ISLAMIC STATE-COPTS
Video purports to show IS militants beheading hostages
CAIRO (AP) — A video released by militants in Libya claiming loyalty to the Islamic State group purports to show the mass beheading of Coptic Christian hostages.
The video, released late Sunday night, shows men in orange jumpsuits being led along a beach, each accompanied by a masked militant. The men are made to kneel and one militant addresses the camera in North American-accented English before the men are laid face-down and beheaded.
The militant speaker then points northward and says, “We will conquer Rome, by Allah’s permission.”
Egyptian government and Coptic Christian officials declared the video authentic. The militants in Libya claiming affiliation with the Islamic State group have been holding 21 Egyptian Christian workers for weeks, calling them “Christian crusaders.”
Sound:
175-c-10-(Ashraf Khalil (ahsh-RAHF’ kah-LEEL’), AP correspondent)-“seven-day mourning period”-AP correspondent Ashraf Khalil reports that Egyptian officials are working to verify the video. ((watch for dating)) (15 Feb 2015)
< 177-c-12-(Ashraf Khalil (ahsh-RAHF’ kah-LEEL’), AP correspondent)-“be a wish”-AP correspondent Ashraf Khalil reports that one of the militants narrates the video. (15 Feb 2015) < 174-c-09-(Ashraf Khalil (ahsh-RAHF’ kah-LEEL’), AP correspondent)-“by Allah’s permission”-AP correspondent Ashraf Khalil reports that the video is narrated by a masked militant, who speaks in North American-accented English. (15 Feb 2015) < 173-c-11-(Ashraf Khalil (ahsh-RAHF’ kah-LEEL’), AP correspondent)-“than a month”-AP correspondent Ashraf Khalil reports that a mass beheading of Egyptian Christians has been reported in Libya. (15 Feb 2015) < 176-c-09-(Ashraf Khalil (ahsh-RAHF’ kah-LEEL’), AP correspondent)-“for profitable work”-AP correspondent Ashraf Khalil reports that 21 Egyptian Christians were abducted in central Libya last month. (15 Feb 2015) < 169-c-20-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)-“their mass beheading”-AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports that a Libyan affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed the abduction of 21 Coptic Christians last month. (15 Feb 2015) < 168-v-28-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A video released by militants in Libya, claiming loyalty to the Islamic State group, purports to show the mass beheading of Coptic Christian hostages. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (15 Feb 2015) < AMERICAN-ISLAMIC STATE Kayla Mueller’s boyfriend describes effort to free her PHOENIX (AP) — The Syrian boyfriend of an Arizona woman who was taken hostage by Islamic State militants says she remained selfless even while she was held captive. Omar Alkhani told The Associated Press on Sunday that he returned to Syria months after he and Kayla Mueller were captured at gunpoint outside a hospital to try to secure her release by posing as her husband. His plan failed. Alkhani says Mueller might not have recognized he was there to save her and instead wanted to ensure his safety. Such was the nature of the 26-year-old woman. Alkhani says she was content without new clothes, a hair dryer, makeup and much of the wages she earned as an international aid worker so she could help others. The U.S. government confirmed her death last week. BOKO HARAM Female suicide bomber kills 16 in northeast Nigeria MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Witnesses say a teenage suicide bomber killed 16 and injured more than 30 when she blew herself up at crowded bus station in northeastern Nigeria. The girl managed to get through the security check at the entrance to the bus station and detonated herself at 1 p.m. Sunday. Witness Hassan Umar said the dead and injured were mostly children selling goods in the station. Umar saw the remains of the suicide bomber and said she was a teenager. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but it fits the pattern of violence by Boko Haram, Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremist group that caused an estimated 10,000 deaths last year. Last year Boko Haram began using teenage females as suicide bombers, probably because they can evade security by hiding explosives under their hijab garments. In April, the extremists kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls who remain missing. Sound: 132-c-20-(Andrew Meldrum, AP correspondent)-“of Boko Haram”-AP correspondent Andrew Meldrum reports as Boko Haram increases its reach, Nigeria is getting international help to fight the militants. (15 Feb 2015) < 130-c-19-(Andrew Meldrum, AP correspondent)-“in that pattern”-AP correspondent Andrew Meldrum reports a young girl was used apparently by Islamist militants in a Nigerian city to blow herself up and take at least 16 other civilian lives with her. ((watch dating)) (15 Feb 2015) < 131-c-20-(Andrew Meldrum, AP correspondent)-“cover their bodies”-AP correspondent Andrew Meldrum reports Boko Haram is the group that abducted more than 200 girls last year and has recently changed its tactics to kill more civilians. (15 Feb 2015) < US-MUSLIMS KILLED Saudi Arabia condemns “terrorist” killing of US Muslims DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia has condemned the killing in North Carolina of three American Muslim college students as a terrorist act, and is calling for respect for religious beliefs and an end to incitement against Muslims. The statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency Sunday also condemned as a terrorist act the attacks that killed two people in Denmark, one at a panel discussion that included an artist who caricatured Islam’s Prophet Muhammad and the other outside a synagogue. Relatives of the North Carolina victims are pressing for hate-crime charges against avowed atheist Craig Hicks. But Hicks’ Facebook page suggests that he doesn’t hate Muslims. His online posts instead depict a man who despises religion, but nevertheless seems to support an individual’s right to his own beliefs. Police had said the killings may have resulted from a dispute over parking places. ISRAEL-DENMARK-SHOTS UPDATE Israeli Cabinet approves plan to encourage Jewish immigration JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli Cabinet has approved a $46 million plan to encourage Jewish immigration from France, Belgium and Ukraine, countries where large numbers of Jews have expressed interest in moving to Israel. A government statement says the plan aims to bring about a “significant increase” in the number of immigrants by boosting Hebrew studies, holding immigration fairs, and posting more immigration officials in those countries. Earlier Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the “massive immigration” of European Jews to Israel following the shooting attack outside a Copenhagen synagogue that killed a Danish Jew. Netanyahu said it’s the latest case of Jews being “murdered on European soil just because they were Jews.” Denmark’s chief rabbi said he was disappointed by Netanyahu’s call for immigration following the attack, saying “terror is not a reason to move to Israel.” Sound: 103-r-19-(Sound of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking Hebrew, in public statement at cabinet meeting)–Sound of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying in Hebrew that murderous anti-semitic attacks are expected to continue and while Jews deserve security in every country, “we say to our Jewish brothers and sisters, Israel is your home.” (15 Feb 2015) < 102-r-14-(Sound of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking Hebrew, in public statement at cabinet meeting)–Sound of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying in Hebrew that Israel sends condolences to the Danish people because, “again, Jews were murdered on European soil just because they were Jews.” (15 Feb 2015) < FRANCE-JEWISH CEMETERY Jewish cemetery vandalized in eastern France amid tensions PARIS (AP) — Hundreds of graves have been vandalized at a Jewish cemetery in eastern France, in what the interior minister called an “odious act” against religious freedom and tolerance. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said in a statement Sunday that a special criminal investigation team is at the cemetery in Sarre-Union, near the German border, and authorities will do “everything” to pursue the vandals. Jewish and Muslim gravesites and places of worship see sporadic but frequent vandalism in France. The latest incident comes amid religious tensions in Europe after Islamic radicals attacked a kosher market and a newspaper in Paris last month, and similar attacks in Denmark this weekend. Cazeneuve urged calm and tolerance. Many French Jews feel increasingly worried about anti-Semitism. VATICAN-POPE Pope to new cardinals: practice compassion, be open to all VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis has exhorted 20 new cardinals to reach out to all those who have been shunned, physically or spiritually, by the church or society. Celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Sunday with those he installed as cardinals a day earlier, Francis told them that, together, their mission must be one of “welcoming,” and of “rolling up our sleeves and not standing by and watching passively the suffering of the world.” He told the red-hatted “princes of the church,” whose tasks include electing popes, that “the way of the Church is not to condemn anyone for eternity.” He urged them “to go out in search of those who are distant, those on the outskirts.” Elected pope in 2013, Francis has sought to make church hierarchy less judgmental. EPISCOPAL FUTURE National Episcopal church asks judge to reconsider SC ruling CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — The national Episcopal Church is asking a judge to reconsider her ruling that South Carolina churches that broke away from the denomination now own the diocesan name, symbols and $500 million in church property. Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein ruled earlier this month in favor of the Diocese of South Carolina and its parishes. The conservative diocese and more than half of its 70 congregations left the national church in 2012 amid differences over theological issues. But the national church filed a 180-page reconsideration motion Friday detailing mistakes it thinks Goodstein made, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston. The national church said Goodstein failed to address the freedom of a hierarchical church to govern its own affairs and she improperly ruled the state diocese was created before the national church. PRIVATE SCHOOL GRANTS NC Supreme Court considers status of private school vouchers RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Supreme Court is about to decide whether millions of dollars in taxpayer money that started flowing this year to pay student tuition at private and religious schools can continue for a second year. The state’s highest court hears arguments Tuesday on a ruling last summer that the Opportunity Scholarships program violates the state Constitution. Opponents of the program say tax money shouldn’t go to religious schools that can turn away the children of gay parents or students who don’t follow the schools’ beliefs. Three-quarters of the schools accepting voucher students identify with a religious creed. Twenty-six of the 28 schools enrolling at least 10 students are Christian or Muslim. State attorneys defending the program say its language neither favors nor disadvantages any faith.
