Pope to world: don't ignore killing of Christians

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday again pressed the international community to do something about the killing of Christians in several parts of the world and not "look the other way."

He has been increasingly vocal about the fate of Christians being targeted by Islamic extremists in parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Addressing pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square, Francis praised those who were "sensitizing public opinion about the persecution of Christians in the world."

While not suggesting any particular course of action, he urged "concrete participation and tangible help in defense and protection of our brothers and our sisters, who are persecuted, exiled, slain, beheaded, solely for being Christian."

The pope was building on his Good Friday denunciation of what he then called "complicit silence" about the targeting of Christians.

"They are our martyrs of today, and they are many. We can say that they are more numerous than in the first centuries," Francis said.

"I hope that the international community doesn't stand mute and inert before such unacceptable crimes, which constitute a worrisome erosion of the most elementary human rights. I truly hope that the international community doesn't look the other way," the pontiff said, speaking from a window of the Apostolic Palace.

The advance of Islamic State group fighters has forced members of ancient Christian communities to flee their homes in Iraq.

Francis has been keen on ensuring these Christians feel the Vatican's concern.

On Easter, a Vatican cardinal, Fernando Filoni, celebrated Mass in a Kurdish area of Iraq, and a day earlier, led prayers in a tent in a refugee camp in Irbil.

Yemen rebels stage raids on suspected opponents amid Saudi-led airstrikes

Passengers board the Yemeni-owned Sea Princess II oil tanker, chartered to carry people fleeing Aden. (Reuters)

By Ali al-Mujahed and Brian Murphy April 5 at 4:52 PM  

SANAA, Yemen — Shiite rebels stormed homes and offices across Yemen’s capital, detaining more than 120 activists and political figures suspected of supporting the Saudi-led coalition in its airstrikes against the insurgents, a rights group said Sunday.

The sweeps came as a senior rebel envoy was quoted as offering peace talks if the Saudi-led air campaign was halted, but opposition to the return of the country’s president could block any move toward dialogue.

The rebels, known as Houthis, have tightened control over the capital, Sanaa, for months. But the latest detentions, which began late Saturday, appear to signal a wider effort to root out suspected opponents as the Saudi-led attacks have targeted insurgent supply lines and ammunition depots but have largely spared populated areas.

The Sanaa Legal Right Center said at least 122 people were held by the rebels, including top members of the Sunni group al-Islah, which is active in Yemen and has ideological ties to Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood.

Ali Alfakih, deputy editor of al-Masdar newspaper in Sanaa, said similar raids were reported in other rebel-held areas, but details could not be confirmed.

Jamal Al-Labani was the first reported U.S. citizen to die in Yemen’s renewed fighting, this past Tuesday. His family is saying more needs to be done to protect U.S. citizens in the country. (Reuters)

An Islah leader, Fat’hi Alazab, was taken into custody at a mosque, said his brother, Rajab Mohammed Alazab.

“He was taken just like that, without even being accused of anything,” he said. “It seems that this has to do with the political statement issued by Islah supporting the coalition war.”

[Saudi Arabia's deep roots in Yemen]

Meanwhile, a senior Houthi figure was quoted by the Reuters news agency as opening the door for talks if the Saudi-led coalition stopped its round-the-clock attacks by warplanes and ships.

It was unclear whether the offer was prompted by losses from the attacks. But the Shiite forces have not significantly fallen back as fighters wage battles over control of Yemen’s second-largest city, Aden, and have fired across the border at Saudi ground troops.

Saudi leaders have said the aim of the military intervention is to drive the rebels back and return the war-exiled president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia late last month.

Saudi Arabia and allies believe the rebels will open a pathway for greater influence by Shiite power Iran. However, the conflict appears mainly a power struggle between forces backed by Saudi Arabia on the one hand, and rebels and other factions opposing the kingdom’s longtime hand in the country on the other.

The Houthis also seemed to stand firm on their rejection of Hadi’s return even as they claimed “no conditions” in the offer of talks, according to the comments to Reuters by rebel official Saleh al-Sammad, a former adviser to Hadi before switching allegiances.

“We have no conditions except a halt to the aggression and sitting on the dialogue table within a specific time period,” Sammad told reporters. “And any international or regional parties that have no aggressive positions towards the Yemeni people can oversee the dialogue.”

But Sammad added that the Yemeni people are opposed to bringing Hadi back to power.

Sammad gave no indication of a possible mediator, but neighboring Oman has stayed out of the conflict as the only Persian Gulf Arab nation not joining the Saudi-led campaign.

[A front row to the chaos in Yemen]

Also Sunday, the evacuation of foreign workers stepped up with hundreds more from Egypt, Pakistan and elsewhere boarding planes or boats, or given clearance to cross the heavily defended Saudi border.

The United Nations estimates more than 500 people have been killed, including civilians, and nearly 1,700 wounded in the nearly two-week conflict. The International Committee of the Red Cross has appealed for a truce amid “dire” shortages of food, medicine and other supplies.

On Sunday, an ICRC spokeswoman in Geneva, Sitara Jabeen, told Reuters that the Red Cross has received permission from the Saudis to send two planes in, one with supplies and one with staff, on Monday.

Κένυα ξεκινά αεροπορικές επιδρομές εναντίον της Αλ-Σαμπάαμπ ως απάντηση στην επίθεση κολέγιο

GARISSA, Kenya –  Kenya's military said Monday that it had launched airstrikes against Islamist positions in Somalia after a terror attack at a university that killed 148 people last week.

Military spokesman Col David Obonyo told the Associated Press that warplanes had attacked positions held by the al-Shabaab terror group in the Gedo region of Somalia beginning Sunday afternoon and continuing into Monday morning. Gedo is directly across Kenya's border in western Somalia.

"This is part of continuing operations, not just in response to Garissa," he said, a reference to the town in northeastern Nigeria where the attack occurred. 

Al-Shabaab had previously claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya and vowed to carry out others in response to Kenya sending troops to Somalia in 2011 to do battle with the terror group after gunmen carried out cross-border raids and kidnappings.

"No amount of precaution or safety measures will be able to guarantee your safety, thwart another attack or prevent another bloodbath," said al-Shabaab.

Four al-Shabaab attackers were killed Thursday to end the siege and their bullet-ridden bodies were later displayed in Garissa.

Meanwhile, more disturbing information was revealed about Thursday's attack, as authorities said Sunday that one of the al-Shabaab gunmen who attacked the campus has been identified as the son of a Kenyan government official.

Abdirahim Mohammed Abdullahi was the son of a government chief in Mandera County, Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka told The Associated Press. The chief had reported his son missing last year and said he feared he had gone to Somalia, said Njoka. Abdullahi and three other attackers were killed by Kenyan security forces on Thursday.

Abdullahi graduated from the University of Nairobi with a law degree in 2013 and was viewed as a "brilliant upcoming lawyer," according to someone who knew him. It is not clear where he worked before he disappeared last year, Njoka said.

To prevent an escalation of Islamic radicalization in Kenya, it is important that parents inform authorities if their children go missing or show tendencies of following violent extremism, said Njoka.

Kenyans make up the largest number of foreign fighters in al-Shabaab, according to experts. Hundreds of Kenyan youths have trained with al-Shabaab and then returned to Kenya, posing a major security threat, according to former police chief Mathew Iteere.

Kenya's government has said another source of instability is the country's refugee camps. The Dadaab Camp-- which houses nearly 500,000 refugees-- is the center for the "the training, the coordination, the assembling of terror networks," claimed Aden Duale, a parliament majority leader.

Questions have been raised about the security response to the Garissa attack. Police waited seven hours before sending a special tactical unit into the college to fight the gunmen, Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper reported Sunday.

When the specially trained police finally went in, it took them only 30 minutes to kill the four attackers and stop the siege, the paper said.

Army barracks are just 540 yards from the college, and military officers said they could handle the attack, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. Only after three soldiers were killed did the army call in the police tactical unit, he said.

Relatives of some of the Garissa attack victims gathered at a funeral home in Nairobi Monday to view their loved ones and pray. A funeral home employee read out some of the victims’ names before their relatives went inside to mourn in private. Many emerged in tears.

Atacama 'Tsunami': Freak rainfall floods devastate driest desert

Δημοσιεύτηκε στις 6 Απρ 2015

COURTESY: José Daniel Buegueño Bugueño / ViralHog
Thunderstorms and flash floods moved into the usually bone-dry Atacama desert, causing the Copiapo River to overflow its banks.
At least 7 people died in this deluge. Fears of mudslides prompted authorities to evacuate thousands from their homes, many of which are mining communities situated in narrow valleys that cross the desert.

Περίληψη των γεγονότων στη Συρία για την 5η Απριλίου 2015

Сводка событий в Сирии за 5 апреля 2015 года

 05/04/2015 - 22:57 Новость

(21+) σε παλαιστινιακό προσφυγικό καταυλισμό του Γιαρμούκ την πέμπτη ημέρα των ένοπλων συγκρούσεων με παλαιστινιακές ένοπλες ομάδες IG ομάδες με την ενεργό συμμετοχή του πυροβολικού, πυραύλων και της αεροπορίας υπολογισμούς της Συρίας ισλαμιστές σήμερα ωθήθηκαν προς τον αριθμό των θέσεων που καταλάμβαναν. ATS Πολεμική Αεροπορία επιτέθηκε στους οδών εφοδιασμού ισλαμιστών από τη γειτονική περιοχή του Hajar al-Aswad και τις θέσεις τους και τα ισχυρά σημεία μέσα σε αυτό.

Εκτός Tadamuna με τη βοήθεια της Εθνικής Άμυνας της Yarmuk εκκενώθηκε περίπου 2 χιλιάδες. Αμάχων. Όλες οι πρόσφυγες στη συνέχεια αποστέλλονται σε ειδικά κέντρα περίθαλψης που δημιουργήθηκε στην Ζαχίρ.

Εν τω μεταξύ, στο στρατόπεδο συνέχισαν τις σφαγές των αμάχων και των μελών της οργάνωσης Αλ-Μπέιτ Aknaf Makdes. Σήμερα αγωνιστές απήχθησαν και μεταφέρθηκαν στο γιατρό Hajar al-Aswad και δύο νοσοκόμες. Εκθετική ποινή που υπέστη, σύμφωνα με τους τρομοκράτες, 21 άτομα, συμπεριλαμβανομένων των γνωστών θρησκευτική φιγούρα στο Yarmouk, ένα τζαμί, ο Σεΐχης Al Safadi, ο οποίος συμμετείχε ενεργά στη διαδικασία επίτευξης εκεχειρίας και την παύση της βίας, καθώς και στην παροχή ανθρωπιστικής βοήθειας του τοπικού πληθυσμού, Abu Salah Taha . Sheikh, καθώς και άλλες, που κατηγορήθηκαν ότι έχουν σχέσεις με τις συριακές αρχές, έκοψαν το κεφάλι του (βλέπε φωτογραφία 4) Σύμφωνα με τοπικές πηγές, μία μόλις ημέρα ισλαμιστές σκότωσαν τουλάχιστον 70 ανθρώπους, οι περισσότεροι από αυτούς -. Πολίτες.

Την ίδια στιγμή περισσότερα από 100 μέλη των ομάδων Aknaf Beit Makdes παραδόθηκε σήμερα στις ένοπλες δυνάμεις και τις μονάδες του στρατού, προσφέροντας τον εαυτό του ως ένα Παλαιστίνιοι μαχητές στρατεύματα, που αρχικά ήταν για το συντονισμό και τη συνεργασία με τις αρχές της ΕΔΠ, που αντιμετωπίζουν σήμερα ριζοσπάστες ισλαμιστές IG στο Yarmouk.

Συγκρούσεις στην Ανατολική Guta πραγματοποιήθηκε μόνο σε Dzhobre.

Savage φύση είχε αγώνες που έλαβαν χώρα μετά το bandgruppirovok επίθεση από γειτονιές kiswa τη θέση του στρατού. Για να αποκρούσει τις επιθέσεις συμμετείχαν αεροπορικές δυνάμεις και το πυροβολικό, η οποία επιτέθηκε επίσης τις θέσεις των τρομοκρατών στην περιοχή του χωριού και Teyba Derhabiya στο Dareye - Δυτική Guta - και σε περιοχές Arbigny, Ain Τέρμα, Zamalka, Marj Al-Sultan - Huta Ανατολή.

Σήμερα στην Ανατολική Guta εκκενώθηκε άλλη ομάδα των κατοίκων της περιοχής, η οποία αριθμεί δεκάδες άνθρωποι. (Βλέπε φωτογραφία 1,2,3)

Τεράστια πυρκαγιά συνέχισε να κλειδωθεί σε Zabadani μαχητικές ομάδες.

Στο Χαλέπι καταπολέμηση του συγκεντρώνεται στην περιοχή της κεφαλής, καθώς και η γραμμή επαφής των δυνάμεων μέσα στην πόλη.

Σε κατοικημένες περιοχές που ελέγχονται από το στρατό, και πάλι εξερράγη πυραύλων και όλμων που τροφοδοτούνται από μαχητές. Θραύσματα τους προκάλεσαν τραύματα τουλάχιστον 10 άτομα.

Στην πόλη Χομς Χριστιανός - Ορθόδοξοι και Καθολικοί - έχουν συνεργαστεί για να γιορτάσουν το Πάσχα. Θεία υπηρεσία κρατήθηκε στην εκκλησία της Παναγίας Ζώνη.

Εν τω μεταξύ, στα ανατολικά της περιοχής να συνεχίσει να αγωνίζεται μονάδες του στρατού και ομάδες IG και βίαιες συγκρούσεις ανάμεσα σε ένοπλες ομάδες και η IG Dzhebhat An-Nusra. Σε μέρη όπως εκείνοι, και άλλες μάχες εργάστηκε δραστήρια αεροπορίας αεροσκαφών.

Μαζικές απεργίες αέρα ήταν επίσης στο ανατολικό και βόρειο-δυτικό τμήμα της επαρχίας Χάμα, ομάδες εργασίας IG και άλλες ένοπλες ομάδες.

Στην επαρχία Idlib μονάδες του στρατού κατάφερε να αποκρούσει την τρομοκρατική επίθεση στο χωριό Αλ-βάσης και Mastuma. Μετά υπέστησαν σοβαρές απώλειες, (σύμφωνα με ορισμένες πηγές, μόνο για σήμερα σε αυτό το τμήμα της επαρχίας σκοτώθηκαν περίπου 100 μαχητές καταστράφηκε αρκετές μονάδες που ανήκουν bandgruppirovkam τεθωρακισμένα οχήματα και τα οχήματα με βαριά πολυβόλα), οι διοικητές των ενόπλων ομάδων των τρομοκρατών διέταξε να υποχωρήσουν.

Στη γραμμή επαφής των δυνάμεων που είναι πολύ απομακρυσμένα από την επίθεση πριν από δύο ημέρες, στρατιωτικές εγκαταστάσεις, εξακολουθούν να υπάρχουν περιοδικές αψιμαχίες με τη χρήση των πολυβόλα μεγάλου διαμετρήματος.

Σημαντικό ρόλο στην απόκρουση της επίθεσης έπαιξε πυροβολικού, πυραύλων στρατεύματα και επιθετικά ελικόπτερα και τα αεροπλάνα των ενόπλων δυνάμεων, η οποία υποβλήθηκε σε ένα μπαράζ θέση βολής των αντιπάλων για την καταπολέμηση του εδάφους, καθώς και σε διάφορες άλλες περιοχές της επαρχίας, συμπεριλαμβανομένης της πόλης του Idlib. Έχει αναφερθεί ότι η θέση των μαχητών στην Idlib μόνο για σήμερα χτύπησε τουλάχιστον 32 βόμβες.

Ενεργά τον καθαρισμό του περιβάλλοντος χώρου Γισρ Αλ-Shugur ότι μαχητές λίγο νωρίτερα ανακοίνωσε ένας από τους στόχους της.

Δεκάδες IG τρομοκράτες σκοτώθηκαν και τραυματίστηκαν κατά τη διάρκεια της επιδρομής της Συρίας αεροσκαφών μέχρι τη θέση τους στο βόρειο τμήμα της επαρχίας της Raqqa, ιδίως στους τομείς του Τελ Abyad και Tabka. Σύμφωνα με δημοσιεύματα, μεταξύ των σκοτωμένων ήταν πολέμαρχοι ισλαμικές ομάδες - τους αλλοδαπούς.

Allied αεροσκάφος για άλλη μια φορά γαργαλιούνται ισλαμιστές, αυτή τη φορά - στην πόλη Αλ-Gol στα ανατολικά της επαρχίας Αλ-Hasaka. Τοπική ακτιβιστές ανέφεραν ότι στην άκρη του ως αποτέλεσμα των επιδρομών τους καταστράφηκε από τις μπουλντόζες με την οποία μαχητές έσκαψαν χαρακώματα και σκοτώθηκαν 2 μέλη της ομάδας IG.

Εν τω μεταξύ, στο χωριό του Τελ-Nusra, η οποία ήταν και πάλι υπό τον έλεγχο των ισλαμιστών, μετά την υποχώρηση του κουρδικού Peshmerga, ο ναός κάηκε Σαγίντ Αλ Αζρά.

Στην επαρχία Νταράα αισθητά υποχωρήσει συγκρούσεις σε περιοχές Gedeh και Κέρφι, και, αντίθετα, η κατάσταση επιδεινώθηκε στο Al-καναλιών στην πόλη Νταράα, όπου bandgruppirovki πήγε για την επίθεση στις θέσεις του στρατού.

Δεύτερη θέση, μαζί με την επαρχία Idlib, όπου εξαιρετικά μαζικές δυνάμεις που χρησιμοποιούνται στρατιωτικά αεροσκάφη, έγινε σήμερα η νότια περιοχή της χώρας. Όλα κατέλαβε περιοχές bandgruppirovkami επλήγησαν από τους υπολογισμούς αεροπορικές επιθέσεις και πυροβολικό και πυραυλικές δυνάμεις. Είναι γνωστό ότι σε μία από τις απεργίες αέρα Nava κατέστρεψε ένα μυστικό αρχηγείο εντολή τρομοκράτες Dzhebhat An-Nusra.Υπάρχουν ενδείξεις ότι είχε εξαλειφθεί σε αρκετούς σημαντικούς διοικητές της τρομοκρατικής οργάνωσης, κυρίως - οι αλλοδαποί υπήκοοι. Η σκηνή έγινε αμέσως απέκλεισε από μαχητές, οι οποίοι δεν θέλησε να δώσει δημοσιότητα στο ποσό των ζημιών τους.

ULTIMATE TIMELAPSE VIDEO!EPIC MOMENTS

Δημοσιεύτηκε στις 23 Μαρ 2015

Best at full screen! Filled with storms, stars and rain. Music by Jonsi and Tchaikovsky

Video shows ISIL razing historic site in Iraq’s Hatra

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Sat Apr 4, 2015 1:31PM

Video shows ISIL razing historic site in Iraq’s Hatra

In this image made from an ISIL video posted online on Friday, April 3, 2015, a piece falls off from a curved face on the wall of an ancient building as a militant hammers it in Hatra, 110 kilometers (68 miles) southwest of Mosul, Iraq. (© AP)

The ISIL has posted a video online purportedly showing the terrorists destroying a major world heritage site in Iraq's ancient city of Hatra. 

The footage posted online late Friday shows the ISIL members smashing the walls and shooting with assault rifles at invaluable statues at an archaeological site in the city of Hatra in Iraq’s Nineveh Province.

The video, published on a website frequently used by ISIL, shows Takfiri terrorists using sledgehammers and pickaxes to reduce ancient statutes to crumbles. Other militants use Kalashnikov rifles to shoot at the priceless objects at the archaeological site, which is recognized as a World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The site was attacked last month by ISIL militants, according to residents and local officials. No clear estimate has been made on the extent of damage on the historic place as the city is located in the territory which is under the control of ISIL.

Parts of the video are dedicated to statements in Arabic by ISIL members who apparently say they destroyed the site because people worshiped it instead of God. The terrorist group has always tried to use religion as a cover for its murderous, inhuman activities in Iraq and Syria, where it has killed thousands of civilians and security forces over the past four years.

ISIL has already destroyed other notable sites in the territory north of Iraq. Back in March, the terrorists bulldozed the 3,000-year-old city of Nimrud, one of the world's most important historical sites. The destruction triggered worldwide condemnation, with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon calling it a “war crime.”

Another video in late February showed ISIL terrorists destroying the ancient artifacts at a major museum in the northern city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh and one of the group’s major strongholds in Iraq. The terrorists also burned hundreds of priceless books and manuscripts in Mosul Library and Mosul University in January.

Mosul and the surrounding areas were once occupied by the ancient Mesopotamians, who established a great civilization in the lands between Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The artifacts in the Nineveh museum, which were mostly from the archaeological site in Hatra, were supposed to have great cultural and historic significance.

The Takfiri terrorists have already razed to the ground a number of mosques in Syria and Iraq, many of them belonging to the early years of the Islamic civilization. They have also destroyed tombs belonging to revered Shia and Sunni figures.

Survivors Describe Devastating Kenyan University Attack

Gabe Joselow

April 03, 2015 1:05 PM

GARISSA, KENYA—

A day after the horror, this hospital some 200 kilometers from the Somali border has become the central meeting point for survivors of a daylong siege by al-Shabab militants at Garissa University College that left 147 people dead.

Sitting on a shady bench and a wearing a hospital gown, second-year student Quintin Anyango says she awoke early to study in a lecture hall.

Crossing the campus, she encountered several gunmen, and her day took a horrifying turn.

“Oh, I had no hope, I knew that was the end of life since I had no options," she said. "I had nowhere to go.”

Hiding in a classroom with another student, Anyango tried to remain still. They could do nothing but listen to the attack unfold in a nearby room.

“Just gunshots, gunshots — nothing else.”

The assault began when assailants stormed the university gate at dawn, killing two guards and proceeding to the residence halls. After battling Kenyan Defense Forces for nearly 16 hours, all the gunmen were dead, adding to a death toll that is now more than twice the number slaughtered in the 2013 siege on Nairobi's Westgate Mall, which was also blamed on the al-Qaida linked militants.

On Friday, the same security forces that battled the militants maintained a heavy presence in Garissa, a dusty frontier town whose residents have long called for better security after a spate of small-scale gun and grenade attacks in recent years.

Harrison Ombore, a teacher at a Garissa school, says security forces here even ignored recent government warnings of an impending attack.

“Yes, there was a warning that terror would take place after some three days, and it’s like the security agencies did not take it seriously," he said. "Until what happened yesterday, they’re reacting after things have gone wrong."

Some survivors say the gunmen tried to single out Christian students while sparing Muslims, but others say the assailants were anything but precise in their killing.

One survivor, an employee at the university who asked not to be named, said he was performing his ablutions — ritual washing — outside the mosque ahead of morning prayers when the gunmen entered the campus.

“I hear them saying everyone should lie down, lie down, lie down," he said, adding that they began firing indiscriminately anyway, and that he knew Muslims who are among the dead.

The employee also says he thanks the Kenyan military for eventually rescuing him and the other survivors, even though he still suffers the pain of loss.

“Personally, I know all those students," he said. "As we are speaking I feel like crying, but I ask my brothers who lost their lives [for strength], God bless your soul."

Meanwhile, al-Shabab has vowed to continue attacking Kenya for the presence of its troops in Somalia. The Islamist militant group named no targets, but it is likely that towns like Garissa are in their crosshairs.