ALGERIA BEATIFICATION OF TIBHIRINE MONKS
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| On Saturday, seven monks from Tibhirine are beatified in the Santa Cruz chapel in Oran, along with twelve other Catholic monks, including Bishop Pierre Claverie, who were also victims of Islamist terrorist violence in Algeria in the 1990s.
 These religious refused to leave the country after decolonization and then during the decade of blood that hit the country. In 1993 Algeria plunged into the terror of a civil war that makes 150,000 to 200,000 dead.
The Islamist GIA is sowing terror and, on Christmas Eve, an emir asks the monks to leave the country. Their lives are in danger, but the religious decide to stay. Two years later, in 1966, seven of the nine Trappist monks of the Tibhirine community are kidnapped and murdered by the GIA.
This idea of their official recognition by the Church sprang up about twenty years ago and in January of this year, the Pope signed the decree by which they were officially recognized as martyrs. As is the tradition of the Catholic Church, his blessed are celebrated where they lived.
It is a historic event for Algeria, for Christians living there as for the universal Church. "It is very rare that a beatification takes place so soon after the death of the people concerned and just as new that it affects a memory that is still so sensitive twenty years later," admitted Bishop Jean-Paul Vesco, when a recent conference organized at the Center Pierre Claverie, in Oran, in front of an Algerian public. In the name of "civil harmony" and national unity, this "black decade" of civil war is still taboo.
The decision of the Algerian authorities and in particular the Minister of Religious Affairs, Mohamed Aissa, to welcome the celebration is fraught with meaning. It testifies to a form of recognition for Algerians converted to Protestantism, a recognition of the Amazigh (Berber) identity of Algeria and pleads for a plural Algeria.
Through this exceptional beatification, a first in the land of Islam is also shown that men and women of the church were killed alongside Muslims who rejected radicalization and violence .
This exceptional beatification marks a step forward in interreligious dialogue.
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| Carl Delsey for DayNewsWorld |
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WAR AND FAMINE IN YEMEN NEAR 150 DEATHS
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Washington et Londres ont demandé instamment que viennent le temps de la négociation au Yémen, alors que l'offensive à Hodeida a fait près de 150 morts ce dimanche. Ce bilan a été donné alors que les rebelles Houthis, soutenus par l'Iran , opposent une farouche résistance à la progression des forces progouvernementales appuyées par l'Arabie saoudite, a admis une source militaire loyaliste.
La ville portuaire de Hodeida sous des combats meurtriers
Des combats particulièrement meurtriers continuent ce lundi dans la ville portuaire de Hodeida, dans l'ouest du Yémen, au moment où Washington et Londres accentuent la pression sur l'Arabie saoudite pour que la coalition qu'elle commande dans ce pays cesse rapidement les hostilités. L'Arabie saoudite sunnite a pris en effet la tête d'une coalition militaire pour affronter la rébellion houthi qui avait a pris le contrôle d'une partie du Yémen. Cette une guerre qui divise la région a fait plus de 8750 morts, depuis mars 2015. L'Iran chiite ,de son côté, soutient militairement le soulèvement houthi. Soumis à un blocus imposé par Ryad, qui héberge le chef de l'État Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi en exil, le Yémen est confronté à la « pire crise humanitaire du monde », selon l'ONU. Pendant ce temps, la menace djihadiste s'est étendue, entre la concurrence d'Al-Qaïda dans la péninsule arabique (Aqpa) et de Daech.
Près de 600 morts depuis le mois de juin.
L'offensive lancée en juin s'est nettement intensifiée depuis le 1er novembre avec un bilan d'au moins 592 morts jusqu'ici (460 rebelles, 125 loyalistes et 7 civils), selon des sources militaires et des médecins.
Au moins 110 rebelles, 32 loyalistes et sept civils ont été tués ces dernières 24 heures dans les affrontements, dont certains se déroulent dans des quartiers résidentiels, ont indiqué lundi des sources militaires et hospitalières.
Hodeida, qui se situe sur la mer Rouge, revêt une importance stratégique constituant le point d'entrée de plus des trois-quarts des importations et de l'aide humanitaire internationale dans le pays en guerre.
Le temps de la négociation a donc sonné
L'Arabie saoudite avait déjà essuyé de vives critiques pour les dommages collatéraux causés par les frappes aériennes faisant des centaines de victimes civiles. De plus le royaume sunnite est sorti considérablement ternie par l'affaire Jamal Khashoggi , du nom de ce journaliste assassiné le 2 octobre au consulat saoudien à Istanbul.
Le chef de la diplomatie américaine Mike Pompeo et son homologue britannique Jeremy Hunt ont estimé que le temps de la négociation était venu pour le Yémen.
, également ministre de la Défense, Mike Pompeo a explicitement appelé à « la fin des hostilités » au Yémen lors d'un entretien dimanche avec le prince héritier saoudien Mohammed ben Salmane. Il a exigeant que que « toutes les parties viennent à la table pour négocier une solution pacifique au conflit »
Sous la pression du Congrès, l'administration américaine de Donald Trump a confirmé que la coalition sous commandement saoudien au Yémen allait désormais effectuer elle-même le ravitaillement en vol de ses avions, assuré jusqu'ici par les Etats-Unis.
Pour le ministre britannique Jeremy Hunt, reçu lundi en Arabie saoudite, le conflit yéménite a connu un coût humain « incalculable » et sa résolution passe par une solution « politique ».
Le Yémen est le théâtre de la pire crise humanitaire au monde, rappelle régulièrement l'ONU, la famine guettant 14 millions de civils.
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| Jenny Chase for DayNewsWorld |
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MALAGASY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
THE RETURN OF REVENENTS
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A few days after the presidential election in Madagascar, the former president of the Transition, Andry Rajoelina is ahead of his rival, Marc Ravalomanana, according to the still partial results published by the independent national electoral commission (CENI).
With 7,597 polling stations processed, of the 24,852 polling stations in the country, 30.57%, Andry Rajoelina still leads with 40.87% of the vote, followed by Marc Ravalomanana, 35.99%.
The outgoing President Henry Rajaonarimampianina meanwhile, collects 07.01% of the vote.
Marc Ravalomanana, 68, and Andry Rajoelina, 44, are wealthy businessmen, two former heads of state engaged in an endless battle.
The first was overthrown in 2009 after demonstrations organized by the second.
 In the capital, Antananarivo, the protests turned to riot and were repressed in the blood.
Rajoelina, supported by the army, then took the lead of a "High Authority of Transition" which led the country for four years "a coup" denounced as a coup by the international community.
In 2013, for the sake of appeasement, the two rivals were banned from running in the presidential election.
This is the first time they have clashed at the polls.
If no one exceeds the 50% mark, a second round is planned to decide between the two leading candidates on December 19th.
Voting irregularities were reported that were denied by the Electoral Commission. Observers from the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU) insisted Friday that claims will be "only" by the way legal.
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This large island in the Indian Ocean, regularly destabilized by political and post-electoral crises since its independence from France in 1960, could perhaps experience stability after this presidential election.
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| Alyson Braxton for DayNewsWorld |
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN MADAGASCAR
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| The Malagasy elect this Wednesday their president for the first round of the presidential election. Three former heads of state are among the favorites in this country of turbulent political history.
 Polling stations opened shortly after 06:00 (0300 GMT) in the capital.
The Malagasy Ministry of the Interior said this Wednesday, shortly before noon, that the participation rate is close to 40%.
If thirty-six candidates are in the running, including four former presidents, former prime ministers, a very popular singer or two pastors.
The campaign was dominated by the last three heads of state:
Marc Ravalomanana (2002-2009), Andry Rajoelina (2009-2014) and Hery Rajaonarimampianina (2014-2018) .
The latter also resigned in September to be able to run again, in accordance with the Malagasy Constitution requiring a president who presents himself to his own estate to resign 60 days before the first round.
The new interim head of state is Rivo Rakotovao to ensure neutrality of the state during the election period.
High-profile meetings were held by these three candidates during the campaign in a country plagued by poverty and corruption. The polls close at 17:00 (14:00 GMT).
If no candidate wins in the first round, the first two will meet for a second round on December 19, 2018.
An election that serves as a test in this customary Indian Ocean island of post-election and political crises.
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| Jenny Chase for DayNewsWorld |
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