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Washington is reportedly closing three of its eight bases in the country’s northeast, which have operated since 2014 without Damascus’ permission

The US has begun withdrawing troops from Syria, where they have been stationed without Damascus’ consent since 2014, the New York Times and the Associated Press reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

According to the NYT, the US military plans to shut down three of its eight operating bases in Syria’s northeast and reduce troop levels from 2,000 to around 1,400. The bases reportedly set to be closed are Mission Support Site Green Village, M.S.S. Euphrates, and a smaller unnamed facility. In two months, commanders are expected to reassess whether more cuts are needed. Sources told the outlet that commanders recommended retaining no fewer than 500 troops.

The AP, citing its own sources, reported slightly deeper cuts, suggesting fewer than 1,000 US troops will remain.

Those remaining will reportedly continue supporting the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in counterterrorism operations and managing detention camps. Reports claimed the drawdown follows recommendations from ground commanders and has received approval from the Pentagon and US Central Command. Neither the Pentagon nor the White House has officially confirmed the withdrawal.

American forces have been stationed in Syria since 2014 under the stated mission of fighting ISIS. While previous estimates put troop levels at around 900, the Pentagon revealed last year that roughly 2,000 personnel were present. The announcement came shortly after Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted by a coalition of armed groups led by the Islamist faction Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), with HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa assuming control. Assad’s removal sparked renewed unrest, including an uprising among the Alawite minority that left hundreds dead.

Both Damascus and Moscow have repeatedly condemned the US presence in Syria as an illegal occupation. The former Syrian government accused Washington of exploiting the country’s oil resources, as most US bases are in oil-rich regions of the northeast.

US President Donald Trump previously voiced skepticism about keeping troops in Syria. During the fall of Damascus in December, he wrote on social media: “Syria is a mess, but is not our friend. We should have nothing to do with it.”

Despite Assad’s ouster, Russia has pledged to maintain its longstanding presence and support for Syria. During a meeting on Thursday with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to Syrian sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also signaled readiness to work with Qatar to address Syria’s humanitarian crisis and stabilize the country’s security and economy.

Russia’s ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, later told reporters that Russian forces will continue operating from their established bases at Khmeimim and Tartus, which they lease under a long-term agreement signed in 2017.

“We are in dialogue with the transitional government in Syria. Our special envoy visited Syria. Our president spoke with the leader of the transition period. Our military is staying where they had been,” Nebenzia said.

Moscow’s UN envoy has called anticipation of an imminent truce “unrealistic”

Senior US officials have told European backers of Kiev that Washington anticipates a comprehensive ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict within weeks, Bloomberg has reported.

US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio outlined the timeline during a series of meetings in Paris on Thursday, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the outlet, citing anonymous sources.

The European side reportedly sought to persuade the Americans that President Donald Trump should “harden its position toward Moscow,” describing the discussions as “the latest attempt by Europe to influence the outcome” of US talks with Russia.

Last week, Witkoff traveled to St. Petersburg for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has characterized as “compelling.” Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky criticized Trump’s envoy, accusing him of echoing “Russian narratives.”

Russian officials have expressed skepticism about the feasibility of a ceasefire with Ukraine, asserting that Kiev’s backers in Europe are undermining US efforts.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Moscow’s UN representative, Vassily Nebenzia, highlighted that Kiev has failed to adhere to a US-mediated moratorium on strikes against energy infrastructure. The diplomat said that the West’s record of using purported peace deals to build up the Ukrainian military means that expectations for a full ceasefire are “simply unrealistic at this stage.”

“I cannot speak on behalf of President Trump,” Nebenzia said. “Perhaps, he knows better what I don't know.”

The 30-day energy ceasefire announced on March 18 is set to expire this week. When asked on Wednesday whether Russia would alter its military strategy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin had issued no new directives on the matter.

The site was used to fund the rebel group’s “terrorist effort,” the United States Central Command has said

The US has carried out strikes on the Ras Isa fuel port in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen. The operation is part of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to prevent the rebel group from targeting tankers and other merchant vessels sailing through the Suez Canal and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

“The Iran-backed Houthis use fuel to sustain their military operations, as a weapon of control, and to benefit economically from embezzling the profits from the import,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement on Thursday. It added that ships continued supplying fuel through the port after the militant group’s terrorist designation took effect on April 5.

“Profits from these illegal sales are directly funding and sustaining Houthi terrorist efforts,” CENTCOM said. “The objective of these strikes was to degrade the economic source of power of the Houthis.”

The Houthi authorities said 38 civilians were killed, including five paramedics, and 102 more were injured. The majority of the victims were reportedly port workers.

“We affirm Yemen’s legal right to defend itself, and this crime will not go unpunished,” the Houthi authorities stated, according to Al-Masirah TV.

Hours after the strikes, the Israel Defense Forces said they intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Yemen on Friday morning.

The Houthis control the western part of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa, and the port of Hodeidah. Since 2023, the group has been firing kamikaze drones and missiles at commercial ships in support of the Palestinians in Gaza. The Houthis also launched ballistic missiles at Israel, saying they would stop the attacks once Israel ends its campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

Last month, Trump instructed the Pentagon to step up strikes in Yemen, warning that the Houthis would be “completely annihilated” unless they cease targeting shipping. The group, however, vowed not to bow to pressure. The Houthis have since claimed attacks on US warships patrolling the Red Sea area. On April 1, the militants reported shooting down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone.

EPC has copies of the book available for purchase. 

Order the book from EPC for $40 (after tax) + shipping (Order Link).

By Ramona Coelho

Dr Ramona Coelho speaking on April 15.Thank you so much for being here. I’m deeply grateful to share this moment with all of you, and especially honoured to stand alongside Dr Harvey Schipper and my co-editors, Dr. Sonu Gaind and Professor Trudo Lemmens. The book we’re launching tonight is the result of years of lived experience, medical care, research, and a common concern — concern for Canadians, and for the future of medical care and societal culture in this country.

We release this book at a critical time. As Trudo has mentioned, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has recommended the repeal of Track 2 MAiD. Likewise, the Ontario Coroner’s MAiD Death Review Committee — of which both Trudo and I are members — has begun publishing reports that document serious public safety concerns in MAiD cases. What we see confirms what many of us in healthcare have long feared and have tried to bring to the attention of politicians: people are accessing MAiD through lax application of the law, often without a thorough or humane exploration of their suffering. In some cases, death is being offered more readily than medical care and supports.

As a family physician, I work every day with people who face enormous barriers: refugees, individuals living in poverty, those with disabilities, mental illness, or incarceration histories. Earlier in my career, I provided home care in Montreal for people with dementia, addiction, or severe physical disabilities. These patients — like all of us — need to know their lives are valued, but sadly often don’t. Canadians need support, not an easy exit when life becomes unbearable. They need care, not assisted death as a substitute for our societal collective failures.

MAiD was introduced to Canadians as an “exceptional measure for exceptional cases,” intended to relieve suffering at the end of life when nothing else could. It has rapidly shifted. Private MAiD provider forums leaked by AP journalists- like Maria Cheng – have revealed cases where people qualified because of loneliness, lack of housing, or feelings of being a burden. When death is given because systems failed to offer support — that is not autonomy. That is abandonment.

Our book aims to expose these troubling patterns with clarity, evidence, and compassion. We highlight not only the stories and legal pathways, but also the ethical crossroads we now face as a society.

This is not an abstract debate. These are real people — people whose deaths were approved despite untreated mental illness, poverty, social isolation, or perhaps even the pressure of caregiver burnout.

We must ask ourselves, as the human rights commissioner of Canada also asked last year: Are we building a society where everyone’s life is seen as equally worth living? Or are we creating a system that quietly accepts some lives as more expendable?

We hope this book serves as a resource for those asking these hard questions — and a call to action for those in healthcare, law, policy, and beyond. Because at the end of the day, our task is not just to offer choices — it is to ensure those choices are grounded in dignity, support, and the belief that every person deserves to live a life of meaning, regardless of their challenges.

Thank you.

Order the book from EPC for $40 (after tax) + shipping (Order Link).

“And when you fast, be not as the hypocrites, sad. For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But thou, when thou fastest anoint thy head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not to men to fast, but to thy Father who is in secret: and thy Father who seeth in secret, will repay thee.” – Matt 6:16-18

The Church requires so little of us nowadays fasting, and I suspect most can’t even be bothered. I would wager that, when all is revealed, lack of fasting will turn out to have been a major factor in the advance of evil. The current discipline is the equivalent of almost two full meals… dude, that is literally NOT FASTING. Can’t we try to do better? It really isn’t that hard.

Join me in the 40 hour fast. Nothing but water (and some salt) from sundown (8pm) Holy Thursday, through Noon Holy Saturday. STAY HYDRATED. I promise you won’t die, and you will be a spiritual dynamo during these forty hours. You should center your prayers on your hardest/impossible cases. Also be prepared for some dark night type moments, which is just Satan trying to mess with you during this most holy time.

Blessed Triduum, everyone.

Both Passover and the Triduum commemorate deliverance: from slavery in Egypt, from the Angel of Death, from death itself, and from the accusations of Satan. While humans are free, and these days emphasize our freedom, it is God who spares the firstborn son, God who parts the sea, God who plunges horse and rider beneath the waves, and God who undoes death and opens the way to heaven. However expansive, human agency is incapable of such actions. We celebrate the acts of God while beseeching him to continue to act. 

These are the days we proclaim to the very earth itself, “Be glad, let earth be glad, as glory floods her,” but still our constant, daily prayer remains unchanged and necessary: “O God, make speed to save us; O God, make haste to help us.” During this Passover, hostages from October 7, 2023 remain in captivity. On this Easter, this Pascha, Ukraine is still besieged. Priests are killed in Nigeria, Christians persecuted in China, Sudan, and throughout the Middle East, and Jews are threatened in the United Kingdom. Things are not yet as they should be, as they will one day be, and we wait on God’s deliverance.

We recall great deeds of the past, but they present choices for every generation and place. As Leon Kass explains, the Book of Genesis presents God’s new way, given to Israel, against three major alternatives—Babylon, Canaan, and Egypt—each with “different ruling ideas, each looking up to different gods.” While those “ancient civilizations are long gone, their animating principles survive. Indeed, they find expression in cultural alternatives competing today for our attention and allegiance.” According to Kass, “biblical Egypt should be of special interest for modern Americans,” since it was the “peak of ancient civilization,” and yet, “in the end, [its] people’s preoccupation with survival and material well-being led to their enslavement” to Pharaoh.

We do not simply commemorate, we choose again; we accept the ancient covenants and their promises once more. We must do so, for the permanent possibility remains that we choose the other ways and depart from those given by the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and promised to the line of David.

War, oppression, and injustice persist, but, in the West at least, our people and nations, while wealthy, free, and at peace, are choosing the ways of biblical Egypt: we are preoccupied with survival and material well-being, and are beset by a “spiritual poverty.” The philosopher Byung-Chul Han suggests that many have “no concern for the good life—only for bare life.” He quotes Aristotle from the Politics: “some people believe that . . . they should maintain their store of money or increase it without limit. The reason they are so disposed, however, is that they are preoccupied with living, not with living well.” Such a life not only ignores but does away “with the teleology of the good life,” loses “all sense of direction,” of purpose, and “becomes obscene.” 

Part of that obscenity, according to Han, is our self-enslavement. Ours is an “achievement society wholly dominated by the modal verb—can,” as opposed to a moral and lawful society “which issues prohibitions and deploys should.” When we are governed by what we should or should not do, there are limits to action, of course, but there is also a resting point—an end, and a completion to should. If one should celebrate Passover, and one has done so, the duty is accepted and accomplished; one has acted well. Moreover, since what we ought to or should do is meaningful if and only if we can do the action, the society governed by a moral and lawful sense assumes we are free and self-governed. The world governed by can has no limits and no resting place, no terminus. In principle, one can always do more, attain more, achieve more, and the world of having and doing knows no end except exhaustion and collapse. In Han’s words, “You can produces massive compulsion, on which the achievement-subject dashes him- or herself to pieces. . . . You can exercises even greater constraint than You should.” In the world of achievement, the governing idea is not “ought implies can”—since any obligation supposes freedom—but rather “can implies ought.” If you can do more, you ought to do more; if you can produce more, you ought to produce more, resulting in a frenzied world, appearing free but in reality self-enslaved. We were promised, by Freud, Marx, Nietzsche, Alfred Kinsey, and the architects of the sexual revolution, for instance, that once we dethroned thou shalt and thou shalt not we would be free; instead, we are free for “burnout, depression,” and “an unredeemable failure of ability,” resulting in a “psychic insolvency” that bears the indefinite debt of You can without hopes of atonement, deliverance, or paying off that debt.

The days of Passover and exodus, the days of crucifixion and resurrection, invite us—and, in a sense, command us—to “remember the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” Each person deals with the drama of his own soul and redemption, but we are also caught up into the drama of our people, our history, our nation, our culture. As it turns out, our people are returning to paganism with its bare existence. In so doing they jettison their freedom in exchange for a tyranny preoccupied with longevity and wealth, and they are driven to despair by the trap of thinking about what could be done if unburdened by the limits of reality and what should be.

We people of the Bible, Jews and Christians alike, are a blessing for the world, even for those who do not believe as we do. Paganism is false, of course, but it is also degrading; it thinks too little of the human, too little of the world. In our own time, it degrades with its tendency to cause malaise—the so-called crisis of meaning—erasing our longing for immortality, for eternity, and handing us over to the dull routines of bare existence. 

In these next days we celebrate our deliverance; in so doing we remind ourselves of our meaning, purpose, and dignity. But more: we offer hope for the “multitude” who would return to Egypt, return to slavery, simply because of its luxury and comfort, which seems to them better than the bread of life. So, we celebrate, with great joy—and not only for ourselves, but for all. 

Image by Renáta Sedmáková and licensed via Adobe Stock.

An important new public opinion survey taken by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) has revealed very little American support for the deportation of legal foreign guests in the United States for expressing support for Palestine in its current conflict with Israel.

Responding to FIRE’s quarterly National Speech Index survey conducted by the Dartmouth Polarization Research Lab this month, a mere one-quarter of the respondents supported the deportation of non-citizens legally in the US for expressing pro-Palestine views. A solid majority of 52 percent are strongly opposed or opposed to such measures.

The survey result comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has boasted of revoking “at least 300” student visas for the “crime” of expressing a position on middle east politics that the current US Administration disagrees with. Derided by Rubio as “lunatics” for opposing ongoing US government support for Israel as Gaza is flattened, many foreign students have been arrested by masked, armed federal agents – who refuse to even identify themselves – and sent to a federal detention facility in Louisiana.

In the case of Turkish PhD student Rumeysa Ozturk, the State Department had already produced a report concluding that she neither supported terrorism nor anti-Semitism before masked federal agents accosted her on the street and arrested her.

Her “crime” was co-authoring an op-ed in her university newspaper a year earlier criticizing Israel.

In many cases these arrests are carried out based on lists provided to the federal government by a militant, extremist group called Betar. The group is so radical that it has even been added to the pro-Israel ADL’s “extremism” list, yet somehow it has the ear of the Trump Administration.

Commenting on the findings, FIRE Chief Research Advisor Sean Stevens said, “deporting someone simply for disagreeing with the government’s foreign policy preferences strikes at the very freedoms the First Amendment was designed to protect. Americans are right to reject this kind of viewpoint-based punishment.”

Additionally, the shocking arrests and incarceration of legal residents or guests for committing no crime beyond expressing a particular point of view has begun to eat away at Americans’ confidence that the Trump Administration can be trusted to uphold the First Amendment. From Inauguration day until the FIRE poll this month, a majority of Americans have now lost confidence in the Trump Administration’s respect for our most sacred right of free expression:

Many Americans mistakenly believe government “grants” rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, and that it grants them to American citizens only. Constitutional scholar Andrew Napolitano dismisses such claims, writing:

We know from the writings of James Madison — who authored the Bill of Rights — that the Founders regarded the freedom of speech as a personal individual natural right. It is also, of course, expressly protected from government interference and reprisal in the First Amendment. The courts have ruled that it protects all persons — no matter their immigration status — who may think as they wish, say what they think, publish what they say, worship or not and associate with whomever they choose.

While many supporters of the Trump Administration are currently applauding the arrest and deportation of legal foreign residents who express political views they do not support, they would do well to keep in mind that the vicissitudes of the American body politic may well soon turn against them and their views, and – particularly given President Trump’s stated intent to begin deporting American citizens as well – once the trap of a precedent is set they may not be able to wiggle out of it.

Indespensible pro-liberty intellectual Jim Bovard expressed it best in a recent article:

What legal perils will pro-freedom protestors face in the coming years if the Ozturk rule is canonized, entitling federal officials to crush any disfavored opinion? Big-spending Democrats may consecrate Modern Monetary Theory and demonize anyone who criticizes the Federal Reserve. I took this ‘Kill the Central Bank’ photo of Ron Paul supporters at a 2008 Capitol Hill event for his presidential campaign. If the same protestors had peacefully carried the same banner within a half mile of the Capitol on January 6, they likely would have been nailed on a bevy of federal charges. Many politicians have made stark their hatred of libertarians and freedom advocates.

As long as anyone is sitting in shackles in a federal detention center simply for writing an op-ed, freedom of speech is not safe for anyone in the United States.

While a trip into the bowels of social media suggests a torch-bearing mob rallying to send those guilty of the “wrongthink” of the day to some El Salvadorian gulag, the good work of the freedom of expression organization FIRE reassures us that cooler heads continue to prevail. However, by no means does that suggest we can afford to let our guard down for a minute. This is not an issue of partisanship, but of principle. The mob – whether left or right – must not be allowed to take over.

Above: The Isenheim Altarpiece (1512-16) by Matthias Grünewald An excerpt from The School of Jesus Crucified. 1. Her sufferings in the Crucifixion of her Son. Never has any mother or pure creature suffered a more painful martyrdom than that endured by Mary in beholding her most beloved Son barbarously crucified under her very eyes. Full of faith…

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Two people have been killed and several others injured after a gunman opened fire on the Florida State University campus

A shooting at Florida State University (FSU) has left two people dead and several injured, including the suspected gunman, who is now in custody, police have said. 

According to FSU Police Chief Jason Trumbower, the two people who died were not students at the university, but the shooter is believed to be a student, AP reports.

Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil identified the suspect as Phoenix Ikner, 20, the son of a local sheriff’s deputy. “Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons,” McNeil said.

According to a law enforcement source cited by CNN, three firearms were recovered: One on the suspect, a shotgun inside the Student Union building on the Tallahassee campus, and another weapon in a nearby vehicle.

The incident reportedly unfolded around midday on Thursday near the Student Union building, prompting a swift lockdown and shelter-in-place orders for students and staff. More than 42,000 students are enrolled at Florida State’s main campus.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare has said in a statement that six individuals were hospitalized following the attack. One victim remains in critical condition, while the other five are listed as serious.

BREAKING: The suspect in the FSU shooting is the 20-year-old son of a current sheriff's deputy who had access to one of her weapons, according to Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil.https://t.co/8qAT5g6qhH pic.twitter.com/PzrK5L9bII

Speaking at the White House, US President Donald Trump said he had been fully briefed on the shooting.

“It’s a horrible thing. It’s horrible that things like this take place,” he said.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also expressed his condolences.

“Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding,” he wrote on X.

The top US and Russian diplomats have discussed efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow has said

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a phone conversation on Thursday.

The two top diplomats focused on the Ukraine conflict and ongoing multilateral contacts on a potential settlement, the Russian Foreign Ministry has stated.

Rubio briefed Lavrov on the meetings between the American delegation and representatives of Ukraine, France, and other European nations held earlier in the day in Paris, the ministry said.

“Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s readiness to continue working together with American colleagues to reliably resolve the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis,” it added.

The US State Department said Rubio conveyed to Lavrov the “same message” he delivered to the Ukrainian and European delegations: That US President Donald Trump and Washington “want this war to end, and have now presented to all parties the outlines of a durable and lasting peace.” 

“The encouraging reception in Paris to the US framework shows that peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement,” the statement added, without providing further details.

The Paris meetings involved top dignitaries from all sides, with the US delegation led by Rubio and Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, a key official in the talks on resolving the Ukraine conflict. Kiev was represented by Vladimir Zelensky’s head of office, Andrey Yermak, as well as Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

Zelensky launched a new personal attack on Witkoff, accusing him of spreading “Russian narratives” and effectively siding with Moscow. Speaking at a televised press conference on Thursday, the Ukrainian leader invoked Witkoff’s recent remarks that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine revolves around “five territories,” the formerly Ukrainian Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions, and Crimea.

“I believe that Mr. Witkoff has adopted the Russian side’s strategy for himself... He is consciously or unconsciously spreading Russian narratives... I do not see him having a mandate to discuss Ukrainian territories,” Zelensky stated.

READ MORE: Zelensky lashes out at Trump envoy

Last week, Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg in their third round of direct talks since February. The recognition of the “five territories” is a key to any peace deal, Witkoff told Fox News in an interview earlier this week.

Crimea voted to rejoin Russia in 2014, shortly after it broke away from Ukraine in the aftermath of the Maidan coup. The four other regions became part of Russia in autumn 2022 following referendums.

From Bossuet’s Meditation on the Eucharist:

_________________

Let us read the words of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper in St. Matthew’s Gospel (26:26-28), adding the words of the other sacred authors on the same subject:

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and when he had given thanks (1 Cor. 11:24), broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). And he took a cup after supper (Luke 22:20), and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the new covenant (Luke 22:20), which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Cor. 11:25).

Here is all that we have about the institution, other than that in place of St. Luke’s “given for you,” St. Paul has him say “broken for you” (1 Cor. 11:24 in certain ancient texts). The sense of each is the same. He was handed over to death, struck by blows, pierced with wounds, violently hung from a cross: he was broken. This is the body that Jesus gives to us, the same body that was about to suffer those things and that has now suffered them.

Just one more word on the text. Where the Vulgate translates “my blood, which shall be shed for you” (Luke 22:20, Douay-Rheims), the original reads “which is poured out,” that is, in the present tense. It is the same when he speaks of the means by which he will be captured and put to death: “Woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!” (Matt. 26:24). In that case, he speaks in the present tense because his death has already been resolved upon and planned for the following day. In the other, it is so that at the same time that we receive his body and blood, we might regard his death as present.

Christian: you have seen all of the words that bear upon the establishment of this mystery. What simplicity! What precision in these words! He leaves nothing to be interpreted or commented upon. If there is any commentary to be made upon them at all, it is only to remark that according to the force of the original Greek, we ought to render it thus: “This is my body, my very body; the same body that is given for you. This is my blood, my very blood, the blood of the new covenant; the blood poured out for you in remission of your sins.” The Greek liturgy puts it this way: “What we are given, what is made of this bread and wine, is the very body of Jesus and his very blood.”

There is the commentary we require. What simplicity, what precision, what force do these words have!

If Jesus had wanted to give us a sign, a mere resemblance, he would have known how to tell us. He knew quite well that God had said, when instituting circumcision, “You shall be circumcised in the flesh . . . and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you” (Gen. 17:11). When he proposed metaphors, he knew quite well how to adapt his language so as to be understood without doubt: “I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved” (John 10:9). “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit” (John 15:5). When he made these comparisons and spoke in metaphors, the evangelists said so: “Another parable he put before them” (Matt. 13:24); “he taught them many things in parables” (Mark 4:2). Here, without any introduction, without any qualification, without any explanation, neither before nor after, we are simply told: “Jesus said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body; this is my blood’ ” (Matt. 26:26, 28).

This is what I give to you, and you, what will you do in receiving it? Remember eternally the gift that I gave you that night. Remember that it is I who left it for you and who made this testament, that I left you this Passover, and that I ate it with you before I suffered. If I give you my body as about to be and as having been handed over for you, and my blood as poured out for your sins, in a word, if I give myself to you as a victim, eat it as a victim and remember that this is a promise that it has been sacrificed for you. O my Savior: what simplicity, yet what authority and power there are in your words! “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity” (Luke 13:12); she was healed that instant. “This is my body”; it is his Body. “This is my blood”; it is his Blood. Who can speak in such a manner except the one who holds everything in his hand? Who can make himself be believed except the one to whom to do and to say is the same thing?

My soul, stop here and go no further. Believe as simply, as forcibly as your Savior has spoken, with a submission that corresponds to his authority and power. Once again, he wants to see in your faith the same simplicity with which he has spoken these words. In the ancient rite of Communion, the priest said, “The body of Jesus Christ,” and the faithful responded, “Amen,” or “so it is,” and “The blood of Jesus Christ,” and the faithful responded, “Amen,” “so it is.” All has been accomplished. All has been said. All has been explained. I am silent. I believe. I adore.

Moscow has undertaken diplomatic efforts to secure the release of people being held captive in Gaza

Russian President Vladimir Putin has thanked the political wing of Hamas for the release of Russian-Israeli citizen Aleksandr Trufanov, during a meeting with the freed hostage in Moscow on Wednesday.

The Palestinian group freed Trufanov in February as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel and following diplomatic efforts by Moscow. Two other hostages were also released at the time.

“Here we have to offer a word of gratitude to the leadership and to the political wing of Hamas for having met us halfway and carried out this humanitarian act,” Putin said as he welcomed Trufanov and the surviving members of his family at the Kremlin.

Trufanov was taken hostage on October 7, 2023 along with his grandmother Irena Tati, mother Elena, and fiancée Sapir Cohen. His father Vitaly Trufanov was killed in the attack. The women were released as part of the Hamas-Israel truce in November 2023. Aleksandr spent 498 days in captivity.

“The fact that you are now free is a result of Russia’s many years of stable relations with the Palestinian people, with the representatives of different organizations,” Putin said, adding that Russia will do whatever is necessary to ensure those still in captivity are freed.

A Hamas delegation visited Moscow in early February, less than two weeks before Trufanov’s release. The group, led by senior official Mousa Abu Marzouk, met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov to discuss the ongoing ceasefire in Gaza and related humanitarian issues.

This visit was part of Russia’s ongoing engagement with various parties involved in the Middle East conflict.

The October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel left approximately 1,200 people dead, with around 250 taken hostage. In the past 18 months, over 51,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed amid Israel’s military operation, according to the enclave’s health authorities.

READ MORE: Israeli Army to remain indefinitely in Gaza – defense minister

On Wednesday, Israel proposed a 45-day truce in Gaza to allow hostage releases and potentially begin indirect talks to end the war. Hamas has said it is studying the plan.

Beijing has reportedly slashed purchases of American crude by 90% amid the tariff war

China has been importing record amounts of crude oil from Canada and drastically reducing supplies from the US in light of the trade war with Washington, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.

Washington and Beijing have implemented a series of reciprocal tariff hikes over the past two months in light of which the latter has slashed purchases of US oil by roughly 90%, according to the outlet. China previously indicated that it would not implement more tariff hikes against US goods but would rather employ alternative ways to retaliate.

Chinese crude imports from a port near Vancouver on Canada’s Pacific coast soared to a record 7.3 million barrels in March and may exceed the figure this month, Bloomberg reported, citing data from London-based global oil and gas cargo tracking firm Vortexa Ltd. Chinese imports of US oil, meanwhile, have fallen to 3 million barrels per month from a peak of 29 million last June, it added.

China’s direct imports of Canadian crude oil had historically been minimal, primarily due to infrastructure constraints. Chinese refineries have mainly sourced crude from the Middle East and Russia.

Roughly 1.7% of China’s total crude imports came from the US last year, according to Chinese customs data, down from 2.5% in 2023.

Nearly all of Canada’s oil is shipped to the US to be processed there or re-exported to Asia. However, the completion last May of the Trans Mountain Expansion pipeline, which takes crude to Canada’s Pacific coast, provided the country with an alternative route to export more volumes directly, primarily to Asia, thus reducing its reliance on the US.

READ MORE: Here’s why Trump really wants to get his hands on Greenland and Canada

“Given the trade war, it’s unlikely for China to import more US oil,” Bloomberg quoted Wenran Jiang, president of the Canada-China Energy & Environment Forum, as saying. “They are not going to bank on Russian alone or Middle Eastern alone. Anything from Canada will be welcome news.”

China accounted for roughly 5% of US crude oil exports last year, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler.

Russia remains China’s largest supplier of crude oil. Russian shipments to China reached the highest level on record in 2024. The increase in recent years is largely attributable to the discounts being offered on Russian crude. China’s imports of oil from Saudi Arabia, its second-largest supplier, declined by 9% year-on-year in 2024.

The country’s top court has removed the group from the terrorist list

Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday lifted the Taliban’s designation as a “terrorist organization,” effectively legalizing the group’s activities in the country.

The Islamist movement, which took power in Afghanistan four years ago, had been listed as a terrorist entity since 2003, making any contact with its members a criminal offense under Russian law.

The decision follows calls from Russian officials to engage with the Taliban to help stabilize Afghanistan. The group returned to power in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces after their two-decade presence in the Central Asian country.

Since that time, Moscow has resumed diplomatic contacts with Taliban officials. Last year, President Vladimir Putin said it was “necessary to build relations with the current government somehow,” as they are now in control of Afghanistan.

In May 2024, the Russian Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Justice formally proposed lifting the ban. Earlier this month, the Prosecutor General’s Office submitted the motion to the Supreme Court, leading to Thursday’s ruling.

Previously, Russian law had no mechanism for removing organizations from the terrorist list. However, amendments passed in 2023 to the federal law on countering terrorism now allow the courts to suspend the designation if the group in question has ceased activities involving propaganda, justification, or support of terrorism, and no longer violates the Criminal Code.

Although the Taliban government is not officially recognized by the international community, several Central Asian countries have recently renewed ties with Kabul. Kazakhstan removed the group from its terrorist list in June 2024, followed by Kyrgyzstan in September. Turkmenistan has resumed cooperation through the TAPI gas pipeline project, and Uzbekistan signed several joint agreements with Kabul in August 2024.

Mohammad Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s envoy to Qatar and its de facto international spokesman, told RT earlier this month that Kabul welcomed Russia’s move, saying the ban had stood “in the way of cooperation” between the two countries.

Experts say Thursday’s ruling does not constitute formal recognition of the Taliban government, but will facilitate diplomatic engagement.

American troops have been deployed in the Middle Eastern country since 2014

US President Donald Trump’s administration is considering a significant reduction of American troops in Syria, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing officials familiar with military planning.

American forces have been illegally stationed in Syria since 2014. Washington insisted they were deployed to counter ISIS, though they have remained in the years since Syria’s war ended.

A US official focused on the region told the WaPo there’s an expectation that troop numbers would be cut “to a bare minimum,” adding “I think we’re going to go down to one very small place in the northeast.”

A defense official confirmed ongoing plans to “reduce” and “consolidate” Washington’s troop presence but insisted a full withdrawal is not currently under discussion.

“Stuff is already moving, although they likely won’t announce anything before the Iran talks,” referring to US-Iran nuclear negotiations that began last week, with a second round set for this weekend in Rome.

Any withdrawal plans could be derailed by Islamic State’s increased attacks in eastern Syria, according to the WaPo.

In December 2024, shortly after Syrian President Bashar Assad was ousted, the Pentagon acknowledged having 2,000 troops in Syria – more than double the previously reported 900. Later that month, several media outlets reported that US military convoys carrying weapons and equipment had crossed into Syria from Iraq.

Both the former Assad government and Russia have repeatedly condemned the US presence as an illegal occupation, arguing that Washington was never granted permission to station troops in Syria. Damascus has also accused Washington of stealing Syrian natural resources, given that the US bases are located in the country’s oil-rich northeastern regions.

During his first term, Trump had ordered a partial withdrawal from Syria, though it was never completed. Since returning to office, he has largely avoided the topic, stating only that Syria is a “mess” and doesn’t need American involvement.

Last month, Washington handed Damascus a list of conditions for partial relief from Assad-era sanctions. The list, a copy of which was seen by the WaPo, included demands to allow US counter-terror operations on Syrian soil and a formal declaration of support for Operation Inherent Resolve – a US-led campaign against terrorism in Syria and Iraq.

Moscow is now being accused of orchestrating Islamist terrorism, among a litany of other ridiculous claims

Like people almost everywhere in NATO-EU Europe, Germans are currently being subjected to a relentless barrage of shameless, often astonishingly crude propaganda. That’s because their political elites and mainstream media are desperately trying to prepare them for war against Russia. And this time, not by proxy, that is, by way of a devastated Ukraine and dead Ukrainians, but directly.

As a former, very evil but in his prime all-too-popular German master of mass manipulation – who also happened to love war with Russia more than was good for him (or Germany) – explained a century ago, effective propaganda keeps the world very, very simple. Or, to add a little detail, propaganda’s sometimes literally stunning success is built on two primitive yet powerful – and very old – tricks: the broken-record principle and the litany effect.

Their meaning, too, is elementary: In essence, if your image of reality is delusional, you don’t have sound arguments, and your case is absurd, do not despair. Instead, ceaselessly drum in a few very basic and bogus ideas until the audience is dizzy with repetition (the broken-record principle), while also eliciting frequent consent from it (the litany effect). In short: Keep shouting the same nonsense at them and make them bleat back “yes” regularly. You know, like a ritual, really.

In the case of the manufacturing of the current iteration of traditional German the-Russians-are-coming hysteria as well, it is easy to identify its handful of specious, daft, and childishly simplistic key motifs: Russia and Russia alone is to blame for the war in Ukraine; Russia intends to attack Europe (if not the world) – and soon; and Russia is incredibly devious and scheming, so you cannot find a reasonable compromise with it.

Yet what about the nuts and bolts of this propaganda campaign? Even a simple story needs detail, and, if told and retold almost without letup, that detail at least needs to vary: Same old story but different flavor. That’s where things get tricky.

For one thing, if you pick the wrong flavor, your propaganda may start looking as silly as it actually is. A current example in Germany – as well as the EU parliament – would be the recent hysteria over the global hit Sigma Boy from Russia. Its brilliantly catchy tune is a piece of art, like it or not. But its lyrics are about as profound as a margarine commercial.

Yet that won’t stop Germany’s radical-Centrist elite from exploring the song’s ominous depths as a weapon of nefarious Russian cultural warfare. Because Sigma Boy, one EU parliamentarian from Hamburg has noticed – with a little help from Ukraine – is really “a viral Russian trope used on social media that communicates patriarchal and pro-Russian worldviews” as well as “only one example of Russian infiltration of popular discourse through social media.” Also, you see, Sigma Boy is really just code for – scary sound effect – PUTIN!

Silly? So ridiculous it gives you that cringey feeling you get when someone else is making a total fool of themselves and all you want to do is tell them to shut up already and save whatever maybe left of their credibility? Yes, obviously.

Indeed, in the case of the Great Sigma Boy Panic Attack, even Spiegel – a usually reliably Russophobic and NATO-militarist publication now – has mildly demurred. Dedicating a whole podcast to the phenomenon, it had an editor and journalist deliberate on the Sigma Boy case in all earnestness and with proverbial German thoroughness and faces serious enough for Kant and Hegel hashing out the nature of TikTok. The result: Maybe, just maybe, it’s really simply a pop song.

Now you could say “Great. At least someone is not completely falling for the mass hysteria.” But that would be too optimistic. In reality, the real question is how could things get so absurd in the first place? What is the Zeitgeist environment in which an EU parliamentarian is not ashamed to display so much provincial paranoia and Germany’s major news magazine needs intensive research and a long discussion to find out that, perhaps, she does not have a point?

In that regard, another recent propaganda fiasco is instructive. Its essence is simple: Some may know the ZDF, one of Germany’s most popular and influential public – that is, de facto state – TV channels most of all as a rock-solid mouthpiece of Israeli propaganda, especially during the ongoing Gaza genocide.

But the ZDF also has a substantial line in Russophobia. And for once, it went a little too far in its never-slackening eagerness to stick it to the big bad Russians: In its main news show and a long, sensationalist pseudo-documentary in its Terra X History program – under the title “Spying, Sabotage, Fake News. Putin’s war against us” – the broadcaster claimed, in effect if with some cheap pro forma hedging, that Russia was behind, among other nefarious schemes, an Islamist terror attack in the city of Mannheim in May 2024.

This was, obviously, an extremely serious allegation, in principle as well as in detail: the attack, carried out by a man from Afghanistan who had lived in Germany for ten years, left five victims injured and one, a policeman, dead. Moreover, in the consciousness of the German public, this particular terror attack is only part of a whole series of unrelated yet similar violent assaults that have taken place over the last year, including another one in Magdeburg as well as in the cities of Solingen and Aschaffenburg.

Hence, pointing a finger at Russia over one of these traumatizing onslaughts inevitably implied that Moscow may have had a hand in the others as well. Et voila! A new and particularly horrifying accusation against Russia had been manufactured: Moscow, so the essence of this wildest of many wild tales, was using migrants to instigate bloody Islamist terror in Germany.

And this big fat lie started working quickly: Various major mainstream media in Germany and abroad began to uncritically repeat the story, such as Britain’s Telegraph and The Sun, the German Merkur, and the French Sud-Ouest.

Yet the “research” on which ZDF had based this specific propaganda strike against Moscow was so breathtakingly sloppy that, this time, even Germany’s BND foreign intelligence service had to object.

Shortly after the ZDF had made its splash, the BND publicly contradicted it, pointing out that the method – basically a childish misreading of Google Trend data – used to produce these allegations against Russia is, in essence, ridiculously unreliable. Indeed, it turned out that several German intelligence agencies had warned the ZDF already before the Terra X pseudo-documentary was broadcast. Even Germany’s highly conservative Welt newspaper called the ZDF’s handiwork – with massive understatement – “negligent.”

So far, so bad. Just another case of propaganda becoming self-defeating by going too far. Let’s move on. And that is, of course, what is happening now. While the very worst lie about Russia has been discredited, there are virtually no consequences.

Yet, in reality, this is where the whole daft affair is only beginning to get interesting. For one thing, the Terra X feature, almost 45 minutes long, was packed with other, equally unfounded accusations against Russia. Indeed, it consisted of a long sequence of one hearsay after another speculation, all based on profound evidence of the “Western-intelligence-services-believe” type.

At Terra X, have they ever heard of those Iraqi weapons of mass destruction? The babies torn from incubators in Kuwait? Or Gaddafi handing out Viagra to his troops to promote rape? All of them, of course, lies; all, in their time, spread by those famously reliable Western intelligence agencies and mass media functioning as their servile propaganda arms. And all of these lies, these actual cases of “hybrid warfare” – by Western elites on their own populations – have always had the same purpose: prepare and justify Western military aggression.

Yet, in the Terra X case as well, the fact that the single most egregious anti-Russian allegation of many has been, for once, exposed quickly as at best reckless nonsense if not a deliberate lie, makes no dent in the story as a whole.

On the contrary, all that happens is that one scapegoat is singled out and sacrificed: Steven Broschart, the discredited “data profiler” and self-appointed “digital behavioral analytic.” It was all him, is the message now. But that is clearly untrue. Long stretches of the Terra X tale consisted of various, often much more prominent talking-heads lending their authority to a long list of equally unsubstantiated allegations of Russian crimes and, in general, helping beat the war drums against Moscow.

There was, for instance, an official of Germany’s domestic intelligence service – the Verfassungsschutz – who first conveniently confirmed that the internet is a “treasure chest” of information revealing sabotage and attack plans and then informed viewers that they are already at war with Russia, even if they haven’t noticed yet. No biggie in Germany now: at war, not yet at war with Russia… Who cares once we all know where we are supposed to be going anyhow, and so soon, too.

To be fair, the man from the Verfassungsschutz had his entertaining side: You don’t need tanks to bring down a country, he enlightened us, because you can also strike at its vital infrastructure. Really? You don’t say! You mean the way that Germany’s “allies” in Washington and its spongers in Kiev struck at the Nord Stream pipelines? No, just kidding. Of course, he did not mean that. Because that would be reality, and his job clearly is the opposite, propaganda.

Quintessential German professor Martin Schulze Wessel added platitudes about Putin, who, we learn, thinks in categories of East and West and antagonism. Wow! Aren’t we lucky that no one does so in Garden Value Europe and a Germany that has decided to quite literally define itself, again, via antagonism toward Russia.

In addition, the professor confirmed that Russia is a “direct” threat to Germany – clearly unlike, again, Ukraine and the US, obviously, even if they have actually committed the largest act of infrastructure sabotage in German peacetime history. And the German public must be made aware of that non-fact, the professor lectured. Thank you for summarizing the essence of propaganda so selflessly: making the people aware of what isn’t there. And, if we may add, the opposite is also important: that that same public is made unaware of what does, actually, exist, for instance that Nord Stream attack that must go forever unmentioned.

My only caveat regarding Schulze Wessel’s amusing contribution is that, as a matter of transparency, he could have let viewers know that he is heavily networked with Ukraine and in particular the rather nationalist city of Lviv. Again, no biggie: On the big crusade against bad Russia, minor sins are forgivable.

The cast of Terra X was rich and not everyone can be mentioned here. But we would be amiss to omit Anton Shekhovtsov. Ironically now based at some “Center for Democratic Integrity,” he is the commentator who publicly celebrated the Odessa Trade Union House fire, while comparing its victims to vermin, literally. Dehumanizing? A little on the fascist side psychologically, perhaps? Oh, come on! Once again, on the grand campaign against Moscow, a little excess of eagerness is more than welcome.

On Terra X his function was unspoken yet clumsily clear: He served as the “expert” explaining that everything alleged in the show is “hard to prove.” But, of course, not as in not likely to be true, but as in: absolutely true even without any evidence. Thank you, too, Anton, for demonstrating a basic yet always popular trick of gutter propaganda: “You can’t see them,” as it were, “but that’s only because they are so well hidden. Which proves again how dangerous they are.”

The single worst irony about this piece of weaponized “journalism” from one of Germany’s biggest broadcasters is its flatfooted hypocrisy. For, in the context of the Ukraine War, provoked and fought via proxy by the West, there are real sabotage and terrorism, namely by Ukraine and the West: The attack on the Crocus City venue in Moscow, the assassination of General Igor Kirillov, the heinous murder of Darya Dugina, the Ukrainian attacks on the Kerch Bridge and on Nord Stream, of course – and this list could be prolonged – are all clear examples of Ukraine using terrorism. And we have known for years now, from Western mainstream media, that behind these activities, there has been hands-on and proud support from Western intelligence services.

Is it possible that, in a conflict where the West and Ukraine have liberally deployed “hybrid war” tactics, Russia is sometimes paying them back in the same coin? Yes, in principle. You could even make a plausible argument that it has to do so to remain credible.

Accusations of promoting Islamist terrorism, from which Russia has suffered greatly, in any case, should be off-limits to anyone with half a brain and some elementary decency. And the West would do very well to mind the beam in its own eye.

For Western media that would mean that, even apart from the straightforward lying, against this background, it is not just dishonest but ridiculous to produce “journalism” that focuses on Russia alone. The very least a serious investigation would have to do is look at all sides and treat information from all sides critically.

But then, that would be a piece of practical enlightenment, intellectually and politically empowering viewers and citizens, and it would not be effective war-in-sight propaganda anymore. It might even end up – oh horror! – promoting compromise and peace.

As it is now, in Germany and elsewhere in Western Europe, journalists, security service officers, experts, and academics – all are perfectly fine with lending their name to propaganda of the basest form. What a shame.

Holy Thursday marks the institution of the priesthood and the Eucharist. What an incredible gift, and yet how very much it is ignored, or worse. Get to Confession, folks. Sorrowful Mysteries these three days. Blessed Triduum, all. -nvp

“Holy Thursday celebrates especially the institution of the Mass at the Last Supper as the Sacrifice and Sacrament of Christian unity. On this day also, Jesus first shared His priesthood with men by ordaining the Apostles. Then He uttered the command that is the reason for every Mass: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” This is a day to think of the great love Jesus showed in instituting the Eucharist and to return that love by receiving Him in Holy Communion. Through Holy Communion we are united to Christ and to one another.”

THE STRIPPING OF THE ALTARS
During the Stripping of the Altars, the celebrant recites the following antiphon and begins Psalm 21.

They have divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they have cast lots.

Psalm 21: O God my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins. O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me. But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel. In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped, and thou hast delivered them. They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded…

They have divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they have cast lots.

A Cambridge-led team has found Earth-like gasses in the atmosphere of a planet 124 light-years away

UK researchers have claimed to have found a possible sign of life on a faraway planet. Scientists from the University of Cambridge have announced the detection of a gas that on Earth is only made by living organisms.

The discovery, which was made using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, could be the strongest hint yet of life beyond Earth.

The team studied K2-18 b, a planet about 124 light-years away in the Leo constellation. It is known as a “hycean” planet, meaning it may have a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and liquid water oceans. Such conditions make it a promising candidate for life.

The telescope detected dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide in the planet’s air. On Earth, both gases are made only by living organisms, mainly marine microbes such as phytoplankton. Levels of these compounds on the planet K2-18 b were found to be thousands of times higher than those on Earth.

Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, a Cambridge University astrophysicist and lead author of the study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on Thursday, said the implications could be profound.

The findings “provide new independent evidence for the possibility of a biosphere on K2-18 b,” the study claimed. “What we are finding at this point are hints of possible biological activity outside the solar system,” he told a press conference. “Frankly, I think this is the closest we have come to seeing a feature that we can attribute to life,” he added.

Madhusudhan explained that detecting chemical fingerprints of gases that on Earth are created only through biological processes could point to a potentially inhabited alien world. “This is a revolutionary moment,” he added.

However, the team warned that the detected gases could also be the result of unknown natural processes. Additional telescope observations are needed to determine if living organisms truly are the source.