Pope Francis begs Putin to stop "spiral of violence" and rejects annexations

Fernando A. Mora Guillen.

• Pope Francis pleads with Putin to stop "spiral of violence" and rejects the annexations.
• Putin challenges the West again: NATO warns of the mobilization of a nuclear submarine.
• UK reverses controversial plan to cut top tax rate.

Pope Francis pleaded with Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop "the spiral of violence" in Ukraine, rejecting the annexations of territories as "contrary to international law."

At the Angelus prayer, in St. Peter's Square, the pope addressed the president of the Russian Federation, begging him to stop, also out of love for his people, "the spiral of violence and death."

It is the first time since the conflict began on February 24 that the Supreme Pontiff has addressed the Russian president directly in one of his speeches.

For the first time he referred to the annexations of Ukrainian territories by Russia, regretting this step and recommending "respect the territorial integrity of each country".

The pope also called on Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky to be open to serious peace proposals.

The pope's intentions are good and his pacifist spirit is understandable, difficult to negotiate with a dictator like Putin, who in recent statements said that Russia is in no hurry to end its military campaign in Ukraine, and maintained that Russian forces have not changed and they will continue to conquer territories.

Now more than ever a miracle is urgent, so the Supreme Pontiff must pray for peace in the world, and urge Catholics to make their prayers in favor of dialogue and understanding between the rulers of nations. The world cries out for peace.

Take it with interest.- NATO has sent an intelligence report to its member countries, in which it warns of the mobilization of the Russian submarine K-329 Belgorod, carrier of the Poseidon nuclear missile, also known as the "Weapon of the Apocalypse", according to the Italian newspaper The Republic.

All eyes are on Vladimir Putin, who seems to be behind this new challenge to the West. This fact adds to the threat of a possible nuclear conflict. The report details the latest move from Belgorod, which became operational last July. Unofficial sources believe that the Russian submarine was responsible for the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

Now it is located in the waters of the Arctic Ocean and NATO fears that its mission is to test for the first time the Poseidon torpedo, whose projectile has the capacity to travel up to ten thousand kilometers under water and then explode near the coast to cause a radioactive tsunami.

The truth is that not having large aircraft carriers and cruisers to compete with the United States, Russia has focused on the development of underwater vehicles. The Belgorod is capable of operating at depths where no NATO ship can submerge.

It is true that the armed conflict in Ukraine induced by Russia has once again put the threat of the use of nuclear weapons on the table, which is extremely worrying.

Human beings should use the benefits of nuclear energy in a peaceful way to generate energy through nuclear power plants, and to carry out medical diagnoses, for example; to build and not as a weapon of destruction.

Take it carefully.- The British government has announced it will reverse plans to scrap the top income tax rate, following a major backlash to its proposed growth plan and a week of economic turmoil.

The announcement represents a major setback for new Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose government has been unsettled by the reaction to her proposed sweeping tax cuts, which included lowering the top income tax rate from 45% to 40%.

The proposed £45bn cuts would have been the biggest in 50 years. However they caused the pound to plunge to record lows against the US dollar and caused chaos in the UK government debt market because they required a large increase in government borrowing.

Mortgage rates soared and some pension funds struggled to stay solvent.

Thus the inhabitants of the United Kingdom reacted in protest, and made the British Government reverse the controversial fiscal plan that has shaken the markets and lowered the value of the pound. A few days ago Liz Truss defended her strategy tooth and nail, today the story is different.

Twitter: @Fernando_MoraG

Facebook: Fernando Antonio Mora

*Master in Institutional Communication from the UnivPan American ersity.

*Founding member of the National College of Graduates in Journalism.

* President of the Fernando Mora Gómez Foundation for Freedom of Expression.

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