NIGERIA-KIDNAPPED GIRLS
Video purports to show captured girls, two speak of faith conversion
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A Nigerian Islamic extremist leader says nearly 300 abducted schoolgirls will not be seen again until the government frees his detained fighters.
A new video from the group Boko Haram purports to show some of the girls and young women chanting Quranic verses in Arabic. The barefoot girls look frightened and sad and sit huddled together wearing gray Muslim veils. Some Christians among them say they have converted to Islam.
It is the first video evidence of the girls and young women since they were kidnapped from a northeastern school in the pre-dawn hours of April 15 — four weeks ago.
In the video, two of the girls are brought to the front and questioned by an unseen man and asked why they converted from Christianity to Islam. The nervous girl responds that she had not been on the right path and is now on the path to pleasing Allah.
She looks to be in her early teens. She says her real name has been changed to Halima. Like the other girls, she is wearing a hijab, a piece of cloth that covers the whole body and the back of head but not the face.
A second girl, who looks in her mid-teens, is asked if the girls had been ill-treated in any way. She denies it, saying they experienced no harassment “except righteousness.”
Families have said most of the girls are Christians.
Sound:
190-w-35-(Sagar Meghani (SAH’-gur meh-GAH’-nee), AP national security correspondent, with sound of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki and White House press secretary Jay Carney)–A video from a Nigerian terror group purportedly shows nearly 300 schoolgirls kidnapped last month. AP National Security Correspondent Sagar Meghani reports from the Pentagon. (12 May 2014)
< 192-a-10-(Jay Carney, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“no small task”-White House press secretary Jay Carney says the search for the kidnapped girls is not easy. (12 May 2014) < 191-a-12-(Jay Carney, White House press secretary, at news conference)-“the Nigerian government”-White House press secretary Jay Carney says an American team is in place in Nigeria to provide the government with intelligence and advise as it searches for the kidnapped girls. (12 May 2014) < 183-r-06-(Sound of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, speaking Hausa, on militant video purportedly showing the kidnapped Nigerian girls)–Sound of Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau speaking Hausa on militant video purportedly showing the kidnapped Nigerian girls. ((NOTE: AP cannot independently verify the content, date, location or authenticity of this material)) (12 May 2014) < 174-a-04-(Jen Psaki (SAH’-kee), State Department spokeswoman, at news conference)-“question its authenticity”-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says administration intelligence experts are reviewing a video purportedly showing the kidnapped Nigerian girls. (12 May 2014) < 175-a-08-(Jen Psaki (SAH’-kee), State Department spokeswoman, at news conference)-“of the girls”-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says the government has no reason to question the authenticity of the tape purportedly showing the schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria. (12 May 2014) < 171-v-29-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)–The terror group that kidnapped hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls apparently is circulating a video of some of them. AP correspondent Rita Foley reports. (12 May 2014) < 172-v-25-(Rita Foley, AP correspondent)–Some of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by the terror group Boko Haram apparently are seen on a new video from their captors. AP correspondent Rita Foley reports. (12 May 2014) < 150-a-14-(Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar (ah-boo-ba-kar), in interview)-“we now have”-Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar says the Nigerian government has failed to combat Boko Haram. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (12 May 2014) < 149-a-16-(Reuben Abati, presidential special adviser, in interview)-“checked and punished”-Presidential special adviser Reuben Abati says the Nigerian government is determined to get the kidnapped girls back and will not pay ransom for them. COURTESY: Sky News ((mandatory on-air credit)) (12 May 2014) < 041-w-37-(Shelley Adler, AP correspondent with John Campbell, Former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria)–A former U.S Ambassador to Nigeria has shared some insight regarding the group that kidnapped more than 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria. AP correspondent shelley adler reports. (12 May 2014) < 278-r-06-(Abubaker Shekau, Boko Haram leader, on video purportedly showing kidnapped Nigerial girls ((NOTE: AP cannot independently verify the content, date, location or authenticity of this material)))–Boko Haram leader Abubaker Shekau on video purportedly showing kidnapped Nigerial girls. ((AP cannot independently verify the content, date, location or authenticity of this material)) (12 May 2014) < 276-a-12-(Jen Psaki (SAH’-kee), State Department spokeswoman, at news conference)-“of the girls”-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says State Department officials believe a new video from the Boko Haram terrorist network purporting to show dozens of abducted schoolgirls is legitimate. (12 May 2014) < 277-a-07-(Jen Psaki (SAH’-kee), State Department spokeswoman, at news conference)-“on the ground”-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says the U.S. is offering advisers to assist Nigeriia’s miilitary. (12 May 2014) < SEPT 11 MUSEUM- FILM Muslim advocates amplify 9/11 museum film concerns NEW YORK (AP) — Muslim advocates and scholars are stepping up pressure on New York City’s Sept. 11 museum to edit or at least let more scholars see a documentary movie exhibit about al-Qaida before the museum’s May 21 opening. Muslim groups began expressing concerns after members of the museum’s interfaith clergy advisory panel raised alarms last month that the movie unfairly links Islam and terrorism. The Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New York chapter is asking the public to send letters to officials urging the removal of any “anti-Islamic terminology.” About 400 scholars and experts in various fields asked the museum Friday to invite a broad scholarly group to evaluate the brief movie. The National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum has said it stands by the scholarship underlying the movie. ISRAEL-VATICAN PROTEST Israelis protest Vatican role at holy site JERUSALEM (AP) — About 100 Israelis have protested against the government at a Jerusalem religious site they fear will be handed over to Vatican control when the pope visits in a few weeks. Government spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the demonstration ended peacefully. The site is believed by Christians to be the place of the Last Supper, where Jesus dined with his disciples before he was arrested by the Romans. The room is above the traditional site of the tomb of the biblical Jewish King David. Currently prayers are held in the Holy Supper room twice a year. The Vatican has petitioned Israel for more Christian access for years. Officials on both sides say they are close to an agreement to allow daily prayers there. POPE-BAPTISM Pope says everyone has right to be baptized, even space aliens VATICAN (AP) — Pope Francis says everyone, even space aliens, has the right to be baptized. According to Vatican Radio, Francis said after a daily mass on Monday that Christians cannot “close the door” to all those who seek baptism even if they are “green men, with a long nose and big ears, like children draw.” The Argentine pontiff is known for his down-to-earth style and sense of humor. Francis has stressed that baptism should not be refused, especially to children whose parents may be breaking church rules such as living together as an unmarried couple. MYANMAR-BUDDHISTS Myanmar Buddhists hold all-sects meeting YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s state-sponsored governing body for Buddhist monks has hosted its first conference in 19 years. The gathering brought together the religion’s nine main local sects at a time when there are rising concerns about Buddhist extremists targeting other religions. Several radical monks have proposed bills concerning interfaith marriage aimed at protecting the Buddhist religion which human rights groups and women activists have condemned as discriminatory and an infringement of individual rights. It was not clear if the bills would be discussed at the meeting. Buddhist monks in Myanmar have historically played a crucial role in politics and in some protests against the previous military regime. ACLU-SCHOOL BIBLE DISTRIBUTION ACLU protests distribution of Bibles at SD school MILLER, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is protesting the distribution of Bibles to fifth-graders in the Miller School District. Miller is located in central South Dakota. The organization says it has sent a letter the district’s board of education president asking it to reconsider its decision to approve the Bible distribution. The board last week voted to allow Gideons International to distribute pocket-size New Testaments to fifth-graders. The ACLU says courts across the country have prohibited Bible distributions in public schools under a variety of circumstances. The group says schools that allow the distributions venture onto shaky constitutional grounds and potentially open themselves up to legal challenges. Police director Elizabeth Skarin (skreen) says the Gideons have the right to pass out Bibles but students also have religious rights, including not to be pressured. Sound: 281-a-11-(Elizabeth Skarin (skreen), policy director, American Civil Liberties South Dakota, in AP interview)-“liberty begins”-American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota policy director Elizabeth Skarin says a balance of First Amendment rights must be addressed. (12 May 2014) < 279-a-05-(Elizabeth Skarin (skreen), policy director, American Civil Liberties South Dakota, in AP interview)-“going on there”-American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota policy director Elizabeth Skarin says the decision to allow Bibles to be distributed is of major interest. (12 May 2014) < 280-a-12-(Elizabeth Skarin (skreen), policy director, American Civil Liberties South Dakota, in AP interview)-“non-school materials”-American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota policy director Elizabeth Skarin says the group has written Miller school officials about what it expects. (12 May 2014) < 282-a-09-(Elizabeth Skarin (skreen), policy director, American Civil Liberties South Dakota, in AP interview)-“religious groups”-American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota policy director Elizabeth Skarin says the law in this area is well settled. (12 May 2014) < PRIEST SUSPENDED Kentucky priest accused of sexual abuse LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Catholic priest who leads two parishes in central Kentucky has been placed on administrative leave after a report that he sexually abused a boy in the 1970s. The Rev. Joseph Hemmerle is pastor at St. Francis of Assissi and Holy Cross parishes in Marion County. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz wrote in a letter to parishioners that the archdiocese was contacted by someone who alleged the abuse by Hemmerle. The archdiocese referred it to law enforcement in Meade County, where the abuse allegedly occurred. The Courier-Journal reports (http://cjky.it/1mRLpk1 ) Hemmerle was also put on leave in 2002 after another man alleged he was molested in the mid-1970s. Hemmerle was allowed to return to ministry after investigations by police and the archdiocese could not substantiate the accusation. Hemmerle declined to comment about the latest incident when reached by the newspaper. CHURCH ABUSE-MONTANA Diocese: August deadline for sex-abuse claims HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, Montana, is giving notice that sex abuse victims have until Aug. 11 to file a claim as part of the diocese’s bankruptcy proceedings. The diocese filed for bankruptcy reorganization in January as part of a proposed settlement with about 360 victims of sexual abuse from the 1940s to the 1970s. The deadline notice is part of last week’s federal court order setting a deadline by which claims must be made. Anyone who was sexually abused an employee of the diocese, or believes the diocese is liable for their abuse before the Jan. 31 bankruptcy filing, can file a claim by 4:30 p.m. Aug. 11. Claim forms can be obtained from the diocese and they preserve the abuse victims’ rights in the bankruptcy case. MILITARY SUICIDES-CHURCH Duke seminarians want to work with military on veteran suicides DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — A student group at Duke University Divinity School hopes to work with the military about the number of suicides in its ranks. The Herald-Sun of Durham reported (http://bit.ly/1meD63j) that members of the group, Milites Christi, held a weekend service of reconciliation outside Duke Chapel. The service was held the day before the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff gave Duke’s commencement speech. New data released last month show that suicides among Army National Guard and Reserve members increased last year while the number of active-duty troops across the military who took their own lives dropped by more than 15 percent. GAY MARRIAGE-VIRGINIA Gay-rights groups in 3 states closely eye Va. Case RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gay-rights activists say a federal appeals court decision invalidating Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban would have at least some impact on similar prohibitions in three neighboring states. The appellate court, in Richmond, will hear arguments Tuesday on a judge’s ruling striking down Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban. Judge Arena Wright Allen ruled in February that the prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection and due process guarantees. North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia also prohibit gay marriage and are part of jurisdiction of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals. Maryland also is in the circuit, but it is one of the 17 states that already allow same-sex marriage. A ruling affirming Allen’s decision could either strike down bans or virtually ensure the success of similar lawsuits in the other states. TEEN DROWNS Teen drowns at church outing CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A central Kentucky teen has drowned while attending a church outing. A coroner says 19-year-old Jose Zambrano of Lebanon was attending a baptismal and church picnic at Green River Lake State Park. He went into the water to try to retrieve some floatation devices for children. He was about 50 feet from the shore when he began struggling. The teen was believed to be an excellent swimmer and it’s not clear what happened. His body was recovered after several hours of searching. HARVARD-SATANIC MASS Harvard club yanks sponsorship of satanic ceremony condemned by church CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Harvard University club says it has dropped sponsorship of a satanic ceremony that drew condemnation from the Archdiocese of Boston and the university’s president. The Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club said Monday a Cambridge restaurant and nightclub would not host the black mass as planned. It says no other location offered a site. The Harvard group says event organizer Satanic Temple will stage its own ceremony at an undisclosed location. Harvard President Drew Faust says in a message on the university’s website the event is “flagrantly disrespectful and inflammatory.” She says she plans to attend a Eucharistic holy hour and benediction on the Harvard campus. The Archdiocese of Boston last week said the black mass mocks the Catholic Mass.
