Iran: U.S. to Blame for Tehran's Lack of Response on Alleged Nuclear Weapons Work
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332112,00.html
A senior Iranian official blamed the U.S. Sunday for Tehran's refusal to respond to accusations it tried to make nuclear weapons, saying information provided by Washington was not only fake but came three years too late.
Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran's chief delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also acknowledged that his country's uranium enrichment program -- under sanctions by the U.N. Security Council -- was experiencing "ups and downs." The comment appeared to be the first instance of Tehran acknowledging that its enrichment activities were running into some difficulties.
The United States rejected the notion that it was at fault. Gregory L. Schulte, Soltanieh's American counterpart, said "Iran did not need to wait for information to answer" the accusations coming at it from all sides that it was trying to make nuclear arms.
"Iranian authorities could have started explaining these activities years ago, if only they had made the decision to come fully clean about their program."
Schulte and Soltanieh spoke separately to The Associated Press in the wake of an IAEA report saying that suspicions about most past Iranian nuclear activities had eased or been laid to rest.
But the report also noted that Iran had rejected documents that link it to missile and explosives experiments and other work connected to a possible nuclear weapons program, calling the information false and irrelevant.
Calling weaponization "the one major ... unsolved issue relevant to the nature of Iran's nuclear program," the report also confirmed that Iran is defying U.N. Security Council demands that it suspend enrichment, which can generate nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads.
Most of the material shown to Iran by the IAEA on alleged attempts to make nuclear arms came from the U.S. with some of its allies providing lesser amounts, diplomats told the AP, and the agency shared it with Tehran only after the originating nations gave their permission.
But Soltanieh dismissed much of the material as counterfeit. In any case, he said, it came too late -- three years after U.S. intelligence claimed it had material on a laptop computer smuggled out of Iran indicating that Tehran had been working on details of nuclear weapons, including missile trajectories and ideal altitudes for exploding warheads.
"They should have given it to us three years ago," Soltanieh said of the U.S. material, suggesting Tehran would then have had a more substantive response. Instead, he said, Iran did not get an offer for a review until mid-February. By that time, he said, the deadline for the conclusion of the IAEA probe into Iran's nuclear past had passed and experts were already working on the agency's report.
"All of a sudden, the Americans notice this thing is going to be closed," he said, referring to the probe. "So ... suddenly ... they have additional and new documents -- these dirty games should be stopped immediately."
Soltanieh acknowledged that Iranian experts also were offered some U.S. documents earlier than mid-February. But, he said, "We weren't allowed to take them out of the room," dooming any serious attempt to examine them.
"Some of the drawings were lousy and without any technical justification," he said, dismissing the material as "fabricated and (a) forgery."
On Saturday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the U.S. and its allies to "apologize" for accusing Iran of seeking nuclear weapons. He asserted that the IAEA report vindicated Iran and warned that Tehran would take unspecified "decisive reciprocal measures" against any country that imposed additional sanctions against his nation.
Ahmadinejad and other Iranian leaders have depicted Tehran's enrichment program as a triumph and dismissed suggestions of technical glitches coming from U.S. intelligence, IAEA officials and independent experts.
Soltanieh on Sunday also asserted that Iran was "a master of enrichment technology." Still, he acknowledged that "during the process of development, there will be ups and downs and trials and errors."
"The important thing is ultimate success," he said.
Indirectly suggesting the existence of technical problems, Friday's IAEA report noted that Iran had not expanded its main enrichment project for months, keeping its number of centrifuges, which turn out enriched uranium, at 3,000. And former U.N. nuclear inspector David Albright, in his own report mailed to the AP, said the small amounts of enriched uranium produced over the past year "indicate that the centrifuges continue to operate below capacity."
"It is a surprisingly low output," Albright, whose Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security tracks countries under nuclear suspicion, separately told the AP.
The IAEA report will be the focus of discussions at an IAEA board meeting starting March 3. At that meeting, the U.S. and its allies will weigh whether to ask the board to approve a resolution declaring that the agency was unable to shed light on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, according to diplomats.
Ahmadinejad Calls on U.S. to 'Apologize' Over Nuclear Claims
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332075,00.html
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the U.S. and its allies Saturday to "apologize" to Iran for accusing it of seeking nuclear weapons — a day after the U.N. nuclear watchdog released its latest report on Iran's atomic program.
Ahmadinejad said the report by the International Atomic Energy Agency vindicated Iran and warned that Tehran would take unspecified "reciprocal measures" against any country that imposed additional sanctions against Iran.
The IAEA report said several past questions about Iran's nuclear program had been resolved, but highlighted Tehran's continued refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
Ahmadinejad said in a televised address to the nation that the best way for the U.S. and its allies to "compensate for their mistakes" is to "apologize and pay compensation."
"If they continue" pursuing sanctions, he said, "we have definitely drawn up reciprocal measures." Ahmadinejad did not elaborate.
Turkey Bombs Kurds in Northern Iraq
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/327401.aspx
CUKURCA, Turkey - Turkish warplanes, helicopters and artillery bombed suspected hideouts of Kurdish rebels in remote, mountainous terrain of northern Iraq Saturday.
The Turkish military said at least 35 Kurdish rebels and two Turkish soldiers died in fighting Saturday. A total of seven soldiers and at least 79 rebels have been killed in Iraq since Turkey launched a ground incursion late Thursday, according to the military. The rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, claimed it had killed 15 Turkish troops.
The incursion is the first confirmed Turkish military ground operation in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003. Iraq's government criticized the offensive on Saturday, saying military force will not solve the Kurdish problem.
"We know the threats that Turkey is facing but military operations will not solve the PKK problem. Turkey has resorted to military options, but this never resulted in a good thing," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said.
The rebels are fighting for autonomy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in the semiautonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq. The conflict started in 1984 and has claimed as many as 40,000 lives.
Turkey has assured the U.S.-backed Iraqi government that the operation would be limited to attacks on rebels. The United States and European Union consider the PKK a terrorist group.
Massoud Barzani, head of the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq, warned Turkey it will face large-scale resistance if it targets civilians in its ground incursion.
The Turkish military said it had attacked rebel hideouts with fighter jets, helicopter gunships and artillery. The hideouts had ammunition and explosives inside, the military statement said.
Turkey's state run news agency, Anatolia, said warplanes bombed suspected rebel bases in the Qandil mountain range, near the border between Iraq and Iran.
The PKK said it killed 15 troops in Saturday's clashes and was in possession of their bodies, the pro-Kurdish news agency Firat reported, citing rebel spokesman Ozgur Gabar. It was not possible to independently confirm the conflicting casualty tolls.
Coffins of some soldiers killed in Iraq, draped in red and white Turkish flags, were flown home, Associated Press Television News footage showed.
An Associated Press reporter saw four Sikorsky helicopters used to transport soldiers and two Super Cobra attack helicopters flying Saturday toward the border from the town of Cukurca, the closest point on the Turkish side to the combat area.
West of Cukurca, soldiers in Besta swept roads for land mines. Dozens of troops carrying assault rifles, light mortars, rocket-propelled grenades and sleeping mats patrolled near mountains with snow-covered peaks.
The Iraqi government said Saturday that fewer than 1,000 Turkish troops had crossed the frontier. Turkish media reports have put the number in the thousands.
The Iraqi government spokesman al-Dabbagh said Turkish commanders had assured Iraq that the "operation will be a limited one and it will not violate certain standards that they have set."
Al-Dabbagh said Iraq's president and prime minister had spoken to Turkish officials.
Turkey staged about two dozen attacks in Iraq during the rule of Saddam. Results were mixed; rebels suffered combat losses but regrouped after Turkish forces withdrew.
The PKK militants are fighting for autonomy in predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey and have carried out attacks on Turkish targets from bases in northern Iraq. The conflict started in 1984 and has claimed as many as 40,000 lives.
Turkey's government has complained that Iraqi and U.S. authorities were not doing enough to stop guerrilla operations.
Serbia: US "Main Culprit" of Violence
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/327406.aspx
KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, Kosovo - Serbia's hard-line leaders on Saturday called the U.S. "the main culprit" in the violence that has broken out since Kosovo declared independence.
Several thousand Serbs chanting "Kosovo is Serbia!" and "Russia, Vladimir Putin!" protested peacefully in the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica, the sixth day of demonstrations against Kosovo's break with Serbia. Russia backs Serbia's fierce resistance to Kosovo's secession.
On Thursday night, protesters in the Serbian capital Belgrade set fire to the U.S. embassy, angered by Washington's recognition of Kosovo. The U.S. and the European Union responded by demanding Serbia protect foreign embassies.
"The United States is the main culprit ... for all those violent acts," Serbia's Minister for Kosovo Slobodan Samardzic said in Belgrade.
Other Serbian leaders have called for calm after the riots. But an aide to hard-line Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said any future violence also will be blamed on the U.S.
"If the United States sticks to its present position that the fake state of Kosovo exists ... all responsibility in the future will be on the United States," Kostunica adviser Branislav Ristivojevic said in a statement.
The comments were an indication that Serbia is drifting further from the West and more toward ally Russia.
The vast majority of Kosovo's population is ethnic Albanian and Serbs represent about 10 percent of the region's 2 million people.
Kosovo had formally remained a part of Serbia even though it has been administered by the U.N. and NATO since 1999, when NATO airstrikes ended former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic's crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists, which killed 10,000 people.
Kosovo's minority Serbs have staged protests daily since the territory's ethnic Albanian leadership proclaimed independence last Sunday. They have vented their anger by destroying U.N. and NATO property as well.
In the divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica in Serb-dominated northern Kosovo, a few protesters hurled firecrackers as U.N. police in riot gear formed a cordon across the main bridge separating the Serb and ethnic Albanian sides. Demonstrators waved Serbian and Russian flags and chanted in support of Moscow's refusal to recognize Kosovo's independence.
The protest was far less violent than one on Friday, when angry demonstrators hurled stones, glass bottles and firecrackers at U.N. forces protecting the bridge.
In the Serb enclave of Strpce in southern Kosovo, about 100 Serbs also marched peacefully Saturday. They carried Serbian flags to a nearby church, where they rang the bells to sound their disapproval of Kosovo's statehood. Some carried posters reading "Kosovo is Serbia" and "Kosovo will never be Albania."
"The whole nation is angry," said Sinisa Tasic, one of the organizers. "We are furious with the Americans. Wherever they go they create problems."
There, too, solidarity with Moscow was on display.
"For the first time ever, Serbia is not alone - it has Russia by its side. Sooner or later, Serbia will get Kosovo back," added Radojko Kecic, 48.
Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's chosen successor and the man expected to easily win Russia's presidential election March 2, is scheduled to visit Belgrade on Monday.
On Friday, the State Department ordered between 80 and 100 nonessential embassy employees, their families and the families of American diplomats in Belgrade to leave Serbia.
"We are not sufficiently confident that they are safe here," U.S. Ambassador Cameron Munter said in an interview.
The U.S. and the EU have warned Serbia to boost protection of foreign diplomats and missions, and the U.N. Security Council has unanimously condemned the attacks on foreign missions.
EU representative Pieter Feith said Saturday he recalled his staff from Kosovo's restive north.
There have been scattered protests against Kosovo's independence in other countries as well. In Athens, Greece, about 2,000 pro-Communist demonstrators marched to the U.S. embassy on Saturday. And in Germany, about 1,200 people demonstrated in a square in downtown Stuttgart and 500 others protested in Frankfurt.
In Belgrade, the chief Serbian state prosecutor said Saturday that authorities were searching for participants in Thursday night's riots when the U.S. embassy was attacked. Police said have they arrested nearly 200 rioters in the worst anti-Western violence seen since the ouster of former strongman Slobodan Milosevic in 2000.
Protesters torched several offices of the U.S. Embassy's consular section and attacked the missions of Germany, Belgium, Turkey, Croatia and other countries. One person died and more than 150 were injured in the violence.
Authorities identified the dead person as Zoran Vujovic, 21, of the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad. Serbian media said Vujovic used to live in Kosovo, but fled in the wake of the 1998 war.
Protesters Return to the Streets of Serbia; U.N. Police on Alert
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,332057,00.html
Up to 2,000 Serb protesters chanting "Kosovo is Serbia!" marched Saturday through the ethnically divided town of Kosovska Mitrovica in a sixth day of demonstrations against Kosovo's independence.
U.N. police in riot gear formed a cordon across the main bridge separating the tense northern Kosovo town's Serb and ethnic Albanian sides as some of the protesters hurled firecrackers. The protesters waved Serbian and Russian flags and chanted "Russia, Vladimir Putin" in support of Russia's refusal to recognize Kosovo's independence.
A NATO helicopter hovered above the bridge to monitor the protest.
Kosovo's minority Serbs have staged protests daily since the territory's ethnic Albanian leadership proclaimed independence from Serbia last Sunday. On Thursday they set fire to the U.S. embassy in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
On Friday, angry demonstrators hurled stones, glass bottles and firecrackers at U.N. forces protecting the bridge. Saturday's protest was less violent.
The Serbs, who represent about 10 percent of the region's 2 million people, have been displaying their anger by destroying U.N. and NATO property as well.
Huckabee lingers on the set of 'SNL'
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080224/ap_en_tv/huckabee_snl;_ylt=AkWrpAi9at6S58PNM67qauWs0NUE
Even though Mike Huckabee is still battling for the Republican presidential nomination despite long odds, he said Saturday he won't "overstay his welcome." Then he did precisely that, lingering on the "Weekend Update" set of "Saturday Night Live" despite repeated cues to leave the stage.
The former Arkansas governor appeared in a "Weekend Update" segment in which he described his confusion over whether it is mathematically impossible for him to win the nomination over front-runner John McCain. After anchorman Seth Meyers explained the numbers, Huckabee responded: "I'm not a math guy, I'm more of a miracle guy. So at this point I'm gonna focus on the miracle part."
However, he said: "Mike Huckabee does not overstay his welcome. When it's time for me to go, I'll know. And I'll exit out with class and grace."
Then he remained seated at the "Update" desk even though Meyers made it clear it was time for him to leave.
"SNL," known for its political humor, has been on the sidelines for nearly four months because of the Writers Guild of America strike. The political landscape has changed a great deal since then, with easy targets for the show's satire, like Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney, dropping out of the Republican race, and Barack Obama overtaking Hillary Rodham Clinton on the Democratic side.
The last time NBC broadcast a new episode of "SNL," on Nov. 3, Obama played himself as a guest at a party thrown by Hillary and Bill Clinton. McCain hosted an episode of the show in 2002; Giuliani hosted in 1997, when he was mayor of New York City.
Huckabee Confers With Dobson
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Huckabee_Confers_With_Dob/2008/02/23/74958.html
Mike Huckabee left Texas for a speaking gig in Colorado on Friday and spent an hour with one of his biggest fans -- James Dobson, according to a report in the Rocky Mountain News.
Friends with the Focus on the Family founder for 14 years, the Republican candidate did not disclose the details of their conversation -- but did chat about his campaign, outside the nonprofit's headquarters. Dobson also was mum about what they talked about.
Outside, Huckabee knocked McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton:
"If I were a sitting senator, I would be expected to be in Washington; that's how I would get my paycheck," he said. "Unfortunately, the people I'm paying to be sitting senators aren't showing up at their desk. You know, if you don't show up at work, you get fired. These guys aren't showing up for work and are expecting us to give them a better job."
Gary Schneeberger, Focus on the Family spokesman, explained the low-key meeting, saying that the nonprofit wanted to be "hyper-compliant," so as to not violate its nonprofit tax status by hosting a political event.
He noted that Dobson has endorsed Huckabee as a private citizen, not as founder of the influential organization. At one point, Dobson's endorsement was coveted by Mitt Romney, who won the Colorado caucus and captured the state's 46 delegates.
Romney suspended his campaign after big losses on Super Tuesday, and Huckabee -- who finished second to Romney in Colorado -- said he hopes that those delegates would back him at the Republican National Convention.
Obama May Face Grilling on Patriotism
http://www.newsmax.com/politics/obama_attack_fodder/2008/02/23/74969.html
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Barack Obama's refusal to wear an American flag lapel pin along with a photo of him not putting his hand over his heart during the National Anthem led conservatives on Internet and in the media to question his patriotism.
Now Obama's wife, Michelle, has drawn their ire, too, for saying recently that she's really proud of her country for the first time in her adult life.
Conservative consultants say that combined, the cases could be an issue for Obama in the general election if he wins the nomination, especially as he runs against Vietnam war hero Sen. John McCain.
"The reason it hasn't been an issue so far is that we're still in the microcosm of the Democratic primary," said Republican consultant Roger Stone. "Many Americans will find the three things offensive. Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd."
Opponents of Sen. John Kerry proved in the 2004 election that voters are sensitive to suggestions that a candidate is not sufficiently patriotic. The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign was torpedoed by critics of his Vietnam War record called the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, even though he won multiple military honors and was lauded by his superiors.
The Swift Boat campaign started as a relatively small television ad buy that exploded into an issue that dogged Kerry for months. The Massachusetts senator has conceded since losing to President Bush that the campaign and his lackluster response to unsubstantiated allegations he considered unworthy of a reaction likely cost him the election. And the term even became part of the campaign lexicon _ swift boating.
Obama already is the subject of a shadowy smear campaign based on the Internet that falsely suggests he's a Muslim intent on destroying the United States. Obama is a Christian and has been fighting the e-mail hoax, which also claims he doesn't put his hand over his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance, and he's been trying to correct the misinformation.
"Whenever I'm in the United States Senate, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America," Obama frequently tells voters.
"I've been going to the same church for 20 years, praising Jesus," he adds.
Retired Major General Scott Gration, an Obama military adviser, said he expects the attacks will only increase if Obama wins the Democratic nomination.
"People are projecting things and taking things out of context," Gration said. "There's absolutely no question in my mind that Michelle and Barack are extremely patriotic, appreciate our freedoms and our values and everything else that the flag represents."
Officials with the McCain campaign and the Republican Party say they won't be suggesting Obama is less than patriotic, and instead plan to focus their criticisms on his record and inexperience if he wins the nomination. Well-funded outside groups, however, consider anything fair game.
Conservative Republican consultant Keith Appell, who worked with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said Obama's opposition to the war will create a "striking contrast between McCain the war hero and Obama the poster child for the anti-war movement."
"If you are McCain, you want to play up the decorated war hero, loves his country, served his country," Appell said. "You want to play those themes up as much as possible, especially in comparison to Obama and his role in the anti-war movement."
On Monday, Michelle Obama told an audience in Milwaukee, "For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country. Not just because Barack is doing well, but I think people are hungry for change."
Cindy McCain, McCain's wife, days later responded by saying, "I have, and always will be, proud of my country." Barack Obama has expressed frustration that his wife's remarks had been taken out of context and turned into political fodder _ both the Obamas say she was talking about politics in the United States, not the country itself.
Last summer, Obama was photographed by Time magazine at an event in Iowa standing with his hands folded during the national anthem. His primary rivals Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson appear beside him, with their hands on their hearts.
It has been repeatedly reported that the moment came during the Pledge of Allegiance, but that's not the case.
In October, Obama told Iowa television station KCRG that he decided to stop wearing a U.S. flag lapel pin during the run-up to the Iraq war because it had become "a substitute for, I think, true patriotism."
"I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest. Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great and, hopefully, that will be a testimony to my patriotism," Obama said.
Obama's comments led conservatives and media commentators to question his patriotism.
"First he kicked his American flag pin to the curb. Now Barack Obama has a new round of patriotism problems. Wait until you hear what the White House hopeful didn't do during the singing of the national anthem," said Steve Doocy, co-host of "Fox and Friends" on the Fox News Channel.
"He felt it OK to come out of the closet as the domestic insurgent he is," former radio host Mark Williams said on Fox.
Gration said he had a copy of the national anthem photo e-mailed to him by a friend who didn't know the facts and questioned how a military man could support someone who doesn't honor the Pledge of Allegiance.
"I go to baseball games and football games and there's just a minority of us who put our hands over our heart. It's not an indication of patriotism," Gration said. Gration said he personally wears a flag pin, but "if I meet someone who doesn't have a lapel pin, it doesn't mean they are more or less patriotic than I am."
And, he added, "I don't think you can find Barack again not putting his hand over his heart at the national anthem."
Christians unsure of religion's future in Cuba
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christians.unsure.of.religions.future.in.cuba/17022.htm
Many welcomed Fidel Castro’s resignation this week as a long-awaited opportunity for democracy to finally take root in the communist stronghold. But Christian human rights groups were more reserved in their hopes, expressing uncertainty if positive changes in the country’s religious freedom will occur under Cuba’s new leader.
Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) USA director Tom White, for one, is not impressed with Castro’s likely successor, his 76-year-old brother Raul.
“Castro’s brother, Raul, is the one who would shoot prisoners in the head with a 45 pistol if they weren't altogether dead,” White said to Mission Network News. “So that's the kind of person, perhaps, who would be inheriting the transfer of power there."
White was captured by Cuban authorities in the 1980s after the plane, from which he was dropping Christian leaflets, crash-landed on the island. He was tortured and sentenced to 24 years, but served only 17 months before he was released. International pressure and a personal appeal from Mother Theresa to Fidel Castro helped secure White’s freedom.
In addition to Raul, the VOM director is not thrilled about Cuba’s close ties with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. He called Chavez the “sugar daddy” of Cuba and noted that the relationship will make it difficult to move towards democracy.
But the former victim of Cuba believes that for the most part, Cuban Christians will be left alone to worship as they have been, even if no improvements take place under the new leader.
“In my opinion, it would cause a total revolution on the entire island if they started smashing up the poor Christians,” White commented.
Cuba legally bans house churches, but thousands of them openly hold services and activities without harassment.
According to WorldServe Ministries, an organisation serving the persecuted church worldwide, there were only 1,100 churches and houses on the island nation in 1991 – the year when the Congressional Communist Party voted to change Cuba’s constitutional status from atheist to secular state. Now, there are more than 16,000 house churches, reported VOM, which has worked in Cuba since 1993.
Pope Benedict also expressed concerns over the future of Christians in Cuba.
"At times, some Christian communities feel overwhelmed by the difficulties, by the lack of resources, the indifference and even distrust, that can be discouraging," he said on Thursday in a message to Cuba's Catholic bishops.
Southern Baptists echoed White’s sentiment, saying that they look forward to continuing their work under the new leader.
“The Cuban Baptist conventions are strong with a healthy focus on sharing the Good News of Jesus with all Cubans,” one Baptist worker said, according to Baptist Press (BP). “Regardless of changes, Cuban Baptists are capable of continuing to expand their influence across the island.
"The one thing we ask is that all Christians pray for them as they move ahead with their plans. Southern Baptists will continue to assist Cuban Baptists as they request and as we are able."
According to a report, the enrollment of the Baptist Seminary in Havana rose from 54 resident students in 1999 to 610 students in 2007 including commuter programmes and extension classes last year, BP highlighted.
Cuba’s newly elected National Assembly will meet for the first time this Sunday and will decide who will be the country’s next commander-in-chief. Raul, who has been acting head of state since Fidel fell ill in 2006, is expected to be announced Castro’s successor.
VOM’s White urged prayer for the country’s believers.
"Pray that [Christians] continue to exhibit the same kind of courage in their poverty. They knock the walls out of their houses and convert them into little house churches. Pray that they continue to be inspired and have creativity."
Mission Aviation Fellowship staff evacuate Chad
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/mission.aviation.fellowship.staff.evacuate.chad/17020.htm
Mission Aviation Fellowship’s team of pilots and ministry staff have evacuated to their home countries following recent unrest and instability in Chad.
Around 160 people have been killed during 10 days of fighting, including many civilians, after rebels attacked N’Djamena in early February in an attempt to oust President Idriss Deby, whose 18-year rule they denounce as corrupt.
Many Chadians have headed for safety in neighbouring Cameroon, including MAF Pilot Mark Liprini, along with engineer Garth Moffatt and his wife Claire, who remained there for several days to respond to any requests for emergency evacuation flights.
Once they were sure that most people had been able to find safety, Liprini flew the aircraft down to Kenya and all three returned to their home country of South Africa.
The violence has also forced MAF’s British families to return to the UK.
Jill Vine, wife of pilot Greg, writes, “We are so thankful to be home amongst very loving friends and family in Bristol. Your prayers are very much appreciated.”
MAF’s Country Director in Chad Mike Riley made contact with the ministry’s indigenous staff. They remain safe and well, although many have sought safety in Kousseri, Cameroon. MAF’s hangar and its contents remain undamaged.
Last week, Peter Maclure from Africa Inland Mission, shared, “All burnt out cars, looted material is being removed from the roads and people are being encouraged to return to work.
“Every effort is being made to repair buildings and to cover the fierce fighting of 10 days ago. The mobile phone networks were re-opened and the first fuel stations began to function again.”
Mike Riley and Greg Vine are planning to return to Chad soon for a weeklong stay to assess the situation and plan when and how MAF’s operations can resume.
China won't ban Bibles at Olympics, assures Palau
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/china.wont.ban.bibles.at.olympics.assures.palau/17019.htm
NEW YORK – High profile evangelist Luis Palau is encouraging Christians to bring their Bibles to the Summer Olympics in China.
The Chinese Government is "wide open", he claims, and will not stop visitors from bringing Scripture into the officially atheist country.
"I have asked officially from people here and over there. Any person can go in there and take Bibles, as long as they're not selling them," Palau told The Christian Post in an interview on Thursday.
"If they're giving them away, they can take all the Bibles they want. And I think that's going to happen. And I think that's very valuable."
Palau's comments come after China persecution watchdogs criticised the Chinese Government last November for listing the Bible as one of the banned items in the Olympic Village.
A Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao, however, clarified that China's law "will guarantee religious freedom during the Olympics", but not allow Bibles to be brought in for "distribution or propaganda", reported Agence France-Presse. According to the official, athletes, journalists, and tourists will be allowed to bring worship items, including the Bible, for personal use.
Palau, who was in New York City this week to promote his new book, 'A Friendly Dialogue Between An Atheist and A Christian', said he does not think Christians will face much opposition from the People's Republic of China during their stay there.
"I'm encouraging people to book their flights because it's going to be jammed. And to get a hotel and bed and breakfast because it's going to be jammed with people," he said.
"But they're going to be free, they're not going to be stopped to express the Gospel, to preach," he assured.
He added, "They were afraid that the athletes would start. Athletes are there to play and win, you know. But they may witness for Christ like some Chinese athletes do."
The Chinese Government's repressive religious policies are well documented, with worship outside state-approved venues prohibited and proselytising forbidden. Reports emerge on a regular basis of Christians being detained and harassed by police for defying the regulations.
Palau, however, is more optimistic. He said that his Gospel message in China has never been censored, although many persecution watchdog groups note that his addresses have been in government-sanctioned churches.
Despite being very open about his future plans in China, one obstacle Palau said he did encounter was permission to hold an open-door evangelistic rally in China.
While he looks forward to such a rally in China by the time the Summer Olympics arrive in Beijing in July, Palau said that for now he will just have to wait for approval by Chinese officials.
"I believe you ask for permission, from my perspective as a foreigner coming to a foreign country," he explained.
"They have said to me, 'Be patient. Keep coming back. In China, we'd like to befriend a person, get to know them, trust them'... So, we're looking forward to it any day now."
The Argentina-born evangelist even joked that he has personal reasons for wanting to hold the rally in China soon.
"I said to one of the ministers ... 'You know, I can't wait forever. I'm getting old, you know? You’ve got to give me my chance.'"
If the rally is permitted in China, Palau said he plans to hold it in one of the major cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, or Hangzhou.
In the meantime, Palau will promote his book, which released this month in the United States. He is also preparing for his next festival to be held March 14-15 in Buenos Aires, Argentina .
Palau's book was first released in China in August 2006 under the title, Riverside Talks: A Friendly Dialogue Between An Atheist and A Christian. In the book, Palau and Zhao Qizheng, an atheist and former spokesman for Communist China's Cabinet, share their unique perspectives on the Bible, philosophy of religion, history and politics. It became a national best-seller in China and is the first-ever book between a Chinese diplomat and a Christian evangelist.
Baptists helping Albanian Government stamp out people trafficking
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/baptists.helping.albanian.government.stamp.out.people.trafficking/17023.htm
Officials at the Embassy of Albania have expressed their thanks to British Baptists for the work they are doing together with the Albanian Government to stamp out people trafficking.
BMS World Mission’s director for mission David Kerrigan handed over an 11,000-strong petition to the Counsellor to the Albanian Ambassador, Myzafer Alushi, during a 20-minute meeting on Wednesday.
He stressed that the petition was not intended to be a protest but rather an expression of thanks and encouragement for the steps that the Albanian Government has already taken to end the trafficking of women, children and men in Albania, a major country of origin.
"We are grateful to the Albanian Government for taking this issue so seriously", explained Mr Kerrigan.
The 11,000 signatures on the petition belong to supporters of BMS’ In Transit campaign, a six-month postcard campaign in 2007 urging Baptists across the UK to declare their opposition to human trafficking and support evangelical Christians in Albania who are actively lobbying their government to create more effective legislation.
Mr Alushi praised the work of the church in helping the Albanian Government to overcome the country’s trafficking problem.
"The Church plays an important role and I want to thank you for what you are doing. Your contribution is very much evaluated by the Albanian government and we hope that together we will stop the shameful trafficking problem,” he said.
He added, "The issue is being tackled very carefully by our government and with full support of the UK and other governments in Europe. We have established successful centres to help trafficked women and the care by the government is certainly not lacking. We are doing what we can with limited resources, with support from other countries.”
Mr Kerrigan was joined at the meeting by BMS World Mission’s representative for counter-trafficking work, Hannah Wilson.
She told Mr Alushi of some of the work that she and other Christians in Albania are doing in cooperation with the government to help victims and raise awareness of human trafficking, before handing Mr Alushi a copy in Albanian of a human trafficking booklet produced by the European Baptist Federation for church leaders.
Ms Wilson also announced in the meeting that the Albania’s Vice Minister of the Interior, Iva Zajmi, had granted one of the In Transit campaign’s policy asks for church representation on the 12 regional government anti-trafficking committees in Albania.
Civil Rights Activist, Icon Passes Away
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/327372.aspx
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Johnnie Carr, who joined childhood friend Rosa Parks in the historic Montgomery bus boycott and kept a busy schedule of civil rights activism up to her final days, has died. She was 97.
Carr died Friday night, said Baptist Health hospital spokeswoman Melody Ragland. She had been hospitalized after a stroke Feb. 11.
Carr succeeded the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association in 1967, a post she held at her death. It was the newly formed association that led the boycott of city buses in the Alabama capital in 1955 after Parks, a black seamstress, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to whites on a crowded bus.
A year later the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racial segregation on public transportation.
"Johnnie Carr is one of the three major icons of the Civil Rights Movement: Dr. King, Rosa Parks and Johnnie Carr," said Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center. "I think ultimately, when the final history books are written, she'll be one of the few people remembered for that terrific movement."
As the Improvement Association's president, Carr helped lead several initiatives to improve race relations and conditions for blacks. She was involved in a lawsuit to desegregate Montgomery schools, with her then-13-year-old son, Arlam, the named plaintiff.
"She hadn't been sick up until she had the stroke," Arlam Carr said Saturday. "It was such a massive stroke that she never was able to recover from it. She was still very active - going around and speaking - but it was just one of those things."
She played a prominent role in 2005 on the 50th anniversary of Parks' refusal to give up her bus seat, speaking to thousands of schoolchildren who marched to the Capitol.
"Look back, but march forward," Carr urged the huge crowd of young people.
She also traveled to memorial services in Washington, where her eulogy of Parks was "really the most dynamic" moment, recalled Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
"There were many people who spoke who were much better known ... but she carried the day," said Bond, who helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Just days before her stroke, Carr participated in King Day ceremonies in Montgomery, speaking after a parade. Admirers marveled at her energy and commitment into her 90s.
"She was always an encourager and not a divider," Mayor Bobby Bright told the Montgomery Advertiser. "She was just a loving person. She was truly the mother figure that we all so desperately needed in Montgomery during a very trying period of our history."
In a statement, Gov. Bob Riley said Carr was a "remarkable woman and will be deeply missed."
She was a true inspiration, Riley said, and "leaves behind a lasting legacy of pride, determination, and perseverance."
The family said funeral arrangements would be announced later.
Arlam Carr said that his mother's 97th birthday was last month, but that the only place her age showed was on paper.
"She was still driving her own car. How many 97-year-olds are still driving and you feel comfortable with their driving?" he said. "She has lived a very active life. If there's one thing about it, we all know we're going to leave here one day and this was just the time the Lord wanted her to 'come on'."
Dees said he, too, was impressed with Carr's vigor and amazed that "she never showed the strain of age. Her voice was strong and her spirit was always cheerful."
"One of the things I respect her for is she did not have the rancor and anger that so many local African-Americans of the civil rights movement had," he said. "She was very willing to build bridges. Montgomery's always been very divisive, and she showed an example of reaching across racial lines."
In recent decades, civil rights landmarks, including the site where Parks was arrested, have become historic points of interest for tourists.
"When we first started, we weren't thinking about history," Carr told The Associated Press in an interview in 2003. "We were thinking about the conditions and the discrimination."
Bond called Carr a "spark plug" and "one of the remaining links we had to the Montgomery bus boycott."
"She was remarkable to have had such a long career and to have held concern for justice in the forefront for all this time," he said. "It's a great tragedy that she's gone, and those of us who knew her are blessed to have that experience."
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