Pope Francis to hold historic meeting with top Sunni leaderMay 19, 2016 - 18:02 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Pope Francis will meet the spiritual leader of the world's Sunni Muslims in an unprecedented encounter at the Vatican on Monday, May 23, the pontiff's spokesman said Thursday, according to AFP. Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand imam of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the most prestigious institution in Sunni Islam, will have an audience with the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics at St Peter's, Father Federico Lombardi told AFP. "This audience is being prepared and has been scheduled for Monday," he said. "It will be a first." The visit marks the restoration of cordial relations between the two faiths. Ties were soured under Pope Benedict XVI after Francis's now-retired predecessor made a September 2006 speech in which he was perceived to have described Islam as a violent religion, AFP says. Dialogue resumed in 2009 but was suspended again by Al-Azhar in 2011 when Benedict called for the protection of Christian minorities after a bomb attack on a church in Alexandria, an intervention that was perceived as meddling in Egypt's internal affairs. Relations have steadily improved since Francis became pope in 2013 with inter-faith dialogue near the top of his agenda, something he underlined with a personal message to the Muslim world to mark the end of the first month of Ramadan of his pontificate. Related links: Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |