European Union VIce Presiden and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini (L) is seen during a talk with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in Hanoi, Vietnam, Aug. 5, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Kham

Belgian police on Tuesday detained former European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and a current senior EU diplomat as part of a fraud investigation that included raids at several sites, three sources familiar with the probe said.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) said the investigation focused on “suspected fraud related to EU-funded training for junior diplomats.” It involved searches at the EU‘s diplomatic service in Brussels, at the College of Europe – an elite university in Bruges that educates many EU officials – and at the houses of suspects.

Mogherini and senior diplomat Stefano Sannino, both Italian nationals, are well known in Brussels diplomatic circles and news of their detentions sent shockwaves through the EU community in Brussels.

Mogherini was the EU‘s high representative for foreign and security policy and head of its diplomatic service from 2014 to 2019. She became rector of the College of Europe in 2020.

TENDER OF TRAINING PROGRAMME PROBED

Sannino previously served as the most senior civil servant in the diplomatic service between 2021 and 2024 and is now director general of the European Commission’s department for the Middle East, North Africa, and the Gulf.

The EPPO said in a statement that three people had been detained but withheld identities, citing the ongoing investigation. Neither Mogherini nor Sannino could be reached for comment.

The prosecutor’s office said its investigation centered on the establishment of the European Union Diplomatic Academy – a nine-month training program for junior diplomats, which was awarded to the College of Europe in 2021-2022 by the EU diplomatic service following a tender procedure.

It said there were “strong suspicions” that confidential information was shared during the process with one of the candidates participating in the tender.

“Prior to the searches, the EPPO requested the lifting of the immunity of several suspects, which was granted,” the statement said. “All persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty by the competent Belgian courts of law.”

A spokesperson for the EU diplomatic service confirmed police visited its offices on Tuesday as part of an investigation into activities that took place before the current foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas took office.

The diplomatic service is “fully cooperating with the authorities,” added the spokesperson, Anitta Hipper. “Since it’s an ongoing investigation, we will not be able to say more.”

The College of Europe said in a statement it would “fully cooperate with the authorities in the interest of transparency and respect for the investigative process.”

“The college remains committed to the highest standards of integrity, fairness, and compliance — both in academic and administrative matters,” it said.

Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd during a Holy Mass at the Waterfront, during his first apostolic journey, in Beirut, Lebanon, Dec. 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Pope Leo bade farewell to Lebanon on Tuesday with a fervent appeal to leaders across the Middle East to listen to their people’s cries for peace and to change course away from the “horror of war.”

The first US pope wrapped up his first overseas trip as Catholic leader by addressing 150,000 people at a Mass on Beirut’s historic waterfront, where he pleaded for Lebanon to address years of conflict, political crises, and economic misery.

Leo said the region as a whole needed new approaches to overcome political, social, and religious divisions.

“The path of mutual hostility and destruction in the horror of war has been traveled too long, with the deplorable results that are before everyone’s eyes,” Leo said. “We need to change course. We need to educate our hearts for peace!”

‘MAY THE ATTACKS CEASE’

Leo has been visiting Lebanon for three days on the second leg of an overseas trip that started in Turkey, in which he has pleaded for peace in the Middle East and warned that humanity’s future was at risk from the world’s proliferating conflicts.

The pope, a relative unknown on the world stage before his election to the papacy in May, has been closely watched as he made his first speeches overseas and interacted for the first time with people outside mainly Catholic Italy.

In Lebanon, he urged the heads of religious sects to unite to heal the country and pressed political leaders to persevere with peace efforts after last year’s devastating war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, and continued Israeli strikes.

He also asked the international community “to spare no effort in promoting processes of dialogue and reconciliation” and asked those with “political and social authority” to “listen to the cry of your peoples who are calling for peace.”

In remarks at Beirut’s airport moments before taking off for Rome, Leo made his first apparent reference to Israeli strikes, saying he had been unable to visit Lebanon’s south because it is “currently experiencing a state of conflict and uncertainty.”

“May the attacks and hostilities cease,” he pleaded. “We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit.”

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun asked Leo to keep Lebanon in his prayers, saying: “We have heard your message. And we will continue to embody it.”

‘PAIN AFTER PAIN’

Crowds had gathered at the waterfront hours before the start of Tuesday’s Mass. They waved Vatican and Lebanese flags as Leo toured in an enclosed popemobile, offering blessings as some in the crowd used umbrellas to guard against a strong Mediterranean sun.

Maroun al-Mallah, a 21-year-old student of landscape engineering, arrived at the site of Leo’s Mass before dawn to volunteer and said the visit could be a reset for Lebanon.

“It was lovely to know there was a sign of hope coming back to Lebanon,” Mallah told Reuters.

“Even in university, we just think what could come next. It’s just pain after pain after pain … especially after the third biggest explosion happened” at the port, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Leo visited a psychiatric hospital run by Franciscan nuns and prayed near rubble at the Beirut port, where a 2020 chemical explosion shredded parts of Beirut.

The blast killed more than 200 people and caused billions of dollars in damage, but an investigation into the cause has been stymied and no one has been held to account.

Leo laid a wreath of flowers at a memorial there and greeted about 60 blast survivors and relatives of the victims from different religions holding photos of their lost loved ones.

He gave each a rosary in a pouch bearing his coat of arms. One woman sobbed as she greeted Leo and asked if she could give him a hug. He nodded, and they embraced.

Cecile Roukoz, who lost her brother in the blast, said Leo “will raise his voice for justice, and we need justice for all the victims.”

Lebanon, which has the largest proportion of Christians in the Middle East, has been rocked by the spillover of the Gaza conflict as Israel and Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah went to war, culminating in a devastating Israeli offensive.

The country, which hosts 1 million Syrian and Palestinian refugees, is also struggling to overcome a severe economic crisis after decades of profligate spending sent the economy into a tailspin in late 2019.

An aerial view of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

When people ask what the hardest thing about working in philanthropy is, they expect to hear about challenges related to raising money or dealing with difficult donors or recipients in various situations.

In actuality, the answer is significantly more painful: The hardest thing in philanthropy is saying “no.”

We know when there is money available and when there isn’t. At the end of the day, someone needs to make decisions.

I recently looked into the origin of the word philanthropy. The word is derived from an ancient Greek word “philos,” which refers to love, and “anthropos,” which refers to people. Basically, philanthropy literally translates to the love of humanity.

Note that there is no mention of money or donations in this definition. This shows something profound: the basic necessity of philanthropy is having a genuine desire to help other people. Money is simply a tool.

Imagine two cases that come up on the same day: One person needs an urgent financial grant for food. The second person requests support for studies that will allow him to earn a decent living and become independent, helping him stand on his own two feet. The budget is only able to help one of them. Which would you choose?

What needs to be considered: Is it better to give someone a fish, or teach them how to fish? I believe that it’s better to invest in someone who will be able to stand on their own two feet tomorrow and potentially even help others in the future. True, we have to say “no” to someone else, but that’s part of the decision.

I’ve been working in fundraising for more than 40 years in the United States, Canada, and Israel. The money we transfer is not ours — it’s the money of other people who have trusted us. We are the faithful messengers, which means we must ask: What will the effects of this money be?

It’s also a matter of professional responsibility. Every dollar is scrutinized — is the organization legitimate? Does it comply with tax laws on both sides? Just a month ago, I had to explain to a donor that donations to military causes do not meet the definition of charity under US tax law. That’s the kind of guidance an intermediary organization should give — even when it means saying “no.”

At our foundation, we work as a bridge between donors in North America and nonprofits in Israel. A donor in Toronto or New York wants to help in Israel, but they need someone on the ground to check and verify their potential projects. True philanthropy begins with loving people, but continues with the understanding that you can’t help everyone. And when the moment comes to say “no” — and it always will — you have to remember that it’s part of the mission. Because if we say “yes” to everyone, it would prevent us from helping anyone.

Chaim Katz is the founder and CEO of the Ne’eman Foundation, which helps Israeli non-profits receive donations from North America.