it will vote against any attempts to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa in Parliament on Tuesday.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa looked relaxed and shared a joke with journalists as the African National Congress party’s national working committee is discussing his political fate.

Ukraine has banned the activities of religious organizations “affiliated with centers of influence” in Russia and says it will examine the links between the Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox churches.

South Africa’s president might lose his job as he faces possible impeachment over claims that he tried to cover up the theft of millions of dollars stashed inside a couch on his farm.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa faces calls to step down after a parliamentary probe found he may have breached anti-corruption laws in connection with the alleged theft of a large amount of money from his Phala Phala game farm.

Ukrainian counter-intelligence services have turned their sights on some Orthodox clergy whom they suspect of pro-Russian sentiment and activity.

Living in the shadow of one of South Africa’s largest coal-fired power stations, residents of Masakhane fear job losses if the facility is closed as the country moves to cleaner energy.

Russia’s military says it will withdraw from the only Ukrainian regional capital it’s captured but Ukrainian officials and analysts warn it could be a trap.

Ukraine’s president has suggested he’s open to peace talks with Russia but is sticking to Kyiv’s demands.

Russian-appointed authorities in the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson say power is being partially restored following what they have called a Ukrainian “terrorist attack” on power lines.

As Russians seized parts of eastern and southern Ukraine in the opening stages of the war, mayors, civilian administrators and others say they have been abducted, threatened or beaten to force their cooperation.

Russian investigators have raided the home of Ksenia Sobchak, the glamourous daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s one-time boss, in a move that has sent shockwaves through the country’s political scene.

South Africa will allow a $500 million superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov to dock in Cape Town despite attempts from the city’s mayor to get its entry blocked.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a partial troop mobilization for the war in Ukraine, independent media outlets, human rights activists and draftees themselves have painted a bleak picture.

A South Africa government spokesman says peace talks to end Ethiopia’s devastating Tigray conflict have begun there.

French President Emmanuel Macron says it's up to Ukraine to decide the time and terms of peace with Russia.

Ukrainian forces are bombarding Russian positions in the occupied and illegally annexed southern Kherson region.

At least 11 Russian soldiers have been killed in a shooting incident that underlines the challenges posed by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hasty mobilization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expects his troop mobilization for combat in Ukraine to end in about two weeks.

Ukrainian forces have scored more gains in their counteroffensive across a broad front.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has denied allegations of money laundering while being questioned by lawmakers over a scandal that threatens his position and the direction of Africa’s most developed economy.

The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church says Russian soldiers who die in the line of duty in Ukraine have all of their sins forgiven.

Beleaguered former South African President Jacob Zuma has said he is ready to make a surprise return to politics by standing for a top position when the ruling African National Congress holds a conference in December.

President Vladimir Putin says he won’t hesitate to use nuclear weapons to protect Russian territory, a threat that comes as Moscow is poised to annex swaths of Ukraine that Moscow has taken over after hastily called referendums there.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has an urgent meeting scheduled with his Cabinet to discuss an electricity crisis which has led to unprecedented levels of nationwide power blackouts.

STANISLAV POHORILOV - WEDNESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2022, 14:39 Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, has urged Russians not to consider Ukrainians their enemies amidst the partial mobilisation announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the war against Ukraine.

President Joe Biden is praising South Africa as a vital voice on the global stage.

Pope Francis says Vatican will keep open paths of dialogue with Russia, even if doing so is uncomfortable.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday.

Pope Francis has told the Russian Orthodox hierarchy and other faith leaders that religion must never be used to justify the “evil” of war.

Russia’s war in Ukraine and the Holy See’s strained relations with China are the backdrop to Pope Francis’ visit to Kazakhstan

Pope Francis has begged for an end to Russia’s “senseless and tragic war” in Ukraine as he arrived in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan.

Pope Francis is traveling to Kazakhstan this week to participate in a conference of world religious leaders, with Russia’s war in Ukraine clouding the visit

Pope Francis is traveling to Kazakhstan this week to participate in a conference of world religious leaders, with Russia's war in Ukraine clouding the visit.

Pope Francis is asking for prayers to accompany him this week for what he calls his “pilgrimage of peace” in Kazakhstan

Pope Francis is asking for prayers to accompany him this week for what he calls his “pilgrimage of peace” in Kazakhstan.

President Joe Biden will host South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House this month as the administration looks to draw African nations closer to the U.S. The announcement comes as South Africa and many of its neighbors have staked out neutral ground on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

South African president Cyril Ramaphosa faced a grilling by lawmakers in Parliament as they demanded answers from him on his handling of the theft of millions of dollars from his farm.

South African workers have demonstrated against the country’s rising cost of living including record-high fuel prices and increased costs for basic foods.

As the war in Ukraine nears its six-month mark, Russia faces multiple problems in the territory it has taken over.

The new king of South Africa’s Zulu nation Misuzulu kaZwelithini was enthroned in a colorful ceremony Saturday before hundreds of supporters in a rural part of KwaZulu-Natal province.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. will support efforts lead by Kenya and Angola to put an end to the violence in Congo’s east and to help solve the central African nation’s crisis with Rwanda.

The Vatican says Pope Francis will travel next month to Kazakhstan

The Vatican says Pope Francis will travel next month to Kazakhstan.

Pope Francis says he can no longer travel like he used to because of his strained knee ligaments.

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress party begins its key policy conference on Friday beset by internal divisions and the country’s economic woes.

The Ukrainian military has used a U.S.-supplied precision rocket system to deliver a morale-lifting knockout punch to a bridge Russia used to supply its forces in an occupied region of southern Ukraine.

Russia has targeted Ukraine’s Black Sea regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv with airstrikes despite a deal that was supposed to allow grain shipments from ports to resume.

Russian missiles have struck Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odesa just hours after Moscow and Kyiv signed deals to allow grain exports to resume from there.

Ukrainian forces have damaged a bridge that is key to supplying Russian troops in southern Ukraine.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to the long-serving deputy secretary-general of his ruling African National Congress party Jessie Duarte, who died Sunday after a long battle with cancer.

Nightly protests in North Macedonia over the last week have left dozens of people injured.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the deaths of 21 teenagers in a nightclub tragedy is a crime and South African officials must increase steps to prevent alcohol from being illegally sold to youths.

The Vatican says Pope Francis will travel to Kazakhstan in September for an interfaith conference

During their conversation, Pope Francis said, Russian Orthodox Church leader Patriarch Kirill was listing off all the justifications for the war from a sheet of paper he was holding.

The Moscow-based church's leadership has framed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in holy terms - as a defense of conservative values against a morally-corrupt West. Now, the war has prompted dissent within the Orthodox Christian faith.

The Moscow-based church's leadership has framed Russia's invasion of Ukraine in holy terms - as a defense of conservative values against a morally-corrupt West. Now, the war has prompted dissent within the Orthodox Christian faith.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has upended Eastern Orthodoxy, deepening religious rifts between the two countries.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill's support for Putin's Ukraine war has fractured his church

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church is casting the war in Ukraine as a religious and national drama, an existential battle of good and evil, a clash between Russo-Slavic tradition and values and the corrupting foreign influences festering at Russia’s border.

Patriarch Kirill has angered many in echoing the language Vladimir Putin uses to justify the Ukraine invasion.

Patriarch Kirill's vociferous support of the invasion of Ukraine has drawn strong rebukes from religious leaders who say he has forsaken Christian teachings by supporting the Kremlin’s destructive campaign.

Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, has lent a spiritual justification for the war in Ukraine.

While Russia has sought to justify its assault on Ukraine with complaints about NATO's eastward expansion, it has also claimed that foreign actors have encroached on its religious turf in Ukraine — even alleging the United States helped instigate an Eastern Orthodox schism there. Moscow Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said both the West and a rival patriarch were “pursuing the same end” of seeking to weaken Russia and “make the brotherly peoples — Russians and Ukrainians — enemies.” “You cannot call it a religious war, but it has a religious dimension,” said the Rev. Cyril Hovorun, an Orthodox priest, native of Ukraine and professor of ecclesiology, international relations and ecumenism at University College Stockholm.

At church, Ukrainians pray for an end to war. But a rift is forming: The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has defended Moscow's invasion. Some in Ukraine want to break away from his leadership.

War in Ukraine is a 'metaphysical' battle against a civilization built on 'gay parades,' Russian Orthodox leader says

The head of the Polish bishops’ conference has done what Pope Francis has avoided doing by publicly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Pope Francis to congratulate him on his 85th birthday, praising the pontiff’s efforts to strengthen ties between the Vatican and Russia

South Africa is struggling to balance its fight against the coronavirus with its dire need to resume economic activity. The country with the Africas most developed economy also has its highest number of infections more than 19,000. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, file)TANZANIA The U.N. chief on Thursday warned the largest gathering of world leaders since the coronavirus pandemic began that it will cause unimaginable devastation and suffering around the world, with historic levels of hunger and famine and up to 1.6 billion people unable to earn a living unless action is taken now. Nearly 50 world leaders spoke by video at the event along with economic experts, including the heads of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. African leaders also support Gutteres' call for economic relief worth at least 10% of global GDP, which would mean over $200 billion in additional support for Africa.

From U.S. President Donald Trump to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, global decision-makers have frequently set bad examples, whether it's refusing to wear masks or breaking confinement rules aimed at protecting their citizens from COVID-19. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said normally she would fire Clark but that the country couldnt afford massive disruption in its health sector while it was fighting the virus. He and others didnt wear masks during those meetings, and Putin also didnt cover his face for events marking Nazi Germanys defeat in World War II. The prime minister has respected all guidelines, according to a statement read by a spokesman. And as such the prime minister was with her during her last night."