What The World's Newspapers Are Saying

Oded Balilty/AP

A newsstand in Rome.

Oded Balilty/AP

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican led the website of Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

At the end of their 25-minute meeting, the pope gave Abbas a pen, which the Palestinian Authority president said he hoped to use "to sign the peace agreement with Israel."

The pope replied: "Hurry, hurry," according to the newspaper.

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan recently called for a national dialogue in his ethnically and religiously divided country.

He announced the formation of a committee that would hold discussions on resolving differences in Nigeria. But, as the Vanguard newspaper reports, Nigerian lawmakers say that the committee's final outcome must first pass through them to become law.

Here's how Reuters describes Nigeria's religious makeup:

"Nigeria's nearly 170 million people and 250 ethnic groups, split roughly evenly between Islam, which dominates in the north, and Christianity, prevalent in the south, mostly live side by side in peace. But the country suffers bouts of bloodshed over land where the two religions meet in the middle.

"The oil producing Niger Delta is a haven for criminal gangs who steal oil and kidnap, while the Boko Haram insurgency has killed thousands and destablised swathes of the north."

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La Tercera reports on Chile's efforts to win a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The General Assembly elects five new countries to the council on Thursday. Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia are looking for spots. All are virtually guaranteed a place on the 15-member council because none of the races are contested.

This would be Chile's fifth time on the council. The previous occasion was in 2003 and 2004. That was when Chile refused to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Chile's term would last from January 2014 to December 2015.

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From the Philippines, a story of hope amid the earthquake Tuesday that killed more than 100 people. The Inquirer reports:

"Two statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary stand — without any blemish — amid the ruins of two churches in Maribojoc and Loon towns following Tuesday's devastating earthquake. It was enough for residents to raise their hopes that life will get better."

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2013/10/17/236139792/what-the-worlds-newspapers-are-saying?ft=1&f=1009
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