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What can be done to counter hate speech on the internet and in social media at time when online intolerance is widespread, and threatens democratic debate in societies?

World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed grave concern over the renewed and very serious escalation of conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region since Sunday 27 September – reportedly following an attack by Azerbaijan’s military forces – which has already resulted in dozens of casualties including civilians, and which risks provoking a wider armed conflict in the region.

Europe is again faced with a rise in migrants and refugees seeking a better life with some similar signs to the crisis that peaked five years ago during a mass movement triggered by the Syrian War and extreme hardships in other countries.

It has been 46 years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus led to the partitioning of the island, the northern third inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots, whose government is internationally recognized. The August 1974 ceasefire line became a United Nations buffer zone, along which Cyprus remains divided.

The year 2020 is one etched forever in our memories. The unimaginable happened when a virus seized the world. Vulnerability became the norm, and fiction became a reality. Overnight life became more precious for all of us, the world’s billions. Normality took a break; frustration set in. Everything we took for granted went on hold.

As major challenges for the global economy are predicted in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, a diverse group of faith institutions is putting the call for a just economic recovery into practice.

Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen is general secretary of the Conference of European Churches. On 26 March, the WCC and Regional Ecumenical Organizations released a historic joint pastoral statement affirming the urgency of standing together to protect life amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCC has since been gathering viewpoints from diverse regions about the importance of taking care of our one human family.

During the COVID-19 crisis, the church serves the spiritual and social needs of people afflicted by the pandemic which is gripping the world, and its key role was highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO). On 31 March a panel of experienced church leaders and medical experts went on air to address the global challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic from a medical, moral, and spiritual perspective. Outgoing World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit moderated the televised 60-minute session as one of his last duties.

After more than ten years heading the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit says this is the time that "we should remind one another that we believe in God as the “Good shepherd” who promised to be with us also in times of crisis,” especially in this time of the global COVID-19 crisis.