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Ordination of women priests ‘anti-Church’
CIA ‘paid’ Iranian scientist $5m for info on nuke plan
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US refuses comment on Headley’s 26/11 claims
Osama alive, says son
Islamabad Diary
Lindsay hires new lawyer
Turkey eyes Indian tourists
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Ordination of women priests ‘anti-Church’
Vatican City, July 15 The Catholic Church teaches that it cannot ordain women as priests because Christ chose only men as his apostles. Proponents of a female priesthood reject this, saying he was only acting according to the norms of his times, it said. Also, the Vatican on Thursday made sweeping revisions to its laws on sexual abuse of children by priests in its latest attempt to tackle a scandal that has shaken the Catholic Church around the world. The changes, the first in nine years, affect Church procedures for defrocking abusive priests. They make some legal procedures, which were so far allowed under exceptional circumstances, the global norms to confront the crisis. "This gives a signal that we are very, very serious in our commitment to promote safe environments and to offer an adequate response to abuse,” Monsignor Charles Scicluna, a Vatican doctrinal official who helped revise the norms, told a news conference. "If more changes are needed, they will be made." Under the revisions, the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases was increased to 20 years after the victim's 18th birthday from 10 years under the old rules, meaning victims will be able to file charges until they are 38 years old. This is significant because many people who were abused by priests as children do not find the courage or legal and moral support to come forward until they are well into adulthood. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the statute of limitations could be extended even further in some cases. The changes are an update to a document known as a Motu Proprio (Latin for "of his own accord") issued by the late Pope John Paul in 2001 to deal with various grave crimes against Church law. While the changes involve canon (Church) law, Lombardi said existing Vatican guidance to bishops that they should report sexual abusers to civil authorities remained in effect. In other changes, sexual abuse by a priest of a mentally handicapped adult will be treated as if the handicapped person were a minor and could lead to dismissal from the priesthood. — Reuters Dismissal without trial l
The revisions allow bishops to defrock priests where evidence of sexual abuse is clear without canonical trials, which can be lengthy and costly. l
They also specify that priests who acquire, possess or distribute child pornography will be considered to have committed a serious offence subject to the same disciplinary action as abusers. l The updated rules also codified as a "grave crime" against Church law "the attempted ordination of a woman" to conform with a decree issued in 2007 to deal with a growing movement in favour of a female priesthood.
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CIA ‘paid’ Iranian scientist $5m for info on nuke plan
Washington, July 15 Shahram Amiri, who vanished from Saudi Arabia in June 2009 while on a pilgrimage, arrived in Tehran today after surfacing in Iran's Interest Section in Washington two days ago. He denied that he was a nuclear scientist, but said Israelis questioned him during his captivity. Immediately after his arrival he told reporters that he was just a "simple researcher", refuting earlier claims by Iranian officials that he was a nuclear scientist. Iranian officials claim Amiri was kidnapped by the CIA of the US, while the US media has reported he defected to Washington. US officials have denied these claims. “Amiri is not obligated to return the money but might be unable to access it after breaking off what the US officials described as significant cooperation with the CIA and abruptly returning to Iran,” the Post report said. It cited unnamed officials as saying he may have left the US "out of concern that the Tehran government would harm his family." — AFP
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US refuses comment on Headley’s 26/11 claims
Washington, July 15 "I don't see how I can comment from here. Anything I would say would either compromise intelligence information or an ongoing legal investigation," State Department spokesman PJ Crowley said. A four-member team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in June had done a weeklong interrogation and questioning of Headley who pleaded guilty to conspiring in the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 persons. The NIA team headed by investigator Loknath Behera was granted access to Headley, at the request of the Indian government, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation found Headley was involved in planning the Mumbai terror attacks. — PTI
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London, July 15 "My dad is on the Earth but I don't know where. He's still alive. If that sort of person dies, you could never make it a secret. The world changes if he dies," Omar told The Sun. Omar, 29, who was once anointed by Osama as his successor to lead al-Qaeda, said he still loves his father. "I still love him — of course I do — he's my father. That's a normal human situation. I miss him as a father but we are different. I want peace," he told the British newspaper. Omar also tried to clear the air about his split earlier this month from his British wife, Zaina — a six-time married grandmother and 25 years his senior. Zaina had allegedly said that Omar had begun to hear his father's voice in his head and was suffering from schizophrenia. — PTI Wants to date Barrymore
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Pakistan irked by Pillai remark on ISI
Ashok Tuteja Home Secretary G K Pillai’s statement on the eve of External Affairs Minister S M Krishna’s visit to Islamabad about the pro-active role of the ISI in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks has not gone down well with the Pakistani establishment. They are surprised over the timing and the manner of the statement since it came just a day before the meeting between the two foreign ministers. The Pakistani Foreign Office is unhappy with the comment. A Pakistani official said it would have been better if India had shared the relevant information during the talks between Krishna and his counterpart Shah Mehmud Qureshi. Ghost town at night
The beautiful capital of Pakistan has virtually turned into a fortress, thanks to the continuing wave of terrorist violence in the country. Armed guards are stationed across Islamabad, checking every vehicle and every suspicious-looking person. The bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September 2008 has forced all hotels also to put in place multi-layered security checks. The city looked like a ghost town when the media contingent accompanying Foreign Minister S M Krishna was taken in buses to the famous Margalla Hills on the outskirts of Islamabad for a dinner hosted by Pakistan Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira. Batting for cricketing ties
Now that India and Pakistan are holding talks at the political level, most Pakistanis feel the revival of cricket series between the two countries is not far away. A Pakistani sports journalist said he was quite excited that he may again be covering the Indo-Pak series in India or at a neutral venue. He lamented the continuing violence in his country where he knows the Indian team will refuse to play in view of the situation. Talks with Taliban
The Pakistan government, under pressure to deliver stability, is toying with the idea of talks with Taliban militants. The argument being advanced in favour of talking to the Pakistani Taliban is that when the West could agree to reconcile with the Taliban in Afghanistan, why could that not be done in Pakistan too. The Taliban have given no indication that they would want to enter negotiations since the military launched a series of crackdowns against the militia in April 2009. Prime Minister Yousaf Reza Gilani has been quoted as saying in the media that the government could not handle the problem on its own. “Beside the army and law-enforcing agencies, terrorism, sectarianism and the ethnic divide need to be handled by the important pillars of the state,” he said.
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Lindsay hires new lawyer
Los Angeles, July 15 Lohan is due to surrender to authorities in the coming week. The 24-year-old star's new lawyer is a top Hollywood defence lawyer, who successfully defended actor OJ Simpson at his murder trial, TMZ.com reported. He said that he will "urge judge Marsha Revel to either eliminate or minimise Lohan's jail sentence by putting her in rehab". — PTI
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Turkey eyes Indian tourists Turkey is on a target-India mission, hoping to entice one million Indian tourists every year. Chairman of the Turkish Indian Tourism Council (TITC) Emin Cakmak says at present the number of Indian tourists visiting Turkey is around 50,000, but the aim is to ensure that one million Indian tourists visit his country every year. To ensure that Turkey has decided to give visa on arrival to Indians holding valid UK, US and Schengen visas. An India-specific council was established in 2007 with 10 founding members that included five tour operators and same number of hoteliers. Incidentally, as per Cakmak, TITC was the first council to be established by his country and Turkish-American, Turkish-Middle eastern and Turkish- European councils followed in 2009. “The response from India improved 200 per cent after the TITC. This year we have also signed an agreement with TAAI to develop bilateral tourism relations between India and Turkey,” he says. Cakmak, who was part of the entourage of Turkish President Abdullah Gul during his visit to India in February, says to encourage better Indian footfalls he had requested the Turkish President for a visa on arrival to Indians having UK, US and Schengen visas. “He accepted and now we have started giving visas on arrival to Indian visitors,” Cakmak adds. To help TITC in its endeavour, Turkey’s flagship carrier Turkish Airlines is also planning to expand operations to Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata. At present the airline operates flights from Mumbai and New Delhi to Istanbul. President and CEO of the airlines Temel Kotil stated that he had taken up the issue of expanding operations of Turkish Airlines with India’s Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. Turkish Airlines had started operations to India in November 2003 with nonstop service between Istanbul and New Delhi three times a week In 2005, service to the Indian Capital was increased to four times a week and operations expanded to Mumbai with three weekly flights. After seeing business opportunities between the two countries, daily service of the airline was increased to 14 times a week.
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Washington, July 15
