சீனாவில் ரகசியமாக விமான நிலையம் கட்டிய தொழில் அதிபர்

Source: Tamil CNN.
சீனாவில் ராணுவத்திடம் அனுமதி பெற்று தனியார் விமான நிலையங்கள் அமைத்துள்ளனர். ஆனால் அரசுக்கு தெரியாமல் ரகசியமாக ஒரு தொழில் அதிபர் விமான நிலையம் கட்டியிருந்தார்.
அதில் இருந்து தனது நிறுவன விமானங்கள் மற்றும் ஹெலிகாப்டர்களை இயக்கி வந்தார். அவரது பெயர் லீ.
இந்த நிலையில் அவரது நிறுவனத்துக்கு சொந்தமான ஹெலிகாப்டர் ஆன் ஹுயி கிழக்கு பகுதியில் தரையில் விழுந்து நொறுங்கி விபத்துக்குள்ளானது.
அதில் 25 வயது வாலிபர் ஒருவர் பலியானார். அதற்கு நஷ்ட ஈடாக இறந்தவரின் குடும்பத்துக்கு ரூ.1 கோடி வழங்கப்பட்டது. இதனால் அவர் ரகசியமாக விமான நிலையம் கட்டியிருந்தது வெளியே தெரிய வந்தது.
அதை தொடர்ந்து சீன ராணுவம் அந்த விமான நிலையத்தை பறிமுதல் செய்தது. அது 24 ஆயிரம் சதுர அடி பரப்பளவில் பரந்து விரிந்துள்ளது. அதில் 3 ஹெலிகாப்டர் தளங்கள் உள்ளன. 400 மீட்டர் அளவு ஒடு தளங்கள் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன. நீச்சல் குளமும் உள்ளது.
அரசின் அனுமதி பெறாமல் விமான நிலையம் கட்டியதை தொடர்ந்து தொழில் அதிபர் லீ மீது நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது.

அனைத்து சொத்துகளையும் தானம் செய்ய முடிவு செய்துள்ள அப்பிள் இயக்குனர் டிம் குக்

Source; Tamil CNN.
உலகின் முன்னணி தொழிநுட்ப நிறுவனமான ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தின் இயக்குனர் டிம் குக் தனது அனைத்து சொத்துகளையும் தானம் செய்ய முடிவு செய்துள்ளார்.
தகவல் தொழில்நுட்ப துறையில் இருக்கும் முக்கிய ஜாம்பவான்கள் பலர் ஏற்கனவே தங்களிடம் இருக்கும் அபரிமிதமான சொத்துகளை பொது சேவைக்கு கொடுத்து வருகிறார்கள். முக்கியமாக மைக்ரோசாப்ட் நிறுவனத்தின் உரிமையாளர் பில் கேட்ஸ், பேஸ்புக் நிறுவனர் மார்க், ஆரக்கிள் கார் நிறுவனத்தின் லாரி எல்லிசன், பங்கு சந்தை கில்லாடி வாரன் பப்பட் போன்றவர்கள் ஏற்கனவே மருத்துவம், சுற்றுசூழல் பிரச்சனைகளுக்காக பெரிய அளவில் தங்கள் செல்வத்தை கொடுத்து வருகிறார்கள்.
ஆப்பிள் நிறுவனத்தின் இயக்குனராக இருக்கும் டிம் குக்கிற்கு மொத்தமாக 785 மில்லியன் டாலர் மதிப்புள்ள சொத்துக்கள் உள்ளன. தற்போது டிம் குக் 10-வயதான உறவுக்கார சிறுவனின் கல்வி செலவுகளை கவனித்து வருகிறார். அந்த பையனின் கல்லூரி படிப்புக்கு பின், அனைத்து சொத்துகளையும் பொது நலனுக்கு கொடுக்க இருப்பதாக இதழ் ஒன்றுக்கு அளித்துள்ள நேர்காணலில் குக் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
சில மாதங்களுக்கு முன்பு தான் டிம் குக் தன்னை ஓரின சேர்க்கையாளர் என அறிவித்ததுடன், மாற்று பாலினத்தவர்கள் மீது நடத்தப்படும் குற்றங்களுக்கு எதிராகவும் தொடர்ந்து பேசி வருவது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

'Paper marriages' and the peddling of false hopes in Nepal

Young, poor women marry Chinese, Korean men only to discover life is not what was promised.

In this photo taken on a phone camera and given to ucanews.com by a woman who agreed to marry a Chinese man through a Kathmandu marriage agency, young Nepali women meet their new Chinese and South Korean husbands

Kathmandu:  When Sunita Kulung Rai agreed to move to China and marry a man she barely knew, it was with dreams of making a better life for her family.

She had visions of a sprawling, modern city with massive towers, wide roads and super-sized malls — pretty much the opposite of her poor, remote village in Nepal. But when the 28-year-old arrived last year, she found an even tougher life than the one she had given up.

The impressive buildings she had seen in photos were replaced by open fields; the paved streets were freezing country lanes covered in snow and garbage. Even her husband, the man she had married just a few days after meeting him in Nepal, was not a promising civil servant on the way up, but a landless farmer with no steady income.

Now, more than a year later, Rai believes she has been duped, but does not know what to do. She spoke with ucanews.com recently by phone, waiting until nighttime for everyone in her family to fall asleep.

“I was told that my Chinese husband … would love me and take care of me,” said Rai, which is not her real name.

Instead, she says, she now lives in isolation and seclusion. She claims she’s rarely allowed to leave the house, that her parents-in-law beat her and abuse her, and that her new husband forces her to have sex against her will.

“I was told by the agents in Nepal that within one or two months of coming here, I would be allowed to work and earn money on my own,” she said. “But instead, I was duped into a fake marriage that has ended up making me a captive in a foreign land.”

Human rights groups say Rai is one of an increasing number of Nepali women who are lured into so-called “paper marriages”, mainly in China and South Korea. Enticed by promises of a comfortable home and job opportunities, they agree to marry virtual strangers, only to find their new lives are nothing like they were promised.

Earlier this month, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Nepal Police raided an office in the capital, Kathmandu, arresting two Nepalese and a Korean national. The business was called the Chheru International Marriage Bureau; for a price, it arranged “paper marriages” between young Nepali women and older Chinese and South Korean men.

For Kiran Bajracharya, deputy superintendent with the police and head of the CIB, complaints of young women being trafficked to Chinese cities to work in the entertainment sector were not uncommon. What was new in this case, at least to police, was an apparent victim who said she had married into an abusive relationship.

“The seriousness of trafficking in the form of marriages came to light after a young girl fled her Chinese husband’s home in Harbin and returned to Nepal early this month, sharing her story with police,” he said.

During the marriage bureau raid, police found five Nepali girls aged between 17 and 22, who were already married to Chinese and Korean men almost twice their ages. They were preparing to fly to destinations in China and South Korea when they were found. Bajracharya estimated another 20 girls and women were in the process of being married off at the same bureau.

Bajracharya said police found that agents recruit prospective wives — preferably those with “Mongolian features” — from poor economic backgrounds in remote areas and bring them to Kathmandu, where they are married off to primarily Chinese and Korean men. The women’s photos are snapped and sent to foreign men to choose their brides.

The agency can charge its foreign customers as much as US$25,000 for its services, Bajracharya said.

“Most of the girls don’t even know the name of their husband and what they do. They are brainwashed,” he said.

Bajracharya said the three people arrested this month will face human trafficking-related charges in court. The police now believe there are at least 84 similar agencies around the country, mostly concentrated in Kathmandu.

High costs, high risks

“Paper marriages” are a financial transaction for both parties.

Rai, speaking on the phone from China, said she agreed to marry someone she barely knew because she was convinced by the promises of potential wealth in China — she claimed an agent told her she could find jobs paying US$15,000 a month. She believed that marrying a foreigner was the only option she had to try for a better life abroad.

“I wanted to get my family out of poverty,” she said.

It has also cost her new husband. Rai says her husband paid about US$16,000 to arrange the marriage at his end. She says struggling single men from often rural, lower-middle classes are convinced to opt for “paper marriages”, fearing that they won’t find a Chinese woman to marry, to provide a child, or to look after aging parents.

“The agents lure their clients in China to marry poor Nepali brides by telling them that the marriage would require a minimum investment compared to what they would spend marrying a Chinese bride,” Rai said.

Like Rai, 19-year-old Sima Sharma also agreed to a “paper marriage” in the hopes of improving her livelihood. In an interview with ucanews.com, she said she was always aware of the transactional nature of the arrangement.

“They even told me that the marriage was just a sham and a way to facilitate my entry to a foreign land,” she said. “Within a couple months, [they said] I would be working in an office and within a few more months, I would be allowed to take my whole family to China.”

When she reached China earlier this year, however, she realized she had been lied to. Her husband, she said, forced himself on her and told her he could do anything he wanted to because he had paid “a hefty amount” to bring her there.

“He's wanted me to bear children since day one,” she said.

After two weeks, Sharma escaped the house through a window and asked Chinese police for help.

She says she was soon returned to Nepal, setting into motion the events that led to the police raid this month on the marriage agency in Kathmandu.


Poverty drives trend

Transnational marriages are quickly becoming a serious human trafficking problem, according to Nilambar Badal, programme director at the Kathmandu-based Asian Human Rights and Culture Development Forum (AHRCDF), a non-governmental organization working on migration issues.

He said the first complaint about “paper marriages” he heard of was a 2005 case where a Nepali woman married a South Korean man, though he believes the practice was going on well before that time.

“China is now emerging as the newest destinations besides South Korea and the trend is growing,” he said.

Poverty, Badal says, is driving often poor, uneducated Nepali women into “the trap” of a brokered marriage.

“Generally the prospective girls are told by the agents that once they enter the foreign country, they will be free and can work to earn money,” he said.

Rights groups in countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia have warned of similar problems in recent years. As authorities there attempt to crack down on the practice, the industry has shifted to a country like Nepal, where he says publicity about the issue has been very recent.

At this stage, pinpointing accurate data on an emerging issue is difficult. Nepal's embassy in Seoul says it has recorded at least 1,000 female migrant workers who entered Korea through marriage bureaus from roughly 2005 to 2013. Badal estimates three to five Nepali brides are sent to South Korea each month.

Whatever the numbers, he says Nepal must take immediate steps to address a burgeoning problem.

“We cannot completely stop the marriage between a foreigner and Nepali girl, but we can bring measures that discourage young girls from falling into traps through fake promises,” he said.

At minimum, there must be more basic checks and balances that make it difficult for transactional marriages to take place. Mandatory counseling, separate from those provided by the marriage bureaus, could be instituted so that Nepali women are fully aware of what they are signing up for.

However, the basic problem remains that Nepali women are driven to “paper marriages” because of a lack of opportunities at home.

“There is desperation among Nepali women to go abroad to earn money to support themselves and their families,” said Sapana Pradhan Malla, a lawyer and women’s rights activist with the Kathmandu-based Forum for Women, Law and Development.

“Both men and women don’t have alternative employment opportunities inside the country to support the poverty-ridden families so they are forced to take up any option that facilitates there entry into foreign country.”

Ram Prasad Bhattarai, under-secretary at Nepal’s Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, acknowledges that the country has failed to provide enough job opportunities to women, which has forced many women and girls to opt for more risky migration alternatives.

Bhattarai said the government is taking the issue of “paper marriages” seriously.

“The latest reports have drawn the attention of high-level government officials, including the prime minister, who has demanded strict actions,” Bhattarai said.

Authorities, he said, are looking into developing “proper legal frameworks” that clearly define rules around transnational marriages, instituting “strict restrictions” and monitoring of marriage bureaus and working toward “bridging the growing inequality between men and women in the country”.

“The trafficking of young girls and women in the name of marriage is a serious issue for any country and needs a holistic approach involving all the concerned ministries and partners to discourage this trend,” Bhattarai said.

False promises

For now, Nepali brides who enter into “paper marriages” based on false promises say authorities in both Nepal and in destination countries can take immediate action by at least putting an end to existing marriage networks.

Rina Tamang, 17, was one of the girls found during the police raid on the Chheru marriage bureau in Kathmandu this month. She’s now receiving counseling at a shelter in Kathmandu.

Tamang, also not her real name, said she met a Korean man — whose name she cannot pronounce properly — and married him within a day. He returned to Korea and she was meant to join him after taking language classes in Kathmandu.

“Now that I know the truth behind this marriage and life afterwards, I no longer intend to go there,” she told ucanews.com in an interview. “I have filed a case against the bureau, and would like to work to prevent other girls like me from falling into this trap.”

But for Rai, the 28-year-old who moved to China last year, it may be too late, at least for the moment.

Three months ago, she gave birth to a baby. Her husband told her that if she wants to return to Nepal, she first has to pay the US$16,000 he claims he paid an agent to marry her in the first place. And he’s also demanding that she leave her baby behind.

Source: UCAN

Bangladesh wins international award for women's empowerment

The awards are based on the rankings of the World Economic Forum's “Global Gender Gap Report”.

Dhaka:  Bangladesh has won an international award for women's empowerment and reducing gender gaps, securing a place among the top 10 countries that reduced gender gaps in politics significantly, media reported on Tuesday.

The Women in Parliaments (WIP) Global Forum presented this award to Bangladesh in its annual summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, bdnews24.com reported.

Bangladesh's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Shahriar Alam received the award on behalf of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The foreign ministry said that Bangladesh won the award in the “South and Southeast Asia” category.

The WIP is the global network of female parliamentarians at the national level, including those from the European parliament, of whom there currently are around 9,000.

The awards are based on the rankings of the World Economic Forum's “Global Gender Gap Report”.

The index featured in the report assesses 135 countries, representing more than 93 percent of the world's population, on how well resources and opportunities are divided among male and female populations.

The Bangladesh government dedicated the award to more than 200,000 women who were the victims of violence during the 1971 war of independence. The award comes only a few days before Bangladesh's 45th Independence Day on March 26.

Bangladesh is perhaps the only country where the prime minister, parliament speaker, leader of the opposition, deputy leader of the house, and a major opposition leader are all women.

Alam said that women's active participation in politics, defence, administration and business in Bangladesh had made the country “a pioneer in the cause of women's rights”.

He also reaffirmed Bangladesh's “unequivocal commitment to establishing gender equality and uproot violence against women from the society”.

IANS

Indonesia urged to curb free speech, assembly to fight Islamic State

Counter-terror agency fears spread of jihadist ideology.

Demonstrators stage a theatrical protest denouncing Islamic State and its radical ideology in Solo, Central Java, on Monday.

Indonesia:  Indonesia’s counterterrorism agency has urged the government to revise laws governing freedom of assembly and speech in a bid to tackle supporters of the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

Inspector Geneneral Arief Dharmawan, deputy for law enforcement and skills building at the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), said the government must revise the controversial 2013 Law on Mass Organization to prevent IS ideology spreading.

“We have stated that the mass organizations law must be revised and expanded because it only regulates the registered mass organizations,” Arief said on Thursday.

“What about those unregistered groups, how do we regulate how they should be disbanded? We need a clear legal basis,” he added.

Arief also said the government must consider a revision to the 1998 Law on Free Speech.

“Can you imagine if pro-IS people made a speech at a public event like the Car Free Day and then declared that the government were infidels and killing them should be justified?” Arief said.

The comments are likely to alarm rights groups who fear the recent rush of calls for a more aggressive stance against domestic supporters of IS could led to abuse of powers by security forces.

The Mass Organization Bill came under heavy criticism from the public, NGOs and unions when it was passed in 2013, with many arguing some of its provisions were repressive.

But the BNPT, which has recently expressed frustration about its powers under existing anti-terror laws, says the bill does not go far enough.

The law only stipulates administrative sanctions for the violators and does not provide monitoring mechanisms for the mass organizations, Arief said.

“This loophole has caused unregistered mass organizations to appear and they openly support IS,” he said.

Arief said the Western Indonesian Mujahiddin (MIB), Eastern Indonesian Mujahiddin (MIT) and Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid have openly declared their support for IS.

The BNPT last week called on President Joko Widodo to issue a regulation in lieu of law, or perppu, prohibiting Indonesians from traveling to “conflict-prone” countries.

The organization has decried its inability to detain and charge Indonesians suspected of traveling to the Middle East to join the jihadist movement.

Source: The Jakarta Globe

Salvadorans march in memory of Oscar Romero, the 'people's saint'

The prelate, gunned down 35 years ago, will be beatified in May.

Catholic faithful march holding images of the late Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero in San Salvador on March 24, 2015, during the commemoration of 35th anniversary of his murder.

International:  Thousands of Salvadorans marched this week in memory of slain archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated 35 years ago during the country's civil war and will be beatified in May.

An outspoken critic of social injustice, Romero was shot through the heart by a sniper while celebrating mass, a day after exhorting El Salvador's soldiers to stop killing civilians.

The ensuing movement to make him a saint long divided both El Salvador and the Catholic Church.

It finally moved forward last month when Pope Francis, who has also sought to champion the poor, named him a martyr for the Church, clearing the way for his beatification on May 23 — the step before sainthood.

Singing "He is the people's saint," some 3,000 people marched through the streets of the capital San Salvador, paying tribute to Romero's advocacy for the poor.

"Even before they killed him our Monsignor Romero was a saint. He was on our side, the poor people's side. He suffered our pain," said Domitila Pena, a white-haired 79-year-old who marched with a cane in one hand, a palm frond bearing a cutout of Romero in the other.


'Long live Saint Romero!'

It was a very different scene from Romero's funeral in 1980, when soldiers opened fire as more than 100,000 mourners gathered at San Salvador cathedral, killing dozens.

Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran clerics held a mass in Romero's memory at the same cathedral, where a capacity crowd chanted "long live our martyr, long live Saint Romero!"

The congregation included Salvadoran President Sanchez Ceren, whose Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) was founded as a leftist guerrilla army in the wake of Romero's death and is now the governing party.

Romero's murder, which occurred at the outset of the Salvadoran conflict, propelled the country deeper into a brutal war that raged until 1992, when the right-wing government signed a peace deal with the FMLN.

No one has ever been convicted of the killing, but a UN-sponsored truth commission concluded it was carried out by a right-wing death squad under the orders of Roberto D'Aubuisson, a former army officer who died the year the war ended.

Romero was gunned down while performing evening mass in the chapel of San Salvador's Divine Providence hospital.

The day before, he had delivered a homily aimed at ordinary soldiers, urging them to halt the growing wave of atrocities committed by the army as it sought to stamp out the burgeoning leftist rebellion gripping the country.

"I beg you, I plead with you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression," he had said.

His murder had widespread impact across Latin America, a predominantly Catholic region where several far-right regimes were then fighting wars against Marxist guerrillas.


'Model' for Francis papacy

The movement to make him a saint pulled at El Salvador's fault lines, even after peace was restored, and outraged conservative Catholics who smelt a whiff of communism in his teachings.

Romero has been held up by some as a proponent of "liberation theology", a political movement rooted in Latin America that advocates working with the poor to bring about social change — though he did not actually adhere to the theology.

Panamanian Cardinal Jose Luis Lacunza, who presided over the anniversary mass, said the Vatican "has spoken loud and clear" by declaring Romero a martyr.

"This decision by the Holy See must end, once and for all, the attempts to politically and ideologically manipulate Monsignor Romero's figure and words," he said.

"I look at Monsignor Romero and I think, 'There's the paradigm in flesh and blood, the model of the pastor and the Church that Pope Francis is looking for."

Source: AFP/UCAN

Citing Mumbai attack, report says FBI needs to improve

The Headley case raises the important question faced by all intelligence agencies.

Washington:  Citing the November 2008 Mumbai terror attack and four other cases, a report has concluded FBI has made strides in the past decade but needs faster reforms to transform itself into a threat-based, intelligence-driven organization. One of the key plotters of 26/11, the terror assault on Mumbai, Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, the report noted "had previously come to the attention of US law enforcement authorities but FBI officials repeatedly concluded that Headley did not pose a threat at the time."

"The increasingly complex and dangerous threat environment it faces will require no less," said the report by the FBI 9/11 Review Commission which studied FBI investigations into five "significant terrorism events." In none of those cases did a confidential source "provide actionable intelligence to help prevent or respond to a terrorist operation," the report released Wednesday said.

The principal authors of the report were Bruce Hoffman, a professor of security studies at Georgetown University; Edwin Meese III, the former attorney general; and Timothy J. Roemer, a former ambassador to India.

In December 2007, Headley's Moroccan wife complained to US officials at the US embassy in Islamabad that her husband was a terrorist. But the FBI investigation of Headley did not begin until 2009, and it was triggered by a tip that originated outside the FBI that revealed his relationships with extremists abroad, the report said.

"One of the main lessons from the Headley case is that absent an intelligence effort across the US Intelligence Community to understand the connections among cases and complaints across field offices, relevant intelligence may fall by the wayside," it said.

News outlets, it noted, have reported, prior to his terrorist activities, Headley had worked as a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informant in the late 1990s and the early 2000s, following two heroin trafficking arrests.

"A single complaint may be more easily dismissed as a poison pen motive, but several unrelated complaints should not be dismissed as readily as the work of a malcontent," the report said.

"The Headley case raises the important question faced by all intelligence agencies - certainly important to the FBI - of how to scan and assess voluminous amounts of collected information strategically and identifying valuable intelligence leads," the report said.

"Still, more than a decade after 9/11, the FBI must prioritize empowering and equipping its analytic cadre to make these connections with cutting edge technology, to minimize the risk of the FBI missing important intelligence information," it said.

In the Headley case, an analyst was ultimately able to connect him to an ongoing plot in Denmark, underscoring the value of good intelligence analysis in the field to meet the FBI's national security and investigative missions, it said.

Describing Headley as "an elusive target," the report noted, "he conducted his activities with all the skills of a trained intelligence operative-able to travel to and from the United States, Pakistan, and India with relative ease and eluding authorities."

"The FBI had no knowledge of Headley's connections to Lashkar-i-Taiba (LeT) until provided with a tip that originated outside the FBI that prompted the investigation in 2009.

In Chicago, National Security Letters helped the FBI track David Headley and better understand his involvement in the Copenhagen plot directed by Ilyas Kashmiri, Al Qaeda's chief of external operations at the time and the head of the Pakistani extremist organization, Harakat ul Jihad al Islami.

Over the next several months, the FBI obtained warrants on Headley and on his associate Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani Canadian resident of Chicago.

Based on the information obtained, FBI special agents decided to arrest Headley before he could leave the country, the report noted.

IANS

Two Goa BJP lawmakers oppose 'ghar wapsi'

'Ghar wapsi' is a campaign being run by Hindu organisations.

File photo.

Panaji:  Two BJP legislators in Goa on Thursday came out openly against the 'ghar wapsi' programme, with one of them, a Christian, announcing that he will be the first to oppose any reconversion if the agenda is implemented in the state.

Nilesh Cabral and Vishnu Wagh, Bharatiya Janata Party members from Curchorem and St. Andre, respectively, said this in the assembly during a discussion on the motion of thanks to the governor's address.

"If anyone starts 'ghar wapsi', I will be there to oppose it first. Goa is not a communal state. This kind of behaviour should not occur during elections," Cabral said.

Wagh said communal flare-ups outside the state were causing tension between the minority community and the BJP-led coalition government in Goa.

"'Ghar wapsi' happens in Uttar Pradesh, and it creates an issue in Goa. Beef is banned in Maharashtra and similarly the issue triggers a flare-up in Goa," Wagh said, adding that people in Goa were beginning to get upset with the BJP because of such incidents.

'Ghar wapsi' is a campaign being run by Hindu organisations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which aims at actively reconverting members of the minority communities back to Hinduism.

"Today outside Goa, some groups are responsible for making comments which are affecting the minority community here. There is talk of building a temple of Nathuram Godse, of banning cattle slaughter and we see a ripple effect in Goa," Wagh said.

He further said one of the key reasons why the BJP was elected to power was the support of the minority community. Both Christians and Muslims account for nearly a third of the state's population.

"The Goa government came to power because the minority supported us. We should remember that," Wagh said.

IANS

Malankara Church gets two new dioceses

Bishop Jacob Barnabas was appointed the first bishop of Gurgaon

Bishop Jacob Mar Barnabas and Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios

New Delhi:  Pope Francis has established two new dioceses for the Kerala based Syro-Malankara Church giving it jurisdiction all across India, official announcements said Thursday.

The Oriental rite church will have one new diocese in Gurgaon near New Delhi and another based near western city of Pune, said Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan, spokesperson of the national bishops' conference.

Bishop Jacob Barnabas was appointed the first bishop of the diocese of St. John Chrysostom of Gurgaon, Monsignor Chinnayyan said in a press release.

The new bishop will be housed at Mar Ivanios Bhavan, Neb Sarai, New Delhi and the St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church near it will be his cathedral, said Monsignor Chinnayyan said.

The second diocese, officially called an Exarchate, is based at Khadki in Pune.

Bishop Thomas Mar Anthonios OIC was appointed its first bishop. St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church in Khadki will be the new Cathedral and the residence and Curia of the new bishop will be in the Cathedral complex Khadki, the official release said.

"The annoucment fufills the great dream of Archbishop Mar Ivanios," who initiated misison work of the Church outside Kerala, said Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, in a press release. The Church came to Catholic fold in 1930.

With this canonical announcement, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has achieved all India jurisdiction for ecclesial administration, the release said.

The new Gurgaon Diocese is spread over 22 States in the North-East region of India. The Kirkee-Pune Diocese is spread over six States except Kerala in the south.

The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church now has two Exarchates, seven dioceses, one archdiocese, besides the Major Archdiocese of Trivandrum.

Police make arrest in nun rape case

CCTV footage has helped identify four of the six burglars suspected in the attack.

Indian Christians take part in a peace rally and protest in Allahabad on March 22, 2015 after the rape of a nun in West Bengal.

Kolkata:  Indian police have made their first arrest over the rape of an elderly nun that has shocked the country, a senior official said on Thursday.

Investigators traced the suspect to the western city of Mumbai and detained him on Wednesday night, the police official said on condition of anonymity.

"He was picked up from a hideout in Mumbai on Wednesday night," the official said.

"He is being brought to headquarters of the investigating agency in Kolkata."

The nun, who is in her 70s, needed surgery after she was attacked earlier this month when a gang of robbers broke into the convent school in the eastern state of West Bengal where she lived.

Police in the state capital Kolkata identified four of the six robbers through CCTV footage and had detained eight people for questioning.

But no arrests were made until Wednesday and authorities in Kolkata had faced criticism over the pace of progress in the investigation.

Last week, the West Bengal government said it was handing over the case to the country's top investigators after coming under fire over the lack of arrests.

The assault was the latest in a string of high-profile rapes in India and added to the fears of the country's Christian minority following a spate of attacks on churches.

Detectives have posted a reward of 100,000 rupees (US$1,600) for any leads on the suspects.

Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised a crackdown on religious violence and has said he was deeply concerned about the attack on the nun.

Police have launched a gang-rape inquiry, although officers say only one person sexually assaulted the nun.

Source: AFP/UCAN

Hashimpura massacre in India continues to haunt those left behind

Survivors and families of victims vow justice despite acquittal of alleged killers.

New Delhi:  For the last 27 years, Zulfikar Nasir has been haunted by memories of what has been described as the worst case of extrajudicial killing in India’s history.

The wait for justice for what has become known as the Hashimpura massacre has been long and painful for Nasir, one of five survivors of the killings, the motive for which is believed to have been sectarian.

According to the survivors and other witnesses, 47 men — all Muslim — were rounded up by the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) on May 22, 1987 and put in a truck in Hashimpura in Uttar Pradesh state’s Meerut district.

All were later shot while on their way to Delhi and thrown into a nearby canal. Forty-two men died and five survived.

In the aftermath, 19 PAC men were accused of the killings — three have since died.

“There was a curfew in place because of communal clashes that had broken out when the PAC came,” Nasir told ucanews.com.

“They said they had come to search our houses but they took us along with them.”

Nasir, who was just 15 at the time, said the PAC men herded them into a truck and drove away.

“It was only when the truck stopped by a canal that we realized that we were near Delhi,” he said.

“They took three men from the truck first and shot them before I was taken out and shot. The bullet struck me in the armpit and I fell to the ground. They then started firing indiscriminately at the men in the truck until they thought we were all dead and threw our bodies in the canal,” he said.

Nasir and four others managed to swim to safety only to undergo a long and painful legal battle, hoping that justice would be delivered and the culprits brought to book.

However, it appears the wait for justice will drag on after a Delhi court acquitted the policemen on March 21, calling the investigation “scanty, unreliable and faulty”.

The acquittal came as a surprise to the survivors and the families of the victims.

“When I heard the judgment I had never felt so shocked and let down before…. Not even when the incident took place,” Nasir told ucanews.com.

The court, in its 216-page judgment, had accepted the testimonies of the witnesses, he said.

“The testimonies of the witnesses are quite clear, specific, expressive and descriptive. The testimonies of these witnesses are quite consistent with each other and there are no major deviations or contradictions,” the judgment said.

However, citing a lack of evidence, the court said prosecutors could not prove the 16 accused were the actual killers.

Despite also agreeing that the investigation had been shoddy, lawyers representing the survivors and families of the victims expressed disbelief at the acquittal after having pinned their hopes on eyewitness accounts.

There were five survivors of the massacre who told the court what happened that day, and still we are so far away from justice, said Vrinda Grover, a lawyer for one of the survivors.

“What would have happened to the case if there were no survivors? Nonetheless, the PAC has made sure that no evidence was left behind,” she said.

Another lawyer, Rebecca John, told ucanews.com that an appeal would be filed in the next 60 days.

“I view the judgment as a dry recital of facts as though it was a small dispute that happened rather than a massacre of this magnitude. I don’t see the judge showing any kind of understanding of the crime that was committed,” John said.

It is so shocking that the case has taken so long, she said.

“Can anyone visualise that the charge sheet for an incident that happened in 1987 was filed in 1996? The hearing into the case started in 2006 and in 2015 we get slapped with this judgment,” she said, adding that if these crimes are to be stopped in the future then the judicial system has to understand the nature, extent and magnitude of the crime.

“If they don’t understand it, we will continue to get judgments of this kind,” John said.

It’s not only the survivors who are haunted by the events that took place so long ago, but the lives of the families of those killed.

Some families did not even get to retrieve the bodies. The case against the policemen is the only the hope for justice they have.

Haseena, 50, who only goes by one name, lost her husband in the massacre.

“They took him and he never returned. I learned that he had been killed only when one of the survivors returned home a month after the massacre. I never saw his body,” she said.

“I felt deep pain when I heard the court verdict. It killed me, too,” she added.

Anjum, who also goes by one name, lost her father-in-law and brother-in-law in the killings that would eventually also take her husband’s life.

“My husband committed suicide two years back waiting for justice. He could not take it anymore. All the three men in my family are dead,” she said.

Wajahat Habibullah, a senior civil servant in the Indian government at the time of the killings and who had visited the scene of the massacre with the then prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, supports the survivors and the victims’ families.

He also expressed surprise at the verdict.

“Everybody knew how many people were involved in the killings, the truck in which the victims were taken … was identified and still we get this judgment,” he said.

Anjum, and the others are vowing to continue their pursuit of justice.

"We will fight no matter how many more years this takes. This is the sole purpose of our life now. There is nothing worse that could have happened to us."

Source: UCAN

China court sentences pastor to one year for protesting church demolitions

Several trials in Zhejiang and Wenzhou against other protesters are ongoing.

Hong Kong:  A Chinese court on Tuesday sentenced a Protestant pastor to one year behind bars, the first prison term handed down by authorities in Zhejiang province following a demolition campaign targeting hundreds of churches.

Pastor Huang Yizi was found guilty of “gathering a crowd to disturb public order” after he and a group of Christians tried unsuccessfully to protect the cross of Salvation Church from police in July last year.

About 600 supporters of the pastor crowded outside the Pingyang County courthouse until the trial concluded yesterday evening as many complained authorities had filled the court with officials so that only six friends and family members could attend.

“We must appeal, the entire trial is a violation of [legal] procedure,” defense lawyer Zhang Kai told US-based Christian rights group China Aid.

Pastor Huang of Fenwo Church was detained in August, a month after baton-wielding police forced their way past Christians at Salvation Church during the height of a provincial campaign in which 400 crosses were removed and 35 churches destroyed in Zhejiang.

During the police operation at Salvation Church, more than a dozen Christians were hospitalized including three people who reportedly suffered fractured skulls.

Prosecutors originally charged Pastor Huang with assaulting state officials but later altered the charges to disturbing public order.

“The culprit who hit people until they were seriously wounded is still at large while Pastor Huang — who seeks justice — is sentenced to prison. There is no justice,” one elderly Christian said outside the courtroom yesterday.

“Those who created false cases must be held accountable. This is the common aspiration of the million faithful in Wenzhou.”

Pastor Huang’s wife missed yesterday’s trial in order to travel to Beijing to petition the central government over the case.

The Communist Party yesterday issued guidelines it said would see greater public and central government oversight over provincial and city authorities after years of abuse of power, but these are not expected to be fully implemented until the end of next year.

In January, Pastor Huang’s defense filed three counter suits including wrongful detention but the court refused to accept them without justifying its decision.

In another of the three denied by the court, the pastor claimed that the Public Security Bureau and local government told him he would be released if he dismissed his lawyers, which is a violation of Chinese law.

Huang followed their request in December but then rehired his legal team after authorities failed to release him.

“Through arbitrary arrests, baseless prosecution and illegal procedures throughout this trial, this case shows once again the worsening situation of religious freedom and rule of law in China,” said Pastor Bob Fu, president of China Aid.

“We call upon China’s higher authorities to overturn this unjust decision and free Pastor Huang immediately.”

Courts in Zhejiang are scheduled to hear a number of other cases of people who tried to stand in the way of the provincial government’s church demolition campaign, which reportedly ended in December.

A court in Wenzhou’s Yongjia County on Wednesday was due to hear the cases of three Christians arrested during the demolition of Sanjiang Church, the largest in the city until it was turn down by authorities in April last year.

Source: UCAN

Masked gunmen fire on police at Catholic Church in Lahore

Two people injured in latest violence that follows deadly suicide bombings earlier this month.

Pakistani Christians gather in front of a church following suicide bombing attacks on churches in Lahore on March 15, 2015.

Lahore:  Unidentified gunmen on Tuesday opened fire on policemen guarding a Catholic Church in the southern Pakistani city of Lahore, police officials said.

Asif Khan, a local township police officer, confirmed the attack, which took place outside St Peter’s Catholic Church and High School day.

“Two masked men riding a motorbike fired on policemen, who were deployed outside the church,” Khan told ucanews.com. “Police retaliated, after which the assailants sped away.”

Two passersby were injured in the crossfire but no other injuries were reported, Asif said, adding that police had obtained CCTV footage from the Church and have launched an investigation.

According to local media reports, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has directed police to submit a report of the incident.

Fr Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, director of the National Commission for Justice and Peace at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, said he was aware of the incident and that no Church or school staff were injured in the attack.

Sardar Mushtaq Gill, a Christian rights activist and lawyer, condemned the attack.

"It is unbelievable how militants fired at the church guards and managed to flee,” said Gill. “We urge the government to beef up security at churches.”

He added that twin suicide bombings by the Pakistani Taliban’s Jamaat-ul-Ahrar faction in the Youhanabad neighborhood of Lahore earlier this month had created a sense of fear and insecurity among the Christian minority community.

The bombings, which left 14 dead and more than 70 others inured, also sparked riots in which two men thought to be associated with the bombers were beaten to death — a rare example of violence on the part of Christians in Pakistan.

Source: UCAN

US to oppose plea to declare RSS a terror group

The US based rights group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has filed a lawsuit in the US court to label the RSS as a foreign terrorist organization.

Washington:  The US has told a court here that it intends to move for dismissal of a lawsuit for declaring India's RSS as a "terror group" while seeking time till April 14 to do so.

In a motion filed Tuesday before judge Laura Taylor Swain of the Southern District of New York, US attorney Preet Bharara said the "government requires additional time to finalize its motion and supporting papers".

The US based rights group Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has filed a lawsuit in the US court to label the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh as a foreign terrorist organization, according to SFJ attorney Gurpatwant S Pannun. It has sought such a declaration for RSS for allegedly "believing in and practicing a fascist ideology and for running a passionate, vicious and violent campaign to turn India into a 'Hindu' nation with a homogeneous religious and cultural identity".

In its response filed on behalf of Secretary of State John Kerry, Bharara's office acknowledged that the government's deadline to respond to the complaint was Tuesday.

But "in lieu of an answer, the Government intends to move to dismiss the complaint, and requires additional time to finalise its motion and supporting papers," it said.

"In the event this request is granted, the Government would consent to any reasonable deadline for the filing of opposition papers that plaintiff's counsel would propose," it added.

IANS

Jharkhand Christian schools targeted

The Supreme Court has allowed certain privileges to Christian minority schools in implementing the RTE.

file photo.

Dhanbad:  Officials of Christian schools in Jharkhand's Dhanbad say district officials accused them for faulting rules of Right to Education (RTE) Act, and threatened action without considering their rights as minority institutions.

As many as 48 principals from higher secondary schools in the district, including catholic schools, were summoned on Wednesday to the meeting at the deputy commissioner's office by Dhanbad superintendent of education (DSE) Bankey Behari.

But representative of De Nobili group of schools Father Gerald D'Souza and Margaret Mary principal of Carmel School in Dhanbad alleged the officials singled them out and targeted them, accusing them of faulting in the implementaion of the RTE.

"The DSE asked me to leave the hall as I am not a principal but a representative of the eight De Nobili schools. I was called rule flouter by Manoj Mishra, secretary of Jharkhand Abhibhavak Manch," D'Souza said.

Dhanbad's additional collector B.P.L. Das chaired the meeting that was attended by Behari and members of Jharkhand Abhibhavak Manch.

Das asked all schools to abide by the RTE Act and submit action-taken reports furnishing all information by March 31. He gave schools time to implement all rules till April 15 and warned of action in case of any complaint.

Sister Margaret Mary said the Supreme Court has allowed certain privileges to Christian minority schools in implementing the RTE, which aims to help government to provide free education all children.

"We (Christian minority institutions) cannot be forced to abide by rules blindly," she said.

Refuting the allegations, additional collector Das said: "No one was insulted. We only asked all the schools to adhere to the RTE Act," the Telegraph reported.

Delhi archdiocese appeals for protection of minorities

The archdiocese's appeal comes after a catholic school in Jalpaiguri district received threat letters demanding its shutdown.

file photo.

New Delhi:  Delhi archdiocese has appealed to the government to protect minorities as a school in West Bengal got threat letters in the continuing attack on Christian institutions and churches across the country.

"We appeal to the civil society and to the government, the minorities may be protected and proper law and order be maintained in every part of this country," said archdiocesan spokesperson Father Savarimuthu Sankar.

He said there "is a feeling of doubt but we also have full faith in the country and the government of every state. We just hope that such incidents are not repeated,"

The archdiocese's appeals come after St Capitonia Girl's High School under in Champaguri area of Jalpaiguri district received threat letters demanding its shutdown.

The Police have registered a complaint in the case and deployed forces inside the premises of the school.

The school officials had complained to police on the basis of letters. The incident is the latest in a series of attacks against Christian institutions across the country.

Source: New Kerala

Diocese of Salem

Diocese of Salem - Tamil Nadu

 

Population

The population in Salem diocese was 5,091,262 according to the 2001 census. (The population of the whole country is about 1 billion). Tamils, Telegus and Kannadigas are the major ethnic groups. Tamil, Telegu and Kannada are the languages spoken in the diocese.

History

The Diocese of Salem comprises the civil districts of Salem and Namakkal. In 1623, people in Southern Kongunadu, part of Salem District, under Madurai Nayakkars, accepted Christianity through Father Robert De Nobili, SJ, and his successors, the Portuguese Jesuits of the Madurai Mission. Around 1654, the Italian Jesuits of the Mysore Mission set up their residence near Hosur.

In 1687, the Mysore Mission labored in the entire area of the present diocese. Father De Cunha died in 1711 at Kapiganathi near Hosur. Even after the suppression of their Society, the Jesuits under the jurisdiction of Cranganore, worked to the last in the field.

In 1785, during Tippu Sultan's rule, Monsignor Champenois, Superior of the Malabar Mission, was entrusted by Rome with the Mysore Mission, which took care of Salem. He was the first bishop to visit Salem. Salem Mission was brought under British rule, and he left in charge there Father Abbe Dubois, who strove to restore the mission.

The area continued to depend on the Coromandel mission. Later it came under the Vicariate Apostolic of Pondicherry, which in 1886 became an archdiocese. This set up continued till 1930, except for Hosur Taluk, which had been entrusted from 1861 to the area of Mysore, and the southeast, which was joined in 1899 to the Diocese of Kumbakonam.

On May 26, 1930, the Diocese of Salem was erected from areas under Salem District and as well as areas under the jurisdiction of Pondicherry diocese (six parishes), Kumbakonam diocese (three parishes), Mysore diocese (one parish). In 1943, the western portion of Mettur Taluk (two parishes) were added.

In 1949, Salem diocese was entrusted to an Indian, its second bishop, Bishop V.S. Selvanather. The Diocese of Dharmapuri was carved out from the Diocese of Salem on Feb. 28, 1997. The pope appointed Monsignor Joseph Antony Irudaya Raj, SDB, the first Bishop of Dharmapuri.

Political

Salem is the district capital. It is administered by a corporation headed by a mayor and a council of representatives. Towns are governed by municipalities, whereas villages and small towns are administered by local bodies called panchayats. The members of the local bodies are elected by adult suffrage.

Transportation

Salem is well connected by roads and railways and is also an important road and railway hub. The nearest airports are in Bangalore and Coimbatore cities.

Geography

The diocesan territory covers a land area of 9,624 square kilometers and includes the civil districts of Salem and Namakkal. Salem is the largest city in the diocese while Namakkal is an important town.

Economy

The per capita income in the diocesan territory was 20,475 rupees (US$451 as of October 2006). The major industries are in agriculture, garment manufacturing, automobile, electrical equipment, iron and steel manufacturing, tourism, tea, coffee and cardamom. Salem is also famous for its mangoes.

Telecommunication

Government and private operators provide extensive telecommunication facilities in the diocesan area. The diocese is well connected by local cable TV networks.

Topography

Salem has extremes of hot and cold weather throughout the year. It receives close to 1,000 mm of rainfall annually.

Education

The literacy rate in the diocesan territory is 66.25 percent.

Living Water in Myanmar

Living Water in Myanmar

Rosemary Breen
I began going to Myanmar in 2004, having been asked by some Sisters of an international religious community to research the possibility of their starting a community there.  Eventually this happened and I would return to stay with the sisters in Yangon and help with a teacher-training course.
About four years ago, I worked with a young woman, Maw Maw, who was trying to get a scholarship to train in early education in the USA.  This didn’t eventuate and she finally got her training in Manila.  On her return, she told me of the great need for clean water in what is known as the Dry Zone in Central Myanmar where she was going to be living and where, eventually she hoped to open a small school. Her teacher was Saya Toe, who became the organiser of the water-tank project which grew out of this tiny seed which Maw Maw had planted in my mind and heart.
I had been involved in a small way in water projects in Africa and felt strongly that clean drinking water was one of our basic rights and I had already financed the building of a water-tank in the southern part of Myanmar after a cyclone had hit that part of the country.  And so it started!
Various friends donated generously to this project. I spoke at meetings and groups and then received a very generous donation from a Trust in the UK.  So what began as a very modest idea began to grow bigger and bigger and last January I visited the forty villages and schools which now have tanks, some 3000- 5000 gallons, depending on requirements.  The cost of each tank is about $US2000…  when I returned in December 2014, the 74^th water-tank was being built, much to the delight of the villagers and the little local school.
A special joy was being accompanied by a young woman who had come to Australia as a refugee with literally nothing in the early 1980s and was sponsored by our local refugee resettlement group.  Her family has already financed four water-tanks and Hieu-Duc is already planning another fund-raiser.  What an asset to Australia and to the world are these refugees that we provide protection for.
The building of the tanks is quite simple – there is a dedicated team which goes round the villages. This means these men now have a regular income. Guttering is put on the roofs, pipes affixed and the tank is built on site, using metal mesh, bamboo and cement.  When the monsoon rains come, the tanks quickly fill up.  The local people in the villages help by getting the gravel, stones and water….
Saya Toe has organised all this without any remuneration. He visits each village four times, to discuss the proposition and educate the people who will be responsible for the tank’s maintenance. It has been a mammoth task for him.
Since last May, the project has come under the auspices of the Global Development Group which looks after sending receipts to donors and getting the money to Saya Toe in Myanmar which previously was quite a problem….
So to date, 74 villages now have clean drinking water, thanks to donors all round Australia, in the USA and recently the UK.  I pass on to you all the gratitude of so many who have seen clean water as a luxury beyond their reach which we just take for granted.  I still get really moved seeing the school children drinking clean water and know it is thanks to so many who have been inspired to help.

From “Pearls and Irritations” www.john.menadue/blog (2015)

செய்திகள்-27.03.15

செய்திகள்-27.03.15

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1. ஈராக் மற்றும் நைஜீரியாவில் புலம்பெயர்ந்துள்ள மக்களுடன் திருத்தந்தை ஒருமைப்பாடு

2. வாழ்வைப் பிறருக்கு வழங்கும்போது மட்டுமே அதன் மதிப்பை உணருகிறோம்

3. வீடற்ற மக்களிடம் திருத்தந்தை : உங்கள் இல்லம் உங்களை வரவேற்கிறது

4. திருத்தந்தைக்கு வெள்ளைமாளிகையில் செப்டம்பர் 23ல் வரவேற்பு 

5. உக்ரைன் குறித்த ஒப்பந்தங்களை அனைத்துத் தரப்பினரும் நடைமுறைப்படுத்த அழைப்பு

6. அனைத்துலக காரித்தாஸ் : Boko Haram தீவிரவாதிகளால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள மக்களுக்கு உதவுவது குறித்து பரிசீலனை

7. சிரியா, ஈராக் சண்டைகள் தஞ்சம் கோருவோரின் எண்ணிக்கையை அதிகரித்துள்ளன

8. அருள்சகோதரி பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை வழக்கு சிபிஐ விசாரணைக்கு மறுப்பு

9. ஆசியா பீபியின் விடுதலைக்கு ஐந்து இலட்சம் வலைத்தளத்தில் ஆதரவு

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1. ஈராக் மற்றும் நைஜீரியாவில் புலம்பெயர்ந்துள்ள மக்களுடன் திருத்தந்தை ஒருமைப்பாடு

மார்ச்,27,2015. ஈராக்கில் வன்முறைக்குப் பலியாகி, தங்கள் வீடுகளையும் கிராமங்களையும் விட்டு வெளியேறியுள்ள கிறிஸ்தவக் குடும்பங்கள் மற்றும் பிற மக்கள் குறித்து ஆழ்ந்த கவலை கொண்டுள்ளார் திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ்.

திருப்பீட செய்தித் தொடர்பகம் இவ்வெள்ளியன்று வெளியிட்ட அறிக்கையில், ஈராக்கின் மொசூல் மற்றும் நினிவே சமவெளிப் பகுதியிலிருந்து வெளியேறி அந்நாட்டின் குர்திஸ்தான் பகுதியில் அடைக்கலம் தேடியிருக்கும் மக்கள் குறித்து திருத்தந்தை மிகுந்த அக்கறை கொண்டுள்ளார் என்று கூறியுள்ளது.

நூற்றாண்டுகளாக தங்களுக்கு அடுத்திருப்பவர்களோடு நல்ல உறவுகளோடு வாழ்ந்துவந்த இம்மக்கள் விரைவில் தங்களின் சொந்த இடங்களுக்குத் திரும்புவார்கள் என்று திருத்தந்தை நம்புவதாகவும், அம்மக்களுக்காக திருத்தந்தை செபிப்பதாகவும் அவ்வறிக்கை கூறுகின்றது.

இந்த ஈராக் கிறிஸ்தவக் குடும்பங்கள் வருகிற புனித வாரத்தில் கிறிஸ்துவின் துன்பங்களில் சிறப்பான விதத்தில் பங்குகொள்கின்றனர் என்றும், இப்புனித வாரத்தில் கிறிஸ்தவர்களோடு இருந்து செபிப்பதற்கு நற்செய்தி அறிவிப்பு திருப்பேராயத் தலைவர் கர்தினால் Fernando Filoni அவர்கள் ஈராக் செல்கிறார் என்றும் திருப்பீட அறிக்கை தெரிவிக்கிறது.

உரோம் மறைமாவட்டம் இம்மக்களுக்கென சிறப்பாக நிதி திரட்டி, அப்பணத்தோடு இத்தாலிய இனிப்புகளையும் அனுப்புகிறது.

மேலும், நைஜீரியாவின் வடபகுதியில் துன்புறும் குடும்பங்களுடன் திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் தனது ஒருமைப்பாட்டுணர்வைத் தெரிவிப்பதாகவும், நைஜீரிய ஆயர்களும் தன்னோடு இணைந்து இதே ஒருமைப்பாட்டை இக்குடும்பங்களுக்குத் தெரிவிக்குமாறு திருத்தந்தை கேட்டிருப்பதாகவும் திருப்பீட அறிக்கை கூறுகின்றது.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

2. வாழ்வைப் பிறருக்கு வழங்கும்போது மட்டுமே அதன் மதிப்பை உணருகிறோம்

மார்ச்,27,2015. “மனித வாழ்வு விலைமதிப்பில்லாத கொடை, ஆயினும், நாம் அதைப் பிறருக்கு வழங்கும்போது மட்டுமே அதனை உணருகிறோம்” என்று திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் இவ்வெள்ளியன்று தனது டுவிட்டரில் பதிவு செய்துள்ளார். 

மேலும், வருகிற ஜூன் 6ம் தேதி திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் போஸ்னியா-எர்செகொவினா தலைநகருக்கு மேற்கொள்ளவிருக்கும் திருத்தூதுப் பயணத்தின் இலச்சினை இவ்வியாழனன்று வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

இத்திருத்தூதுப் பயணத் தயாரிப்புக்களை மேற்பார்வையிடுவதற்கு வத்திக்கான் பிரதிநிதிகள் குழு Sarajevo நகருக்குச் சென்றுள்ளவேளை, “அமைதி உங்களோடு இருப்பதாக” என்ற விருதுவாக்கைக் கொண்ட இலச்சினை வெளியிடப்பட்டுள்ளது.

ஒலிவ மரக்கிளையைக் கொண்ட ஒரு புறாவும் இதில் உள்ளது.

முன்னாள் யூக்கோஸ்லாவியாவைச் சேர்ந்த போஸ்னியா-எர்செகொவினாவில் 1992ம் ஆண்டு ஏப்ரல் 6ம் தேதியிலிருந்து 1995ம் ஆண்டு டிசம்பர் 14ம் தேதி வரை நடந்த சண்டையில் ஒரு இலட்சத்துக்கு மேற்பட்ட மக்கள் கொல்லப்பட்டனர். இதில் பெரும்பான்மையினோர் முஸ்லிம்கள். இது, இரண்டாம் உலகப் போருக்குப் பின்னர் ஐரோப்பாவில் நடந்த முதல் இனப்படுகொலையாகும்.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

3. வீடற்ற மக்களிடம் திருத்தந்தை : உங்கள் இல்லம் உங்களை வரவேற்கிறது

மார்ச்,27,2015. திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்களின் தர்மச் செயல்கள் அலுவலகத்தின் அழைப்பின்பேரில், வீடற்று வாழும் 150 வறியோர் வத்திக்கான் அருங்காட்சியகத்தை இவ்வியாழனன்று பார்வையிட்டபோது முன்னறிவிப்பு எதுவுமின்றி அங்குச் சென்று அம்மக்களைச் சந்தித்தார் திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ்.

தெருவில் வாழும் இந்த ஏழைகள் வத்திக்கான் அருங்காட்சியகத்திலுள்ள சிஸ்டீன் சிற்றாலயத்தைப் பார்வையிட்டுக்கொண்டிருந்தபோது அங்கு அவர்களைச் சந்தித்து, இது உங்கள் இல்லம், இது ஒவ்வொருவரின் இல்லம், இதன் கதவுகள் எல்லாருக்காகவும்  எப்பொழுதும் திறந்தே உள்ளன, வாருங்கள் என அவர்களை வத்திக்கானுக்கு அழைத்தார்.

உங்களைப் போன்ற மக்களின் செபம் எனக்குத் தேவைப்படுகின்றது, எனக்காகச் செபியுங்கள் என்று கேட்டு அவர்களை ஆசிர்வதித்த திருத்தந்தை, நம் ஆண்டவர் உங்களைப் பாதுகாப்பாராக, உங்கள் வாழ்வின் பாதையில் அவர் உங்களுக்கு உதவுவாராக, அவரின் கனிவான அன்பை உணருவீர்களாக எனவும் வாழ்த்தினார்.

வருகிற டிசம்பர் 17ம் தேதி தனது 78வது பிறந்த நாளைச் சிறப்பிக்கவிருக்கும் திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள், இம்மக்களுடன் ஏறக்குறைய இருபது நிமிடங்கள் செலவழித்தார் என்று, திருப்பீட உதவி செய்தித் தொடர்பாளர் அருள்பணி Ciro Benedettini அவர்கள் கூறினார்.

இந்த 150 பேரும் தங்கள் வாழ்வில் முதன்முறையாக வத்திக்கான் தோட்டம் மற்றும் பிற பகுதிகளையும் பார்வையிட்டனர். பின்னர், அவர்களுக்கு சிறப்பு விருந்தொன்றும் வழங்கப்பட்டது.

திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்களின் தர்மப் பணிகளுக்குப் பொறுப்பான பேராயர் Konrad Krajewski அவர்கள், இந்நிகழ்வை ஏற்பாடு செய்து நடத்தினார்.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

4. திருத்தந்தைக்கு வெள்ளைமாளிகையில் செப்டம்பர் 23ல் வரவேற்பு 

மார்ச்,27,2015. அமெரிக்க ஐக்கிய நாட்டு அரசுத்தலைவர் பாரக் ஒபாமா, அமெரிக்க முதல் பெண்மணி மிஷேல் ஒபாமா ஆகிய இருவரும் திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்களை வருகிற செப்டம்பர் 23ம் தேதியன்று வெள்ளை மாளிகையில் வரவேற்பார்கள் என்று வெள்ளை மாளிகையின் செய்தி அலுவலகம் இவ்வியாழனன்று அறிவித்தது.

இச்சந்திப்பின்போது, திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்களும், அரசுத்தலைவர் ஒபாமா அவர்களும் தங்களின் பொதுவான அர்ப்பணங்கள் மற்றும் விழுமியங்கள் குறித்து கலந்துரையாடுவார்கள் என்றும் அந்த அலுவலகம் அறிவித்தது.

ஒதுக்கப்பட்டோரையும், ஏழைகளையும் பராமரித்தல், பொருளாதார முன்னேற்ற வாய்ப்புக்களை அனைவருக்கும் வழங்குதல், சுற்றுச்சூழலைப் பாதுகாத்தல், உலகில் சமய சுதந்திரத்தை ஊக்குவித்து சிறுபான்மை மதத்தவரைப் பாதுகாத்தல், குடியேற்றதாரரையும், புலம்பெயர்ந்தோரையும் வரவேற்றல் போன்ற விவகாரங்கள் இந்த உரையாடலில் இடம்பெறும் எனவும் அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

2014ம் ஆண்டு மார்ச் மாதத்தில் அரசுத்தலைவர் ஒபாமா அவர்கள் வத்திக்கானில் திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்களைச் சந்தித்தபோது மேற்கொண்ட உரையாடல், திருத்தந்தை பிரான்சிஸ் அவர்கள் அமெரிக்க ஐக்கிய நாட்டுக்கு மேற்கொள்ளும் முதல் திருத்தூதுப் பயணத்தின்போதும் தொடரவிருப்பதை அரசுத்தலைவர் ஒபாமா அவர்கள் எதிர்பார்த்திருப்பதாகவும் அறிவிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.

வருகிற செப்டம்பரில் பிலடெல்ஃபியாவில் நடைபெறவிருக்கும் உலகக் கத்தோலிக்கக் குடும்பங்கள் மாநாட்டுக்குச் செல்லும் திருத்தந்தை, வெள்ளை மாளிகைக்கும் செல்கிறார். செப்டம்பர் 24ம் தேதி அமெரிக்க காங்கிரஸ் அவையிலும் உரையாற்றுகிறார் திருத்தந்தை. இந்நிகழ்வு, திருத்தந்தையர் வரலாற்றில் முதன்முறையாக இடம்பெறுகிறது.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

5. உக்ரைன் குறித்த ஒப்பந்தங்களை அனைத்துத் தரப்பினரும் நடைமுறைப்படுத்த அழைப்பு

மார்ச்,27,2015. உக்ரைன் நிலப்பகுதியையும், அதன் எல்லைகளையும் அனைத்துலக சட்டத்தின்படி மதிப்பதே, உக்ரைன் மற்றும் அதைச் சுற்றியுள்ள பகுதி முழுவதன் நிலையான தன்மையை உறுதி செய்வதற்குரிய முக்கிய கூறாக உள்ளது என்று திருப்பீடம் அனைத்துலக சமுதாயத்திடம் கூறியுள்ளது.

ஜெனீவாவில் நடைபெற்றுவரும் ஐ.நா. மனித உரிமைகள் அவையின் 28வது கூட்டத்தில், உக்ரைன் நிலைமை பற்றிய அமர்வில் இவ்வியாழனன்று உரையாற்றிய பேராயர் சில்வானோ தொமாசி அவர்கள், உக்ரைன் குறித்த ஒப்பந்தங்களை அனைத்துத் தரப்பினரும் நடைமுறைப்படுத்த உழைக்குமாறு கேட்டுக்கொண்டார்.

பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் மூலம் அரசியல் தீர்வு காண்பதற்கு போர் நிறுத்தம் அவசியம் எனவும், உக்ரைனில் இடைக்காலப் போர் நிறுத்தத்தை அமல்படுத்துவதற்கு எடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள நடவடிக்கைகளை திருப்பீடம் வரவேற்றுள்ளதாகவும் உரைத்தார்  பேராயர் தொமாசி.

பேராயர் தொமாசி அவர்கள், ஜெனீவாவிலுள்ள ஐ.நா.அலுவலகங்களுக்குத் திருப்பீடத்தின் நிரந்தரப் பார்வையாளராகப் பணியாற்றுகிறார்.

ஆதாரம் : வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

6. அனைத்துலக காரித்தாஸ் : Boko Haram தீவிரவாதிகளால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள மக்களுக்கு உதவுவது குறித்து பரிசீலனை

மார்ச்,27,2015. Boko Haram இஸ்லாமியத் தீவிரவாதிகளின் வன்முறைக்குப் பயந்து நாட்டுக்குள்ளேயும், வேறு நாடுகளுக்கும் புலம்பெயரும் மக்களுக்கு உதவும் செயல்திட்டங்களை வகுத்துள்ளது அனைத்துலக காரித்தாஸ் நிறுவனம்.

Boko Haram தீவிரவாதிகளால் நைஜீரிய மக்கள் அனுபவிக்கும் அச்சமூட்டும் துன்பங்கள் குறித்தும், கடந்த ஆண்டில் மட்டும் புலம்பெயர்ந்துள்ள பத்து இலட்சத்துக்கு மேற்பட்ட நைஜீரிய மக்கள் குறித்தும், உரோம் நகரில் இவ்வெள்ளியன்று நிறைவடைந்த இரண்டு நாள் கூட்டத்தில் விவாதிக்கப்பட்டது.

மத்திய ஆப்ரிக்கக் குடியரசிலிருந்து புலம்பெயர்ந்துள்ள எட்டு இலட்சம் மக்களின் நெருக்கடி நிலைகளும் இக்கூட்டத்தில் விவாதிக்கப்பட்டது.

அனைத்துலக காரித்தாஸ் நிறுவனம் நடத்திய இக்கூட்டத்தில் கேமரூன், நைஜர், சாட் ஆகிய நாடுகளின் பிரதிநிதிகளும் கலந்துகொண்டனர்.

ஆதாரம் : Fides / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

7. சிரியா, ஈராக் சண்டைகள் தஞ்சம் கோருவோரின் எண்ணிக்கையை அதிகரித்துள்ளன

மார்ச்,27,2015. சிரியாவிலும், ஈராக்கிலும் இடம்பெறும் சண்டைகள் உட்பட உலகில் இடம்பெறும் ஆயுதம் ஏந்திய மோதல்கள், மனித உரிமை மீறல்கள், மோசமடைந்துவரும் மனிதாபிமான நிலைகள் போன்றவை, கடந்த 22 ஆண்டுகளில் மேற்குலகில் தஞ்சம் கோருவோரின் எண்ணிக்கையை அதிகரித்துள்ளன என்று ஐ.நா.வின் புதிய அறிக்கை ஒன்று கூறுகிறது.

1992ம் ஆண்டில் போஸ்னியா-எர்செகொவினாவில் சண்டை தொடங்கியதிலிருந்து தொழில்வளர்ச்சியடைந்த நாடுகளில் தஞ்சம் கோரும் அகதிகளின் எண்ணிக்கை சென்ற ஆண்டு ஐம்பது விழுக்காடு அதிகரித்து எட்டு இலட்சத்து அறுபதாயிரத்தைத் தாண்டியுள்ளதாக ஐ.நா. அகதிகள் அமைப்பு வெளியிட்டுள்ள அறிக்கை கூறுகிறது.

“2014ம் ஆண்டில் தஞ்சம் கோரி விண்ணப்பித்தவர் நிலவரம்” என்ற தலைப்பில் ஜெனீவாவில் இந்த அறிக்கையை வெளியிட்டுப் பேசிய ஐ.நா. அகதிகள் அமைப்பின் தலைவர் António Guterres அவர்கள், சிரியாவிலும் ஈராக்கிலும் நடந்துவரும் மோதல்களே இந்த அதிகரிப்புக்குக் காரணம் எனத் தெரிவித்தார். 

சிரியா, ஈராக் நாடுகளுக்கு அடுத்தபடியாக, ஆப்கானியர்கள்தான் வளந்த நாடுகளில் அதிக அளவில் தஞ்சம் கோருவோர் என்றும் கூறப்பட்டுள்ளது.

கடந்த ஆண்டில் ஒரு இலட்சத்து எழுபத்து மூவாயிரம் விண்ணப்பங்களைப் பெற்ற ஜெர்மனிதான் உலகில் அதிக அளவில் தஞ்சக் கோரிக்கை விண்ணப்பங்களைப் பெற்ற நாடாக உள்ளது.

துருக்கி, லெபனான், ஜோர்டன் போன்ற நாடுகளில் தஞ்சம் புகுந்துள்ள பல இலட்சம் பேர் இந்த அறிக்கை வெளியிட்டுள்ள எண்ணிக்கையில் சேர்க்கப்படவில்லை என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

ஆதாரம் : UN / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

8. அருள்சகோதரி பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை வழக்கு சிபிஐ விசாரணைக்கு மறுப்பு

மார்ச்,27,2015. இந்தியாவை உலுக்கிய எழுபது வயதுக்கு மேற்பட்ட அருள்சகோதரி ஒருவர் பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு உள்ளான நிகழ்வு குறித்து மேற்கு வங்க மாநில அரசு கோரியிருந்த சி.பி.ஐ. விசாரணையை மத்திய அரசு நிராகரித்துள்ளது.

மேற்கு வங்க மாநிலம் நாடியா மாவட்டத்தில் உள்ள கங்கனாபூர் அருகே Ranaghat  ஜீசஸ் மேரி சபையினர் நடத்தும் பள்ளி இயங்கி வருகிறது. இங்குள்ள அருள்சகோதரிகள் இல்லத்தில் கடந்த 14ம் தேதி அதிகாலையில் ஆறுபேர் அடங்கிய ஒரு குற்றக்கும்பல் உள்ளே புகுந்து பள்ளியில் இருந்த பொருள்களை அடித்து நொறுக்கியது.

அதைத் தடுக்க வந்த அந்த அருள்சகோதரியை அந்தக் கும்பல் பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை செய்துவிட்டு, 12 இலட்சம் ரூபாயையும் கொள்ளையடித்துச் சென்றது. இந்நிகழ்வு நாடு முழுவதும் பெரும் அதிர்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்தியது.

இந்நிலையில், மேற்கு வங்க மாநில முதல்வர் மம்தா பானர்ஜி, சி.பி.ஐ. விசாரணைக்கு பரிந்துரை செய்திருந்தார். ஆனால், மத்திய அரசு அவரது கோரிக்கையை இவ்வெள்ளியன்று நிராகரித்துள்ளது.

இதற்கிடையே, இந்தப் பாலியல் வன்கொடுமை தொடர்பாக ஒருவர் கைது செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளார்.

ஆதாரம் : The Hindu / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி

9. ஆசியா பீபியின் விடுதலைக்கு ஐந்து இலட்சம் வலைத்தளத்தில் ஆதரவு

மார்ச்,27,2015. பாகிஸ்தானில் தெய்வநிந்தனை சட்டத்தின்பேரில் மரண தண்டனை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள ஆசியா பீபி என்ற கிறிஸ்தவப் பெண்ணின் விடுதலைக்கு வலைத்தளம் மூலம் ஐந்து இலட்சத்துக்கு மேற்பட்ட மக்கள் தங்களின் ஆதரவைத் தெரிவித்துள்ளனர்.

ஆசியா பீபியின் விடுதலைக்காக விண்ணப்பித்து, Emily Clarke என்ற பிரித்தானிய பல்கலைக்கழக மாணவி ஆரம்பித்துள்ள சமூக வலைத்தளத்தில், ஐந்து இலட்சத்து எழுபத்து இரண்டாயிரம் பேர் கையெழுத்திட்டு தங்களின் ஆதரவை வெளியிட்டுள்ளனர்.

பிரித்தானிய பிரதமர் David Cameron, வெளியுறவுச் செயலர் John Hammond ஆகிய இருவரும் ஆசிய பீபியின் விடுதலைக்காக முயற்சிக்குமாறு விண்ணப்பிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. 

இறைவாக்கினர் முகமது நபி அவர்கள் பற்றி ஆசியா பீபி அவர்கள், தன்னுடன் வேலை செய்த பெண்களிடம் அறுவடையின்போது தவறாகப் பேசியதாக 2009ம் ஆண்டு ஜூன் மாதத்தில் குற்றம் சாட்டப்பட்டார். இவருக்கு பாகிஸ்தான் நீதிமன்றம் 2010ம் ஆண்டு நவம்பர் மாதம் மரணதண்டனை தீர்ப்பு வழங்கியது.

இவரது தண்டனை நிறைவேற்றப்பட்டால் பாகிஸ்தானில் தெய்வ நிந்தனைச் சட்டத்தின் மூலம் கொல்லப்பட்ட முதல் பெண்ணாக இவர் இருப்பார். ஆசியா பீபி அவர்கள் பாகிஸ்தானின் பஞ்சாப் மாகாணத்தில் ஷேய்க்குப்புரா மாவட்டத்தில் பிறந்தவர்.

ஆதாரம் : UCAN / வத்திக்கான் வானொலி