Wednesday, October 21, 2009 SILVER SPRING: In a bold effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls around the world, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is co-sponsoring a petition that seeks 1 million signatures from 200 countries and territories, as part of a global initiative launched recently called enditnow, whose main goal is to stop oppressive practices aimed at the female gender. "This petition is an important first step in this campaign because it shows that people from around the world are taking a stand to say that violence against women is no longer acceptable in any of its forms," said Hearly Mayr, director for Public Awareness at ADRA International, and a petition organizer. The petition has found growing support internationally. Hundreds of people from more than 70 countries have already signed the written and online petition in the initial days of the enditnow campaign. Signatures will be presented to the United Nations to draw attention to the issue, advocate for the creation of new policies to protect women and girls, and publicly declare the efforts of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to end violent practices against women and girls. Enditnow, sponsored by ADRA and the Women's Ministries Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was launched October 13. More than 15 million Adventist church members from around the world are encouraged to join this growing movement in order to create change within their own communities and mobilize their peers to raise awareness. Follow ADRA on Twitter and get the latest information on the campaign. ADRA is a non-governmental organization present in 125 countries providing sustainable community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, gender, race or ethnicity.
BEIRUT: Thousands of people converged Saturday on central Beirut to mark the fourth anniversary of the assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafiq Hariri.Waving Lebanese flags and carrying pictures of the slain leader, men, women and children gathered under sunny skies in Martyr's Square where members of the parliamentary majority were to address the crowd. The rally comes as final preparations are underway in The Hague for the launch of the international tribunal set up to bring Hariri's killers to justice. It also comes as the country prepares for legislative elections in June that will pit Western-backed political parties against a Hezbollah-led alliance backed by Syria and Iran.Hariri died in a massive car bombing on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 others. The assassination was widely blamed on then Lebanese power-broker Syria, which has denied any involvement. The attack on the Beirut seafront was one of the worst acts of political violence to rock Lebanon since t...
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