The Vatican has released the itinerary for Pope Leo XIV's trip to Lebanon and Turkey, in what will be his first official visit overseas.
Pope Leo, who succeeded the late Pope Francis in May, will arrive in Turkey on November 27. He will visit Ankara, Istanbul and the town of Iznik – once known as Nicaea and the site of an ancient Christian council.
He will fly to Lebanon on November 30. After meeting politicians and religious leaders, he will end his trip on December 2 by visiting the site of the 2020 Beirut blast and holding a Mass on the city's waterfront.
Here are some details of the Pope's visit:
November 27
Pope Leo flies from Rome to Ankara, where he meets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials.
He also visits the mausoleum where the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, is buried.
That evening, he flies to Istanbul.
November 28
After meeting clergymen at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, Pope Leo flies by helicopter to Iznik.
A prayer service takes place near an archaeological excavation site in the town, which is marking 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea settled key aspects of Christian doctrine.
Pope Leo then returns to Istanbul for meetings with bishops.
November 29
The Pope visits Istanbul's 400-year-old Blue Mosque, also known as Sultan Ahmed Mosque. He then speaks to local Christian leaders at a Syriac Orthodox Church.
Later, he meets the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, who leads the world's 260 million Orthodox Christians. They are expected to sign a joint declaration.
That evening, he holds a Mass at the Volkswagen Arena, an indoor venue that typically hosts concerts and basketball games.
November 30
Pope Leo prays at an Armenian church and gives an address at the Patriarchal Church of Saint George.
After a final meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew, he leaves Istanbul for Beirut.
On his first evening in Lebanon, he meets President Joseph Aoun, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and other officials.
December 1
The Pope prays at the tomb of Charbel Makhlouf, a 19th-century Lebanese saint, at a monastery in Annaya.
He visits the Shrine of Our Lady of Lebanon in Harissa, before returning to the Vatican embassy for meetings.
That evening, he holds an "inter-religious meeting" at Martyrs’ Square in Beirut, before speaking to young people in Bkerke, the seat of the Maronite church.
December 2
Pope Leo begins the final day of his trip by visiting a hospital in Jal El Dib, north of Beirut.
The Pope holds a silent prayer at the site of the Beirut port explosion, which killed more than 200 people and shocked the country.
He then holds a mass on the Beirut waterfront. After a farewell ceremony at the airport, he flies back to Rome.
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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