26th August 2026

At least 47 people were killed and more than 50 others kidnapped when armed men attacked a once peaceful community of Kenscoff  near Haiti’s capital at the weekend, the UN has said. Romain Le Cour, the head of Haiti observatory at the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, said: “This is a major political and security test – for the government, for the police and for the international mission alike.” In a social media video, the gang leader threatened to kill every hostage if the national police used drones to repel gangs in the area. As Haiti prepares to hold general elections on 13 December, the first in more than a decade, Le Cour said: “This is a message to the government and the police that their claims of protection do not match reality. The gangs are saying: when we choose to attack, we can, and we will succeed.”  Armed militia control around 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in Haiti’s central region and beyond, Gang violence has displaced a record 1.5 million people across Haiti. More than 3,050 people were reported killed from January to June and another 1,400 injured, according to UN statistics released yesterday. 

Loving God, may the international community not forget the plight of hte people of Haiti. In prayer we reach out to them and ask for your loving care for all who have been abducted.  Grant them resilience and hope. Wrap your loving arms around their families and all who love and miss them; be their comfort in this time of distress.  Guide the authorities in the work they need to do to bring order and stability to the nation.  May your Holy Spirit move among the militia chiefs and turn their hearts into treating people with dignity and respect.  May they seek a peaceful outcome to the concerns they have for the country. Loving god we prayer that your will shall be done in Haiti as it is in heaven. In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.

At the Molinette Hospital in Turin, Italy, a team from the University Ophthalmology Clinic, led by Professor Michele Reibaldi, has successfully performed a complete auto transplant of the anterior segment of the eye and the central part of the retina (the macula) from one eye to the other of the same patient.  Elena, the 67 year old patient, had completely lost her vision due to a very serious car accident that caused an irreversible injury to the optic nerve of the left eye although the eye structures remained healthy.   Elena's right eye was already suffering from maculopathy, and suffered such trauma as to irreparably compromise the retina and the transparency of the cornea. In a world first operation surgeons took tissues from the healthy but non functioning left eye and transferred them to the right eye, including the cornea, the sclera, the conjunctiva and the central portion of the retina (the macula).  This made it possible to reconstruct a seeing eye from the two compromised eyes. "An unprecedented intervention bordering on the impossible. Thanks to our professionals who have become the protagonists of this miracle, but who above all have once again welcomed the fragility of our patients, in particular Mrs. Elena, who will now be able to return to see the world accompanied by her dog Joe. Once again the demonstration of the value of public health, in which I firmly believe". The hospital showed great sensitivity, permitting Elena's guide dog to remain with her for the duration of her stay in the hospital. Livio Tranchida, general manager of Città della Salute said of the procedure.

Amazing God,

source of all love,

giver of grace.

We thank you for the mystery of your creation:

for its beauty

for its wonder

for its magnificence.

We thank you for the gift of life:

for the breath that sustains us,

for the food that nourishes us,

for water that refreshes us.

We bless you for

the love of family and friends,

and for setting us in communities

enabling us to care for one another.

We praise you for those

who share our burdens and daily tasks,

and participate in the raising of our children.

We give you glory for every new day

for the opportunities each one brings

and the experiences from which we learn. 

We thank you that you are always with us,

guiding us by your Holy Spirit.

For all your blessings

we give you thanks and praise,

almighty, eternal Lord of life.

Amen.