BEIRUT (Reuters) – Pope Benedict appealed on Friday for a halt to the flow of arms into Syria, saying it would help end a civil war which has killed many thousands of people and which Christians fear could bring Islamists to power.

In his strongest comments yet on the conflict, Benedict branded the weapons imports as a “grave sin” as he arrived at the start of a three-day visit to Beirut, just 50 km (30 miles) from the Syrian border.

BEIRUT, Sept 14 (Reuters) – Pope Benedict appealed for a
stop to arms imports to Syria on Friday, saying it would help
end the civil war there, and said the Arab Spring was a positive
“cry for freedom” as long as it included religious tolerance.

Benedict spoke in his plane flying to Beirut, only 50 km (30
miles) from the border with Syria, for a three-day visit focused
on promoting peace in the Middle East and harmony between its
minority Christians and majority Muslims.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Benedict makes a religiously delicate and potentially dangerous trip to Lebanon this weekend to appeal for peace and reconciliation in the Middle East as civil war rages next door in Syria.

The 85-year-old pope, making his 24th international trip and fourth to the Middle East, will spend three days preaching unity among Christians and peace between Christians and Muslims during his time in the Lebanese capital Beirut from Friday to Sunday.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican has hired Liechtenstein’s former top anti-money laundering expert to help the Holy See comply fully with international standards on financial transparency.

Rene Bruelhart, 40, a Swiss lawyer, has been appointed as a consultant on “all matters related to anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism,” a statement said on Tuesday.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The civil war in Syria will cast a long shadow on Pope Benedict’s trip to neighbouring Lebanon next weekend but the Vatican is “tranquil” about his security after receiving guarantees from the country’s fractious religious groups, the papal envoy to Beirut said on Monday.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia told Reuters he hoped the situation in Syria would not drown out the main purpose of the trip – to focus attention on the problems and aspirations of the entire Middle East.

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The civil war in Syria will cast a long shadow on Pope Benedict’s trip to neighboring Lebanon next weekend but the Vatican is “tranquil” about his security after receiving guarantees from the country’s fractious religious groups, the papal envoy to Beirut said on Monday.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia told Reuters he hoped the situation in Syria would not drown out the main purpose of the trip – to focus attention on the problems and aspirations of the entire Middle East.

ROME/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Joblessness in the euro zone hit on Tuesday its highest level since the single currency was born, a further sign of economic desperation as hopes erode that the bloc will be saved by its central bank this week.

An additional 123,000 people were out of work in the euro zone in June, figures from Eurostat showed, bringing the unemployment rate to a record high 11.2 percent across the 17 countries that use the single currency.