Latest from Watani
Watani
4 days ago
- General
- Watani
Fifth LOGOS Coptic Youth Forum closes
The evening of Saturday 2 August saw Pope Tawadros II attend the closing ceremony of the Fifth LOGOS Coptic Youth Forum for Coptic Orthodox youth from around the world. The week-long event was held at the Logos Centre in the Western Desert monastery of Anba Bishoy in Wadi al-Natroun some 120km northwest Cairo, with participation of 250 young people from the Coptic Orthodox Church in 44 countries around the world. A number of metropolitans, bishops, priests, and public figures were present at the closing night. A documentary was screened showing the activities of the Fifth Forum. This was followed by reading the 'Pledge' by the youth participants, led by Fr Younan Samir, the Forum Leader. The pledge contained their commitment to uphold the values they learned during the forum, to preserve and live according to the faith of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and to be ambassadors for the Church in their respective countries through their actions and words. Pope Tawadros presented commemorative certificates to the forum youth. Three young people from Australia, Indonesia, and the United States spoke about their personal experiences and reflections on the forum. Their heartfelt words testified to the strength of the forum's message and its profound impact. They expressed their deep appreciation of the richness, vitality, and heritage of their Coptic Orthodox Church, which they had experienced during the gathering. They cited their profound appreciation of their experience of the Divine Liturgy and the other sacraments, as well as the fatherly love they had personally experienced from Pope Tawadros. These sentiments were echoed by many other participants in interviews presented during the event. The LOGOS Coptic Youth Forums for young people from around the world consistently bear the motto 'Back to the Roots', while this year's forum is held under the theme 'Connected'. This theme affirms that our Coptic Orthodox Church is grounded in a continuous connection between its fathers and children, whereby the sound faith is passed down from generation to generation. This year's forum coincided with the Church's celebration of the 17th centennial of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. The theme 'Connected' reflected connection to one another, to communities, and to the present age—with openness rooted in faith—fulfilling the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ: 'You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world'(Matthew 5:13–14). In his closing address, Pope Tawadros expressed his great joy at the forum, noting that the experiences the youth had gained during the week were treasures that must be invested in their lives. He stressed the forum's main gifts: 1. An outstanding model of service – which they witnessed and enjoyed, and from which they can benefit in the future. 2. A taste of the beauty of the Church, which is a home where we live, a mother who takes us in her bosom and teaches us, a harbour of salvation, offering refuge and protection. The Pope thanked everyone who had supported the forum—whether through thought, service, financial contribution, or organization. He urged the youth, upon returning to their home countries, to share with everyone they meet—in their families, churches, and communities—the details of what they saw, heard, and lived during the forum. Even after the ceremony concluded, the youth lingered around the Pope for last words and selfies, and mingled with the bishops and priests, their smiles mirroring their joy. Watani International 3 August 2025 Comments comments Tags: 5th LOGOS Coptic Youth Forum Connected 2025Mariam Farouq
Watani
4 days ago
- Politics
- Watani
Egypt airdrops food to Gaza
In line with Egypt's policy to provide every possible support to Palestinians in Gaza throughout the harsh humanitarian crisis they undergo, and in response to directives of President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, nine Egyptian military transport aircraft have been carrying relief aid to Gazans over the last three days. The aircraft were loaded with tens of tons of food which was airdropped on hard-to-reach areas in the Gaza Strip. The airdrop complemented Egyptian efforts to ensure the flow of aid trucks by land into Gaza. Watani International 3 August 2025 Comments comments Tags: Gaza War 2025Lucy Awad
Watani
7 days ago
- Politics
- Watani
Why the US is in decline
On 4 July, the US celebrated its Independence Day, commemorating, as in every year, the great national legacy established by its Founding Fathers. On 4 July 1776, thirteen states on the American East Coast formed an alliance that initiated the United States of America. Historical remembrance aside, this year's 4th of July celebration could not distract the world from today's reality. Over the last three decades, the world has disturbingly witnessed the decline of the US and the consequences of its prolonged global leadership and dominance as the sole world superpower since the end of WWII in 1945. This decline, and the involvement of the US in igniting and inflaming global conflicts, are widely acknowledged by observers, scholars, and political analysts who monitor and track mounting global crises, the involvement of the US in such crises, and the impact of these crises on global peace. 'Why the US is in decline' was the topic of a recent episode of Judge Andrew Napolitano's podcast Judging Freedom. On 14 July, Judge Napolitano hosted American economist and public policy analyst, Colombia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs to discuss the issue. I today present excerpts of this interview. Judge Napolitano: What do you believe was Trump's purpose in bombing the mountains in Iran, and did he achieve it? Professor Sachs: 'The purpose supposedly was to stop the nuclear activities of Iran. No, he didn't achieve it. I think all expert views concur that nothing much happened except Iran realising that it could not negotiate with the United States, and withdrawing from monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This was a debacle of the first order.' And the International Atomic Energy Agency turned out to be an asset of Mossad, did it not? 'It played into Israel's hands in a very stupid way. So, it played its role. What we've seen here is the CIA / Mossad operations operating through the international system and operating through the US military. Once again, all to no achieved purposes. That's also standard operating procedure for the US military-industrial complex. We've been at this for decades, nothing comes of it except people making money in the military sector and increasing insecurity for the world.' If the purpose of the bombing was to degrade Iran, or terrify Iran, or bring about regime change. It obviously had the opposite effect. How could Mossad and CIA have been so wrong in their guesstimate as to what this bombing would bring about? 'Which genius forecast of the CIA are you referring to in the last 30 years? The one about remaking Afghanistan as a democracy? The one of American soldiers being greeted with flowers in Iraq? The one about the pushover of Bashar al-Assad in 2011? The one about removing Moammar Gaddafi and leading to 'new stability' in Libya? These people are completely unaccountable. They have no knowledge of the world other than assassinations, coups, and military operations. The world does not settle down that way; the world becomes more dangerous and unstable. These 'geniuses' in quotation marks have done the most remarkable thing in the world; they have absolutely degraded the security of Americans from a position of basically complete security.' What do you think President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu were discussing last week? 'They met in private three times while Netanyahu was in Washington. I don't know specifically what they were talking about, but we once had the idea that there would be a ceasefire, a peace and a resolution of the unending wars in the Middle East. And that kind of talk is basically gone. That talk is also gone in the case of Ukraine. That talk is gone all over the world. Trump is basically proving to be absolutely incapable of solving any problem and he is proving to be the extension of the Biden administration because the Biden administration was nothing more than the military-industrial complex. We're basically stuck with a militarised undemocratic system. Presidents come and go, but the system remains. It does anything Israel wants, to an extent it's actually run by Israel, which is shocking… Whatever it is, we have a permanent State that does not respond to the public will, does not respond to American security, does not respond to the public interest, does not respond to budgetary realities.' Judge Napolitano put on the show an excerpt of a 2017 interview given by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Le Figaro. Despite being said eight years ago, President Putin's words still ring true as pointed out by Judge Napolitano. Professor Sachs quoted President Putin: ''I've dealt with three presidents and they actually come in with ideas, but then those ideas disappear because the men in the dark suits and the briefcases'—that's the CIA, the Pentagon, the Armed Services Committees and so forth, that's the big donors— 'they come in and they say: No, no, no, Mr President, you do it this way.' Now, we've just witnessed this exactly happening with Donald Trump. And Donald Trump ran on a campaign of making peace. He was going to make peace here and there… But he certainly doesn't have the guts to make peace. Because to make peace, you have to go against the CIA. You have to go against the military-industrial complex… We are run by the military-industrial complex. Trump is a sideshow. What Trump has done in recent weeks with Ukraine, the Middle East, China, Epstein tapes, with all of it is just fall into line as presidents are supposed to do. 'MAGA' turns out to be a campaign slogan. Of course, it's nothing new; it's a continuation of the deep State. And the deep State has led us to one war after another.' How close are we to World War III? 'We may already be in it. The problem with WWIII is that there will be no historians alive afterwards to understand when it really started. But if we were in a conventional era with conventional weapons and there would be a world war and it would be devastating, but there would be a history afterward, maybe the historians would say WWIII started in 2014 or maybe 2019 or maybe 2022. Maybe we're in it already… There's no will in the political class to talk about peace. You don't hear peace anywhere… We don't have a serious policy of diplomacy of negotiation that gets to the core issues of why these conflicts exist.' Watani International 1 August 2025 Comments comments
Watani
31-07-2025
- Watani
Three dead, 14 injured in Minya bus accident carrying Sunday School children
A bus carrying a group Sunday School children from Minya overturned on 30 July, killing three young women and injuring 14 among whom are seven children. The children, aged between 7 and 13, and their supervisors were among the congregation of the church of the Holy Virgin and Amir Tadros (St Theodore) in the village of Daqouaf in Matai, Minya, some 250km south of Cairo. The village is administratively affiliated to Samalout, and is under the jurisdiction of Matai Diocese. The bus had picked up the children from their church and was heading southeast to Hurghada on the Red Sea for a three-day beach holiday. According to Fr Antonious Shukry, priest of the church in Daqouaf, the bus had been barely one hour on its way down the eastern desert road when the accident occurred. Eyewitnesses said it made a violent crash into a concrete fence on the side of the road. Fr Antonious said that a second bus carrying more passengers from the church to the same destination overtook the overturned bus. Its passengers quickly informed those at the church and notified the police. 'We rushed to the scene of the accident, then to the Minya hospital where the dead and injured had already been moved' he said. The second bus had helped the police and ambulance service move the injured to hospital. The bodies of the dead, three 19-year-old women who served in the church, were moved to the hospital morgue for forensic investigation. Their names: Raymonda Shukry, Mirna Yacoub, and Dina Ashraf. They were among those supervising the children on the bus. Health sources said that the 14 injured are in stable conditions, and have been discharged from hospital after receiving the necessary treatment. The prosecution is conducting investigations into the cause and conditions of the crash. Anba Gawargios, Bishop of Matai, presided over the funeral service for the three young women who had lost their lives. Addressing a deeply grieved congregation, the tearful bishop praised the young women as 'faithful servants who had shouldered their responsibility until the last minutes of their lives.' He prayed for peace for their souls, comfort for their families and friends; and speedy recovery for the injured. Comments comments
Watani
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Watani
Good bye Lotfy Labib (1947 – 2025)
The Coptic Orthodox Church issued a statement mourning Coptic actor Lotfy Labib who departed the world on 30 July, aged 78. Mr Labib passed away in a Cairo hospital after a prolonged illness. The Church statement commemorated Mr Labib as an artist who 'leaves behind a distinguished and enduring legacy of diverse artistic contributions, spanning both the public arena and Christian-themed works.' The Church remains confident, the statement read, that Mr Labib will go down in the history of cinema, theatre, and television, and in the hearts of his fans as the great actor he was. 'We pray to the Lord for eternal rest to the soul of the late gifted artist, and that the Lord bestows comfort upon his family, loved ones, and fans,' the statement read. Born in Beni Sweif in 1947, Mr Labib graduated from the Higher Institute of Theatrical Arts in 1970, but made his artisitc debut years later. Meanwhile, he had completed his military service and taken part in the 1973 October War, then travelled abroad for four years. He excelled in dramatic and comedic roles, and was known for his warm distinctive voice. Mr Labib starred in some 200 movies and 20 television series. He was a beloved and respected actor, close to the heart of his colleagues and fans. He was particularly admired for his sense of humour and commitment to his profession and fans. He played memorable roles in Christian films depicting saints. Mr Labib leaves behind three daughters; Katia, Kristina and Carmen. Comments comments Tags: Lotfy Labib (1947 - 2025)Michael Girgis
