| Pope condemns religious persecution in Christmas address Posted: 25 Dec 2014 02:44 PM PST  Pope Francis on Thursday roundly condemned jihadist violence and the "brutal persecution" of religious minorities in a Christmas message to the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and millions of others. His second traditional "urbi et orbi" message (to the city and to the world) comes at the close of a year plagued by war and violent religious fundamentalism, notably in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and most recently against schoolchildren in Pakistan. "Truly there are so many tears this Christmas," he said in the message broadcast across the world.
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| Jordan vows 'all efforts' to save pilot seized by IS Posted: 25 Dec 2014 12:02 PM PST  Jordan vowed Thursday to make every effort to save a pilot captured by the Islamic State group in Syria as Washington denied claims the jihadists had shot down his warplane. Maaz al-Kassasbeh, a 26-year-old first lieutenant in the Jordanian air force, was captured by IS on Wednesday after his F-16 jet crashed while on a mission against the jihadists over northern Syria. It was the first warplane lost and the first capture of a serviceman since the coalition launched strikes against IS in Syria in September. The pilot's father, Safi al-Kassasbeh, urged IS to show "mercy" and treat his son a "guest".
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| Pope wishes Christmas hope and peace for Mideast Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:48 AM PST  VATICAN CITY (AP) — A somber Pope Francis steeped his Christmas message to the world Thursday in sadness for those with little cause for joy — abused children, refugees, hostages and others suffering from violence in the Middle East, Africa, Ukraine and elsewhere.
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| So This Is Christmas: How Some of the World's 2 Billion Christians Celebrated in 2014 Posted: 25 Dec 2014 11:21 AM PST The number of Christians in the world has quadrupled in the past 100 years. And while the percentage of Europeans who are Christian has declined slightly, the religion's reach has grown dramatically in South America, Africa, and even Asia. |
| Turkey, Iraq pledge more military cooperation in fight against Islamic State Posted: 25 Dec 2014 10:24 AM PST  By Gulsen Solaker ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and Iraq, both worried by the advance of Islamic State, pledged on Thursday to work towards greater military cooperation in their fight against the ultra radical Sunni militants. Turkey is already training Kurdish peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq to help them battle Islamic State insurgents, who control territory in Iraq and Syria. Some major battles are being fought very close to Turkish borders, and Turkey has become a haven for thousands who fled the militants. ...
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| Iraq, Turkey pledge to join hands to fight IS jihadists Posted: 25 Dec 2014 10:19 AM PST  Iraq and Turkey on Thursday pledged to join forces to fight Islamic State insurgents who are holding swathes of Iraq and Syria. "ISIS threatens not only Iraq's and Turkey's security but the entire region," Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi told a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoglu, using an alternative name for IS jihadists.
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| Iraq seeks Turkish support in fight against IS Posted: 25 Dec 2014 09:40 AM PST  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Iraq and Turkey on Thursday discussed cooperation in countering the threat posed by the Islamic State group, including an Iraqi request for intelligence sharing and the possible delivery of Turkish arms to Iraqi forces, Iraq's prime minister said.
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| Father of pilot captured by IS pleads for release Posted: 25 Dec 2014 09:36 AM PST  AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The father of a Jordanian pilot captured by the Islamic State group in Syria pleaded for his son's release on Thursday, asking him to treat him well in captivity as a fellow Muslim.
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| The Daily Fix: Obama Applauds Sony for Releasing 'The Interview' Online and in Theaters Posted: 25 Dec 2014 09:30 AM PST On Wednesday Sony Entertainment began streaming The Interview, the controversial comedy about an assassination plot against North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Google Play and Youtube. Several hundred theaters across the country have also decided to show the film. Some midnight screenings on Thursday sold out, according to Reuters. |
| Christmas in Bethlehem: For Palestinian Christians, a time of needed hope Posted: 25 Dec 2014 07:00 AM PST Palestinian worshipers were welcomed this Sunday to the Bethlehem Christmas Lutheran Church, nestled just off a narrow cobblestone road, with the words of St. Paul: |
| Syria's war enters new year more fragmented than ever Posted: 25 Dec 2014 06:55 AM PST  By Alexander Dziadosz BEIRUT (Reuters) - Deep into its fourth year of conflict, Syria looks less and less like a state than a patchwork of warring fiefdoms, making outside powers more reluctant to intervene even as it becomes more destabilizing for the region. The United States finally entered Syria's war this year, three years after President Barack Obama said Bashar al-Assad must leave power. But it did so only reluctantly, to staunch advances by Islamic State fighters in neighboring Iraq, and without challenging Assad. ...
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| Father asks Islamic State to treat captured pilot son as 'guest' Posted: 25 Dec 2014 06:07 AM PST  AMMAN (Reuters) - The father of a Jordanian pilot captured by Islamic State fighters after his plane crashed in Syria said he did not consider his son a hostage and called on his captors to treat him as a "guest". Jordan is one of several Arab countries participating in the U.S.-led military mission to bomb fighters from the Islamist group, which holds territory in both Syria and Iraq. First Lieutenant Muath al-Kasaesbeh, 27, was captured after his jet crashed in northeast Syria on Wednesday during a bombing mission against the militants. The U.S. ...
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| 'American Sniper': What the Critics Are Saying Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:30 AM PST Bradley Cooper stars as real-life Navy SEAL and accomplished marksman Chris Kyle in Clint Eastwood's war drama |
| Pope condemns Islamic State, decries suffering of children Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:21 AM PST  By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Thursday condemned the "brutal persecution" of minorities by Islamic State insurgents and said the joy of Christmas was marred by the suffering of children in the Middle East and around the world. Tens of thousands of people flocked to St. Peter's Square to hear the Argentine pope deliver his "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and the world) blessing and message, marking the second Christmas since his election last year. ...
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| Text of pope's Christmas Day message Posted: 25 Dec 2014 05:07 AM PST VATICAN CITY (AP) — Here is the official Vatican English-language translation of Pope Francis' "Urbi et Orbi' Christmas Day message, which he delivered in Italian from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday: |
| Pope likely to address year of conflicts in Christmas message Posted: 25 Dec 2014 02:36 AM PST  Pope Francis will celebrate Christmas on Thursday by sending the world's 1.2 billion Catholics and millions of others his traditional "urbi et orbi" message at the close of a year plagued by war and religious fundamntalism. In his second Christmas blessing, the popular Argentine pontiff is expected to call for remedies to the world's woes, in particular the brutal persecution of religious minorities seen this year. At his Christmas Eve mass, he urged Roman Catholics to have greater empathy towards family and friends, saying the world needs "tenderness" and "warmth". On Thursday, his "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) message, broadcast to millions the world over, is likely to underline the plight of Christians and other religious minorities suffering persecution in the Middle East, notably at the hands of the jihadist Islamic State (IS) group.
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| For Iraqi Christian family, a grim Christmas far from home Posted: 25 Dec 2014 02:08 AM PST  For 40-year-old Ghassan, who shares a small, damp Baghdad classroom with nine relatives, Christmas this year is offering little to celebrate. "There is no Christmas here," he says, his eyes full of tears as he sits at a school desk, embracing his seven-year-old son. Ghassan and his family are Chaldean Christians, but there are no signs of the holiday season in the grim room they share in a school next to Our Lady of Salvation church. Like thousands of other Iraqi Christians, Ghassan, his three brothers and their children have fled the brutal onslaught of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group, which spearheaded a sweeping offensive that has overrun large chunks of the country since June.
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