ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
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ዘመኑ ባፈራው የቴክኖሎጂ ግብአት በመጠቀም ለህብረተሰባችን ስራ ለሁሉም በሚል ግብ የተሻለ የስራ አማራጭ፣ ለተሻለ ኑሮ፣ ለተሻለ የገበያ ትስስር ፣ ለተቀናጀ የገበያ ተደራሽነት ገዥን ከደንበኛ የማስተሳሰሪያ የቴክኖሎጂ አማራጭ ይዘን መተናል በሁሉም የስራ መስክ በሁሉም የስራ እርከን ስራ ለሚገኙ ባለሙያዎች እና ድርጅቶች የስራ አጋጣሚን መፍጠር
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Commander of Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF) Peacekeeping Center, Major General Adamneh Mengste, said that the sacrifice of the 48th Motorized Peacekeeping Battalion in Somalia played an integral role to ensure peace in the Horn of Africa region.
He disclosed that the 48th Motorized Peacekeeping Battalion, which has been deployed in Somalia under ATMIS, has successfully completed its mission.
The members of the African Union Transitional Mission (ATMIS) in Somalia duly completed their duties and returned to the Hurso Contingent Training School and the commander conveyed a welcome message.
The 48th Motorized Peacekeeping Battalion has returned from their duty by creating stable peace in the neighboring country of Somalia, it was indicated.
Major General Adamneh Mengste underscored that the sacrifice made by the Ethiopian Defense Forces in Somalia is a comprehensive contribution to ensure sustainable peace in the countries of the Horn of Africa.
He stressed that the returning peacekeepers should carry out their duties in their next deployments with honesty and bravery in the spirit of service.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said that in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments will be paid for by insurance companies or the government if he returns to the White House.
“I was always for IVF. Right from the beginning, as soon as we heard about it," he told NBC News on Thursday.
The new campaign pledge comes after his Democratic rival, Vice-President Kamala Harris, and other members of her party have alleged that Republican-led abortion restrictions in some states could further threaten access to fertility treatments.
Trump's announcement could put him at odds with some conservative anti-abortion activists who want to ban IVF for discarding unused human embryos.
But he committed to the new position on Thursday in the interview with NBC.
"Under the Trump administration, we are going to be paying for that treatment," Trump told the news outlet. "Or we're going to be mandating that the insurance company pay."
IVF treatments can be very expensive - often around $20,000 (£15,000) per round - and are rarely covered by insurance in the US. Trump did not explain how this new policy would work or be put into effect.
The Harris-Walz campaign was quick to respond to the former president's new policy position, blaming him for the US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark 1973 abortion case - Roe v Wade - which eliminated the national right to abortion.
State governments can now decide Americans' access to abortion, and at least 14 have banned or put severe restrictions on the procedure.
"Because Trump overturned Roe v. Wade, IVF is already under attack and women’s freedoms have been ripped away in states across the country," said Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Chitika in response to Trump's comments on Thursday.
Trump has previously bragged about appointing three of the six conservatives on the Supreme Court who backed overturning the abortion access law.
"I was able to kill Roe v Wade," the former president posted online in May 2023.
But Trump has attempted to distance himself from his record on abortion, as Harris capitalises on voter concerns about how Republicans could affect reproductive rights.
In his interview, Trump - a Florida resident - also said he planned to vote against a Florida state ballot measure that would prohibit abortion after six weeks, with some exceptions.
"I think the six-week [ban] is too short. There has to be more time," he said. "I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks."
IVF became a new political lightning rod in America's debate over abortion access in February.
That's when the Republican-controlled Alabama Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos created through IVF are considered children under state law.
At the time, Trump called on Alabama lawmakers to "quickly find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama". They passed a law protecting IVF in March.
The ruling was a political headache for Republicans, forcing several leaders to put out statements objecting to the Alabama ruling that had the possibility of damaging their prospects in an election year.
Forty-two percent of Americans have either used IVF treatments or known someone who did, according to a Pew Survey last year. That percentage rises with increased earnings - 45% among middle-income Americans and 59% for those with high-incomes.
Those individuals are more likely to be white Americans who vote Republican, and many are ones whom Trump hopes to bring back into the political fold after losing their support in 2020.
Trump told supporter about his new position at a rally in Michigan on Thursday.
"Your government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for, all costs associated with IVF treatment," he said.
But Democrats continued to reject that a Trump administration would adopt such a policy on Thursday night.
"Americans have seen with their own eyes how Donald Trump overturned Roe v Wade and paved the way for extreme Maga Republicans to restrict IVF and pass cruel abortion bans across the country, hurting women and families," Democratic National Committee Spokesperson Aida Ross said in a statement.
"When voters head to the ballot box this November, they will vote for the Harris-Walz ticket to protect our freedoms - not Trump and Vance’s all-out assault on our basic rights.”
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Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in Japan at 08:00 local time today (23:00 GMT) and has left at least three people dead since developing off the coast earlier this week.
Three people have been confirmed dead after their home was damaged late on Tuesday. At least 84 have been injured, according to Japan’s national broadcaster NHK. More than five million people have been advised to evacuate – it’s not known how many have done so.
More than 700 flights have been cancelled, and two high speed railways suspended. More than 80 sections of highway were also suspended. Meanwhile, over 230,000 homes were without electricity this morning and 90 without water.
One woman told a local TV station she didn’t think she could live through the strong winds, “I just wanted to survive”, she said. A man described a tornado as “out of this world”, adding that it was “spooky” to look at.
In a news conference this morning, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary warned the “slow” moving typhoon could mean large amounts of rainfall. Since then, Japan’s weather agency has predicted 1,200mm (43in) rain in southern Kyushu by tomorrow morning. As for the typhoon itself – it’s heading northwards.
Drought and conflict with farmers are threatening Bolivia's Andean bear – the real-life Paddington Bear. Now a beekeeping project is helping protect this endangered species.
Elsa Limachi looks silently at the mountains around her small straw house. She is scanning her surroundings for the Andean bear. This small "spectacled" bear, with its circular golden markings around its eyes, is the real-life Paddington Bear.
Unlike the marmalade-obsessed fictional favourite, Andean bears are not social creatures. They are difficult to spot, but they are there, roaming through the dry Andean forest in southern Bolivia, Limachi says.
The inter-Andean dry forest lives up to its name with a landscape dotted with dense trees and bushes, where green merges with yellow and brown. The earthy tones of the landscape provide the perfect camouflage for the Andean bear's dark brown fur.
Limachi lives in San Lorencito, a remote farming village in Tarija, southern Bolivia. For generations, the community saw the Andean bear as a threat which was responsible for killing their cattle and eating their crops. These often false beliefs have led to retaliatory killings in the area."Several years ago, we didn't want the bear around because we thought it was not only dangerous, but also harmful to our cattle and crops," says Limachi.
"The farmers would always blame the bear," Limachi says. But bear attacks were the cause of only 5% to 10% of livestock deaths, she says, adding that poor management practices of cattle, diseases, tumbling accidents or snake bites, were the main reasons for cattle losses.The Andean bear's conservation status is vulnerable. The bear's main threats are retaliatory killings, habitat fragmentation and degradation, and the effects of climate change on the reproductive success of the species.
Bolivia and Peru are home to 70% of the Andean bear population, but the species can also be found in parts of Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. It is the only bear species residing in South America and there are an estimated 2,500 to 10,000 mature bears in the wild, according to ecological models. In contrast to Paddington Bear, who always keeps a marmalade sandwich tucked under his hat in case of a hunger emergency, the Andean bear feeds on bromeliads, exotic plants related to the pineapple, and other hard vegetative matter growing on the mountainside. But when there is not enough food in the forest, this opportunistic hunter may attack cattle, leading to conflict with farmers.In San Lorencito, conflict with farmers has led to illegal retaliation killings, threatening the Andean bear's long-term survival.
Witnessing the declining bear population in the region, Bolivian biologist Ximena Velez-Liendo came up with a plan to minimise conflict between farmers and bears. The solution? Beekeeping.
Velez-Liendo is the founder of the Andean Carnivore Conservation Programme (ACCP), a conservation project led by Chester Zoo in the UK along with other organisations, including WildCRU, Foundation Segré, Darwin Initiative and Whitley Fund for Nature.The ACCP opened a communal apiary with 10 beehives in San Lorencito in 2018, which also served as a school for community members to learn the craft of beekeeping. The programme helped provide resources so each family could start their own apiary, as well as equipment to facilitate honey harvesting.
The aim was to provide the community with an alternative economic activity to cattle farming. Velez-Liendo established the beekeeping project in 2018 following a regional assessment which revealed that farming communities were killing one to two bears every year because they blamed the animals for killing their livestock. Most cattle deaths were attributed to the bear, even if other factors, such as diseases and mountain tumbling, were to blame, says the biologist.
"The objective was to reduce retaliatory killings of bears by reducing cattle farming, as well as to improve people's attitude and increase tolerance towards bears," says Velez-Liendo, also a research associate at the wildlife conservation research unit at the University of Oxford and Chester Zoo in the UK, based in Tarija.
"We do not provide the full cost of the apiary. We provide 70% of the total cost, and the beneficiary the remaining 30%," says Velez-Liendo. "We found out that people value and care more than if it had been completely free."In 2018, there were five bears in San Lorencito – two males and three females –according to a camera trapping study by the ACCP seen by BBC Future Planet.
"Having so few individuals, and only one cub, showed us that the Andean bear was disappearing from that region," says Velez-Liendo.
Before the programme started in 2018, farmers used to find dead cows and that their crops had been eaten by bears. Limachi says she once woke up to find that the maize she grows next to her house had all been eaten by a hungry bear. She now laughs about it, but at the time it was painful.
"It was common to hear of bears being killed in the community. I used to hear that from my dad when I was a child, and then from my husband," Limachi says.
"Retaliatory killings of bears, or revenge hunting, arises when bears attack livestock or damage crops, resulting in economic losses or a perceived threat for people," says Velez-Liendo.
"Attacks on cattle and maize crops are the main causes of retaliation," says biologist Mauricio Peñaranda, who has spent six years researching human-bear conflict at San Francisco Xavier University in Sucre, southern Bolivia.
Peñaranda says that free-ranging cattle that are left to roam in the mountains are particularly vulnerable to bear attacks. "The farmers take the cattle to great areas where they can find pastures, but it is hard to keep control of the animals," he says.
"The lack of control can become an opportunity for the bear to attack, but sometimes accidents, such as snake bites or tumbling off the mountain, can cause their death," he says, adding that the bear is usually blamed, even in these instances.
We didn't want the bear around because we thought it was not only dangerous, but also harmful to our cattle and crops – Elsa Limachi
Mariolina Heredia, 29, the elected secretary of San Lorencito, has four active beehives. Her harvest, which happens once to twice a year, supplements the diet of her three children."I wanted us to be part of the project, because I saw that it was going to be something good," she says. "I thought we could sell the honey or keep it for our own consumption…I don't sell the honey, because I use it to feed my children."
In her role as secretary, Heredia has helped to promote the beekeeping project, encouraging other members of the community to participate, and organised training courses. Just like Heredia, Zoilo Aguirre, who is the biggest livestock farmer in San Lorencito, does not sell the honey, because he gives it to his children and grandchildren to supplement their diet and as a substitute for sugar.
His family also use propolis, the resin collected by honeybees from tree buds which they use to build their hives, as medicine. Propolis is known for its wound-healing, antiviral and anaesthetic properties. It's like having a pharmacy," says Aguirre. "We use the honey and propolis for coughs, toothache and colds." Each beehive produces between 400g (0.8lb) and 600g (1.3lb) of propolis per year, according to the ACCP.Other beneficiaries of the programme, such as Limachi, sell their entire harvest, about 90kg (198lb), every year for $517 (£404). "By selling the honey, I was able to pay my debts," she says.
The average monthly minimum wage in the community is $359 (£279), according to Patricia Sánchez, who oversees the economic initiatives of the ACCP. The honey sales provide roughly 30% of the families' average income, says Sánchez.
The ACCP has created the "Valle De Osos" brand, translated as "Valley of the Bears", which community members can use to market their honey as a bear-friendly product. "I consider myself a fairly conscious consumer," says Alejandra Laserna, from Cochabamba, who has been buying Valle De Osos honey since 2019, directly from the community. "I know I am choosing something good for me, but also something that is helping a community's subsistence, as well as the conservation of a species that has no power to protect itself." For Benigno Tárraga, 68, beekeeping provides half of his monthly income of $359 (£281). He harvests honey three times a year, and by selling his honey through the "Valle de Osos" brand, he generates an annual income of $2,155 (£1,675).
"I want to get more beehives to sell more honey and keep reducing my cattle, because beekeeping requires less physical effort," says Tárraga, who sees it as a good retirement plan.
Heredia also wants to keep more beehives because there is less risk of financial loss. "If a cow dies, there is no way to recover that money. But with honey, if you take care of the beehives properly, you can have a good harvest," she says.
Initially the community were hesitant to engage with the ACCP and their beekeeping project. "The first time Ximena came, I asked her to take the bear with her, I didn't want it here," Limachi recalls, laughing. But her attitude changed after she realised that the bear brought a wide range of benefits to the community.
"Since the beekeeping project started, we have learned that we can benefit from the bear's presence, in an environmental and economical way," Limachi says.
The Andean bear is referred to as the "gardener of the forest" because of its ability to spread seeds through its faeces, facilitating the regeneration of the ecosystems it inhabits, in this case the inter-Andean dry forest.
"The bear, by feeding on plants, spreads seeds through its faeces. The bees, on the other hand, pollinate the plants," explains Velez-Liendo.
"Bears help regenerate the forest and there is more food for the bees, because there are more flowers," says Heredia.Since the start of the project, cattle farming in the community has reduced by 17%, exceeding the projects expectations, according to Velez-Liendo.
"While some community members have sold their cattle, others have lost them due to climate factors, but in both cases, they have not replaced them," she says, adding that this is due to the beekeeping project providing them with an alternative income.
Beekeeping provides families with an alternative income stream, making them less reliant on livestock farming, according to the ACCP's Sánchez. Half of their average income now comes from cattle farming, 30% from honey and 20% from agriculture, she says.
The number of bears has increased in the area, from five adults identified in 2018, to 40 in 2024, according to the most recent evaluation of the project, seen by BBC Future Planet.Between 2016 and 2024, no bears were killed in retaliation attacks, according to the ACCP. However, in 2019 a dominant male was killed for its fur.
The project has also increased the average income of families in San Lorencito by 15% and increased the household's ability to generate income by 11.8%, between 2018 and 2021.
Tolerance towards bears has increased by 50% according to the same report, based on a survey conducted in 2019, where they found that only 10% of cattle deaths were attributed to the bear.
Aguirre, San Lorencito's biggest livestock farmer, has taken a proactive role to avoid conflict with the bear, by planting pastures in an area where he can have control of his livestock.
"I try to avoid free-ranging animal husbandry, because I know the bear is there and I would be taking the cattle to its door," he says.The success of the programme led the ACCP to introduce their conservation initiative in two other areas in the inter-Andean dry forest this year.
Velez-Liendo says the project can be replicated in other areas, but only if communities are willing to participate.She says one of the biggest limitations the programme has found is the lack of conservation professionals in the region. This means that agronomists, veterinarians and sociologists have been brought in from different cities, which hinders the continuity of the work, she says.
Similar other initiatives are being implemented across Bolivia, addressing not only human-bear conflict, but also landscape conservation."We have published a study identifying the main strongholds for the conservation of the Andean bear in both Peru and Bolivia, and the good news is that they are relatively large areas," says Robert Wallace, a senior conservation scientist for the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in the Andes, Amazon and Orinoco regions.
The Andean bear is a landscape species, which means that it needs large spaces to have viable populations, Wallace says. "It needs between 11.5 sq miles (30 sq km) and 38.6 sq miles (100 sq km) per individual, although they can overlap."
The same study revealed that there were larger populations of Andean bears in the country's protected areas in western Bolivia, leading the WCS to focus its work on supporting local authorities and communities there.
Another conservation initiative is being implemented in the municipality of Tiquipaya in Cochabamba in central Bolivia, by Andrea Fuentes Arze, who works for the environmental non-profit Vida Silvestre. She runs the Jucumari programme that aims to reduce conflict with the Andean bear, by providing the local community with an alternative economic activity to livestock farming.Here the focus is artisanal weaving, rather than beekeeping. The Jucumari programme trains women in different weaving techniques, to create handicrafts such as small woven Andean bears, loom woven blankets and table runners that are later sold in towns. The sale of these woven items provides about 15% of the women's total income, says Fuentes Arze.
The project has not only helped reduce conflict with the bear, but also empowered local women and provided an alternative income for their families, she says. "There is a greater tolerance for conflict in the communities where we work. We can see their frustration when they lose a cow, but at least the women can now get over this bitter pill, with a little more vision."
For Velez-Liendo, the key is finding ways for humans and bears to coexist, while improving people's livelihoods and protecting bear strongholds in the Andes.
"Bears have lived in these forests for thousands of years, even before the arrival of the human species in the Andes. Today, bears and humans share the same landscape," she says. "A bear does not kill cows as revenge to humans for taking their forest."
"We are focused on increasing people's tolerance towards bears, and providing economic alternatives to livestock, so next time a bear kills a cow or steal some maize, people will simply say: 'cheeky bear'."Correction: This story originally stated the bear was also found in Argentina. This was corrected on 23 August, as the bear is not found in this country.
Source:BBC EARTH
One of the F-16 fighter jets sent from Nato allies to Ukraine has been destroyed, a Ukrainian military source has told the BBC.
The aircraft went down amid a barrage of Russian missiles on Monday, killing pilot Oleksiy Mes, Ukraine's military said. It marks the first loss of its kind since the planes were delivered earlier this month.
The cause of the crash was not a direct result of an enemy missile strike, the Ukrainian military claims.
It said the pilot destroyed three cruise missiles and one drone in Russia's largest aerial attack to date."Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles," the Ukrainian Air Force wrote in a statement on social media.
"Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life."
The statement did not specify the type of plane involved, but a military source told the BBC the pilot was flying an F-16.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially confirmed on Tuesday the US-made F-16's were being deployed to shoot down Russian drones and missiles.
This week, he asked allies to allow Ukraine to use long range missiles to hit targets further into Russia.
Dutch Chief of Defence Gen Onno Eichelsheim confirmed the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 24 of the jets, in addition to more weapons.
There will be no restrictions on their usage apart from complying with humanitarian law, he told a conference in Washington on Wednesday - meaning Kyiv could launch deeper strikes into Russian territory.
Around 65 F-16s have been pledged by Nato countries since US President Joe Biden first authorised willing European allies to send them to Ukraine in August 2023.
Ukraine's F-16s work alongside a limited number of Western-supplied surface-to-air missile systems such as Patriot and Nasams which are already on the ground.
They also help defend against Russian glide bombs - dumb munitions fitted with pop-out wing kits and guidance modules to deliver precision strike stand-off capabilities, similar to the JDAM munitions from the United States.
The destruction of the aircraft is blow to Zelensky, who said he will deliver a "victory plan" to US President Joe Biden next month.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, called the UN Security Council (UNSC) to reform its outdated structure and assign Africa a permanent seat at the table.
Addressing the UNSC on Monday, the UN chief stated that the existing composition of the council has not kept pace with the fast-changing world.
In his remarks to the Security Council debate on “Maintenance of Peace and Security: Addressing the Historical Injustice and Enhancing Africa’s Effective Representation in the United Nations Security Council”, in New York on Monday, the Secretary-General pointed out that the council has been a bedrock to global peace and security.
However, it has too big cracks at its foundation that can’t be ignored, he said. The UNSC was designed by the victors of the Second World War where most of today’s African countries languished under colonial rule with no voice in it.
“This creates a glaring omission that has remained unresolved until now: there is no permanent member representing Africa in the Security Council, and the number of elected members from the continent is not in proportion to its importance,” he said.
He added, “We cannot accept that the world’s preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people … nor can we accept that Africa’s views are undervalued on questions of peace and security, both on the continent and around the world.”
The UN chief noted that although the continent is overwhelmed by challenges such as conflicts, emergencies, climate change, and debt burden, Africa is underrepresented in the global governance system including the Security Council and international financial institutions.
“The message is clear,” the UN chief stresses, “There is no global security without African security.”
The Secretary-General called on all member states to support a global peace and security architecture equally representative of all countries, as per a press release by the UN.
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another thought occurred to him: in the pomegranates and the dates and the fruits, the miracle of Creation manifested itself without any interference by human beings. So he picked up the bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: “Take and eat, all of you, for this is my Body.” Because bread was everywhere. And bread, in contrast with the dates, the pomegranates and the fruits of Syria , was the best symbol of the path toward God. Bread was the fruit of the earth and of man's labors. The juggler stops in the middle of the plaza, pulls out three oranges and begins to toss them. People gather round and marvel at the grace and elegance of his movements. “That's what life's like, more or less,” someone standing there with the wanderer says. “We always have an orange in each hand, and one in the air. But that one in the air makes all the difference. It was thrown with ability and experience, but it follows its own course. Like the juggler, we throw a dream out into the world, but we don't always have control over it. At times like that, you have to know how to put yourself in God's hands -and ask that, in due time, the dream follows its course correctly and falls, completed, back into your hand.” One of the most powerful exercises in interior growth consists in paying attention to things we do automatically -like breathing, blinking our eyes, or attending to things around us. When we do this, we allow our brain to work with greater freedom -without the interference of our desires. Certain problems that appeared to be insoluble wind up being resolved, and certain pains that we thought could never be overcome wind up dissipating effortlessly. The master says: “When you have to confront a difficult situation, try to use that technique. It requires a bit of discipline... but the results can be surprising”. A man is at a fair, selling vases. A woman approaches and examines his merchandise. Some pieces are undecorated, while others have carefully wrought designs. The woman asks the price of the vases. To her surprise, she learns that they all cost the same. “How can the decorated vase cost the same as the simple ones?” she asks. “Why charge the same for a vase that it took more time and effort to make?” “I am an artist,” the seller says. “I can charge for the vase I made, but not for its beauty. The beauty is free.” The wanderer was seated alone at a mass. Suddenly, he was approached by a friend. “I have to talk to you,” the friend said. The wanderer saw in the meeting a sign, and began to talk about what he considered to be important. He spoke of God's blessings, of love, and of the fact that he saw his friend's arrival as a signal from his angel, because moments before the wanderer had felt alone, whereas now he had company. The friend listened without saying a word, thanked the wanderer, and left. Rather than happiness, the wanderer fell more alone than ever. Later, he realized that, in his enthusiasm, he had paid no attention to his friends request: that he speak. The wanderer looked down and saw his words thrown to the floor. Because the Universe wanted something different to have happened at that moment. Three fairies were invited to the baptism of a prince. The first granted the prince the gift of finding his love. The second granted him enough money to do as he pleased. The third granted him beauty. But, as in all fairy tales, a witch appeared. She was furious at not having been invited, and pronounced a curse: “Because you already have everything, I'm going to give you even more. You will be talented at whatever you try to do.” The prince grew up handsome, rich and in love. But he was never able to complete his mission on Earth. He was an excellent painter, sculptor, musician, mathematician -but he was never able to complete a task because he quickly became distracted and wanted to move on to something else. The master says: “All roads lead to the same place. But choose your own, and follow it to the end. Do not try to walk every road.” An anonymous text from the XVIII century speaks of a Russian monk who was looking for a spiritual adviser. One day, he was told that in a certain village lived a hermit who dedicated himself night and day to the salvation of his soul. Hearing this, the monk went in search of the holy man. “I want you to guide me along the paths of the soul,” the monk said when he found the hermit. “The soul has its own path, and your angel will guide you,” answered the hermit. “Pray without stopping.” “I don't know how to pray like that. Will you teach me?” “If you do not know how to pray incessantly, then pray to God to teach you how to do so.” “You are teaching me nothing,” said the monk. “There is nothing to be taught, because you cannot transmit faith in the same way that you transmit knowledge about mathematics. Accept the mystery of faith, and the Universe will reveal itself.” The master says: “Write! Whether it's a letter, a diary or just some notes as you speak on the telephone -but write! In writing, we come closer to God and to others. If you want to understand your role in the world better, write. Try to put your soul in writing, even if no one reads your words -or worse, even if someone winds up reading what you did not want to be read. The simple fact of writing helps us to organize our thoughts and see more clearly what is in our surroundings. A paper and pen perform miracles -they alleviate pain, make dreams come true and summon lost hope. The word has power.” The monks of the desert affirmed that it was necessary to allow the hand of the angels to act. In order to bring this about, they sometimes did absurd things -such as speaking to the flowers or laughing without cause. The alchemists follow the “signs from God;” clues that sometimes make very little sense but wind up leading somewhere. The master says: “Do not fear being regarded as crazy -do something today that fits not at all with the logic you have learned. Behave is a way that is opposite to the usual serious comportment you were taught. This little thing, no matter how little it is, can open the door to a great adventure -human and spiritual.” A fellow is driving a luxurious Mercedes Benz when he blows a tire. As he tries to change it, he realizes that he has no jack. “Well, I'll go to the nearest house and ask if I can borrow one,” he thinks, as he goes in search of help. “Maybe the person I ask, seeing my car, will charge me for finding me his jack,” he says to himself. “With a car like this, and with me asking for help, he'll probably charge me ten dollars. No, maybe even fifty, because he knows I really need the jack. He might take advantage of me and charge me as much as a hundred dollars.” And the further he walks, the higher goes the price. “When he reaches the nearest house, and the owner opens the door, the man shouts: “You're a thief! A jack isn't worth that much! Keep it!” Who of us can say that he has never acted that way? Milton Ericsson is the author of a new therapy that has won over thousands of practitioners in the United States . When he was twelve, he contracted polio. Ten months later, he heard a physician tell his parents: “Your son will not make it through the night.” Ericsson heard his mother crying. “Who knows, if I make it through the night, perhaps she won't suffer so,” he thought. And he decided not to sleep until the next day dawned. As the sun rose, he shouted to his mother: “Hey, I'm still alive!” The joy in the house was so great that he decided that he would always try to make it through one more night to put off his family's suffering. He died at 75 in 1990, leaving a number of important books about the enormous capacity man has to overcome his own limitations. “Holy man,” said a novice to the Father Superior , “my heart is filled with love for the world, and my heart is cleansed of the temptations of the devil. What is the next step?” The padre asked the disciple to go with him to visit an ill person who was in need of extreme unction. After comforting the family, the father noticed a trunk in one of the corners. “What is in that trunk?” he asked. “The clothing that my uncle never wore,” said his niece. “He always thought that there would be some occasion for wearing them, but they wound up rotting in the trunk.” “Don't forget that trunk,” the father said to the disciple as they left. “If
Germany's anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) is celebrating a "historic success", with a big victory for the far-right party in the eastern state of Thuringia.
The AfD won almost a third of the vote, nine points ahead of the conservative CDU, and far in front of Germany's three governing parties.
The result gives the far right its first win in a state parliament election since World War Two, although it has little hope of forming a government in Thuringia because other parties are unlikely to work with it.
The AfD came a close second in Sunday's other big state election, in the more populous neighbouring state of Saxony.
Results there gave the CDU 31.9% of the vote, just ahead of the AfD, again far ahead of the three parties running the national government - the Social Democrats, Greens and liberal FDP.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the results were "bitter" and called on other mainstream parties to form state governments without the far right. "The AfD is damaging Germany. It is weakening the economy, dividing society and ruining our country's reputation," he said in a statement to Reuters.
The AfD's top candidate in Thuringia, Björn Höcke, who is a highly controversial figure in Germany, hailed a "historic victory" and spoke of his great pride. He failed to win a direct mandate for the state parliament, but secured a seat because he was top of his party list.Mr Höcke's party has been designated as right-wing extremist and he has been fined for using a Nazi slogan, although the former history teacher denies knowingly doing so.
One of Germany's best-known Holocaust survivors, Charlotte Knobloch, pointed out that the election had taken place 85 years to the day since the outbreak of World War Two. The result had left the country in danger of becoming "more unstable, colder and poorer, less safe and less worth living in", she said.
With federal elections only a year away, the AfD is second in national opinion polls. Co-leader Alice Weidel said the result was a "requiem" for the three parties running Germany and it was clear that voters in both eastern states wanted her party in government.
"Without us a stable government is no longer possible at all," she said.
That message was repeated by Björn Höcke, who suggested there were plenty of CDU voters who would be happy if they worked together.
Without the support of other parties, the AfD cannot govern in Thuringia, and the CDU has made clear it will not consider ruling with the far right.
Mathematically, the conservatives will need support from parties on the left to form a majority.Some five million Germans in the east were eligible to vote on Sunday and, according to a survey for public broadcaster ZDF, 36% of under-30s in Thuringia voted for the AfD, far more than any other party.
The biggest issue for AfD voters on Sunday was immigration, and in particular the issue of refugees and asylum.
“Politicians have promised a lot, particularly concerning migration and foreigners," AfD voter Michael told the BBC in Thuringia's state capital, Erfurt.
"But nothing happened. Nothing. Just promises came from these parties. Now I have my party. And I stand with my decision," he said, standing beside his partner Manuela, who agreed that people wanted change.Sunday's elections have underlined the unpopularity of Germany's ruling "traffic-light" coalition, so named because of the red, yellow and green of the party colours.
A third eastern state, Brandenburg, is due to vote in three weeks' time and although the AfD is ahead in the opinion polls, the Social Democrats and conservatives are only a few points behind.
While Björn Höcke hailed his party's victory with supporters in Erfurt, anti-AfD protesters gathered outside the Thuringia state parliament.
The AfD has been classified as right-wing extremist by domestic intelligence in Thuringia as well as Saxony. In May, a German court ruled that the BfV intelligence agency was justified in placing the AfD under observation for suspected extremism.
Among the protesters was Hannah, a local student, who said she was very worried by the result: "I think there are a lot of people who are aware they have Nazi policies and don't care. Germany has some kind of responsibility on that matter."The rise of Sahra Wagenknecht's populist party had a direct impact on the Left party, which won the last election in Thuringia but has now slipped into fourth place.
Bodo Ramelow. the Left-party state premier of Thuringia, who had led a coalition with the SPD and Greens, said the election campaign had been characterised by fear and that he was "fighting against the normalisation of fascism".
