A 7.3 magnitude earthquake of has rocked eastern Turkey, with predictions that up to 1000 people could lie dead under the rubble of dozens of collapsed buildings. Turkey's strongest earthquake in years struck Van, a large eastern city populated mainly by Kurds: "Five-hundred to 1000 people are estimated to have been killed in the quake," Mustafa Erdik, director of the Kandilli seismological institute in Istanbul, told reporters.

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The Middle East is the birthplace of Christianity and home to some of the world's most ancient Christian denominations. But Christian communities across the region are declining in numbers because of a combination of low birth rates, emigration and, in some places, persecution and violence.

Military police in Cairo opened fire on Coptic Christian protestors, killing dozens and injuring hundreds. The Christians were protesting the recent burning of a church in southern Egypt.

Fewer children and diminishing numbers of married couples will have a significant impact on economic growth and the ability of governments to finance welfare programs. In this article, Fr. John Flynn discusses the important of marriage and the family, based on the results of the recent report: “The Sustainable Demographic Dividend: What Do Marriage & Fertility Have To Do With the Economy?”

Nine young members of the Philippines Legislature have formed a new offensive against the highly controversial Reproductive Health Bill that is still being debated in the national Congress.

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At some point in 2011, the Earth will reach a population of 7 billion! Many people fear that this is a sign of overpopulation and therefore a global crisis... but there is no need to fear! This video disputes this overpopulation myth, showing that population growth is actually dramatically falling.

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A typhoon that caused death and destruction in the Philippines and shut down Hong Kong is now heading towards the coast of Vietnam. The typhoon has already killed at least 39 people in the Philippines, and about 100,000 homes have been evacuated on the southern Chinese island of Hainan. Please pray for the victims of this natural disaster.

The government of Eritrea--one of the most repressive in the world--has placed 3,000 Christians in prison, “where they face mistreatment and deprivation of food and medical treatment, pending renunciation of their faith,” according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide.

This September Pope Benedict XVl will make his third visit to his home country Germany. Germany has a 33% Catholic population and this video highlights other interesting statistics including the number of bishops and priests in Germany as well as the numbers of students attending Catholic schools and universities in the country.

A report on the welfare of Australian children, released this week, found that while today's generation is growing up in a healthier and wealthier society there are a number of serious problems affecting some groups of kids.

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