Assumption Mass: 15,000 pilgrims on the eve this Sunday

On Sunday, thousands of pilgrims of all ages and backgrounds participated in a torchlight procession to the glory of the Virgin Mary at the Catholic shrine of Lourdes on the eve of an Assumption Mass. On this eve, 1.6 million faithful are expected this year. Indeed, on Sunday 15,000 people walked, torch in hand, a little after dusk, behind a white statue of the Virgin Mary, reciting and singing numerous "Hail Marys". Thus, an Assumption mass is to be held on Monday. Hundreds of patients in wheelchairs had preceded the crowd. It must be said that since 2020 health restrictions have greatly reduced the number of pilgrims coming to Lourdes.

Death threat: Salman Rushdie is a little better

Threatened with death since 1989 by a fatwa from Iran, the writer of "The Satanic Verses" Salman Rushdie was stabbed at least ten times by an American of Lebanese origin, in the northern United States. Friday morning on the stage of an amphitheater of the cultural center of the quiet town of Chautauqua near Lake Erie in upstate New York Salman Rushdie had a shock in the West. However, he has been praised by Muslim extremists. According to his relatives he is doing a little better.

War in Ukraine: the risks increase

For more than a week, the risks around the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, in southern Ukraine, which Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of bombing, "increase every day. This is what the mayor of the city where it is located judges. The mayor of Energodar, Dmytro Orlov deplored a "nuclear terrorism pure and simple" of Russia that "can end unpredictably at any time" to AFP by phone. He added that: "The risks increase every day (...) Mortar fire on the nuclear power plant is carried out every day and every night from the occupied villages".

Assumption Day: a holiday decreed in Taliban

This Monday, the Taliban declared a public holiday to celebrate the first anniversary of their return to power in Afghanistan. This year is marked by a strong regression of women's rights and a deep humanitarian crisis. Indeed, Islamist fundamentalists seized the capital Kabul without a fight, at the end of a lightning offensive against routed government forces, with the withdrawal of U.S. and Nato troops after 20 years of military intervention in the country on August 15, 2021. Niamatullah Hekmat, a Taliban fighter who entered Kabul that day, just hours after deposed President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, said, "We have fulfilled the obligation of jihad and liberated our country.

Soccer: Juventus Paulo Dybala scored his first goal

The Roman clubs did not miss their debut on Sunday in Serie A despite the fact that Roma and Lazio were upset by Salernitana (1-0) and Bologna (2-1) as was the case of AC Milan and Inter Milan winners on Saturday. Indeed, the post deprived the former Juventus leader Paulo Dybala of his first goal in the Roma shirt. However, his teammate Bryan Cristante did not miss the target (33rd) to put the Giallorossi on the road to victory against a valiant Salernitana. Just like last season, he decided not to wait until the last day to save himself.

IN BRIEF

On Sunday evening, funerals were held in two churches in Cairo. It was for the 41 victims of a fire started by a short circuit in the morning in the middle of a mass in a Coptic church in a popular district of the Egyptian capital.

On Monday, after four fruitless sessions, the UN member states resumed their negotiations to finally agree on a treaty to protect the high seas, a fragile and vital treasure that covers almost half the planet.

10 people are trapped in northern Mexico by a "sudden rise in water levels" that occurred in the flooded mine. This could complicate the rescue operation, authorities announced.

Déwé Gorodey died Sunday at the age of 73. Her death was announced by the government, which has prompted a unanimous tribute from the cultural and political world of the archipelago. Déwé Gorodey is the first Kanak novelist and pioneer in the struggle for independence of New Caledonia.

On Sunday in Rome, the 21-year-old Frenchwoman Analia Pigrée became European champion in the 50 m backstroke despite a shoulder injury earlier this year.