Pope Asks Non-Catholics To Unite For Peace

The Pope has called on atheists to unite with believers of all religions and work for "a homemade peace" that can spread across the world.

Speaking to about 70,000 people from the central balcony of St Peter's Basilica, Pope Francis also made another appeal for the environment to be saved from "human greed and rapacity".

Celebrating his first Christmas as leader of the 1.2 billion-member Catholic Church, he centred his first "Urbi et Orbi" (to the city and world) message on the theme of peace.

Pope Francis holds a statue of Jesus at Christmas Eve mass at the Vatican

"Peace is a daily commitment. It is a homemade peace," he said.

"I invite even non-believers to desire peace. (Join us) with your desire, a desire that widens the heart. Let us all unite, either with prayer or with desire, but everyone, for peace."

His words came on the same day that bombers targeted Christians in Iraq, with two bomb blasts killing 22 people in the capital, Baghdad.

Pope Francis called for "social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state".

Thousands gathered at Manger Square near the Church of the Nativity

Thousands are believed to have died in violence divided along ethnic lines between the Nuer and Dinka tribes in the country, which seceded from Sudan in 2011 after decades of war.

A similar message calling for an end to conflicts was delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who was also delivering his first Christmas Day address as head of his church.

The Pope also called for dialogue to end the conflicts in Syria, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq, and prayed for a "favourable outcome" to the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians.

Pilgrims came from all over the world to experience Christmas at the Vatican.

"(He) is bringing a new era into the Church, a Church that is focusing much more on the poor and that is more austere, more lively," said Dolores Di Benedetto, who came from the Pope's homeland, Argentina, to attend Christmas Eve Mass.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Sudan: 'Thousands Dead' In Ethnic Clashes

Mass graves have been uncovered in South Sudan amid evidence ethnic clashes have left thousands dead.

Dozens of bodies were discovered at a burial site in the country's oil-rich Unity State and there were reports of two other mass graves elsewhere.

Violence has flared in a power struggle between President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and his ex-deputy Riek Machar, an ethnic Nuer.

The bodies in the grave are thought to be among 75 Dinkas who have gone missing.

A displaced woman lies on her belongings

Meanwhile, a journalist in the capital, Juba, quoted witnesses as saying more than 200 people, mostly Nuers, had been shot by security forces.

UN humanitarian chief Toby Lanzer said there was "absolutely no doubt"  that thousands of people had been killed.

His comments are the first clear indication of the scale of conflict engulfing the young nation.

Journalist Hannah McNeish, who is in South Sudan, said: "The UN has said there are over 50,000 people who are sheltering at their bases.

South Sudan is the world's newest nation

"I just visited one in Juba which has 10,000 people in, and the conditions are horrendous and squalid.

"There are aid agencies already warning of an outbreak of cholera, there's open defecation everywhere, and these people are also scared – they don't feel safe."

They say there are men trying to come in to kill them, even shooting through the fence, and there are more on the way."

UN soldiers on guard to protect the displaced people

Britain has sent a senior diplomat to South Sudan to assist efforts to restore peace, as the UN voted to boost the size of its force from 7,000 to 12,500.

Reports suggest that British nationals are among an estimated 3,000 foreigners trapped in the city of Bor, which was seized by rebels last week.

President Kiir said that government troops had now retaken control of the city.

UN spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the victims discovered in the grave were reportedly members of the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

She said there were unconfirmed reports of least two more mass graves in Jebel-Kujur and Newside, near Juba.

Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have fled to the countryside, leading to warnings of an imminent humanitarian disaster.

Tens of thousands more civilians have sought protection at badly overstretched UN bases.

At least 20,000 are sheltering at two bases in Juba, and another 17,000 in Bor, capital of the precarious eastern Jonglei state.

"The estimated number of people displaced in the current crisis in South Sudan has risen to 81,000," a UN report said.

"Given the limited access to civilians outside population centres, the number is likely to be significantly higher."                 

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has warned warring factions that reports of crimes against humanity will be investigated.

Fighting started more than a week ago when President Kiir accused his former deputy of attempting a coup.

Mr Machar has denied the claim and has in turn accused Mr Kiir of carrying out a vicious purge of his rivals.

The country has been blighted by ethnic divisions, corruption and poverty since it won independence in 2011.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Spacewalk On Christmas Eve For US Astronauts

Two US astronauts have made a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk to repair the International Space Station's cooling system.

It was the second spacewalk in four days for astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins.

The pair removed a faulty ammonia pump at the International Space Station during Saturday's outing.

It is only the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in NASA history. Pic: Nasa

They have now installed a new  pump in what is hoped will be the final fix at the system.

First, the astronauts bolted down the pump, then worked to connect ammonia fluid lines. Last was a series of electrical connectors. 

"It's like Christmas morning opening up a little present here," Mr Mastracchio said as he checked his toolkit.

Later, as he worked to remove the spare pump from its storage shelf, he commented: "Now it really feels like I'm unwrapping a present."

The ISS flies about 250 miles above Earth. Pic: Nasa

The spacewalk had been originally planned for Monday, but was delayed by one day to give Mr Mastracchio time to switch to another suit.

He inadvertently hit a water switch in the air lock at the end of Saturday's excursion, and a bit of water entered his suit, making it unusable this week. 

It is only the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in NASA history, the previous one in 1999 during a Hubble Space Telescope repair mission.

One of two cooling systems on the US side of the space station - a $100bn project of 15 nations - shut down on December 11 due to a faulty valve. 

The cooling system shut down on December 11. Pic: Nasa

The fault prompted the six-man crew to turn off all non-essential equipment, including experiments.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Greenpeace Activist Granted Amnesty In Russia

Greenpeace has confirmed that Briton Anthony Perrett has become the first member of the Arctic 30 protest group to be granted amnesty in Russia.

Mr Perrett, from Newport, was one of 28 activists and two freelance journalists arrested when Russian authorities boarded their ship during an anti-drilling protest in September.

The activist, one of six Britons from the Arctic 30 group, says he is looking forward to returning home now that charges against him have been dropped.

"It's time to go home, it's time to get back to Wales, and I just got one big step closer," Mr Perrett said in a statement released by Greenpeace.

British activist Anthony Perrett after hearing he had been granted bail

Mr Perrett also defended his decision to join activists aboard the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise. They were arrested during their protest at Gazprom's drilling platform in the Pechora Sea.

"I took peaceful action to defend a fragile region under profound threat and instead I was seized by armed commandos at sea and spent two months in detention," he said.

"The Arctic is melting before our eyes and yet the oil companies are lining up to profit from its destruction.

The six British Greenpeace activists who were arrested in Russia

"This is why I took action, to expose them and mobilise people to demand Arctic protection. I am proud of what I did."

A Greenpeace spokesman said the migration service had told Mr Perrett he would be contacted on Boxing Day to collect his visa, meaning he would not be home for Christmas.

The spokesman said it is not known when the rest of the Arctic 30 group will be allowed to leave Russia.

Last week the Russian parliament approved an amnesty decree freeing defendants who have been charged with hooliganism.

Russian special forces arrested the protesters at gunpoint in September

The Arctic 30 group had previously been accused of piracy, but the charge was later downgraded.

Among others released under the amnesty are Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former oil tycoon who was widely seen by Kremlin critics and Western politicians as a political prisoner, has also been freed.

The amnesty has been largely viewed as the Kremlin's attempt to soothe criticism of Russia's human rights records ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Egypt: 14 Dead In Police Headquarters Explosion

At least 13 people have been killed in an explosion at a police headquarters in the Egyptian city of Mansoura.

The blast injured around 100 others, state media reported.

Investigators are trying to find out whether the blast, which happened at around 1am, was caused by a car bomb of from explosives planted around the five-storey regional security headquarters in the Nile Delta province of Daqahliya.

The blast damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked nearby cars

Most of those killed are understood to have been police officers who were inside the building at the time of the blast. 

The explosion reportedly damaged surrounding buildings and wrecked dozens of vehicles.

Security forces cordoned off the area, closed major entrances and exits to the city and set up checkpoints.

State TV called on residents to rush to hospitals to donate blood.

Egypt's interim government accused the Muslim Brotherhood of orchestrating the attack, branding it a "terrorist organisation".

The movement itself strongly condemned the attack.

The bombing comes just weeks ahead of a referendum on a new constitution billed as the first major step towards democracy after Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi was forced from power in July.

Interim Prime Minister Hazem el Beblawi expressed condolences to the families of the victims and vowed the perpetrators would "not escape justice".

The attack comes a day after an al Qaeda-inspired group called on police and army personnel to desert or face death at the hands of its fighters.

It is the first major attack in the Nile Delta, spreading the carnage to a new area and bringing it closer to Cairo.

Previous violence that has killed scores of people has taken place in Sinai or in Suez Canal-area cities such as Islamilia.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

UAE's First Female Priest Backs Women Bishops

By Zein Ja'Far, Sky News Producer

One of the few female priests in the Middle East, and the first one to be ordained in the United Arab Emirates, has told Sky News she backs the cause of women to become bishops.

The Reverend Jo Henderson, who is based at St Andrew's Church in Abu Dhabi, said: "I do support the fight for women to become bishops.

"I think women have an awful lot to give to the church, a whole different dimension, and I believe it is a natural progression.

"I would expect somebody to enter (the church) at a level and progress through the system."

She also described the UAE as a "melting pot" and said she was excited to be working with Christians from such a diverse range of countries and religious traditions.

Thousands of worshippers visit St Andrew's each week and the church hosts 40-guest congregations ranging from the Ethiopian Orthodox to the Indian Pentecostal and Tamil Christian Fellowship.

St Joseph's Catholic Cathedral - which hosts over 100,000 Catholic expats from around the world - and the Egyptian Coptic Church are just a few metres away.

St Joseph's is the biggest church in Abu Dhabi and Father Gandalf, who works there as the Bishop's secretary, says there are still challenges when it comes to religious freedom in the country.

He said: "The UAE is certainly the country which gives the greatest freedom to Christians in the Arabian Peninsula.

"I hope that the good understanding which exists especially in this country, but even in other countries, means we can live peacefully but we would like to have some more freedom. Freedom of worship, on the whole, we have, but it's limited to our places (of worship)."

There are thought to be around 800,000 Christians in the country with churches in all of the seven Emirates. Christian leaders have praised the religious tolerance of the authorities in comparison to the strict approach taken by neighbouring states - namely Saudi Arabia - who do not allow people to practise Christianity openly.

The Reverend Canon Andy Thompson, who runs St Andrew's, told Sky News: "It just goes to demonstrate how unique the UAE is in their hospitality to the Christian community. It does make them stand out in comparison to other Islamic nations."

But recent turmoil across the Middle East has led prominent figures, most recently Prince Charles, to voice concerns about the security and safety of Christians in the region.

Reverend Canon Thompson said: "The Middle East is a big area with many different countries, with many different styles of government and ethos. So, I think, Prince Charles' comments were very relevant to certain countries in the Middle East, but it certainly doesn't apply to all the countries in the Middle East."

An Anglican church built last year in the northern Emirate of Ras al-Khaima is the UAE's largest and accommodates 2,000 people.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Michelle Obama Helps Kids Track Santa By Phone

Michelle Obama has taken calls from children eagerly checking the progress of Santa's sleigh as he delivers presents around the world.

The First Lady volunteered for the traditional North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) Tracks Santa programme and wished callers a Merry Christmas.

"I see his sleigh with eight tiny reindeer and he is over Sudan - South Sudan. That's in Africa," she told a girl named Ella.

"And right now, he's delivering some gifts. He's going down, swooping down to some little kids who are in South Sudan, OK? That's where he is right now. It's really, really very cool, don't you think?"

Mrs Obama took the calls in the President's home state of Hawaii, where the family are spending their Christmas holiday.

The Norad programme started when department store Sears Roebuck & Co advertised its Santa hotline in a magazine in 1955.

"Hey Kiddies, call me direct on my telephone," said the ad, below which was printed the wrong phone number.

Rather than getting through to the shop, children dialled America's Continental Air Defence Command, which later became Norad.

Instead of telling callers they had the wrong number, Colonel Harry Shoup told staff to check their radar screens and provide children with an update on Santa's location.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Iraq: Christmas Bombers Target Christians

At least 22 people have been killed in Christmas Day bomb attacks targeting Christians in Iraq.

A car bomb went off near a church during Christmas Mass in Baghdad's southern Dora district, killing at least 15 people and wounding more than 30, a police officer said.

Earlier, a bomb ripped through an outdoor market in the nearby Christian section of Athorien, killing seven people and wounding 16, the officer added.

Both attacks took place in Baghdad's Dora district

A medical official confirmed the casualty figures. 

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but Iraq's dwindling Christian community, which is estimated at 400,000 to 600,000 people, has often been targeted by al Qaeda and other insurgents.

The latest bombings came amid a massive military operation in Iraq's western desert as authorities try to hunt down insurgents who have stepped up attacks across Iraq, sending violence to levels not seen since 2008.

Christians attending mass in Baghdad's St Joseph Chaldean church

Along with Christians, other targets for extremists include civilians in restaurants, cafes or crowded public areas, as well as Shi'ites and members of the Iraqi security forces, who are targeted in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shi'ite-led government and stir up sectarian tensions.

The Christmas Day attacks brought the total number of people killed so far this month in Iraq to 426.

According to UN estimates, more than 8,000 people have been killed since the start of the year.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Taxi Driver Finds - And Hands In - $300,000 Cash

A Las Vegas taxi driver has proved to be the Good Samaritan of the season after returning a bag full of cash found on his back seat.

Gerardo Gamboa thought someone had left a paper bag full of chocolates in his cab, but it turned out to be $300,000 (£184,000) in cold, hard cash.

The taxi driver was making a pick-up on Monday at the Bellagio hotel when a hotel doorman noticed the brown paper bag and handed it to him, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

He checked the bag while at a traffic light and found six bundles of $100 bills.

Mr Gamboa received a cheque from his company as a reward

"Oh my God, this is cash money," was his immediate reaction to the find.

He called his supervisor and took the money to the company's main office.

Las Vegas police and casino officials were able to link the money to a well-known poker player whose identity remains secret.

The cabbie said he had not spoken to the passenger during the journey.

When asked if he had considered keeping the cash, he said: "Oh no, no, not even, not even one second, no."

His bosses praised him for 13 years of loyal, trouble-free service

It is unknown whether he will receive a reward from the poker player, but the cab company has awarded him $1,000 for his honesty.

Singing Mr Gamboa's praises, Bill Shranko of Yellow Checker Star Transportation said, "This guy is just terrific. Not one problem with him in the whole 13 years."

The taxi driver himself said he was satisfied with his decision to turn the money in.

"I did the right thing for myself, for my family, for my company and the city of Las Vegas," he said.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More

Antarctic Ice Traps Cruise Ship Tourists

A Russian cruise ship with 74 people on board has got stuck in the ice near Antarctica.

The ship, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, is stranded some 1,500 nautical miles south of Tasmania and 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont D'Urville.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is co-ordinating the search and rescue, was alerted to the ship's situation by Falmouth Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Cornwall which received a distress signal early on Christmas Day morning.

The ship is 1,500 nautical miles from Hobart. Map: AMSA

The Australian authorities have issued a broadcast to icebreaking vessels in the area and three ships are now on their way.

However, the closest vessels are at least two days' sailing time away.

Those on board the ship, which left New Zealand late last month, include explorers, scientists and tourists, as well as crew.

The voyage was planned as part of an expedition to mark the centenary of explorer Douglas Mawson's trip and to get the chance to see Mawson's Huts which have been inaccessible for some time because of an iceberg.

Mawson's Hut in Commonwealth Bay

It is not known how the ship became stuck but the AMSA says the vessel is not in any immediate danger.

Those on board had just returned from a 60km trek across pack ice, one organiser of the voyage told Australia's 9news.

Passengers seem to be taking the adventure in their stride, with Australasian Antarctic expedition leader Chris Turney tweeting: "We're in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas from the AA."

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

23.11 | 0 komentar | Read More