Europe's postcard from Prague: leaders together, one big gap

MSN – AFP, 6 October 2022

Given a rather unclear agenda, the family photo looked set to become a highlight
of the meeting bringing together EU leaders alongside those of Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Britain, Kosovo, Switzerland and Turkey © Ludovic MARIN

Leaders from across Europe, with one big gap, featured in the family photo of the newly-established European Political Community from its inaugural meeting in Prague on Thursday. 

The absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin highlights the deep divide between his country, which launched an invasion of Ukraine in February, and the rest of the continent. 

Belarusian strongman President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin's ally, was also missing in the photo and at the summit organised by the Czech government, which now holds the rotating EU presidency. 

Given a rather unclear agenda, the family photo looked set to become a highlight of the meeting bringing together EU leaders alongside those of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Britain, Kosovo, Switzerland and Turkey. 

French President Emmanuel Macron, the mastermind behind the initiative, said the project was designed to send a message of "unity" and "strategic intimacy". 

But rifts among the 44 leaders surfaced even as they posed at Prague Castle, the seat of the Czech presidency overlooking the city. 

European Council head Charles Michel was on the left Hungarian President Viktor Orban, seen as the bloc's troublemaker over his lax stance on corruption laws and close ties to Putin. 

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen mirrored him on the far right edge in the Gothic Vladislav Hall, making it clear that the EU and the new community initiative were two different things. 

Macron himself took centre stage between Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in the front row. 

To Fiala's right, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, slammed by the EU over his country's clashes with Armenia, stood next to his ally Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also seen as problematic by the bloc. 

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who met both Aliyev and Erdogan for talks earlier on Friday, was tucked behind Erdogan in the second row. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, criticised for hesitating on sending modern weapons to Ukraine, was at the back in the third row. 

Vjosa Osmani, the president of EU hopeful Kosovo, came into the meeting hailing it as an opportunity to meet European peers "on an equal footing". 

But she might have been upset with the photo -- as she was stuck on the back at the edge, largely shaded by the towering Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

Turkey bows to US pressure, cuts Russian bank ties

Yahoo – AFP, Fulya OZERKAN, September 28, 2022

 

Turkey's booming wartime trade with Moscow took a giant step back on Wednesday with confirmation that the last three banks still processing Russian card payments were pulling out under pressure from Washington. 

The decision follows weeks of increasingly blunt warnings from the United States for NATO member Turkey to either limit its economic relations with Russia or face the threat of sanctions itself. 

The US Treasury said last week that Turkish banks working with Russian Mir bank cards "risk supporting Russia's efforts to evade US sanctions". 

Two private Turkish lenders that began processing Mir after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in August suspended the transactions earlier this month. 

But three state lenders -- Halkbank, Vakifbank and Ziraatbank -- still worked with the cards. 

A senior Turkish official did not say when Russians would no longer be able to access their cards in Turkey at all. 

The three banks "are still processing (the outstanding) payments, but they have set a future date" for pulling out, the official said on condition of anonymity because no formal decision by the three bank has been announced. 

The decision follows a meeting headed by Erdogan last Friday that officially focused on looking at "alternatives" to the Russian cards. 

Shift in tone

The explosion of Turkish trade with Russia during the seven-month war in Ukraine has been a source of growing irritation for Washington. 

The value of trade between the two rose by more than 50 percent. Turkey has also agreed to pay for a quarter of its Russian natural gas imports in rubles. 

US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo paid a rare visit to Ankara and Istanbul in June to express Washington's worries that Russian oligarchs and big businesses were using Turkish entities to evade Western sanctions. 

The Treasury sent a follow up letter to Turkish banks and businesses in August warning that they cannot expect to have "access to the US dollar and other major currencies" if they trade with sanctioned Russians. 

Turkey has tried to stay neutral in the Ukrainian conflict and refused to sign up to Western sanctions against Russia.  

It has used this status to strike a range of economic agreements that have helped prop up the ailing economy in the run-up to June elections in which Erdogan will struggle to extend his two-decade grip on power. 

Mir cards offer millions of Russians that vacation in Turkey each year a way to access their rubles and pay for everything from restaurants to hotels. 

They are also increasingly important to Russians who are fleeing to Turkey as part of a new migration wave of men trying to avoid the draft. 

But analysts note a shift in Turkey's tone away from Russia in the past few weeks. 

Ankara last week strongly condemned the "illegitimate" polls the Kremlin is using as a pretext to annex four Ukrainian regions now under partial Russian control. 

'Fear of secondary sanctions'

Prominent Russian sanctions campaigner Bill Browder -- a businessman who left Moscow after one of his associates died in jail -- said the Turkish bank decision showed that the "fear of secondary sanctions is starting to work". 

"Turkish banks have abandoned Putin's Mir payment system out of fear of being punished by the US," Browder tweeted. 

"We need to roll this out far and wide. Chinese, Indian UAE and many other countries should understand there will be consequences." 

Russia developed Mir in 2015 to circumvent Western sanctions imposed following its annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. 

But Russian central bank chief Elvira Nabiullina conceded earlier this month that Moscow was encountering "difficulties" expanding its payment system around the world. 

Uzbekistan suspended Mir transactions last Friday citing unspecified "technical procedures". 

The card still works in Belarus and a handful of Russia's closest allies. 

Visa and Mastercard no longer issue new cards in Russia or process foreign payments on the cards acquired before the war.

Solemn Dutch royals attend funeral for Britain’s queen Elizabeth

DutchNews, September 19, 2022 

Princess Beatrix (L), king Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima leave after
the service. Photo: Ben Stansall / POOL / AFP

Dutch king Willem-Alexander, queen Maxima and princess Beatrix had front row seats at the funeral ceremony held for British queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday. 

The Dutch royals were among a host of kings, queens, presidents and prime ministers to attend the event, ten days after Elizabeth died at the age of 96. 

Oranjes op prominente plek bij uitvaart Queen https://t.co/G7wk0Jj5wg pic.twitter.com/tod7c0wIOx

— RTL Nieuws (@RTLnieuws) September 19, 2022

Royalty expert Pieter Klein Beernink told the Telegraaf that the Dutch family had been given such a prominent position in front of the flag-draped coffin because of the close ties between the two families. 

Princess Beatrix, the former Dutch queen who abdicated in favour of her son in 2013 at the age of 75, would often cross the channel incognito to have lunch or dinner with Elizabeth, Klein Beernink said. 

A black mourning pennant was hoisted above the Noordeinde palace in The Hague as a mark of respect for the British queen, who visited the Netherlands several times during her 70-year reign. 

Vandaag vindt de uitvaart van Koningin Elizabeth II plaats. Op Paleis Noordeinde is de rouwwimpel gehesen. De Koning, Koningin Máxima en Prinses Beatrix zijn bij de uitvaartplechtigheid aanwezig. pic.twitter.com/rvnULpWKwa

— Koninklijk Huis (@koninklijkhuis) September 19, 2022

The Dutch royals will also attend a much smaller ceremony at Windsor Castle later on Monday, broadcaster NOS said. 

Embassy 

The British embassy in The Hague and the consulate were both closed on Monday, which was a bank holiday in Britain, but dozens of well-wishers have left flowers outside the building.

Photo: Dutch News

Over 2,000 people, including prime minister Mark Rutte, signed the condolence book at the embassy and there are also books available for signing at Anglican churches dotted throughout the country. 

The book at the Anglican church on the Kinderhuissingel in Haarlem, for example, will be open for a few more weeks. 

Monday’s ceremony has dominated the Dutch as well as the British media, with live blogs on most news websites and coverage from the funeral procession and ceremony on television.

Worshippers drove break with Russian Orthodoxy: Ukrainian church

France25 – AFP, 28 May 2022

'The commandment 'thou shall not kill' has no other interpretations,' said
Archbishop Kliment Aleksey Filippov AFP

Kyiv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Ordinary members of the branch of Ukraine's Orthodox church, until now loyal to Moscow, drove the decision to break ranks with the Russian leadership, its spokesman told AFP Saturday. 

Archbishop Kliment said the church's congregation felt it could no longer remain silent. 

He was speaking inside Kyiv's Pechersk Lavra monastery -- one of the most ancient and holy sites in Ukraine -- a day after the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow patriarchy declared "full independence". 

The clerics condemned Russian Patriarch Kirill's vocal support for the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, in a historic move against Moscow's spiritual authorities. 

Bearded and black-robed, Kliment said his church "does not accept, condemns and completely dissociates itself from those statements about Russian aggression in Ukraine that came from the lips of Patriarch Kirill". 

Kirill is a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has spoken out in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine several times. 

For Kliment, the situation was clear. "The commandment 'thou shall not kill' has no other interpretations," he said. 

"It is difficult for me to (understand) the explanation or silence of the representatives of the Moscow patriarchate on the tragedy that is happening today," he added, as tens of thousands are killed and millions displaced. 

Priests' mediating role

His wing of Ukraine's church is one of the last links to Russia. it remained loyal despite a 2019 schism that saw the creation of a rival Kyiv patriarchy -- a huge blow to Moscow. 

Kliment acknowledged that his church had "always felt pressure from the state" to break from Moscow -- and the authorities here have welcomed the decision of the Kyiv patriarchy. 

But this time, he said, the appeals had come from their own worshippers. 

"There was a need for this, a demand in church society." 

Ukrainian priests had tried to "reach the patriarch and those directly responsible for the Russian aggression" in Moscow before their decision, he said, but had received no response. 

Kliment stressed that clerics from all over Ukraine -- including territories controlled by separatists -- took part in the council, priests from the war zone in the east joining online. 

"The council was attended by representatives of almost all the dioceses, including those of the East", he said. Their decision, he said, "will be relayed in (Moscow-annexed) Crimea and in the Donbas". 

Moscow patriarchy clerics play an important role in territories not under Kyiv's control, he said, often acting as a "bridge" with Ukrainian authorities. 

They have been involved in negotiating "the return of prisoners or their exchange and the delivery of humanitarian aid", he said. 

But this week's decision will be testing for priests working in rebel areas, he added. 

"This requires from these priests a certain courage and wisdom in order to preserve unity in the church and at the same time not to lose the flock in these areas." 

2019 schism remains

Archbishop Kliment played down hopes for broader unity inside Ukraine's Orthodox circles, which was divided by the 2019 schism. 

"This largely depends on them, because the position held by the representatives of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine is not constructive," he said. 

He accused them of "choosing the path of confrontation, seizing churches and discrediting our believers". 

This newly created Kyiv branch of the church now pledges allegiance to Istanbul-based Patriarch Bartholomew -- something the Moscow branch had no intention of doing, said Kliment. 

Nonetheless, the rival churches do share the view that Patriarch Kirill can no longer rule Ukraine because of his support for the Russian invasion. 

After Saturday worship, many, but not all, believers appeared to share his view. 

"I support this decision because the Bible says 'you shall not kill'," said one man, Serhii. 

Ludmila, 65, added she hoped that the priests would stop mentioning Kirill in prayers during services, which she said was "really awful and offensive". 

But another woman, Olena, 40, expressed concern about the schism. "I am afraid that it will weaken the Orthodox Church." 

She hoped Kyiv would not renounce Russian-language worship as "this old church language is very important in spiritual terms -- it reconciles body and soul and has been giving people strength for centuries". 

Asked her view on Kirill, she paused, sighed and said: "It's better to talk about who started the war."

Macron names first French female PM in three decades

Yahoo – AFP, Ingrid BAZINET, Stuart WILLIAMS, 16 May 2022 

Borne is seen as an able technocrat who is also able to negotiate prudently with
unions (AFP/Ludovic MARIN) (Ludovic MARIN)

President Emmanuel Macron on Monday named Labour Minister Elisabeth Borne as prime minister to lead his ambitious reform plans, the first woman to head the French government in over 30 years. 

Outgoing French Prime Minister Jean Castex earlier handed his resignation to the president, part of a widely expected reshuffle to make way for a new government following Macron's re-election in April and ahead of legislative elections in June. 

The centrist Macron will need a legislative majority to push through his domestic agenda following his re-election, with a new left-wing alliance and the far-right threatening to block his programme. 

The last woman premier, Edith Cresson, briefly headed the cabinet from May 1991 to April 1992 under president Francois Mitterrand. 

Ending weeks of speculation, the Elysee confirmed Borne's nomination in a statement and she then headed to the Matignon residence of the premier in Paris for the handover with Castex. 

"Nothing can stop the fight for the place of women in our society," she said at the handover, dedicating her appointment to "all the little girls" who should "realise their dreams". 

A former environment minister, Borne also notably urged a "quicker and stronger" reaction to the "climatic and ecological challenge". 

In a tweet addressed to "Madam Prime Minister", Macron set out their priorities. 

"Ecology, health, education, full employment, democratic revival, Europe and security. Together, with the new government, we will continue to act tirelessly for French people," he said. 

'High time' 

Borne, 61, is seen as an able technocrat who can negotiate prudently with unions, as the president embarks on a new package of social reforms that notably include a rise in the retirement age which risks sparking protests. 

A French presidential official, who asked not to be named, described Borne as a woman of "conviction, action and realisation", noting her "capacity to carry out reforms". 

"It was high time there was another woman," Cresson, who knows Borne personally, told BFMTV. 

"She is a remarkable person, with great experience in the public and private sectors... She's a very good choice because she's a remarkable person, not because she's a woman," she added. 

She expressed amazement that it had taken France -- which has never had a female head of state -- so long to have another woman prime minister. 

"France is very behind -- not the French population but the political class," added Cresson, who was the target of numerous sexist attacks during her time in office. 

'Inability to unite' 

Macron, 44, registered a solid victory in April 24 presidential polls against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, winning by 59 to 41 percent. 

Le Pen and defeated hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon are both eyeing comebacks in the parliamentary elections on June 12 and 19 that would give them the ability to thwart Macron. 

Melenchon recently persuaded the Socialist, Communist and Greens parties to enter an alliance under his leadership that unites the left around a common platform for the first time in decades. 

Macron's rivals were less complimentary about Borne, whose appointment Le Pen said showed the president's "inability to unite and his desire to pursue his policy of contempt". 

Melenchon scoffed at the idea that Borne had come from the left, describing her as "among the harshest figures of social abuse" in France's ruling elite. 

Castex had intended to resign immediately after the presidential election in line with French tradition, but was persuaded by Macron to stay on while he lined up a replacement. 

The bespectacled 56-year-old from rural southwest France has a no-frills style and a strong regional accent which has endeared him to many French people. 

He will mostly be remembered for his management of the latter stages of the Covid-19 pandemic but also windmill arm gestures and a habit of forgetting where he had placed his glasses. 

"For nearly two years, he worked with passion and commitment in the service of France," said Macron in a farewell tweet to Castex, who has made clear he has no plans for higher office.

Kalush Orchestra - Stefania (Official Video Eurovision 2022)

Britain, Cyprus hail 'new era' on military land

Yahoo – AFP, 9 May 2022 

An aerial view of the United Kingdom's Dhekelia Sovereign Base Area east of
Larnaca -- it is one of two such areas on the island of Cyprus (AFP/Amir MAKAR)
(Amir MAKAR)

Thousands of Cypriots living on British military land will have the right to develop their properties under a deal to take effect next week, ending decades of unequal treatment, officials said Monday. 

Under the 1960 treaty granting Cyprus independence from Britain, the United Kingdom retained control of two Sovereign Base Areas covering three percent of the island's land area. 

These include not only the bases themselves but Cypriot communities home to around 12,000 people -- more than the number of British military personnel and their families. 

Non-military development on base land has until now been generally restricted. 

Cypriot property owners on base land were subject to "62 years of distortions and imbalances" which the deal to be implemented from May 16 will remove, Cyprus's President Nicos Anastasiades said at a ceremony. 

Residential, commercial and other developments will be possible under the arrangement. 

"It is a truly historic agreement", Anastasiades told the ceremony attended by base officials. 

British High Commissioner Stephen Lillie told the gathering that "a new era of non-military development" begins next week. 

"From that day, landowners in the bases will be able to submit planning applications and develop their land much like they can anywhere else in Cyprus," he said, describing it as a "levelling up." 

In a statement, British Forces Cyprus said that, for the first time, third-country nationals in addition to Cypriots will be able to own property, live, and run a business in the base areas -- subject to environmental, security and zoning considerations. 

Anastasiades reached an agreement in 2014 with then-British Prime Minister David Cameron paving the way for the changes being implemented from next week. 

In an interview with AFP, Anastasiades said the agreement did not mean an alteration to the 1960 treaty and did not require discussions with Greece and Turkey, the other 1960 signatories. 

He said it is simply changing the status of the residents in the base areas, "giving a chance for development which is a great thing. We are talking about a huge extent of land." 

The base areas cover 254 square kilometres (98 square miles). 

Cyprus, an eastern Mediterranean island, has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded following a Greek-sponsored coup. The Republic of Cyprus, whose overwhelming majority are Greek Cypriots, has effective control over the southern two-thirds of the island.

Pink Floyd release first new song since 1994 for Ukraine

Yahoo – AFP, April 7, 2022 

David Gilmour: 'We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile
act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people
murdered by one of the world's major powers' (AFP/JOHN D MCHUGH) (JOHN D MCHUGH)

Pink Floyd have written their first new song in almost 30 years to support Ukrainians, the band announced on Thursday. 

"Hey, Hey, Rise-Up!" will be released on Friday, and be used to raise funds for humanitarian causes linked to the war. 

It samples Andriy Khlyvnyuk, from one of Ukraine's biggest bands BoomBox, singing in Sofiyskaya Square in Kyiv in a clip that went viral. 

Khlyvnyukh abandoned a world tour to return to Ukraine and help defend his country. 

"We, like so many, have been feeling the fury and the frustration of this vile act of an independent, peaceful democratic country being invaded and having its people murdered by one of the world's major powers," Pink Floyd said on their official Twitter feed. 

In a press release, band leader David Gilmour said he had been moved by Khlyvnyuk's video: "It was a powerful moment that made me want to put it to music." 

He was able to speak with Khlyvnyuk from his hospital bed in Kyiv, where the singer was recovering after being hit by shrapnel in a mortar attack, the record company said. 

"I played him a little bit of the song down the phone line and he gave me his blessing. We both hope to do something together in person in the future," Gilmour said. 

The image accompanying the song is of a sunflower, and was inspired by a viral video showing a Ukrainian woman insulting two armed Russian soldiers. 

In it, she tells the soldiers: "Take these seeds and put them in your pockets. That way sunflowers will grow when you all rest here." 

It is the first original music from Pink Floyd since 1994's "The Division Bell". 

Gilmour tweeted his opposition to the war soon after Russia's invasion, saying: "Putin must go". 

The band has also pulled their music from Russian and Belarusian streaming sites in protest at the invasion.

Pope in 'tectonic' shake-up of Vatican bureaucracy

Yahoo – AFP, Ella IDE, March 19, 2022 

Francis, 85, put together a group of cardinals to advise
him on how to enact reforms (AFP/Tiziana FABI) (Tiziana FABI)

Pope Francis on Saturday followed through on a promise made ahead of his 2013 election and published a much-anticipated shake-up of the Vatican's powerful governing body. 

The new constitution, which comes into effect on June 5, restructures parts of the unruly Roman Curia, and makes increasing the world's 1.2 billion Catholics the church's number one priority. 

Among the most significant changes are the possibility for lay and female Catholics to head up Vatican departments, and the incorporation of the pope's sex abuse advisory commission into the Curia. 

"Pope Francis has been working on a new organizational structure for the Vatican for nine years. It's a major aspect of his legacy," Joshua McElwee from the National Catholic Reporter said on Twitter. 

'Tectonic shift' 

Cardinals gathered for the conclave to elect a new pope in 2013 were divided between those who believed there were deep-rooted problems in the Curia and those who wanted to preserve the status quo. 

Ex-pope Benedict XVI, who had just resigned, was reported to have tried and failed to clean up a body some even blamed for preventing the church from properly tackling the child sex abuse scandal. 

Francis, 85, put together a group of cardinals to advise him over the years on how to reform the Curia, and has already enacted many changes as he moves to modernise the centuries-old institution. 

The 54-page text entitled "Proclaiming the Gospel", which replaces a constitution drawn up by pope John Paul II in 1988, creates a new department for evangelisation, to be headed up by Francis himself. 

Making himself "Chief Evangelizer" encapsulates a "tectonic shift to a more pastoral, missionary church," David Gibson, director of the Center on Religion and Culture at Fordham University, said on Twitter. 

In that vein, Francis says every baptised Christian is a missionary. 

"One cannot fail to take this into account in the updating of the Curia, whose reform must provide for involvement of laymen and women, even in roles of government and responsibility," he said. 

'Significant' 

The constitution, released on the ninth anniversary of the inauguration of Francis' papacy, makes the pope's charity czar, currently Polish Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, head of a department in its own right. 

It also brings the Vatican's Commission for the Protection of Minors -- a papal advisory body -- into the office which oversees the canonical investigations of clerical sex abuse cases. 

In doing so, the pope is "effectively establishing the Vatican's first safeguarding office", the Tablet's journalist Christopher Lamb said. 

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, who heads the Commission, said it was a "significant move forward", which would give institutional weight to the fight against a scourge which has plagued the church globally. 

But Marie Collins, an Irish survivor of clerical abuse who served on the commission before resigning in outrage in 2017 over the church's handling of the crisis, slammed it instead as a clear step back. 

"The Commission has now officially lost even a semblance of independence," she said on Twitter.

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with Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”