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Gelsenkirchen – Schalke 04 has drawn Hertha BSC even deeper into the relegation battle of the German Bundesliga. The “Royal Blues” from Gelsenkirchen overtook the Berliners with a 5-2 home win on Friday evening. Hertha from Berlin is now bottom of the table following 28 rounds, one point behind Stuttgart and two behind Schalke, who once more won a game once morest a direct competitor.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, noted that this gathering is taking place at a unique time. The last Friday of Ramadan, when Christians celebrate Easter, Jews mark the end of Passover and Sikhs celebrate the Vaisakhi festival.

“Even the calendar sends a message of unity,” he remarked.

Let us hold firmly to the common faith that unites the human family. Let us come together as communities and countries. Let’s pray for peace

“Today, in this blessed moment of interreligious renewal, let us lift up our hearts and our voices for peace – our guiding star and our most precious goal,” the UN chief said.

Today more than ever

Mr. Guterres said peace is needed more than ever today, as wars and conflicts breed devastating poverty and hunger, forcing tens of millions of people to flee their homes.

The entire planet is grappling with climate chaos, and even peaceful countries face stark inequality and political polarization, he added.

“Let us hold firmly to the common faith that unites the human family,” Mr. Guterres said. “Let us come together as communities and countries. Let us pray for peace”.

Incorporate many religions

The ceremony took place in the Visitors Square of the United Nations Headquarters in New York, in front of the iconic sculpture of the knotted gun, which has become the symbol of the Organization’s commitment to world peace.

UN staff, members of the diplomatic community and UN visitors were present.

Representatives of major religions offered prayers, and a minute of silence was observed to include those of secular belief and to remember vulnerable people affected by conflict around the world.

ONU Info spoke with the Reverend Chloe Breyer, an Episcopalian priest in New York, who represented Christianity at the time of prayer this Friday. She said she was honored to pray for peace alongside counterparts of different faiths.

“This is an opportunity to express the long-standing resources for peace that the world’s religious traditions have to offer and, in doing so, to align with the goals of the United Nations,” she said. .

Women, peace and security

Reverend Breyer and Reverend Doyeon Park, a Won Buddhist, were the only female religious leaders to participate in the ceremony, prompting Reverend Breyer to reflect on their role in global peace.

“When I think of the United Nations and women religious leaders, I think of Security Council resolution 1325 and the need to have women around – and more women around – the tables of peace, whether they be religious or not,” she said.

“It’s definitely something our world needs right now. One need only think of Afghanistan, Iran and the changes taking place in our own country to understand how essential it is that women, whether religious or not, speak at the table of negotiations,” said Dr. Breyer.

Celebrate what unites us

Simran Jeet Singh, Sikh Representative and Executive Director of the Religion and Society Program of the Aspen Institute, an international non-profit organization, said the fact that people from different religious traditions have come together for peace is an important lesson for humanity.

“Often in our society, we use religion to divide us between individuals and between communities, and we see the consequences of this all over the world,” he stressed.

“What I love regarding this idea of ​​coming together for the holidays is that so many different communities are celebrating; they reflect on so much in common and so much that unites us,” the Sikh religious leader shared.

Live in harmony

Taking the floor to close the moment of ecumenical sharing, the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance for Civilizations (UNAOC), Miguel Ángel Moratinos, described the ceremony as “a magnificent moment of harmony”.

He said it demonstrates how to mobilize action and act in solidarity, and how to show compassion and mutual respect.

UNAOC encourages cross-cultural understanding and cooperation, and Moratinos stressed its continued support for efforts to “build bridges of understanding, not walls of hatred and division.”

The consultative meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq began in the Saudi city of Jeddah on Friday evening, which is being held to discuss the return of the Syrian regime to the Arab League.

The official Saudi Al-Ekhbariya channel broadcasted televised footage of the start of the meeting, which was called for by the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, in the presence of 8 Arab foreign ministers and the diplomatic advisor to the President of the Emirates, without mentioning any details of what is being circulated.

The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq arrived today, Thursday, in Jeddah, to participate in the consultative meeting.

And according to what was reported by the Saudi Press Agency, “SPA”, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Al-Khuraiji received the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Muhammad Abdul Rahman Al Thani, and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Sameh Shukri, and the foreign ministers of Egypt, Ayman Al-Safadi, Jordan, Ayman Al-Safadi, Oman, Badr Al-Busaidi, Kuwait, Salem Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Iraq. Fouad Hussein, Bahrain Abdul Latif Al-Zayani, and Emirati advisor Anwar Gargash, at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah Governorate, each separately.

Earlier, “France Presse” quoted what it described as an “Arab diplomat” that “there is a possibility” that the Syrian regime’s foreign minister, Faisal al-Miqdad, will attend the Jeddah meeting on Friday to “present the Syrian point of view.” However, according to the “Al-Ikhbariya” scenes, the Syrian regime’s foreign minister was not present.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia received Al-Miqdad for the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution.

The pace of rapprochement between Arab countries and the Syrian regime is accelerating, the latest of which was Saudi Arabia’s reception of Al-Miqdad, and the agreement to start procedures for resuming consular services and flights between the two countries.

Syria’s membership in the League of Arab States was suspended in response to the brutal crackdown launched by the head of the Syrian regime, Bashar al-Assad, on peaceful protests in his country.

Archyde.com quoted a Jordanian official as saying that Jordan is pushing for a “joint Arab peace plan that might put an end to the devastating repercussions of the Syrian conflict,” which has been going on for more than 10 years.

The official, who asked not to be named, said the kingdom had proposed forming a joint Arab group “to deal with the Syrian government directly on a detailed plan to end the conflict”. He added, “The detailed road map deals with all the main issues… and resolving the crisis so that Syria can restore its role in the region and rejoin the League of Arab States.”

On the eve of the Jeddah meeting, the Qatari prime minister considered that the reasons for suspending Damascus’ membership still exist for Doha.

In an interview with “Qatar TV”, the Qatari Prime Minister confirmed that “the reasons for suspending Syria’s membership in the League of Arab States and boycotting the Syrian regime still exist,” adding: “It is true that the war in Syria has stopped, but the Syrian people are still displaced, People are still in prisons, and we in the State of Qatar do not want to impose solutions in Syria, as the solution is in the hands of the Syrian people. The unilateral decision of the State of Qatar is not to take any step if there is no political progress to solve the Syrian crisis, and it is a sovereign decision of the State of Qatar that we adhere to.”

Despite the path of Arab openness to the regime of Bashar al-Assad, many Arab countries still refuse any normalization with it before serious steps are taken towards reaching a political solution in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy, foremost of which is Resolution 2254.

Efforts to return the Syrian regime to the Arab League are facing “resistance” from Arab countries, according to Arab officials who spoke to the Wall Street Journal. The newspaper confirmed that at least five members of the League of Arab States, including Morocco, Kuwait, Qatar and Yemen, refuse to rejoin the Syrian regime, adding that Egypt, which has revived relations with the Syrian regime in recent months, is also resisting the decision.

(The New Arab)