Petition against TTIP gains a million
signatures
ALMOST one million people across Europe have signed a petition
in the past two months opposing trade deals between the European
Union and North America. Activists, including the World Development
Movement, argue that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment
Partnership (TTIP) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement
(CETA) would put the NHS and other public services at risk of
privatisation, and give unprecedented power to international
corporations (Comment, 3
October).
Italy cracks down on religious-art thefts
SECURITY is to be tightened at Italian churches to prevent the
theft of religious art, The Daily Telegraph
reported on Friday. New guidelines issued jointly by the cultural
ministry, art-crime unit, and Italian Bishops' Conference refer to
increased CCTV, reduced opening hours, and the replacement of
original works with copies. It is estimated that 40 per cent of
stolen goods trafficked out of Italy are pieces of religious
art.
Priest saves Christian texts from IS forces
THOUSANDS of ancient Christian manuscripts are being held for
safekeeping at an undisclosed location in Kurdistan after being
removed from Qaraqosh, in northern Iraq, in August, hours before
the town was seized by Islamic State fighters, the Kurdish Rudaw
Media Network reported last month. The operation was masterminded
by a Dominican priest, Fr Nageeb Michaeel, who founded the Digital
Centre for Eastern Manuscripts at the Mar Behnam Syriac Catholic
Monastery in Qaraqosh (News, 8 November 2013).